Juggling!

Are you feeling like this octopus, juggling a million balls at once?
You're not alone!

This is the time of the school year when teachers realize how overwhelmed they actually are. Demands seem to come from many people, including principals, teammates, students, parents, and more! You're writing your SLO and PPG, meeting with your teams, and scheduling conferences. You're attending IEP meetings, coming into work on Saturdays, and staying up late planning the perfect lesson. New teachers (and veteran teachers) are forced to prioritize when they realize that they cannot possibly do everything for everyone.

This is, for most people, the Phase of Disillusionment.

Can you relate to any of these?

• "New teachers begin questioning both their commitment and their competence."
• "Many new teachers get sick during this phase."
• "They are faced with back-to-school night, parent conferences, and their first formal evaluation by the site administrator."
• "At this point, the accumulated stress of the first-year teacher coupled with months of excessive time allotted to teaching often brings complaints from family members and friends."

Here is the good news . . . you're doing it! 

You're teaching, you're changing lives by the day, and you're making a difference. 

You have teammates, colleagues, friends, and families to support you. 

You have students who look up to you. 

Remember why you became a teacher, how your students are learning and growing, and don't be afraid to say, "no" or let some things go. 

Share in the comments below:

• What do you think teachers should spend their time and energy doing at this time of year? 
• What are YOU spending your time and energy doing? 
• What have you decided to postpone for a while (or not do at all)? 

New Teacher Seminars

What: New Teacher Seminar - sign up now!

*Please register online by clicking here. The class is called "New Teacher Seminar - October 21".

When: Tuesday, October 21, 4:30-7:00

Where: Promega, BTC  

5445 East Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711. Click here for a map - building #2

Topic: Building Relationships with Students and Families

Agenda:

• 4:30 - 5:15 -- Small Group Problem-Pose/Problem-Solve:  Bring your burning questions to get perspective from your colleagues right away. 
• 5:15 - 5:45 -- Presentation and dinner:  Building Relationships with Students and Families in MMSD - hear tips and advice from students and families.
• 6:00 - 7:00 -- Inquiry Groups:  What dilemmas and wonderings do you have about building and strengthening relationships with students and families? 

*Please register online by clicking here. The class is called "New Teacher Seminar - October 21".

Feedback from September's Seminar:

"I enjoyed the small group time to be able to answer/discuss questions we had"

"This course allowed for a lot of conversation and question time, which I found very beneficial as a new teacher."

"The discussion was relevant and helpful."

Thank you for your feedback!  We've made some adjustments to accommodate your interest in the collaboration time.

Welcome to your blog!

Hello to you!

It's your very first payday!!! Congratulations!!! Now you can buy food and pay rent!!!


This blog is designed to be a resource for YOU - new teachers in Madison. It is shared with those who are mentored by me: Lachele. This blog is one more way for us to connect, share resources, learn, and grow together. Do you want to know who can see this blog? Click the Who are we? tab above.

There are also tabs at the top of the page for MMSD Resources as well as Helpful and Interesting Links. I hope to use these spaces to save you some time searching for information.

This blog's purpose is for discussion! I will post questions and conversation-starters and you can respond and talk with one another this way. Also, you can e-mail me something you'd like to see on the blog, and I'll be happy to incorporate it.

Now on to . . . Pinterest!

Pinterest is a great resource for finding teaching ideas. It is the Internet's virtual bulletin board. If you haven't checked it out, you might find it useful.

Click above to go to the Pinterest site.

Have any of you used Pinterest? What fabulous ideas have you found? 
Share your ideas by clicking on "1 comment" below.

Displaying Purpose Statements

Being transparent with students about the purpose of your lesson is an important part of teaching. It also helps you, as a teacher, stay focused! One way to do this is to post your purpose statements (or "I can . . ." statements) for all students to see.

1st Grade

I am gathering photos of purpose statement displays from around MMSD to spark some ideas and conversation. I will continue to add to this post as I gather more photos.

How might this look in your classroom? What other ideas do you have? Post your ideas and your own photos in the comments.
Click "comments" below to share your thoughts).

3rd grade

"Yo puedo . . . (I can . . .)
trabajar con un companero (work with a classmate)
escribir una historia personal usando oraciones y detalles (write a story using sentences and details)
aprender a reconocer el sujeto de una oracion (learn to recognize the subject of a sentence)
conocer mas acerca de las comunidades (learn more about communities)
aprender mas sobre matematicas (learn more about math)
seguir instrucciones (follow directions)
aprender mientras me divierto (learn while having fun)"
2nd grade

5th grade

"We can use words and pictures to tell about the characters, setting, and plot."
1st grade

"I can interpret meaning by using more than the words."
2nd grade

"I can say the author's message with details from the text."
1st grade

Purpose Board incorporating academic standards, process standards, and
social emotional standards.
Middle school

Art class
Grades 2, 3, 4, 5

One board, all subject areas.
1st grade