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First Week of School – Reflections and Student Stories

The first week of school of any teachers life can always be daunting as well as the students. It’s important to kick the start of the school year off on a positive note!

First Week of School – Reflections and Student Stories

There is always more on the “To-Do” list than on the “Done” list while the “To-Do” list continues to get longer as the week goes on.

This week, I have really focused on getting to know my students as well as spending time teaching them some of the review concepts for the beginning of the year. My newspaper classes are already writing their first article after interviewing a classmate to introduce all of the staff members this year. I am excited about where my classes are headed this year.

Time has definitely been of the essence but we will get on that. I know they can do what I expect and giving them a “Magic Time” has helped. “Magic Time” is simply instead of me saying you have X # of minutes to complete something, I tell them what time it is now and then what time they must be done by. This has allowed them to self-monitor if they are using their time correctly. I move on after that and they have to catch up on their own time (tutorials). This has kept me on track as well as many of the students.

One of my favorite Student Stories

Yesterday at the end of one of my newspaper classes the following conversation occurred…

Student: “Is Newspaper almost over?”
Me: “Yes, you have about 4 minutes so you need to start wrapping up and tidying up your table area.”
Student: “But, I don’t want class to be over.”
Me: “Why is that?”
Student” “Because I like it here and you make writing fun.”

This definitely put a smile on my face and made my day. I’m not saying it’s all been roses because it sure hasn’t. I’m learning that with my new responsibilities, there is quite the learning curve. My students are all over the board when it comes to math skills from down to third grade to on grade level (7th). This definitely is keeping me on my toes to always make sure I am prepared to meet their needs as well as teach the material at hand.

I love my job and wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Don’t let the first week of school stress you out! Think about everything that awaits you during the upcoming year and get excited about all the possibilities!

After a long summer, the students are excited and you’re excited as well. It’s the perfect time to kick off the new school year running at full speed!

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