This was the first weekend that was not overtaken by school work this year. Thanks to a number of religious and national holidays, there's been extra time to catch up on planning, preparation, reading and research as I plan for students' learning experiences and collegial professional development events. In a sense the important work is in the cue ready for meeting and delivery ahead that include a re-look at RTI, evaluation and promotion of our environmental science efforts, a potential deepening of the math education program, and lots of engaging, standards-based teaching with students.
As I work this year, organization is a big theme--to better organize the countless supplies in my STEAM classroom is important as the more children and teachers can access the right tools and resources to guide and support their learning, the better their learning will be. Also, when space is used well in a classroom, it frees everyone up to do their work better. Another theme, as I wrote about last week, is relationship building. Those relationships demand a positive routine at school, and I think we've finally created that at our grade-level. Making a good routine takes time at the start of the year because we're coordinating services amongst many professional staff and students' interests and needs. With a good sense of whom the children are and what they need now as well as our abilities, time, and focus as a collegial group, we're read to get this machine we call school in full gear.
When we return to school on Tuesday, I'll make some time to meet with students too to make sure they have time to voice their needs, wants, and desires. I stop to listen to them as a team now and then to make sure the teaching/learning is well directed and supportive for them. I'll focus in on the main aspects of the teaching year including planning and preparing for learning experiences, responding to and recording students' learning efforts, developing my professional expertise and abilities, and contributing, as I can, to the school community. Onward.
