Classroom Library

As many of you know, I have taken over a 6th grade Language Arts class for the remainder of the school year, and I have also accepted this position for the upcoming school year. I have been going through the contents of the room over the past week or so and trying to get it organized in a way that I like. I have posted this picture before, but this is what the library area looked like in my room. 

You can see all of the books are just stuffed on the shelves, and I knew that I wanted to make it more accessible for the kids. I knew I wanted baskets and labels and that is exactly what I did. 

I love how it turned out and the kids have been so excited about it too! They actually helped me label the tubs and all of the books with my stickers. 

The only problem now is when I run out of room. At the rate I order from Scholastic, it might be sooner rather than later.:) 

I have also decided that I want to have a theme in my classroom for this coming school year after talking to several of my current students about it. I have some ideas for my vocabulary wall (Hollyword Wall), News and Sports Schedules (Lights, Camera, Action!), where students will pick up their returned papers (Fan Mail), but what could the reading area be? I am stumped right now as to what I want it to be called.

Next School Year

Yes, I am crazy and am already thinking about next school year. I have been moving things around in my classroom, transforming my library (pictures this weekend), and getting things ready for the beginning of the school year. 

I am so excited for it to really feel like my classroom with my procedures and rules. I really think that is going to make a huge difference with discipline. That is one thing I have somewhat struggled with these past 2 months because it is more difficult to have something visual for the kids to see for their behavior. I would love to have a clip stick or something in my room, but I know 6th graders would not be about that one bit. What I have been thinking about doing is some sort of class behavior chart where they can earn rewards like outside time, a movie, a special treat, etc.

One thing I have been working on is my letter to parents and students at the beginning of the year. What sort of things do you include in your letter? Do you have one for students and another for parents? I already know that I plan on having a weekly update for them to keep the communication lines open, but what other things for communication do you suggest?

Our principal also asked me to be on a Grading Policy Committee that she just formed so that we can streamline some on the campus because grading policies are everywhere. What is yours like? What about your late work policy and retesting? If you do not mind sharing, I would love to see what you do. You can email me at k.e.klohn@gmail.com

Only 7.5 more days with students!!!

13 days

That is all that remains in this school year. It is hard to believe that it is almost over. The past 2 months have flown by! 

I have been amazed at how done my kids have been. It is like pulling teeth to get them to do something in class for me. The other teachers have been telling me that this group of 6th graders we have right now is the most difficult one they have had in years and they are like that in every class. It is hard though when some of the other teachers always seem to be showing movies, and I am actually still attempting to get some instruction done. It is just so great when the kids walk into my classroom asking if we are watching a movie today! I think I am going to start a writing project with them in the middle of the week...any suggestions on a fun topic or writing idea?

This past week I also completely redid my library in my room, and I love how it turned out! The kids are already so much more excited about it and they cannot wait for my Scholastic order to come in on Monday. I promise to take pictures once I get the last of the bins finished this week and then share them with you all. 

This week I found out what I am going to be teaching this coming school year. I am going to have 2 Pre AP classes and 1 regular class just like I have this year. I really have enjoyed the Pre AP kids, but it is nice to have a regular class too to help me differentiate my instruction for the higher kids. This also means though that I am going to have to take a 30 hour GT class this summer. Luckily, I am going to be able to do this online and will not have to travel to a workshop for a week.

The joys of being a first year teacher I have discovered also includes getting many duties put on you that others do not want to do. I am officially the assistant cheer/spirit squad sponsor for this coming school year. I am actually excited about it because I think that it will be lots of fun, but I am not looking forward to the mama drama which I know will happen. Matter of fact, I have one of the cheerleaders in my class right now and she is a little bit of a bully. There has been a problem that has now escalated into me having to write an office referral for her and she could potentially lose her spot on the squad. Hopefully this will really enlighten her and her behavior will change. 

I will be back this coming week with some pictures and sharing a novel study with you all for Tuck Everlasting.

Official

I signed my 1 year probationary contract today during my conference so I am now an official employee off the school district! 

Now that I know I am official, I have been on a cleaning streak in my classroom. There was so much stuff left in there from the previous teacher that just needed to be chunked. She also left a ton of books too, but so many of them were in bad shape. I also placed my first Scholastic order on Monday and got some exciting chapter books for my 6th graders to read. I hope they are as excited about them as I was picking them out! I am also thinking about organizing my library by genres and authors and putting books in baskets with labels. I know this is normally done in elementary classrooms, but would it be okay to do at the middle school level too?

I've also been stalking some catalogs looking for the perfect mailbox system that I want to use to hand back papers. Do you have one in your classroom? Where did you find it? 

I got a job!!!

If you follow my personal blog, you already knew this because I could not hold it in any longer! As of about 11:30am today, I am officially the newest employee of Fredericksburg Independent School District as a 6th grade Language Arts teacher.

 I sort of had a hunch that after I did not get the 3rd grade job that I would have a pretty decent shot of getting this 6th grade job. Yesterday Ms. Principal told me that she needed to talk to me sometime today so I figured I would find something out. During my conference I headed over to Central Office to vote in our school election for a bond that we are hoping passes. When I got there, the sub coordinator was talking to the secretary and I overheard her say that she was pretty sure they had just offered a job to me. I was a little surprised to hear this since I had not talked to the principal or anything yet. I get back to the middle school and go wait in the library for our teacher appreciation lunch that the PTO was putting on. I am just finishing up my lunch when the receptionist from the office comes to find me and tells me that Ms. Principal needs to talk to me. Of course I got all nervous and everything, but I headed to her office. I walk in and I see both of our counselors sitting there and she told me to close the door. I took the open seat at her table, and she informs me right away that she would love for me to continue teaching Language Arts for the 2011-2012 school year! I of course told her yes! I did not even have to have an interview or anything, but it does help that she knows exactly what she is getting. 

This afternoon I went over to Central Office to get some paperwork started, and then after approval by the school board Monday night, I can sign my contract Tuesday sometime. It is so surreal, but I am so excited. I already know that this summer I am going to have to go through a 30 hour GT training in either SA or Austin. Have any of you all ever done this? 

I promise to share more as it unfolds!

Sea World in Pictures

Sea World was great. Just wanted to share some pictures with you all.

Friday, Field Trip, and Field Day

I have a super busy week ahead of me and it all started with an interview for a 3rd grade position today. I thought that it went great and I wouldn't have changed anything about it. I was so excited too when Mr. Principal asked me the questions that he told me I had to get right. He asked me "What is the most important characteristic of a good teacher?" I had a big smile on my face when I sad passion because I knew that is what he wanted to hear. Hopefully I was the only person who gave that answer all day! :) I am going to know by Friday at the latest either way because they want to take the name to the board meeting next Monday. 

Tomorrow is our big 6th grade field trip to Sea World. I am both excited and a little scared about taking 250 kids there for the day. The good news though is that none of the rides are open and we only go to the exhibits and 2 shows. We split the kids into groups of 7 or so and I of course took a group of some of the kids who tend to get in trouble. Hopefully they will be on their best behavior. 

Friday is 6th grade field day which is bound to be crazy. We basically run it like a real track meet and the kids compete in different track events. I think my class might have a shot at winning it all, but we will see. It is supposed to be back in the 90's by then so the afternoon might be miserable. 

So many exciting things happening this week in the life of a 6th grade teacher!