Missed a day!

December 4, 2012

Well since I missed a day last night, I will make up for it tonight! Yesterday was pretty busy. I came back to my friend's place from work, had some dinner and then worked on my class lists. I got so caught up in doing that and watching Private Practice that before I knew it, it was time for bed! It was my second full day at school with classes that are actually mine and it was a little challenging. This whole year is going to be challenging. The kids don't have much structure in the gym, AND some of the classes had recess in the gym, which isn't good. Why you ask? If the kids associate the gym with recess that means that every time they enter the gym they will think it's time for recess and won't listen. Kind of like they do now. Most of the classes are pretty good. It's the 4th and 5th graders I worry about. They are stuck in the mentality that they can do whatever they want when they enter the gym. I'll get it, it's gonna take some time but by the end of the year they will know what's going on. And then hopefully...as long as I plan to stick it out.... the only kids I will have to work on next year are Kindergarten.. We shall see.

I didn't leave the school yesterday until almost 5 pm! The assistant principal and I were trying to figure out some of the internet stuff that I need to have access to. We didn't have much luck though so I left. Remember the other night when I told you about the most wonderful sight of Christmas lights I ever saw? Well that was the night I decided to not take the Beltway home and told my GPS to take me on no highways or toll roads.. and that took an hour an 6 minutes to get home. Well last night, I decided to take the Beltway and the traffic wasn't as bad as I had anticipated! But for whatever reason, my GPS always wants to take me an extra 20 minutes out of the way! So I tell my GPS to go to sleep and I go the way I want to go and get back much quicker. Anyway, to end my night I watched Private Practice and then went to bed. On to today!!

December 5, 2012

Let me start off by telling you that going to work is starting to get easier... mainly because....the kids love me.. let's face it, who doesn't?? Right? No seriously, I was walking with another teacher this morning and she told me that everyone is very happy that I am there and the kids are especially happy and "they love you already, they really do." That's a pretty good feeling. When I went out for bus duty this morning, I hear all these teeny tiny voices go "Hi Ms. S! Hi Ms. S!" and then I get a barrage of hugs from all the little tykes. Again, it's a pretty cool feeling to know they have accepted me. Even when I walk in the halls past classrooms, I hear them... "Ms. S! Ms. S!" Maybe I should sign autographs after school one day.... hmm...

Tonight after work I had a meeting. First meeting as a new teacher in the county. It wasn't at my school though, it was a meeting for all first, second and third year teachers to discuss the curriculum. I must say, I am really glad to be teaching in a school where EVERYONE, including the students refer to my class as "PE" or "Phys Ed".. and not GYM (which I hate by the way). But what I'm not going to like is having to write lesson plans every day that I am back in college learning how to write lesson plans. I mean, I know you learn that stuff for a reason, but to actually full out have to do it with such a full schedule?? Oh well, I guess I won't complain because I could still be back in PA looking off other teacher's lesson plans and telling THEIR classes what to do instead of my own. I have got my work cut out for me, that's for sure.

The principal and I spoke today and she would like me to get a list of things to order for the gym and she would like me to get it to her by Christmas so that it will be back to the school in time for when we come back from Christmas break. Not a problem, I say! Then I find out about having to write these massive lesson plans, and I think that puts just a little, tiny cramp in things. I'll make it work though... I mean, I kind of have to, right?

Oh did I mention in a previous post that there is a part time PE teacher that is supposed to be working with me? I think I did... anyway, he finally showed up today... and that's another thing I have to add to the list of "work cut out for me." Don't get me wrong, nice guy... but I think this is a test for him. Another thing that we shall see about. So he will come on Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Friday. This week he was to be here MWF, but he was sick on Monday.. and was here today, and will hopefully be back on Friday. Mondays I take lead of the classes, Wednesday he takes lead of the classes (which will give me time to work on inventory), and then Fridays we will teach together. Should be interesting.

Speaking of planning things for classes, I guess I should get off here and plan something for tomorrow's classes. I will get my school laptop this week and once I get that I will have a chance to work on things during my down time at school. Well, until next time...

First Official Day at My Big Girl Job

December 3, 2012

This morning when I woke up, I felt like I wanted to vomit. You know, first day jitters. I sent a text to my friend who was actually my co-op for student teaching and told her that I felt exactly the way I felt the day I had to teach health for the first time. Totally almost vomited all over her classroom floor that day. The drive down to the school this morning was a little weird because I was kind of out of it (and I was trying not to throw up) but I made it in one piece. 

The first class I had was 5th grade - a different 5th grade class from last Thursday and Friday. And I felt that this 5th grade class was way less competitive than the other one. Which is a good thing because I am trying to sway them away from thinking that PE is about competition. I had to explain that to just about all the classes today to get them to remember why we are in PE. Anyway, the first class went really great and a lot of the kids responded to me really well. The second class was 4th grade, and again, were a little better than the 4th graders I had last week. So after the first two classes I had a pretty good idea how the rest of the day was going to go. After that I had, Pre-K (times two) and 3rd, then Kindergarten, then 1st and 2nd. After discussing rules and expectations with each class, and then doing some cooperative activities, I'd say the classes went pretty well today. I'm really going to need to work on the team building stuff with them though. The activity I had them do today required them to hold hands with each other. We all know how kids are with holding hands - cootie central! But most of them did good. There were only a couple of the kids that were really apprehensive about doing it. After that, I decided that this week will be dedicated to setting rules and team building activities. Tomorrow is a different group of kids (well, the ones from last Thursday and Friday) so they kind of already know how I roll. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

OOH!! On my way home today, I came across the most WONDERFUL thing!! I decided to not take the beltway back to my friend's place and had my GPS take me on back roads to avoid some traffic. Going on 495 would have taken me 58 minutes whereas going on the back roads was going to take me an hour and 6 minutes. So I said, what's an extra 8 minutes? Anyway, I'm not sure exactly where I was, but as I was waiting for a car to turn, I looked to the left and saw a forest of Christmas lights!! It was a park somewhere around here and it was just filled with lights everywhere! And there was a big sign that said "FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS"!! I just so happened to be on the phone with my parents and I said "OMG I have to turn here!" So I went in because I just absolutely love Christmas and Christmas lights so I drove in. I made a couple turns, then came to this little parking box, like the box you stop at to get a ticket to park at an amusement park, and saw that I had to pay $5 to go through.. unfortunately, I didn't have $5 on me so I asked them if I could just turn around and would come back another day because I was in love! They said sure and told me they were there until January 1. So I'm definitely going to make it a point to find it again so I can go!! See?? It's a good thing I'm trying to learn a bunch of different ways around because I run into fabulous things like that!!

Well anyway, I think that's the most excitement I had for today. Tomorrow shall be another day for me to reflect on and you to catch up on. Until then..

Survival of My First Weekend

December 2, 2012

This is what some really great friends keep telling me.

Well for those of you wanting to know, I did manage to survive my first weekend in a new city.. oh and the Steelers beat the Ravens IN Baltimore. It's one thing to actually beat the Ravens when you're watching the game in PA but I have to tell you that it's a much different feeling of victory when you're in MD and they beat them. Anyway, I know a lot of people down here were upset tonight but too bad for ya. I actually didn't sit down to watch the whole game today. I watched up through the first and half of the second quarter then I had to run to Walmart to return the package of markers I bought last night to work on my posters. Would you believe that some of the markers were DRIED OUT and they were sealed in a package with the caps tightly closed?? What the hell, I say! So I took them back and got my money back. But that's not the only reason I drove 20 minutes to Walmart. I also went to get some more food for my lunches this week. I will get up early to make my lunch.

So tomorrow is the first official day in the big girl world and I must say that I'm nervous, anxious, excited and a little scared all at the same time. But a very good friend told me tonight that I will find it easier as the actual teacher and that I will be shocked at how different it's going to be from just being a sub. So I will take it in small strides and get done what needs to be done. The first two days are going to be pretty simple and to the point. Just meeting with each class and going over the rules and expectations I have of them, and then playing some quick tag games. I only have them for 30 minutes so we'll need to get right down to business when they get there.

I took another adventure today when I went to Walmart. So far, I have visited 3 different Walmarts in 3 different towns. Pretty good if you ask me! The People of Walmart in MD are NOTHING like the People of Walmart in Hermitage. It's actually a complete 360! I hate to say it but once you've seen the People of Walmart in MD, they make the People of Walmart in Hermitage seem fairly normal! Unfortunately, everywhere I go down here I don't always feel like I'm in the USA. It is very, very, VERY diverse down here and I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that. I think it's great though because then you have a chance to learn things from different people... I just wish they would speak English... oh well, what can you do? I suppose we don't always try to speak their language when we go to their country either.

I'm still trying to get familiar with the area and think I may have even found a quicker way to get to I-70 for when I come home this weekend. I will have to look further into it to make sure. My brother picked up an EZ-Pass for me today at Giant Eagle back at home and is going to activate it and mail it to me. I was going to get it here in MD but the one in PA is good in 14 states and I'm not sure if MD is reciprocal to PA..does that make sense? Anyway, since I knew the one from PA works in MD, I just had my brother pick one up for me. Why didn't I get it before I left last week you ask? Well the reason is because THE RATES WENT DOWN just yesterday and who wouldn't want to wait for lower rates?!

I had all intentions on being in bed by 10 o'clock tonight but then I remembered about my post for this evening. And then as I talked to Maria on the phone for a little while, I couldn't remember if I locked my car when I got back to my friend's place or not. I parked in front of the building on the road and that's where their balcony faces, so I went out to see if I could get it to lock from 10 stories up...yeah, not so much. Yep, you guessed it... I went all the way down and outside just to make sure it was locked! But I didn't waste a trip out of it because I took some of the stuff I need to take with me to school tomorrow down with me and put it in the trunk! Two less things I have to carry down in the morning.

Well friends, now that I am an hour and a half past my bedtime, and I will probably struggle to get out of bed in the morning, I guess this is it for tonight. There is a very cute Siberian Husky that lives a few doors over from where I'm staying.. he was talking to us today on the balcony.. and I just heard him a few moments ago. I do hope, however, that he does not try to talk to us again all night. Between sirens and car alarms going off all night long the past 2 nights, some peace and quiet would be nice for tonight. This is why I am not a city girl...all the noise, noise, noise, NOISE!!

Until next time..

First Weekend in Maryland...and the Beginning of December!

December 1, 2012

Ahh, it's finally December which means Christmas (and my birthday - in 5 days) are right around the corner. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and if it were up to me, we would celebrate the joy of Christmas more than once a year! Unfortunately, mainly people lose sight of what Christmas is all about. Linus says it best... I'm sad that I can't decorate my own place for Christmas this year but I did bring my tree to my friends and I think I'm going to put it up tomorrow. I decided that being able to put a tree up somewhere would make me feel better. Tis the Season!!

Anyway, I got quite a bit accomplished today. I started my day by heading to the Mall in Columbia to see if the people at the Apple Store could replace my iPod battery. When I got there I asked the guy if he could tell me how much it would cost before we went ahead with anything. He looked it up and said we could get a replacement battery for $59.99. I told him I would put that $59.99 aside to eventually buy a new one! So that was a bust. But I walked around the mall and I have seen some pretty big malls...but not one quite this big. There were SO MANY stores and the food court was the size of the entire mall in Hermitage!! Of course, there were a billion and one people there today. And even though getting my iPod was a bust, I did buy some hand sanitizers at Bath and Bodyworks that were on sale. 5 for $5! Because of the disgusting-ness I will be in contact with at my new job (with the equipment and such) I will need as much hand sanitizer as possible!

From there, I drove to Wal-Mart down in Hanover, MD (which is the town where the casino is located). I went to get supplies to make my rules and penalties posters for class on Monday. While I was there, I decided to stop in and see if I could get the oil changed in my car. They told me it would be about an hour and a half wait but they could do it. So I had lunch in Wal-Mart and then did my shopping. By the time I was done, my car was ready and I was on my way. I think I have to take a trip back tomorrow to return the markers I used to complete my posters. I paid $4.97 for a 4 pack of markers that were double-sided chisel-tipped... some of them were dried out!! Luckily I found some dry erase markers to use! I put them right back in the package and am taking them back tomorrow. 

After I got back to my friend's place, I crashed on my bed for about a half an hour. Then I got up and started working on the posters. I also sent some 11x17 posters to my brother via email so he could print and laminate them for me. When I come home next weekend, I'll get them so that when I come back I can have multiple posters hanging on the walls in the gym. I'm hoping that what I have planned for Monday and Tuesday go smoothly. I will meet a new set of kids on Monday and then Tuesday I will have the kids I had on Thursday and Friday. By the end of next week, I will send out a letter to the parents letting them know who I am and showing them what I expect of their kids during their time in physical education class and ask that they please be on board with the rules and expectations I have set in place. A friend from home said she has a letter that she made for her first year of teaching and will share it with me so I can have an idea of what to say to them. I hope they like me!

 Here are the two posters I worked on tonight. Aren't they pretty?!

What else?... hmm.. I guess there isn't much more to say. Today was productive and I found my way around the area a little bit more by going to the mall and such. I'm anxious to get a place closer to work though because I have noticed my back has been bothering me from sitting in the car so much to drive to and from work. Soon enough I will have my own place here and hopefully by then, each day will begin to get a little easier.

Tomorrow is another day.. take care until then!

Introduction to the Staff

November 30, 2012

Each day is still a little struggle but with each small struggle, I get closer and closer to my first official day as a full-time elementary PE teacher and turn those struggles into stepping stones. Today, at the end of the day, the principal called a brief meeting. It literally lasted about 5 minutes but within that 5 minutes I was introduced as the "new, highly qualified, certified physical education teacher!" -- there was a lot of applause going on which made me feel good, and I even heard some cheers in the crowd. A lot of the teachers and even some of the students asked me all day today if I was the new teacher. I wasn't sure when the news was to be given so I just answered with "Uh, I'm not sure" and went about my day. Turns out, today was the day for the news to break out.

I have been subbing for the past two days and with each new person I have met, I feel a very strong, positive welcoming from everyone - especially from the principals. Everyone seems very excited to have me there working with them and that's a pretty great feeling. The kids I had in class today were the same groups of kids I had yesterday. I must have made a good impression on them because I got a lot of hugs from Kindergarten and first grade today, which obviously is also another pretty good feeling. My supervisor stopped by today to see how I was doing and watched me with my first class. It was a very informal observation and afterwards I had a little bit of down time so we went and spoke with the principals in regards to the schedule that I was given. As we stood in the hall and talked, my supervisor mentioned that she understood the struggle I was facing (which we have talked about before) and said "Oh yeah, I was going home at least once a month." The principal then said "Oh I was going home every 2 weeks and I am from New York! I spent the first 7 years of my career in Maryland by myself, with no family anywhere near. Sure I have a family now, but I had NO ONE for 7 years." The assistant principal is from Maryland so she's good...but the principal said "After my second year I told my family 'uh uh, if you wanna see me, now you have to come to me' and they did." The principal then went on to say, "everyone in the building is like a big family, and we're all here to help you and make you feel welcome. I think you're really going to like it here."

Throughout the day, I noticed how much work I'm really in for: the equipment room (and the equipment) is a mess and needs inventoried, the structure of the PE classroom is atrocious, and not all but some of the kids have a hard time following instructions. I noticed that 4th and 5th grade are entirely TOO competitive for their ages. So now I have to find ways to get them to see and understand that PE isn't about competition; it's about learning to do new, exciting and fun activities and skills that they can hold on to for a lifetime! The past two days, I was pretty lax with them but that certainly will all change on Monday. There's a new sheriff in town!

I did meet with the outgoing teacher which was a little strange but he was a nice guy. He shared some things with me that I kind of tuned out because I didn't want to hear about his bad experiences. I mean, I'm not sure if he wanted me to agree with him or not but I just keep saying "hmm" each time he mentioned something. I've got the ropes now sir, don't worry. I just wish you all could see the shape of the equipment and the equipment room...bah!

Ah, I did find out that I will have a part time PE teacher working with me...how awesome is that? If I recall correctly the principal told me that every Wednesday the part time teacher will be there and that he is to completely take over classes for that day. So I guess Wednesday we'll see what happens. This weekend will be spent creating rules and consequences posters to post throughout the gymnasium as little reminders. And Monday and Tuesday will be spent trying to get each class to fully understand what is expected of them from here on out. They will find out Monday that I am their new teacher.

Now that I'm getting ready to lay my head down, this is another time during the day when I have a million things running through my mind. I'm obviously here for the rest of this year, there's no doubting that. I just hope that soon enough I will know if this is where I will be spending a couple years...or a few...or 10, 20 or 30. Time will soon tell and once I know...you will know.

Until next time..

Today I subbed...for my own position I guess?

November 29, 2012

When I sent the principal of the elementary school an email to confirm my start date as December 3, she wrote back and told me that she wanted me to start on November 28. So I said, ok and got myself ready. I met with HR this past Tuesday and was told that I couldn't start on the 28th because the gentleman leaving wasn't retiring until the 30th - and obviously they can't pay two people for the same position. Needless to say, I was sort of angry because I could have stayed home for another week. So, we called the principal to make sure she knew this couldn't happen and she had a solution - sign me up to sub for a few days and then start full time on Monday. She told me it was entirely up to me and I seriously contemplated coming home for the next 5 days. Then I spoke up and said "no, I will come in to sub Thursday and Friday." -- big step?? 

Anyway, today was ok. The kids are ok for now but unfortunately there is NO structure in the PE classroom. So when they come in, they don't know what's expected of them. That's going to be the hardest part I think.. trying to change what most of them have known for the past 4 or 5 years is going to be tough. It's extra tough when you start in the middle of the year as opposed to the beginning. Now I have to turn the clock back and go over rules and regs and expectations, then turn the clock forward again to pick up where they left off. Well I guess it's things like this that determine how you can adapt to a situation. 

This morning when I got there, I met with the principal and assistant principal who were very excited to see me. The assistant principal took me on a tour of the building, showed me each wing, and introduced me to some of the teachers. Many of them were very excited to hear about the "new PE teacher." Wanna know something even better? EVERYONE refers to "gym class" as PE class in this school.. I never thought I'd hear it. The gym is huge for an elementary school, I have my own office with a bathroom (and a shower), and it's not in the greatest shape but it's better than nothing. I asked if I could paint, they told me no but said I could put in a request to have a new coat put on (of the same boring color). The equipment room is A MESS. But luckily, the outgoing teacher hasn't used ANY of his budget this year so that gives me an opportunity to order some new stuff for this year and next. Good thing too because some of that equipment is about 100 years old...ok not really but it is kind of gross.

I was told to go in there and "just get through the day" today. That's what I did. And tomorrow I will do the same thing. Then this weekend, I'll prep myself for Monday.

Stay tuned..

It Will Get Easier... I Just Don't Know When

November 28, 2012

Well I've made it to day 3 but this morning still wasn't any easier. I spoke with a friend who teaches up in Baltimore and she told me that she cried just about everyday for her first year of teaching but that she was also very glad that she stuck it out because she loves her job and she loves living here. I know I will get to that point eventually. Time is all it's going to take.

I had an adventurous day today though I guess. I went up to UMBC to visit a friend and hung out for about 2 hours today. On my way back home, I found a Walmart and found a casino for my aunt who had been asking how close one was to where I was staying. Right now it's only an hour from where I'm staying but if I move to the town I want to live in, it will be 2 hours away. It was a pretty awesome looking casino though. It was called the Maryland Live! Casino - ever heard of it?

As I mentioned before, I have been taking some of this down time as an opportunity to explore the area and familiarize myself with a lot of places. My aunt told me that she's sure by the time January rolls around, I will know how to zip from one place to another with no problem. I still need to invest in a Garmin though. My poor cell phone..

When I was in Walmart tonight it was a totally different atmosphere from what I'm used to. I felt like I was in a foreign country - a lot of people in Walmart had backpacks and were listening to music through headphones... like it was a tourist attraction or something. I don't know how to really explain it, but it was very weird. And although this Walmart was pretty big, it was nothing like the Walmart at home. For as big as the building is everything seemed squished together. Anyway.. I had fast food for dinner again tonight because the people that I'm staying with work pretty late, and they told me that they don't cook - that won't stop me of course. I just grabbed a bite while I was near the casino and Walmart..found it to be easier.

I also had a really good conversation with one of my very best friends just a few minutes ago. And even though I cried a little on the phone with her she did say some things that helped to put a lot into perspective for me. I promised her (and everyone else) that I won't give up until I know for sure whether or not this is what I want to do. You can hold me to that ok?

Tomorrow and Friday I will sub for PE but the teacher I am replacing will not be there - obviously, or they wouldn't need a sub. I'm very nervous about it but was told to just go and get through the day. So I'm going in blind and will be winging it all day. Lucky for me, I can probably just tell the kids to run up and down the court a gazillion times and they will be alright with that. Actually, I am going to do some ice breaker activities and some activities that will allow me to try and learn their names. I will also set some rules in place and try to establish everything as MY classroom. We'll see how it goes. 

Look out for tomorrow's topic: My First Day as the New Kid in Town

Until then..