Back to School Night

Well my ninth Back to School Night has come and gone. It was great to see the excitement of the parents. Similar to the excitement that I see in some of my same students. I know that we are only 11 days into the new year, but I am very excited about the potential the students seem to posses. As usual the parents who came were the ones who could have skipped, with a few exceptions. A couple approached me afterward to see how their son was doing, you could sense the excitement in their voice and mannerisms, the relief to hear that all was well and that he was doing great.

As I packed up I was overwhelmed about how much I love my job and the students that I have the chance to work with. So far about a dozen students have had the courage to call for clarity of homework or maybe it was just curiosity to see if I would really give my numbers out to my students. Makes my think what next weeks post will be like.

Don't Underestimate the Power of a New Start

The first day of school has come and gone, so the journey begins. Great group of students, we shall see how they do when the pressure of the day to day stuff comes into play. One of things I love about the first day of school is that you really have the chance to start anew and fresh. Not just the teacher but the student as well. Teachers have the chance to see how they did the previous year and make the improvements and fight the temptation to fall into the same traps that kept them from achieving all that they wanted. For students they really have the chance start anew. No carry over, no judgment, truly a fresh start. A chance for them to influence how they want to be remembered. To become known as the student who worked hard, encouraged and surprised those around them. There is something powerful about a new beginning, today I saw a handful of students who were glad to have the chance to start over.

The lights are on and folks are home.

CST Scores and Count downs

CST Scores

Well I finally got my student's scores from last April Standardized Testing. Over all we went up 194 points in Language Arts and 145 in Math. There were several students who amazed me with the jumps that they made. There were a few that stayed close to where they were. There were also students who prove the rule that you must be careful how much emphasis that you put on these tests. I know of a few students who have a great work ethic, but have a difficult time when it comes to standardized tests. I feel for those students because in some cases they may not get into the honors classes in Jr. High.

Countdown

School starts on Thursday, I am looking forward to meeting my new students. As usual I really miss my students from last year, and I will probably will feel the same way next year. (At least I hope so)

Monday will be my big room push, any former students are welcome to come by and help out. Looking forward to getting the theme for August and September up and running. There is an excitement in the air this time of year that sort of kicks automatically as the first day of school draws near.

There were several times this summer when I was able get thoughts down on paper and I can't wait to see them come full cycle to lessons in practice. I also brought in a professional, aka mom at 73 she can out work just about anyone I know.

We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Less Than a Month

School will be starting in less than a month, and as of today we have not received the results from last years Standardized Tests. It would be great to have this time to look back and review the areas that students scored low in. There will be time no doubt, but it will come at a time when teachers have all sorts of details to worry about.

The remainder of my time will be spent trying to get the last of my summer projects completed and making lesson plans. We also have two more trips planned, it is safe to say we are squeezing all we can out of this summer.

Bye Billy Mays

I was sad to hear about the passing of Billy Mays. He was fun to watch, and seemed like a nice guy. We teased him for being a bit of a Diva on his pitchmen show. I know his passing will be eclipsed by Michael and Fara, but he will be missed. His family is in my prayers.

Billy knew the power of a good deal and the importance of finding the same way to say things over and over to increase comprehension. I think he would have made a good teacher.

School is out! I think

Well we it's hard to believe that we have been out for two weeks. The promotion went well, and I made it through without any huge weeping fits. The year went by so fast that I still can't believe we are out. On top of that we left for Lake Don Pedro on Monday after school was out, came back for a recital and left for the river. So it feels like we just got out.

Working on themes for next year