The End of One Adventure...and the Beginning of Another!
Tomorrow will be the last day of my 15th year of teaching. 15 years...that means my very first group of 1st graders are in their 20s. That would make me feel kind of old when I say it like that, but I definitely don't feel like it. And I think the reason that I don't really feel old is because of the adventure that I had this year. Making the jump from 3rd grade to middle school definitely got me out of my comfort zone, and I think that it really reinvigorated me. I can truly say that I had that "new teacher" feeling this year: being in a new building, learning TWO new curriculums, and meeting new colleagues (even though I've been in the district awhile, I can say that there are people I met this year that I wouldn't have been able to name last year). The only thing not really new about my move to middle school was the students. Having those familiar faces around was really nice! That "new teacher" feeling brought back some old memories of late nights preparing for the following day's work and keeping caught up on grading. But even though I had all those late nights, it was worth it to feel a little younger and have that sense of excitement. Don't get me wrong, the choice to change grades was not an easy one to make, and it may not be for everyone, but this was the change that I needed right now in my career.
Tomorrow may be the last day of school, but today was my last day with the 7th graders (the 8th graders have a field trip to Great America, and I am chaperoning). So, to end our time in 7th grade, the students took a look back at the year and what we've learned with a game of Jeopardy! The 7th-grade science team put together 2 games (one for each semester), and my students decided to challenge themselves by choosing the 1st-semester game. I'll be honest, I was surprised at how much they remembered (because we didn't take it easy on them :-) After Jeopardy, I had the students write some letters to their future selves. In just 5 short years, these students will be graduating, so the letters they wrote will be time capsules to open when they graduate. I collected the letters and will deliver them when they are wrapping up their senior year (although some of them seemed worried that I would forget...).
So, I know I had all that talk earlier about having the familiar faces of my former students to help me in my transition to middle school, and getting to teach this year's 8th graders was something special for me. There are certain classes of students that every teacher remembers--some of them are challenging classes, while others can seem to do no wrong in your memories. Well, when they were 3rd graders, this group of students came to me after a couple of REALLY challenging years of teaching--the type of challenging years that made me question whether or not I wanted to continue in this profession. But then these students came along, at just the right time, and they gave me the sense of calm that I needed at that point. That time with them gave me the chance to reflect on my previous years, the mistakes that I had made, and what type of teacher I wanted (and did not want) to be. Without this group of students, I don't think I would be sitting here writing this blog. And for that, I will always be grateful for this group of students. They helped me 5 years ago, and they helped me once again this year.
So...I teased in the title that there will be another adventure--and that adventure will be 5th grade next year! The structure of our middle school schedule had an overhaul during the year, and my 7th/8th-grade position (as well as other teachers who were also teaching multiple grades/subjects) was eliminated. In an attempt to match teachers up with their preferences for subjects and academic backgrounds, some shifts were made in middle school staffing. This shift led to an opening in 5th grade. Therefore, next year I will be teaching three sections of science, one reading, and one writing. It will probably mean another year of some late nights, but it will also be another year of some very familiar faces...my 3rd graders from last year! I made my transition to middle school, and now I have the privilege of helping them with theirs! So, I'm sure next year's blog posts will be full of news from this upcoming adventure (and maybe a few short posts where I just need to get some sleep)!
Mindfulness thought for the week: Whatever you are, be a good one. --Abraham Lincoln
Tomorrow may be the last day of school, but today was my last day with the 7th graders (the 8th graders have a field trip to Great America, and I am chaperoning). So, to end our time in 7th grade, the students took a look back at the year and what we've learned with a game of Jeopardy! The 7th-grade science team put together 2 games (one for each semester), and my students decided to challenge themselves by choosing the 1st-semester game. I'll be honest, I was surprised at how much they remembered (because we didn't take it easy on them :-) After Jeopardy, I had the students write some letters to their future selves. In just 5 short years, these students will be graduating, so the letters they wrote will be time capsules to open when they graduate. I collected the letters and will deliver them when they are wrapping up their senior year (although some of them seemed worried that I would forget...).
So, I know I had all that talk earlier about having the familiar faces of my former students to help me in my transition to middle school, and getting to teach this year's 8th graders was something special for me. There are certain classes of students that every teacher remembers--some of them are challenging classes, while others can seem to do no wrong in your memories. Well, when they were 3rd graders, this group of students came to me after a couple of REALLY challenging years of teaching--the type of challenging years that made me question whether or not I wanted to continue in this profession. But then these students came along, at just the right time, and they gave me the sense of calm that I needed at that point. That time with them gave me the chance to reflect on my previous years, the mistakes that I had made, and what type of teacher I wanted (and did not want) to be. Without this group of students, I don't think I would be sitting here writing this blog. And for that, I will always be grateful for this group of students. They helped me 5 years ago, and they helped me once again this year.
So...I teased in the title that there will be another adventure--and that adventure will be 5th grade next year! The structure of our middle school schedule had an overhaul during the year, and my 7th/8th-grade position (as well as other teachers who were also teaching multiple grades/subjects) was eliminated. In an attempt to match teachers up with their preferences for subjects and academic backgrounds, some shifts were made in middle school staffing. This shift led to an opening in 5th grade. Therefore, next year I will be teaching three sections of science, one reading, and one writing. It will probably mean another year of some late nights, but it will also be another year of some very familiar faces...my 3rd graders from last year! I made my transition to middle school, and now I have the privilege of helping them with theirs! So, I'm sure next year's blog posts will be full of news from this upcoming adventure (and maybe a few short posts where I just need to get some sleep)!
Mindfulness thought for the week: Whatever you are, be a good one. --Abraham Lincoln
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