New school year, new job title

It's official. I'm a 4th grade teacher. I am so excited about the upcoming school year. This week, I took the first step in making the transition. Different grade levels in our school occupy different halls. Our halls are named after different Ivy League schools. Last year, I was on the fifth grade hall, which is Stanford.

Goodbye Stanford..

Yesterday I journeyed to my new fourth grade hall...

Hello Harvard!

Harvard here I come!!!!
I opened the door to my new classroom and here is what I was greeted with...

The front of my classroom

Left side of class

Side view 

Talk about a blank slate. Now the fun begins. Our school theme is SMILES and we have to incorporate smiley faces into our design. I have also decided to use chevron patterns with an emphasis on the color teal. I will be doing a lot of rearranging to maximize space. The room is pretty big so I'm excited to see what I come up with. Stay tuned for the outcome.

Back to Blogging

I've decided to reenter the blogging world. Things were way too hectic in my life and blogging took a backseat but...I'M BACK!! I currently hold the position of a K-5 Special Education teacher but I have been offered opportunity to teach 4th grade this upcoming school year. My decision on this proposition will take place within the next 2 days and I am very excited and optimistic about the upcoming year. I enjoy my school and the colleagues that I get to interact with on a daily basis. I'm looking forward to sharing information about my trials and tribulations in the classroom and I will work hard to keep this blog updated weekly.
Option #1 involves remaining a special educator and continuing to service those with disabilities. It entails Individualized Education Plans (IEP) meetings, charting IEP goals for each individual student, reteaching and testing students in various grade levels in ALL subject areas, co-teaching Math and English/Language Arts (ELA)  and communicating effectively with different teachers to ensure that my students are receiving the proper services that they deserve.
Option #2 involves teaching and assessing all subject areas in the 4th grade curriculum while only being responsible for planning two subjects (Science and Social Studies). I will be working with a team (colleagues whom I have previously worked well with) to plan and tailor lessons for all 4th grade students. I will be responsible for molding and shaping students who are required to pass statewide assessments. I will have a class of about 14-15 students and I will be allowed to incorporate character education into my classroom as I see fit.
I love teaching in general  and either position will be a great one but it all comes down to which position I see myself teaching next year. I have been reassured that I will always have a place at my current school and if I choose to return to special education at the end of this year, I will be allowed to do so. The administrators are impressed with my performance and feel that I am the right teacher to take these students where they need to be.
Decisions, decisions....

August, New Position, Orientation...OH MY!

It has been too long since I've blogged. My life has been really hectic over the past year. Once again it is August and that only means one thing in the world of an educator....BACK TO SCHOOL.
This year is a little different for me because I'm in a NEW SCHOOL, NEW DISTRICT, and I have a NEW POSITION as an itinerant elementary Special Education Resource teacher. I will service students from 2 different elementary schools.
Today was new teacher orientation and tomorrow is the official day back for teachers. The students will be reporting on Monday. I must say that I am rather antsy and I look forward to meeting my new students on Friday. I am so ready to get my hand on these IEPs.

He's coming, he's coming, Isaac is here...

Isaac has finally hit Louisiana and he looks like he is staying for awhile. Our local schools have been cancelled as we anticipate the storm to move closer in our direction. Guess I'll be catching up on some readings while we wait out the storm. Over 500,000 ppl in the state are without power already and there are reports of people stranded on their roofs in Plaquemines parish. Please keep the people in our state in your prayers.

Go Away Isaac!

Today was DIBELS, DIBELS, and more DIBELS. Louisiana is watching out for Issac and we spent the day checking updates about closures for tomorrow. Most parishes have elected to close while ours has not :( Even the local universities are closing early tomorrow. Keeping our eyes and ears open for news in the am but as of now our district is opened until Wednesday. Shopping for an upcoming hurricane is no joke. People are panicking and the roads are jammed with traffic. I'm exhausted...

Wild about Learning

My first week of student teaching has been great. I am at a small school that only has two sections per grade. My cooperating teacher is wonderful and she was so excited to have a student teacher again. I already feel like a part of the staff because of the warm atmosphere and the friendliness of the faculty and principal.. This is a big difference from the school I previously taught at and I can really get used to this. The theme for the year is:

I'm feeling comfortable in the class already. It's nice and cozy and the kids are great! 

I can see the finish line!

Wow I know I haven't blogged in forever but I have been extremely busy and on top of that I was ill. I have been through so much in this short time. I finished off the year with my fifth graders and aced all my graduate courses. At the end of the year I learned that there was a reduction in force in my district and because I am only working on a Practitioner's license, I was the one who had to go. At the same time I was dealing with health issues (the doctors found a cyst on my left ovary that seemed to be the cause of all my problems and I was in and out of the hospital for treatment) and enrolled in summer graduate courses  It was finally decided that the best solution to my problem would involve a laparoscopic surgery to remove the cyst. The surgery is supposed to be a less invasive procedure and I was told that I could return to my normal activities after a week. My surgery was scheduled for August 7th, which was the earliest date available. When I learned how close the surgery was to the start of the school year, I began to panic. I had no doubts that I could find a job after the school year started but how was I going to pass out resumes and go on interviews while recovering from surgery. One day before my procedure I received a call from my doctor. She informed me that we could not go through with the laparoscopy and she would have to perform a laparotomy instead. My one week of recovery was suddenly changed to 6 WEEKS including overnight stays in the hospital!!!!
Following this new discovery I decided to stop searching for jobs and devote this semester to graduation. This option means that instead of doing a one year semester internship using my Practitioner's license, I will student teach for one semester and graduate in December. By the time student teaching starts I will be halfway through recovery. I will be doing more blogging this semester while I complete my journey in student teaching. I honestly cannot wait to get back into the classroom, I miss it already!