Unpacking: From 3rd to 6th

For the first six years of my teaching career, I was known as an elementary teacher. I am now a middle school teacher. This still leaves a funny taste in my mouth because I never dreamed of working at a middle school!

I know that as I get started in this new grade level, my response to the thought of being a middle school teacher will improve and sooner than later (I hope) I will be left with pleasant feelings, and a good "taste" in my mouth. For now, though, this is a transition.

When I packed up my 3rd grade classroom at the end of the last school year, I loaded it up in my SUV and made several trips home. I proceeded to unload it into my garage and SHUT...THE...DOOR! Since June, I've maybe been in there...twice?

That is...until NOW! The task at hand yesterday was to figure out which materials could be used in my sixth grade classroom. My first thought was that I could use my organizational supplies for sure! Secondly, I realized that I may also be able to use some of my higher level independent reading books to supplement the classroom library I am inheriting. Aside from the most critical item to my survival, my mini-fridge, that's all, folks!

My bins, crates, and other organizational materials, as well as my mini-fridge will definitely thin out the load in my garage. However, there will still be quite a bit left over to be stored. My storing limit is two years. If after two years, I am still teaching sixth grade, I will begin to further thin out my elementary materials. I think that's pretty reasonable, right? Can you say, "Teacher Sale"?

Anyway, I went ahead and loaded up "Sierra" (my SUV) with some of my organizational items and some personal office/desk supplies today and headed to my new job site. My goal was to take in this light load, and take a look around the classroom to see what I was working with. Once that was done, I was able to start outlining my bulletin boards. After a few hours dusting (because even after the "official" cleaning has been done, nothing is truly clean until you clean it again) and organizing, I was done for the day.

My first day as a middle school teacher wasn't soooooo bad after all (well, there weren't any kids involved). :) Until next time!

Penny Deals (a.k.a. STEALS)!

Summer back-to-school sales are in full force! Have you been scouring the weekly ads? My best friend (a fellow teacher) and I have been sucked in to the madness and are trying to save (or pay) a penny wherever we can.

Our goal of course is to stock up our classrooms and provide students with the materials they will need to have a successful year.  As you hit the sales, don't forget that many places do guaranteed "price matching". I was always a little leery by these statements, but Becky and I tried it a few days ago, and it worked! We were able to get the penny deals that were advertised at an office supply store at Wal-Mart. With our printed ad in hand, we searched for the featured items and took them to the register. With a few questions asked, no limits on the quantities, and verification of the competitor's ad/sale, the supervisor rang us up in minutes. We were out the door having spent only a fraction of the price we would have paid with the regular back-to-school sale. Why not save a penny (or dollars) when you can? My wallet is sure appreciative! What sales have you hit lately? What types of items are you purchasing and how do you use them in your classroom?

   Priscilla

New to Sixth, New to Blogging

Hello, my name is Priscilla and I am about to embark on my 7^th year of teaching...and blogging!! I’m hoping that you will join me on this wonderful journey.

As I kick off my seventh year, I also begin my journey at my 6^th school. To give you a little perspective, my district is comprised of 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 high school, and 1 continuation high school. Due to my seniority (or lack thereof), I’ve been displaced and have bounced around, having worked at all the elementary schools, and now I find myself at our district’s middle school as a sixth grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher.

While I have gained a lot of experience in different grade levels in my various assignments, I have also learned to work with many different teachers, staffs, administrators, students, parents, and communities. Let’s face it, I have an amazing resume because of this! However, I did not see these benefits right away, and if I’m being honest on some days I lose sight of them. It actually took me a LONG time to accept and embrace these changes. Each move was emotionally draining, to say the least. Just as I began to feel settled, as one typically does towards the last leg of the school year, I had to pack up and move! In each departure, I left behind former students and new friends. This is not how I envisioned my teaching career at all!

Ironically, I pictured my first two years as a brand new teacher being hellish as I learned the ropes, but they were a breeze in comparison to what followed. In my third year, I was displaced and “forced” to move to another one of our elementary schools. Here, I was assigned a 2/3 combination class. My kids were darling, but teaching multiple grade levels was by far THE most challenging for me even though I was familiar with both curriculums (I taught 2^nd grade my very first year and 3^rd grade the following year). This, I felt, was what I had expected my first year to be like. To be fair, there were other factors that contributed to the challenge that the “combo year” brought. I missed my old school. I missed my principal who was warm and friendly, and exceptionally supportive. I missed my former students even though I knew they were in a new grade level. Most of all, I missed my new teacher friends. I had bonded with them, not only as teachers and colleagues, but also as friends (REAL, lifelong friends)!!

At my new school, I was a fish out of water. I felt alone! I was the only combo teacher at my school and received very little help from my new colleagues. I tried to keep up with my 2^nd grade team AND my 3^rd grade team, but what they planned and how they planned didn’t necessarily fit the needs of the combo, which left me isolated. Other schools in my district had the same grade level combo, so I tried to meet with them, but there was something they all had that I didn’t: support! The other 2/3 combo teachers had support. They had colleagues that helped by taking on some of the combo kids and taught them their math or science or social studies or all three. This way the combo teacher could have time to teach ONE grade level! Here I was with one teacher taking on my 3^rd graders for science and social studies (which I am eternally grateful for) and me taking on the rest. Teaching math is what nearly killed me because I had to teach each grade level their specific math curriculum. There was no blending of concepts. Each grade level had their set of state standards, and since I could not clone myself, I HAD to teach both curriculums independent of the other! To boot, in March of that school year, I learned that I was being laid-off. In May it was finalized, and by mid June I was packed and unemployed. By the grace of God, I made it through that year.

My fourth year of teaching, I took on a new role: intervention teacher. A week or two before school started in August, I was called and offered a part-time gig (I was on a rehire list and there were ZERO fulltime positions left for me due to budget cuts) as a Read 180 teacher for two of the elementary campuses in my district. After the hellish year I had finished months prior, I welcomed such a structured program, although the pay cut was an adjustment. At the beginning, I was unsure of how I would like working with the “older” kids since my experience had been limited to 2^nd and 3^rd graders. To my surprise, I really enjoyed working with the upper elementary students. 4^th and 5^th graders were a whole new world of fun!

My fifth year was similar, but at a new school. I was still a part-time employee teaching Read 180 intervention once again (yay for stability?) AND a 3^rd grade support (math) teacher for a 2/3 combo teacher. Remember when I mentioned that during my combo year the other 2/3 combo teachers in my district had support??? Well, as fate would have it, I was that support for the combo teacher my 5^th year. For an hour a day, I would pull all the 3^rd graders in the combo and teach them their math curriculum, while the combo teacher was left behind with the second graders and taught them their math curriculum. Oh, how I would have died to have this type of support during my awful combo year!!! However, it was not a time to be bitter. No matter the situation, I needed to find the joy in my assignment, and I did!!

Now, to this past (school) year: my sixth year of teaching. About 2 weeks before school started I was hired as a Read 180 teacher for a third year at the school I was at the previous year. After attending a training a week before the first official teacher day, I got a call. A teacher (a former colleague and friend) decided to extend her maternity leave and take a full year leave of absence. As luck would have it, I was next in line on the rehire list and was offered this “temporary” assignment for the entire school year! Hallelujah, I was full time once again!! I was nervous and thrilled at the same time. Why nervous? I felt like I had been “out of the game” for two years. Somehow, in my mind, teaching part-time for two years meant I had lost my teaching skills. Talk about irrational thinking! The truth was that I was in familiar territory. I was returning to a campus I had taught at before AND I was teaching 3^rd grade (a STRAIGHT 3^rd grade class…phew)!! With the exception of a few bumps along the way, it was a good year. J

So, that brings me to this year: my seventh year of teaching! I am teaching 6^th grade for the very first time. Even after six years of teaching experience, I feel like I’m fresh out of college and like I am a complete newbie. You would think all the change and movement I experienced the previous years would make me immune to this feeling, but that is not the case. However, in my “sane” moments I realize that I am new to sixth grade, NOT new to teaching, and that makes all the difference. I know HOW to teach; I have a wealth of experience, as is well detailed above.

Thank you for reading my first (super long) blog! Please feel free to share similar experiences. Happy Blogging!

 Priscilla