Sunday, September 7, 2014

New School Year!

Dusting off the shelves of this blog for another school year. I'd like to use this more as a personal journal for my schoolteacher life this year so what better way than to talk about all of the changes that are happening!

First off, I switched to fifth grade this year at a new school. I was fortunate enough to get a job back in February, since I knew I'd be moving. I'd heard good things about Derby, and they were the first ones to call me back for interviews. I didn't get the first job I interviewed for in third grade, but I got a call about interviewing for fifth. In fact, I had seen the job posting, but didn't know how comfortable I would be in fifth. I didn't technically apply for it, but when the principal called after seeing my resume, I decided to at least interview, since it seemed like I was getting the "nudge" I needed :)

I interviewed, and they offered me the job the same day. I had been praying that the right job would come along, and since everything fell into place so perfectly, I felt good about it. Now I could enjoy the last few months in third grade, and look forward to something new!

I do have to say, moving was really hard. I loved my teammates, my building, our school community, working with Army kids, etc. etc. The first few days this year were really hard because I kept comparing it to my old experience. In my heart, I knew it wasn't fair, but everything just felt so unfamiliar, I couldn't help it. I knew I needed to give it a chance, and things are getting better. In fact, most days are really great days. Fifth graders are not that much different from third graders in that there are pros and cons. My new colleagues are great, and really patient! So that makes a huge difference!

This year, I am teaching science to each fifth grade class. It's a lot of fun, although I do miss teaching science every day. With our school, I teach twice a week, 45 minutes one day, and 30 the next. However, I'm learning it's a good chunk of time, and it goes by really fast (always a good thing!) I'm also loving not having to teach writing or social studies. 

Hopefully I'll continue to blog here and keep a record of the funnies kids say, and the adventures we'll have this year.