Ch-Ch-Changes!

It has been just over a month of changes on my end over here.

The first major change I have been preparing for was my wedding.  Jason and I were married on June 20th at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL.  The weather was a bit unreliable but mother nature pulled out a rainbow for us at one point during the ceremony.  It was truly the "Best Day Ever!"

The next change was in my career.  I had interviewed at a pair of schools toward the end of the year but none of the positions were quite right.  I had then received a call to interview at a high school but was unable to because of field trips/last week of school.  Shucks....

Well wouldn't you know that they ran another round of interviews the next week and they wanted me to come in.  I did a first round and the next day did a second with the principal.  Needless to say, I nailed it and was offered the job!  While all this was great, this was the week before my wedding and I was a bit busy at that point.  So, 1 day before my wedding, I was at human resources signing paperwork so for new job!    

Thanks Ryan, I appreciate it1

I will be teaching Algebra 1 and Algebra 2.  Honestly, I am terrified but I am confident I will do fine and after the first day, I will feel so much better.  In the meantime, this means I have to pack up my room and move.  I am a supply/manipulative/pen/book/stuff hoarder.  I was at school for 3 hours accessing the situation.  Final decision: Not good!  A few more hours, more packing tap and boxes should be just what I need to finish. 

The empty hall during summer.  

Good news, I have my own classroom.  Better news, I have an office space too!  The possibilities are endless and places to store things, infinite.   

What I still wonder is how do you make the decision what to keep, what to pitch and what to leave behind?  IT IS SO HARD!

Control Center of the Classroom

Any teacher knows that a paper management system (also balled being organized) will make the world of different.  Here is my 'control center'

There are a few key components that keep my life going.

1.  Make Up Quizzes

So I used to play the game of 'track the student' to make up grades and I was horrible at it!  I realized after I implemented SBG that it is not MY responsibility to track them down but it is the students.  I give a quiz each Thursday so the students know that if they are absent on a Thursday, their make up quiz will be push pined onto the board waiting for them.  How do I remember to do this?  When I pass out the quiz, I see who is missing and immediately write their name on a quiz and tack it up there.  Easy peasy!

2.  Hand in Papers Here!

What you can't see is that each bin is marked by period so students know where to place their papers.  This is where anything/everything goes into, I take nothing on my desk or in my hands.  

3.  Papers to be Passed Back

This is for me.  Once I grade/check-in any papers, I put them directly into the corresponding slot.  I find that this has helped me keep the clutter off my desk and motivates me to finish everything.  As an added bonus, I also have found that when kids see papers in there, they will offer to pass them back!  Double bonus!

4.  No Name Papers

I still don't understand how middle schoolers fail to put their names on papers but it happens!  So when I find one, I grade it and hang it up.  From there, it is up to the student to claim the paper and hand it in again, with their name this time. 

5.  Crate in the Middle 

You know when a student is absent and they come back and go "What did I miss?" This takes care of that!  When I hand out something in class, I immediately put it in the corresponding file folder.  My advanced math has its own section and the other class periods have their own section.  I made a file folder for each day of the week.  The new papers I put in standing up and the old papers are then turned sideways into the file folder.  This part of the control center is the hardest for me to remember to everyday but it makes my life SO much easier!

Of course there are some math cartoons that are funny and spruce it up a little bit.  What does your control center look like?  I would love to hear more ideas/suggestions!

Katie