Year Two!

I really can't express how much better it feels to start the year knowing where stuff is.  Starting over in a new district really forced me to check my experience at the door and feel like a dork most of the time, but things started to click about halfway through first semester and got even better second semester when I was teaching units I already had.

That said, I'm so excited for the new school year!  Today was our first day with students, and I'm confident I have some wonderful people in my classes.

I'm hoping to post more regularly this year as I swim instead of drown!  I was happy with the fact that I attempted a complete overhaul of how I design units, and that worked will with the philosophy of grading & teaching at my school.

Instructional Goals for 2016-2017:
1. Provide students with a unit summary at the beginning of each unit based on curriculum documentation.
2. Flip more lessons, especially reading strategies.
3. Give students structures & guidance to empower them to generate their own vocabulary lists.
4. Send progress reports every other week.
5. Provide students with enough independent practice options to allow for flexible grouping on different tasks.

Additional Professional Goals:
1. Get to know at least 5 new people who don't work in my department and weren't in my new teacher induction cohort.
2. Attend 3+ extra-curricular events (outside of French Club) just to support the kiddoodles.
3. Manage the papers on the desk!