A Brand New Start ~ Aug 2009

This post has been a long time coming. It's not really going to cover all of the August goings-on but will highlight the big ones!

Last Spring, while long term subbing in Elmbrook, I started to devour every post on the WECAN website. This website is a resource for educators looking for Wisconsin jobs. Lo and behold, there was an opening in the Pewaukee School District. For some reason, I was enamored with this district long before I knew anyone who worked in it or attended the school. The location was prime, the campus was manicured, and the community was growing.

So, I applied. One of the parts I respect about this district is the time they spend interviewing candidates. They don't kid around. First, there was a screening process, completed online. Then it was Round Two. Not only did I have a standard interview, I also taught a lesson to a class of 6th graders. This is part of the interview was more comfortable than the answering of questions. I would much rather show you how I work with students than tell you.

I had a few minor glitches throughout the teaching portion but relied on my humor to help me. My experience long-term subbing helped me have a "go-with-the-flow" attitude. I have learned quickly that things will never go EXACTLY how you planned. After the lesson, I met with a group of the staff for another interview and reflection on my lesson. Within a few days, I had received a call that I was on to Round 3!

Yippee! Round 3 was another interview with the Superintendent, my principal, and the HR director. It went swimmingly and I was offered a job in 5th grade, as a spot had opened up. I can't even explain how excited I was. My heart was beating a fancy tune as I called family and friends to share the news. To make it even more exciting, my friend, Dria, whom I've known for over 20 years works in the same district! Who knew we would end up working together so many years later.

I was eager to get started on everything but had no idea where to start. The first order of business, toward the end of August was getting into my room. What a feeling to walk down the hallway and come across this:



It's for real! Yippee! My name on a nameplate. It doesn't seem exciting, but deep down you know you would do a little dance too.

Here are a few pictures of my classroom in the very beginning stages. By the end of the year, the walls were filled with pictures from students, showcased work, posters about Colonialism, all sorts of fun things!

To celebrate this newfound employment, a group of my favorite gals conspired with my mom to throw a surprise party. It was a wonderful evening with friends and family celebrating my new title as 5th Grade Teacher! They showered me with many gifts to start up my classroom and believe me, I USED them! To top it all off, that evening my childhood-friend-soon-to-be-coworker went into the hospital and her son, Ryder! It was an eventful night for all!

Nina Bean helped with the surprise!

Max quickly became the entertainment

Lil Max chilling with Aunt Kelly and his mom.

Tara and Lisa chatting it up in the sunroom

Taking it all in...while texting

Stay tuned for some more...

Summer

I recognize I've been a very bad blogger and to be honest I don't feel majorly guilty. I don't know that anyone's day was truly changed due to the absence of my blogging. With my first year of teaching under my belt, I am now using this summer to be selfish and lazy. Oh yes, you heard correctly. SELFISH and LAZY. In caps even.

This is the first summer in probably about 17 years that I have had off from work. During high school and college summers, I usually worked full-time jobs. There were even some that I doubled up and added either another part-time job or some classes onto that schedule. I am finally at a point where I really felt like I deserved some major down time.

At first, I struggled with it a bit. I was getting antsy and worried that people around me would think I am just lazy and my time off was undeserved. I mean, come on...what other profession has this much time off? However, in no time, I was getting comfortable with sleeping beyond the crack of dawn, staying in my pjs well into the day, reading, or watching DVR'd mindless TV. I love me some Bravo!

I will say, in my opinion, being a teacher requires more or different things than many 9-5 jobs. I knew this stepping into this profession and still fully embrace it. However, it plays a part in being so tired during the year. My 8:30-3:30 day was filled with teaching, learning, planning, laughing, discussing, prepping, and counseling. Add in meetings, planning time, work at home, late nights of grading and reporting, conferences, and a ton of other things outside of the typical work day. It's a lot. I know that a lot of other people take work home or do things outside of their day...but at times, my almost-workaholic father even commented that my schedule was ridiculously intense. And perhaps I spent more time on things than necessary; yet, as a first year teacher, I really wanted to be on top of things to make the following years easier.

I will say this...I didn't have any official nervous breakdowns. Now, that's not to say that it was easy, breezy, and beautiful (thanks, Cover Girl!). There were definitely some moments I'm not super proud of, some tears at recess that could have been avoided (read: being overtired and spending a day with 27 kiddos making santas from bleach bottles, yarn, felt, pipe cleaners that rip open your fingertips, glue guns that burn those already tender fingertips, and some exhausted Christmas spirit pushing a smile across your face), and times at which I made things harder than necessary. But that's me!

Anyhow, a lot of great things have happened this year! So, I'm going to blog from hindsight...trying to cover the major changes...in order to make this manageable, I'm going to split it up by months...or combine some if not much happened...

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer days and evenings!

Snapping Green