Have you ever seen The Wizard of Oz? You know, tornadoes, a flying house, ruby red slippers, yellow brick road, a scarecrow, a tinman, a cowardly lion, flying monkeys, a melting witch, a powerful wizard, and clicking heels? If you haven't seen it, that was a short synopsis! And also, in case you haven't seen it...when Dorothy is in Kansas the movie is in black and white...when she lands in Oz, the movie is in bright, bold colors!
So, for the last four years, I taught in a special ed classroom in a public school. I loved my students and a couple of my co-workers, but for the most part, I was ignored. Sure, teachers would say hi to me in the hallway, but no one ever really stopped by my room to say hey, or anything, really. It was different from other schools that I had been at in other states. Even in the special ed department, aside from the couple of teachers that I talked with, no one really paid me any attention.
I started at my new school this week, working with a couple of students to transition to middle school. My fiance also transferred to the same school as well! We've been up there every morning this week, me to work with the kids and him to set up his classroom. Let me tell you,! I feel like Dorothy landing in Oz! My old school is Kansas...black and white....my new school is like Oz, full of color! I've had pretty much all the teachers around me, stop in and say hi, tell me to let them know if I need anything! Administration has been great, guidance has been great! We went out of lunch yesterday with our younger cousins and two teachers from the school. I told my fiance on the way that this was the first time I was invited out to lunch with general education teachers! I am super excited for the school year this year!
And a quick student story from this week. I was working with a student who has behavioral issues. Yesterday, he trashed my classroom...today, I went in with a different approach. He did not trash my classroom, but he did grab a can of Lysol aerosol spray that was in the bathroom and started to spray it. In the process of trying to grab it from him without getting sprayed in the eyes, I managed to get sprayed all over the rest of my body! A little annoying, but, at least I am germ free going into the school year!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Very long time...no update!
I didn't realize I hadn't updated since October! Obviously, a lot has happened since then...we ended one school year and are getting ready to start another!
I did get my 9th student that I had mentioned in the October post, however, she was not as high needs as people kept saying. She was totally adorable and other than her getting out of the classroom and running across the playground, one shoe on and one shoe off, and the occasional run down the hallway, she was fairly easy to manage!
I came back from Christmas break, engaged! :-) <3 We are getting married in January 2015 and are so excited to start our lives together.
We managed to get through the school year up to May with relative ease. The kids started to get more verbal and demonstrate their abilities more consistently. We made it through alternate assessments as well as can be expected. And then came May...
My district last year started doing IEP's around the time of the kids' birthdays instead of waiting until the end of the year, like my first couple of years. This is supposed to cut down on the amount of meetings and paperwork....it doesn't. And just when you think you are ahead of your ten million deadlines, something else pops up, like another deadline...or...a new student...or the district deciding to move a student to middle school for next year, the day before all of the paperwork is due! And all of this happened this year...I DID get another student...the last week of school...with high medical needs and he needed to be fed by a tube for an hour and we didn't have the right doctor's orders, so mom had to come in and do it...it was a fun last week of school. We had a big end of the year party b/c I had one student moving to middle school, two students moving to a less restrictive program and I am moving to a new school next year...I'm moving up to middle school!
My fiance and I just got home from a vacation to visit family and friends in Ohio! It was a fun trip that included a wedding shower thrown by my maid of honor and one of my bridesmaids! Earlier this summer, we put an offer in on a house that we found and are set to close on August 15. We are super excited about this! Needless to say, we still have to pack and get some things done in the next few weeks. Teachers go back on August 11, however I am transitioning a couple of students back the week before for a couple hours in the morning! Throw in the fact that our wedding is a little over 5 months away! Crazy times ahead! Stay tuned for our fun adventures!
I did get my 9th student that I had mentioned in the October post, however, she was not as high needs as people kept saying. She was totally adorable and other than her getting out of the classroom and running across the playground, one shoe on and one shoe off, and the occasional run down the hallway, she was fairly easy to manage!
I came back from Christmas break, engaged! :-) <3 We are getting married in January 2015 and are so excited to start our lives together.
We managed to get through the school year up to May with relative ease. The kids started to get more verbal and demonstrate their abilities more consistently. We made it through alternate assessments as well as can be expected. And then came May...
My district last year started doing IEP's around the time of the kids' birthdays instead of waiting until the end of the year, like my first couple of years. This is supposed to cut down on the amount of meetings and paperwork....it doesn't. And just when you think you are ahead of your ten million deadlines, something else pops up, like another deadline...or...a new student...or the district deciding to move a student to middle school for next year, the day before all of the paperwork is due! And all of this happened this year...I DID get another student...the last week of school...with high medical needs and he needed to be fed by a tube for an hour and we didn't have the right doctor's orders, so mom had to come in and do it...it was a fun last week of school. We had a big end of the year party b/c I had one student moving to middle school, two students moving to a less restrictive program and I am moving to a new school next year...I'm moving up to middle school!
My fiance and I just got home from a vacation to visit family and friends in Ohio! It was a fun trip that included a wedding shower thrown by my maid of honor and one of my bridesmaids! Earlier this summer, we put an offer in on a house that we found and are set to close on August 15. We are super excited about this! Needless to say, we still have to pack and get some things done in the next few weeks. Teachers go back on August 11, however I am transitioning a couple of students back the week before for a couple hours in the morning! Throw in the fact that our wedding is a little over 5 months away! Crazy times ahead! Stay tuned for our fun adventures!
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