Warning: This is a long one :)
Wow…like always, time flew! It seems like we just celebrated a new year, and in just a few days we're doing it all over again.
The past several months I've experienced busy like never before. My last post was a little over a month ago, when I was counting down to graduation. Since that post, A LOT has happened. I completed my Teacher Work Sample, completed my Capstone, presented my Capstone, interviewed a few times, said goodbye to my amazing CT and our sweet 2nd graders, graduated, and was hired on as a 3rd grade teacher! Talk about whirl-wind, mostly because all of this seemed to happen within days of each other! Oh and between all of that there was Thanksgiving, my mom's birthday and Christmas.
All I can say is that being busy has lead me to great opportunities. Let's rewind. My Teacher Work Sample: That was a 7 week unit on habitats that I planned for the second grade team. I had to complete a write up of our school and classroom demographics, several formal lesson plans, assessments, and data analysis, all while teaching the unit in my classroom. As mentioned previously, there was always little time for science, but I did enjoy exposing the kids to the topics in a new way! The completion of this project was my first check on the to-do list before graduation. What a great feeling to finish that and what a great experience to plan a formal unit with in-depth data analysis.
After completing the TWS I was able to focus on my Capstone. For those of you that don't know what a Capstone is, it's just another fancy word for a final project that demonstrates application of everything we have learned in our program. We had the option of four different project types, I chose another formal unit plan because to me that is something I'll reference in the future. I did a literature review on the use of Backwards Design for unit planning, and used that method while planning a six week weather unit. I now have 20-something formal lessons having to do with weather, and some cute project examples to go with it. We had to present our project on a board with our peers, supervisors and family members as our audience. It was a casual conversation with everyone as they roamed around, so that took away some pressure. I was proud to showcase all of my hard work and the creative bug that lurks in my bones. After the Capstone presentation, I was officially DONE with school and just awaited our graduation ceremony.
While all of this was happening, I was putting my feelers out for potential jobs. Since I graduated mid-school year, I planned on finding a long term sub position, a para/assistant position, or figured I'd simply substitute through spring until I was hired on for the following school year. I interviewed at a charter school for a para position and was kindly decline for the position, but asked to apply again later in the coming year when they began interviewing for teaching positions. I think that was the doing of a greater power because even though I would have loved to work with kids in any fashion, teaching is what I REALLY wanted.
Shortly after getting this news that I wasn't offered a job, the principal where I did my student teaching emailed me letting me know she sent out my contact information to several schools that were on the hunt for teachers. Almost immediately I received phone calls from secretaries wanting to set up interviews. I scheduled an interview for a 1st grade position the Friday before my graduation. About an hour after my interview I got a call from the school saying they loved meeting with me and they thought I'd be a great candidate for a 3rd grade position they had opening up. So, I scheduled another interview with them the Tuesday after graduation. I walked out of that interview with some major pep in my step, feeling like it went incredibly. I was planning on hearing from them by the end of the night, knowing they had other candidates to interview. About 10 minutes later, while I was still on my drive home, I received a call from the principal saying they loved me and wanted me to come in to do a "read aloud with a purpose" and a Q&A with the students and any parents that wanted to be there. Talk about nerve racking! My CT dug through her books for me and helped me pick out a good read aloud, she went over some key ideas she felt I should bring up with the kids, and she allowed me to practice on our second graders. Let's just say, SHE IS THE BEST. For more than that, but having her support during such an intimidating time was absolutely needed. I went in to meet this class on the day before winter break. This meant I had to leave the second graders in the middle of an emotional day (for me, because I've fallen in love with them), hurry over to the school for this extremely scary moment, and then rush back to be apart of the winter party. Like I said, this was the day before winter break…anyone that knows kids knows that this means excitement is high in anticipation for a break from school, all of the parties and goodies going around, and the holidays nearing. I wasn't sure what I was in for and my heart was beating out of my chest. I sat in my car for about 10 minutes before going in and focused on my breathing. I felt silly and hoped no one was eyeing me from afar, but it calmed me down and I finally jumped out and walked in with as much confidence as I could muster up. When I got inside, there was no lag time…I was escorted immediately into the classroom and was greeted by about 24 clapping 3rd graders and about six skeptical parents. I heard a student say, "Is she a teenager?!" and that was my opportunity to show everyone my personality by laughing and making a joke about how young I look. The assistant principal and one of the other 3rd grade teachers were apart of the audience as well. I went in with tunnel vision and just focused on the kiddos in front of me and did what I had so much practice doing the past 4 months. Kids are kids, they just need to feel loved, understood, and they need to be engaged. With that combination, they're easily wrangled! I felt like the students were so captivated by this book, and were so eager to learn from me. Once I finished reading, I took questions. The kids focused on asking about things that would stay the same. I had to reassure them that I would do all that I can to keep their classroom feeling like home, and that we would work together as a group to form our own "classroom traditions" throughout the remainder of the year. It seemed as though everything went wonderfully, and as I walked out of the school with the 3rd grade teacher that was observing, she kindly informed me that I "nailed it" and that everyone loved me.
Finally, I could breath!
I hurried back to my 2nd graders and Annie (my CT), because I so badly wanted those last few hours with them. It was hard to focus on everything going on but I did manage to cherish that time and realized how much I had fallen in love with those precious souls. I was watching the clock, thinking about when they might be making a decision. About an hour after I left my "teaching interview," I looked at my phone and noticed I missed a call from the principal at the new school by seconds. I ran up to the teacher lounge and called back. The principal and assistant principal got on speaker phone and happily announced that everyone loved me and they wanted to offer me the position. I can't even explain the emotions I was feeling in that moment. The years of hard work between my undergraduate degree and graduate degree, the hours of unpaid student teaching, and the stress of completing final projects all while job hunting, had come to this…just 4 days after graduation!
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| Opening presents from the 2nd graders |
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| How cute is this?! |
I am proud to call myself a 3rd grade teacher starting on January 5th.
Many people roll their eyes at such an underpaid position (some even say we have an easy job because we just play with kids all day….if that's you, you better watch it!! Hah), but then there are those that realize that teachers are absolutely not in it for the money, but rather the little lives they will have the opportunity to contribute to. I am PROUD to call myself an underpaid teacher, and I will work my butt off so these kids get the love and education they deserve!
Now, this is an interesting situation. I'm not going in for a long term subbing position, this class is completely MINE for the remainder of the year. The teacher I am replacing was offered a position in the district doing something she has wanted to do for years. She had to take the opportunity when it was presented to her, and because of this, I now am a full time teacher! The excitement and stress right now is HUGE. I have a classroom to move in to, and lessons to plan! The walls are bare and though I'm extremely excited to fill them up with collaborative creativity between me and my students, I'm having trouble visualizing how I'm going to get everything organized in time.
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| This is my classroom, soon it will be revamped with Fanelli style ;-) |
I've already received so many welcoming hugs and encouraging words from the teachers and staff at my new school. The teacher that I'm replacing has been incredible with her support, too! I've decided to do my very best to not go nuts with what needs to be accomplished before the 5th, and I've realized that I truly need to take one day at a time. Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are beginning to die down, I can devote my time to my classroom starting Monday.
Rewind again: Before I found out about my new job, I celebrated my graduation with some of the most important people in my life. I had a group of about 14 people including my family and a few close friends come cheer me on as I was one of the few masters graduates to walk the stage. That means that they were gracious enough to sit for another hour or so while a couple thousand other graduates followed.
**THANK YOU GUYS, I KNOW THAT WAS LONG!!**
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| Trying not to trip. |
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| My brother, Dominic. |
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| Mom, Dad, Gramma & Nana. |
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| My love Nick, and his mom Carol. |
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| Look, It's JESSICA!! |
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| The Clevelands. |
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| Wahoo! |
Following the ceremony, we all gathered for drinks and later an amazing dinner. The time spent with them, and the love and support from everyone was unlike anything I've felt before. Let's just say, there were a lot of tears shed.
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| Nora |
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| High school and College friends forever! |
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| I love them. |
One of the best moments was receiving a gift from my parents that took so much time, effort, and love, to compile. They contact a number of family members and friends from all chapters of my life and asked them to contribute wise words, words of encouragement, memories, etc. that would later be compiled with pictures and published for me. This book turned out amazing and the words on those pages were priceless. Every page made me cry, smile, laugh, and feel so overwhelmingly loved and supported.
**TO THOSE OF YOU THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT BOOK, AND WHO HAVE LOVED AND SUPPORTED ME ALONG MY JOURNEY, THANK YOU!**
There is nothing more valuable than a support system that sticks by and cheers you on through any ups and downs life has to offer. I have one gosh-darn-incredible support team that I know will be with me through every chapter of life!
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| The Book. Simply AMAZING. |
I think I better wind this post down. There will be many more posts to come, especially as I start my new chapter as a 3rd grade teacher…Let the fun begin!
~Alex~
~Alex~
