Yay to not having to teach math! That is my least favorite subject and consequently, I really dislike teaching it. Having the extra hands to set-up will really be a blessing! There has been so much to do in my room that I have brought someone with me both days so far. I was planning on going myself the rest of the week, but I think I can really benefit from having help so I may bring someone again. Climbing to the top floor is NO JOKE!!! I am on the 4th floor of my school and we have no elevator. I cannot even begin to describe the soreness in my legs lol. All for a good cause but yesterday was really a killer with having to make so many trips up and down between the car and the classroom. Good Luck Yes, I got that email today too. I am a little confused by it: my Initial Cert expires in 2016, but since this will only be first year of full time teaching, I am wondering how that will affect me when applying for the Professional Certificate? It says you need 3 years teaching experience (I am assuming this is not to include subbing?). I don't know, I guess I will have to find out next week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Froreal: I haven't heard of anything about tax papers? Where did you hear about this? I guess I will just take care of it next week with my payroll secretary. I'm not sure what to do with all of that, so hopefully she can guide me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I also need to get a class roster. I haven't gotten one yet and need the student names to get some stuff done. A teacher at my school said to log into ARIS and the roster would be there. I didn't even know I could access ARIS yet lol. Well, I can log in but no roster is there (says no access to that information yet). I am hoping the fix is as simple as the P or AP or Secretary entering me into the system so I can get my student info.
Yeah my literacy coach sprung the news on me and after was like is that ok? I'm like um hells yeah! I suck at teaching math, I mean if I had to do it I would but I'm totally ok with no math and just ELA. Subbing does count. Not sure how long you subbed but 540 days is equal to 3 years according to the state. So 1 year would be 180 days. Check with HR How many days you subbed. If anything you can always apply for an extension. Same here 4th floor no elevator. At least if don't think we have one. I could be wrong I haven't been able to tour the whole school yet. I was able to login to ARIS but as our rosters aren't updated through ATS at my school, I have no class list. Once the roster is updated we will be able to see it. Day 2 of my orientation wasn't anything special. Our mentor came to talk to us, (I don't need one) got an intro to TC and doing running records, again didn't need this, I was actually helping other teachers understand it as I've used them all throughout my 7 years teaching. There was a math PD but again, since I'm not doing math I was pulled to talk about TC and how to structure the first few weeks setting up procedures etc. I love having support and being told information but being I'm not brand new, I feel like most of the things I'm being supported on I already know. I really wish my first year had all this support it's definitely a blessing for the first years. We also got told our start time, and a rough outline of how our day is scheduled.
Wow Bunnie. Departmentalization sounds great! I also got that email. Yeah, I looked on ARIS and I didn't see any roster either Re: Tax forms: I know that when I was subbing, I hadn't done any tax papers and I was deducted at a higher rate than I'm supposed to be. I know that when you start a new job, you need to fill out the withholding paperwork. I want to fill out the federal and tax withholding papers and make sure that I get as much money as possible out of my check. I will print out the paperwork and give them to either my payroll secretary or HR (not sure which one yet...leaning toward HR).
Bunnie: I will probably need an extension. While I was a sub from 2011-2014, I only worked like 1-2 days/week and sometimes went 1 month without being called. It really sucked So, in total for the 3 years, I probably worked approx. 100 days. Froreal: Ok, thanks for the info. I will look into the tax papers. Since it's already mid-week and labor day weekend is coming up, I will ask my payroll secretary about it on Sept 2.
So I am in Brooklyn Heights for my new teacher orientation (which was boring). I passed by the DOE...line is out the door just to check in. Figured id check the status of my salary diff...I'll wait 45 mins on the phone comfortably lol I start setting up my classroom tomorrow!
I would pick the phone call too lol. I figured the line at the DOE building would be horrible this week and probably for the next few weeks as the school year starts. Hoping to avoid any trips there. Have fun setting up your room! I will be on Day 3 of classroom set-up tomorrow and cannot wait to get done.
Hello everyone! I have been following this post for a while (and even commented a few times on the old one) but I had two days of professional development already- yesterday was about balanced literacy and today was about math. I started setting up my room but am nowhere near done. Being in my room, I realize how much more I still need. I just bought 4 rolls of bulletin board paper, hoping to cover everything I need tomorrow. (I was surprised that my school didn't have a supply for teachers, but I guess I am just use to LI schools). I still have not received any info from HR. The principal said it was because the budget was still frozen- which worries me since next week is the start of school. When will I have time to go to Brooklyn? Can I even start if Im not in the system? Who knows. Oh and my room has cockroaches. Is this something normal for Manhattan? Should I say anything? It is really disgusting.
Lucky you…I only have Thursday, Friday (which I might not be able to go), and Tuesday (Wednesday I have PD). My cousin is staying over and she's going to help me set up. Maybe it'll be quick enough to get a lot done tomorrow. And I'll do the rest Monday. As long as I get those bulletin boards done, the rest should be a piece of cake. I just wanted to use the computer! And see if they have my transcripts. I'll check after the craze is over, I have 6 months to do this.
An update on my day, well I definitely reached my goal of getting 85% done. All my bulletins boards are covered, my entire library is put out and labelled in the correct bins, and all my furniture is arranged. All I really have left to do is label things and clean the filthy desks. I had left my cleaning supplies at home! The teacher who left the room was sooooo organized! She even left helpful notes for me. I have a workshop tomorrow and then I might go in Friday to finish up the cleaning and labeling, if I get my class list. I have to say that I definitely lucked out having a well organized room and a co teacher to help. There were some rooms that were left a huge disaster!!!! I felt bad for some of those teachers. Some of the returning teachers I met were impressed with my room, the P and AP definitely were. sunshine: I'm so sorry that you don't have enough days. But getting an extension is easy so I wouldn't worry too much about it, just make sure you take the DASA course like 2 months before you apply. Froreal: thanks for the heads up, I'll ask my payroll secretary as well. MissPapa: I envision court street being like the teacher stores this week, overcrowding and just um, crazy! My friend went yesterday first thing in the morning and was in and out quickly to do her i9. Hopefully your room setup gets done fast like you hope! nyteach: welcome to the new thread! I had bought 2 rolls of 48in by 50ft and one smaller roll. I didn't even use half the paper, so I don't have to purchase next year for sure! I. Sorry you haven't been "officially" put in the system yet. I know that's frustrating. Yeah as far as cockroaches. Yup they are there. I met one of the returning teachers as he was trying to kill one!!! Thankfully since my room was super clean I didn't see any in my room. All in all it's been a long day I'm super exhausted. I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight lol.
Hi! I know how you feel with setting up. My room was left pretty messy and cluttered and it is taking me forever to sort through what was left behind and add in my own stuff. I have a lot of boards to cover (hallway: 1; in classroom: 3 door panels, 1 square, 2 others long boards, and 1 GIANT board that goes across my entire back wall). I had bought 3 big rolls of the paper and 4 small rolls. I have just about went through it all so far! Today, I even picked up some solid colored wrapping paper to fill in since I couldn't get to the teacher store to pick up bulletin board paper. Also, my blackboard needs to be covered since it is not used as a writing surface. So, I still need to do that. I hope your situation from HR gets worked out. Have you gotten the welcome email? Ewwww to the bugs! I found a HUGE waterbug in my classroom yesterday and almost stroked lol. I will see what happens (if I see more) and then decide if I am going to say anything. I don't want to complain right off the bat, but those are pretty gross conditions. Same goes for you with the cockroaches! Gross!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MissPapa: Have fun with setting up! I definitely recommend bringing someone to help. There was a lot more to be done that I originally thought and the extra hands helps. I will be on Day 3 tomorrow and am bringing someone again. Hoping to go solo on Friday to finish up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bunnie: Wow, someone had a productive day! I am glad you got so much done. Like you, most of my boards are done. I need to add my headings to them (just got done punching out the letters) and I need to cover my blackboard. I still need to organize and label my library. All of the books are jam-packed into the closets and are in no way orderly. I need to get cracking on that and start some sort of library set up. I'm jealous of your organized room lol. Mine was left so messed up and with things on every single shelf of every single cabinet/closet. I still have not gone through it all. Not to mention, that whatever they covered the cabinet doors with, really messed them up and now I have to cover them all as well in order for them to look decent It's so annoying because it's just extra work that I did not need to do. Oh well, hoping to have a good day tomorrow and make another dent! As for the DASA course, I plan on taking that after the holidays so early next year. My initial cert expires in 2016 so hopefully getting the extension next year won't be a problem. I will look into all of this once I get settled. I feel your pain and tiredness lol. I was out cold last night after working in the room for 2 days. Enjoy the rest...get it while you can!
Hi all Today was Day 3 of classroom set-up for me. It was productive (and I got several compliments on my room so far), but there is still more to be done. So, I will be going in again tomorrow even though I really didn't want to have to. My closets are just such a mess!!! There is nowhere for me to even store my stuff because they are jam-packed. The more I look at them, the more frustrated I get. I semi-sorted through one of them in order to get a start on my library. OMG there are so many books and I don't think they all belong in my room. There are some for reading level A---I am 4th grade! I did finish up my board, minus the one in the hallway. And I was able to get a tentative class roster today too. I never thought it would be taking me this long to set-up lol. I don't mind because I want the job, but it just seems like a lot of what I am doing is un-necessary work for me because the room was left so messy/cluttered. I have brought someone to help me each day so far and really wanted to go in tomorrow by myself, but when I looked at the room before I left today, there is still so much to do. I have to be finished by tomorrow afternoon, so I am thinking that I may have to suck it up and bring help again. It is taking this long with 2 sets of hands, so what can I can get done with just my one? Does that make sense? lol I may be losing it. I am just so tired and my back is killing me today. Anyways, that was my day! How is everyone? MissPapa: you were setting up today right? How did it go? Bunnie and nyteach: Did you both go back in today too?
I did go back today right after my PD at TC. I spent 2 hours in my room finishing up odds and ends and then cleaned EVERY SINGLE DESK. They were FLITHY!!!! Everything in my room is done except labeling of my Bulletin Boards, name plates, daily schedule etc. my board outside isn't done either because they haven't decided who is getting which Bulletin Board. I got so many compliments on my room as people stopped by. I also found out that the teacher before me was a super neat clean freak, which is why my room was in such good shape. I'm totally ok with that because m the same way. So I definitely inherited a good room. I am not going in tomorrow there isn't much for me to do honestly without my schedule and class list. Plus what they actually want up on the boards. I'm going to enjoy my 4 day weekend!!!! Also I received an email from the doe about my salary step application. They said they received my app and will be reviewing in over the next 4-6 weeks. So I hope they credit me some of my previous experience.
I am jealous of your clean and neat room lol Mine is annoying me to no end. I am such a neat freak and am super organized, so it's driving me nuts! I received that email back when I submitted my salary step application too. Don't expect to hear back too soon...mine was submitted a month ago and I still haven't heard. I will give it another 2 weeks (since they said it could take up to 6 weeks), then I will call for an update. I'm glad that you are getting to enjoy the 4 day weekend I am hoping to get to my school super early and bust my butt working on it and doing last minute things. I am hoping to be out of there by noon to get some things done for the weekend. I came to the realization a little while ago that my room does look good and I am proud of it. I also don't have to clear every single thing...I can work on it throughout the first few weeks whenever I get a chance. It will be physically impossible for me to completely finish by tomorrow afternoon.
Oh I know I lucked out and I'm thankful. It's realistic to think that not every little thing will be organized/gone through by tomorrow. And that's ok. I'm sure your room is looking great. Remember nothing is perfect and things could always use an improvement but that doesn't mean you have to fix it right away. Also you'll get more time to work on it either tues or weds. Try and enjoy your weekend, it's gonna be the last one for a while that's going to be sorta relaxing lol. I did pick up some curriculum while I was there today. I'm going to spend some time this weekend diving into it and planning the first 2 days and the week after it. Or at least attempt to. Lol
Good news: My room is more than half-way done! My cousin was a great help! My bulletin boards look stunning! I need to clean also, desks and some shelves are filthy! I was suggested to take a break tomorrow as we are setting up Tuesday (and getting paid for it), and a few hours on Wednesday. Bad news: My salary step application got DENIED!!! Calling them at 9am sharp tomorrow…(I didn't get to call them yesterday and today…) I HOPE this doesn't affect my job…
I don't think it'll affect your job, you just won't jump higher on the scale. So sorry they denied you. How many years experience were you trying credit? Glad your room is progressing nicely. If you think you should take a break tomorrow, go for it!
MissPapa: Wow glad you had such a good day in your room! Sorry about the salary step...I'm sure it will not affect your job placement, just how much you will be making Hope you get it sorted out or at least learn why you were denied. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Bunnie: You are right! I am still going to go in, but I will stay briefly and then enjoy my last long weekend for the foreseeable future. I can leave some cleaning and sorting to do on Tuesday and then do piece-work as I can. Yayy for getting curriculum materials...I have yet to get anything, but am hoping to ask about it tomorrow.
Probably because I included non-educational jobs and student teaching. It was automatically on the application! Not my fault! They better give me an opportunity to fix it…such BS...
Ohhhh, I get it now. Yes that was crazy. I didn't know why that was on there either. Anyway, when they sent me the email to verify the information on the application before final submission, I deleted the student teaching sections. I had 2 on there (1 for undergrad;1 for grad school). I figured since it was unpaid, it didn't count anyway so I don't know why that info was transferred over in the first place. Since I was never employed full time in educational jobs, the only thing I left was my 3 years of subbing.
I hope they can let me reapply right away. I really want to get this done and over with…I gotta hunt down an older computer again…I'm going straight to the library tomorrow if they allow me to reapply. They should straight-up tell me these things…stupid mistakes happen for these reasons...
I completely agree. I feel this whole onboarding process has been so unguided and not informative at all. I'm sure they will let you resubmit the application. Good luck...hope it gets worked out quickly for you
I left my student teaching on there too. They wanted all DOE experience listed! I hope they read mine carefully. I hope they let you reapply. I'm never getting rid of my laptop with IE8 until they update the payroll portal, which at this point doesn't seem to be anytime soon. How long ago did you apply for the salary step before being denied?
I went in today for a couple hours of PD, then stopped by HR (line was ridiculous, but I didn't have to wait since I had my DOE ID). Then I went back to the school and continued working on my room. My room has 1 long/narrow rectangular board outside, 8 (EIGHT!!) closet door panel boards, one dang huge board across my back wall, the black board (that the SMART board sits in the middle of), and a panel across the top of that. There is also another large board by the windows. Talk about overwhelming. It was just me...no help...so it was very tedious. I did get a lot done though. I only have the black board w/panel, and the large board in the back of the room to cover. MissPapa: Sorry to hear about your salary step app. They automatically fill in that info from your new teacher finder application/profile online. There was/is an option to update that automatic info. They had automatically put my info in the wrong categories, so I updated it before submitting it. I hope you can fix this! nyteach89: I hope your situation is sorted out with HR ASAP! Bunnie/sunshine24: I agree about the onboarding process. It's not very intuitive at all. BTW, I asked my payroll secretary for the paperwork, but she forgot to give it to me and I forgot to ask again. I was too busy setting up.
Froreal: That is a lot of boards. I sympathize with the long back wall one; I have one too that covers the entire back wall. And I too had to cover my blackboard. You are right...so tedious. At least you got a lot done and are happy with the progress. My payroll secretary won't be in until Tuesday, so I will ask about the tax papers too. I also want to find out about the medical that she mentioned in case that needs to be done ASAP
^sunshine Good idea to mention the medical information. Re: Setting up...I'm glad they provided us with a starter pack of stuff, paper, and bulletin board materials. If I had to buy that butcher paper on my own...smh...IDK, they might have been bare. I ordered some decor from TPT. I asked my secretary to print it out. :unsure: Hope she can do it. I don't want to spend a fortune at Kinkos.
I am so glad everyone is making progress on their rooms! I made a big dent (bulletin boards covered, furniture arranged) but still need to do little touches (doing this Tuesday). I was at my school today for 7 hours setting up and cleaning- my back, and feet, are killing me!! I need these next few days to recuperate until we officially begin! Still no word from HR- I will email my principal again tomorrow or see if there is someone from HR I can speak to (I can't usually get through without a file number). One of the teachers told me about a grant you can apply for if your a new teacher. She said you could get like $3000 if you are in good standing at the end of the year. Has anyone heard anything about this?
I know about the Teachers of Tomorrow grant, but your school has to be on the list and it changes every year. My school is on the 2013-2014 list.
I will ask her if she knows the name and let you all know! @bunnie- I've never heard of that but will look into it! Hopefully this will be a grant we can all benefit from!
Bunnie: Took about a bit over a week. So APPARENTLY I didn't apply for the salary differential, just the salary step. I will get credited for my subbing, though (1 year…my first year I wasn't working 5 days due to student teaching). So off to the library I go…hopefully the wait isn't long...
Ok so I uploaded pics of my classroom, while it's still in progress, I wanted to share with you guys what I accomplished this week. https://www.flickr.com/photos/21680086@N03/ Hope you enjoy looking!
Btw I just got a call for a job at a charter school I interviewed with back in May. I obviously told them no. They were like oh, I guess we are too late. Um yeah!!!! Felt good to decline them, only because I gave a really good interview and even a more fantastic demo lesson (seriously my best to date in my opinion) where the students clapped for me afterwards. Anyways....just had to share that! Lol
@bunnie- Your classroom looks amazing!!! Our classroom format is almost identical! I will post pictures when I finish Tuesday.
MissPapa: Glad you got things sorted out. I am still waiting to hear back on the salary step application (it's been like a month) and since I just mailed my transcripts this week (although I did complete the salary differential application 2 weeks ago), I am not expecting to hear back for a few weeks. I just hope it goes smoothly. Bunnie: Your room look great! I love the colors and the way you set up the bookcases (semi-circle type thing)...great job! As for the job offer, wow. That was a long time ago lol. I got a job offer the beginning of August for a school that I had interviewed with back in May also. You are right...it felt good to be able to decline. Besides, I am much happier with where I am now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As for my day, I went into my school early and left at noon. I finished some setting up, cleaned the room and some cabinets, and basically tidied everything up. It looks really great and I am so proud of it. I have been getting tons of compliments over the last 2 days! I managed to clean out some shelf space that was left messy and make some room for my supplies and what the kids will be bringing in. I also did my outside bulletin board and door today. Next week, I have some more books to go through to expand the library and some shelves to organize. But I left feeling good today!
Yes that is an AC :woot: which I am more than thankful for!!! It looks pretty new too, so I hope it lasts awhile. I can't wait to see your guys classrooms! One of my coworkers came into my room when I was setting up the first day and suggested placing the bookcases that way. It was very nice of him! I was so glad to decline them! They gave me the line you'll here from us either way if you get the position or not, and I never heard back! Like ummmm Yeahhhh no. Plus they had said back in May, if I was selected they wanted me to spend 1/2 a day in the classroom to see if I could handle it before the final decision. Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm NO!!!! Glad you feel good about the progress you made Sunshine! It's a great feeling. Tomorrow I have to brave going to the teacher store again :| if Staples doesn't have what I need. There's one by me in Queens I have yet to check out this "season" I REALLY hope it's not a mad house. As a matter of fact I'm going to try my best to get there when it opens to avoid a crowd. I'm only picking up 1 thing!!! I say 1 thing and I know I'll leave with like 5!!! :lol: I also need to go shoe shopping. I threw away all my flats as they were gross as can be. I'm hoping to hit a good sale somewhere for Labor Day. :thumb:
Yayyy for the A/C...I have one too and am so glad. I find the room to be hot even with it on, so I can't imagine going without it. I brought in 2 fans as well. I think that I have everything that I need to get started, so I am going to try to avoid buying anything else. I hope you get in and out of the teacher store quickly...it may not be too bad early with it being Labor Day weekend. I was in Target yesterday...omg there were people everywhere doing back to school shopping! I hear you on the shoes. I have such a problem finding comfortable shoes, especially flats that will not give me a blister. I may stick with some of my summer shoes for the next few weeks, but will definitely need some transitional flats until we get to boot weather. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick question for everyone: What are you planning to wear on Tuesday and Wednesday? I know we will probably be doing running around and it's gonna be hot, so I don't want to get "dressed up" like for the actual 1st day of school, but I don't want to look too sloppy either.
Yeah my windows face north so the sun prevents my room from truly getting as cold as it could so it's still a bit warm, but not styfulling hot. I'm dressing comfortable. Since we will be sitting in PDs and still working in our rooms. No dressing up for me until kids come in. I'll probably wear capris and a plain shirt. Maybe jeans if the weather is cooler.
The teacher store was practically empty! And I got what I needed, of course I didn't get just 1 thing. Never is just one thing. Lol I heard Lakeshore was an hour deep to wait on line. Yeaaaah I can't deal with that! Shoe shopping went well too. Payless had some great sales and coupons. $45 for 4 pairs of flats. I'm a happy camper. Also went to kohls and got 30% off stuff. I was a shopping machine today. I'm tapped out though. Lol no more shopping until boot season rolls around! Now I gotta spend the rest of my time lesson planning and such this weekend, with a little fun planned for tonight and tomorrow. Because who knows when fun will roll around again for the weekend. Lol:lol:
