Ok, I'm going to have to come back to this thread though out the year - there is a lot of inspiration here! My goals...I need to revisit this, but for now: 1. I'm teaching a new grade AND several new preps (I just found out I have 6 preps this semester - total freak out!) (It will be fine but gotta give myself tonight to freak out!) So first goal to get through my semester and get to know the material and 2. Get to know and learn how to connect to 9th graders. (my 12th graders have spoiled me!) 3. clear out the clutter from my classroom, my home, and my mind. 4. stay in touch with the love and joy in my home, my classroom, and my mind. 5. Balance and breath!
How do have the willpower to prepare so many meals in advance?! I usually just end up eating out at places like the Nugget and Safeway or get sushi or something healthy on the way home. 30 meals?! That’s scary...
To each their own. Front-loading the prep work this way saves us time, money, and effort in the long run. After one solid afternoon of shopping and food prep, the deep freeze, oven, and crock pot do the remainder of the work for us. And if we do something else for dinner one night, it’s not like the frozen meals will go bad.
My main goal is to enjoy my first year of teaching and be willing to sign again. I have other goals, but that's the biggie!
We do a similar thing, we usually plan for 28 regular meals at the time, and usually 4-5 large meals (in the event we have people over). Sometimes we have to get some fresh ingredients but usually we can pull something out of the freezer. I also freeze cubes of sauce, oils, and things like that which can just be dropped in a pan ready to go. It saves you time and money in the long run.
My goal is to bring joy back to class. It's been a rough couple years where I feel like I analyzed test scores to death and bypassed good relationship building opportunities just to get through objectives/standards. My focus was on pleasing other adults and not children. This year I'm shutting the door and doing what's best for them.
We do meal prep, and it has been great for us. It’s one goal we made and stuck with pretty well. We do big shopping trips every 4 to 6 weeks. I’ll cook large quantities of meat in the crock pot or make large pots of soup, then we freeze smaller portions. We make a list of all the things we can make with what we have on hand, then choose things off the list for the weekly menu. With both of us teaching, it is great to have home-cooked meals without having to do all of the prep in the evenings. With very few restaurant options (maybe 10, including fast food) and two small grocery stores, we have to plan ahead. I’m limited to where I could stop on the way home, and it would be cold by the time DH got home with it. Cooking is easier. We sort of went rogue all summer with both of us being home and off schedule. We made a menu last night, so we are back on our routine now since I went back to work today. DH still has two more weeks off.
I've spent my summer taking an inward journey by practicing meditation daily (and loving the results) so my first goal this year is to implement mindful meditation in my classroom. I'm hoping to structure it into my schedule a couple times a day and make it part of my "reset" area.
I actually envy you. It would be so awesome to have food at the ready and to just grab and go, but I know if I won’t ever actually do it because I’m very lazy when it comes to food preparation. Simply amazing and I had no idea people did this!
Y’all are inspiring me to meal prep again! I used to do it on Sundays, but fell off the wagon. Toward the end of the school year, I was picking up Panera Bread almost every school night—simply because I was exhausted and it’s on the way home. @JimG, thank you for sharing the website with recipes.
Starting my 1st year in a little more than 3 weeks. First and foremost, I just want to survive the year...rather cliche, but that's definitely a good starting point, lol. -I'm hopeful that my routines and procedures will be effective and taken seriously by the students. My principal and superintendent stressed that it's important to have these laid out within the first 6 weeks or else I'll be setting myself up for a long year. -Try my absolute best to not bring any work home with me; be an effective planner so that I can have a life outside of work hours. -Not let the bad days discourage me. Hopefully there will be more good days than bad. -Not get too bogged down when, say, 1, 2, or 3 students "don't get it." I know it'll happen, but I have to understand it's not the end of the world and it doesn't mean I am a bad teacher. -I'm really focusing this year on becoming a better differentiated educator. I want to utilize many different methods and styles to help as many of my students as possible. Direct instruction certainly has its time and place, and is very important, but I want to move toward more balance by blending it with student centered approaches as well. I feel this will not only help to improve student engagement, but also take a little pressure off of myself to physically teach bell-to-bell.
Thanks for asking. Things are getting much better. This year has been rough. As for the principal's license, my goal is to be an instructional supervisor and mentor, not a building supervisor.
1. Survive the craziness that is the first month of school. I go back after Labor Day so I still have time to relax. 2. Get tenure. 3. Get more involved in the school community. Last year was my first year at this school. I wanted to get my bearings and learn the inner workings/culture of my school before picking up extra activities. 4. Work after school so I can pay off debts I incurred from moving and traveling this summer as well as building a bigger travel fund. 5. Develop a good working relationship with my grade level team. I'm the only one remaining on my team from last year and 3 teachers will be new to the school, maybe new to teaching! 6. Do more PD's to build my craft in certain areas. 7. Keep my work/life balance in place. 8. Continue to diet and exercise, I started in March and I've lost 30 lbs. I don't want to fall off the wagon completely because the beginning of the year can be a whirlwind!
1) Get through the school year with a positive attitude. I was ready to leave the classroom after last year and was offered an admin position in another district. I turned it down, almost certain I would be offered one in my current district, and didn’t get any of the available positions. Now that I’m back in the classroom for another year, I’m determined to make it a good one. 2) Continue to build leadership skills within my district to stand out as an admin candidate for next year 3) Be a better mama during the school year. Last year I felt like I came home so exhausted that my 2 year old didn’t get the attention he deserved. I need better work-life balance this year.
@Preschool0929, do you think you will apply for another admin position in the future? If you are only offered a position in a different district, then would you accept next time?
1) Enter homework scores same-day, including absent and make-up work. 2) Be done teaching new content for AP Stats by the end of March, leaving over a month to focus on test practice and test-specific review. 3) Select a few students each day to catch on the way into class for a positive, specific conversation about their class progress.
1. Not let the drama get to me. 2. Be purposeful in my choice of materials and resources, being sure that all students are represented and that all voices can be heard. 3. Be the teacher that each one of my students needs this year.
Heads up, I'm going to start another thread on meal prep in the Teacher Time Out section. I've been trying to gather recipes too. Also, this has been a wonderful discussion. So many great goals here.
I'm going to add to mine for a level of accountability: 6) Finish the last steps to at least be eligible for an admin position. I'm mostly finished up, just a couple things left to do. Not sure I actually want an admin position yet, but I at least want to be able to say 'Yup, I can do that'. And of course who knows what the future will hold? But yeah, want to get this finished up this year.
I’ve got simple goals in regards to my health. I want to close the activity rings on my Apple Watch everyday and exercise at least twice a week. Im too inactive, especially on the weekends, I just want to do nothing. I don’t need to lose any weight but the extra activity helps me feel better. When I feel better inside, I’m a better teacher.
I think it’s doable. It’s comparable to the length of my initial list and it’s really not that much to do in one year.
I really rather disagree with telling someone else that their goals are too much. It's their goals so I mean...
Not sure if it was meant to be funny. But they are my goals and I'm definitely focused on all of them so saying I lack focus without knowing me is rather strange and rude.
