Random Notes on a Roster

Been a long time since I have blogged....sigh...Facebook has taken over my internet life!

School starts on Tuesday. Right now I should be setting up my classroom. Instead, I am studying my class roster. I can learn a great many things from this simple list. I classify the notes into good news, possibly challenging news and "hmm". Here are some of those things:

Good news:
1) I have 20 students. This is great because i will start out with a full class. If I am lucky, I will keep the same 20 throughout the year.

2) 9 girls, 11 boys. Pretty even.

3) 18 out of my 20 are 7 or 8 yrs old. WOO HOO! 2 are still 6. What a difference it makes to have kids start second grade at 7 yrs. I am already exhaling. YES!

4) Only one of my students has a "behavior record."

5) 4 of my new students are siblings of former students. I think I have held them all as babies when they were born. How many teachers can say that about their students? How cool is that? I love working at a school for a long period of time. You get to know the familes, form relationships with them and watch the children grow and flourish. Very, very rewarding!

Possible Challenges:
1) 13 English Learners. 7 of those at the intermediate level, 4 at beginning or early intermediate and one ad early advanced. a little bit of a spread but for the most part close together in english proficiency. This year i have 7 English Only kids. This is the largest group I have ever had. They are the biggest challenge. Despite the fact that they are labeled English Only, you can never assume that they are truly proficient in English. These kids are usually the ones who are low readers or are really English Learners but their parents have not identified them as such, so legally, they don't get the specialized services.

2) One student has a chronic lice problem. Aside from the health issues, lice problems = attendance problems. I will have to handle that right away. Educate the parents.

3) One of my students has a behavior record. LOTS of hitting and kicking and toilet flooding. I will have to take care of that one RIGHT AWAY!

Hmmm:
1) I have a Sabina in my class. She will probably be my first and last Sabina ever!

I think this will be a good year. Three cheers for the 2009/2010 school year!

It's Never Too Late To Learn

Did you catch the story in the news today about the 70 year old first grader. That story made my day. I am sharing this story and the video clip with my students tomorrow.

Here is the video and here is the story.

ChalkDust

Dree's most recent post has been haunting me. I don't currently have a studnet like the one she wrote about but I have had them in the past. Many non-teachers just really don't know what we go through. MORE BIG HUGS DREE!!!

Classroom Brr!

This morning I walked in my classroom and started my morning routine. (Turn on the lights, turn on the computer and check the lesson plans. I turned the light switch on and then I pushedd the start button on the computer. It was about then that I realized that it was FREEZING cold in my room. I went straight over to the wall unit to see what was going on. The unit was not working. Then I looked realized that my lights and computer were not on. Apparently, someone thought it would be really funny to turn off the power to my classroom. I teach in a portable and due to fire safety regulations, there must be an accessible, unlocked switch to turn all power off in the classroom on the outside. This means that anyone can turn off the power to my room at any time! Anyway, my neighbor teacher restored my power but was unable to restore the heat to my room. The heating unit was off for so long that it froze. It was 30 degrees in the room!!!!!

The principal moved us to a nearby, vacant room. We were in the vacant room for 2 and a half hours. That was no fun because the heater in that room worked but not very well. It was also no fun to have to go back and forth for materials all morning long.

After morning recess we came back to our room. It was nice to be back "home" but I still haven't warmed up yet. I can't wait to get home and take a scalding hot bath. I am frozen down to my bones!!!!!!!