So it's getting down to the wire for me... I can't get the keys to my classroom until August 8th, which gives me a Thursday and Friday to work in my room. Then I have PD from August 12-15, then I can work in my room August 16th and find out who will be in my class on that same Friday. Then the kids show up on the 19th. I'm a little worried about being unprepared for the 19th. In my previous district I had more time to prepare my room, look over cums, look over textbooks/materials, and plan. The pacing guides were prepared for the 12-13 year teachers so I am assuming that I will get a premade pacing guide for this year- although I am not too sure because the district is sort've using the CA content standards AND the CCSS... IDK why! Ugh. I am feeling very lost. I know for sure on August 8th my fiance and I will be putting up the bulletin paper and border. That's all I know about right now. If you have a certain routine that you use prior to the kids' first day, please share it with me. :help:
I'm also freaking out about the fact that I may not be able to look over IEP's (If I have any?) before the first day of school. I feel like I am going to be so unprepared.
Don't worry - we've been told we have a mandatory pacing guide, but it hasn't been supplied yet. I report on August 8th, and the kids report on the 12th. I have already been in my room, despite the fact that I cannot get my key until the 8th - can't you? I need to print & copy my "Back to School" packets. I need to finish setting up my room. I need to finish painting in my room. I need to get my classroom and PD libraries organized. I need to get some sort of plans done!
I have one required teacher work day before kids arrive. Other than that, our union has asked that teachers not go in during summer non-contracted time due to an impasse in negotiations. I'll send kids my welcome letter before school, but thats about it.
The office staff, including the Secretary in charge of classroom keys, will not be back until the 8th.
Ouch, that sounds tough. I don't know if unions have anything to do with office staff starting later and us not getting keys to our class during the summer but... it's kind of frustrating. :|
I just nicely ask the custodian to open mine for me. It helps that I have given him brownies in the past... hmmm, I need to get baking!
Our office staff has some contracted summer hours. There are custodians at school every day...they'll let teachers in if rooms are ready. This summer custodians are reminding teachers to not come in.
Yea and I'm sure breaking in isn't an option either. :lol: Well at least you get to enjoy your summer! I know I did... if I hadn't switched districts, I would have had to start PD days this Thursday as the first day back for the kids is Monday! (In my old district)
I had a workshop yesterday...but I signed up for it on my own accord and got an honorarium for going. Mostly I'm enjoying my summer...with new standards, new teacher evaluation protocols and possible job action due to negotiations impasse it's not going to be fun.
Way to go! That's more than I've done on my free time this summer.. Yea, the new standards and assessments are already stressing me out.
Sounds like you may be in for a year like the one we just had here in Ontario, czacza. It was a tough one, but we stood strong and came out standing on the other side. As far as prepping my room--as of yesterday, our new building didn't have windows in it yet; we've been "promised" that we'll have occupancy by August 28th (kids start the day after Labour Day), but we aren't holding our breath. Even if we do have occupancy, the building will be far from "done". At this point, I'm hoping for desks and chairs--anything else may be gravy :lol:.
I often wonder how things would be if we were unionized. There are so many things we do that are questionable to say the least. For instance, we have to do morning duty which starts at 7:30 yet the contract we sign has our time to report to duty at 7:50. We say this among ourself but we don't bring it up for fear of being but in the 'endanger' list of sorts. We like where we are and so we grin and bear it. So along those lines, we(generally speaking) come in before our contract day to set our rooms and see our class list. Once I get my class list I can start setting up rosters for grades, field trips, parent forms, contact info, etc...
If I had to start teaching with my room like it is (all packed up) and nothing prepared, I could do it. What I'd like to do ahead of time is put up my bulletin boards, put some posters on the wall, figure out where to put my student turn in baskets, plan lessons for the first couple of weeks, get my teacher computer hooked up, and get some copies made.
All I need to do is label everything and put up one bulletin board. Everything else is finished. I've worked three days.
I have to print off a bunch of stuff, wipe down my dusty room and rearrange the desks, put everything I had to pack up in the right places, sharpen pencils, prepare desk tags, organize books, put up a hallway display, and prepare items for the Open House we're having the night before the kiddos come back to school. I don't remember what else, but it seems like a lot! I'll be going in one extra day I'm sure.
There are many things we are required to do that wouldn't make a union happy. But our awesome principal makes sure we are compensated off the record. Leave early passes, jeans passes, luncheons, bringing in massage therapists for 8 min massages, etc. We really do have it good which is probably why we don't mind the extra time we have to put in. As far as morning duty goes, we get to leave 30 minutes early on our duty days. And there are many days our P will come on the intercom and tell us we can go home early if we are ready. However, we get to hear from teachers in a surrounding district who are often required to stay past 5:30 for faculty meetings. It makes me appreciate very much where I am.
That's the deal though: unions just want teachers to be fairly compensated. If you're being compensated for your extra work, then it's fair.
WOW! Do you get these massages weekly or biweekly? And is it during your prep time or when students are present? I would love a massage at work but not when students are in the room. That's just awkward to me.
Something very similar happened to me when I was teaching in a public school, and I and many teachers weren't happy about it. As I was a union member then, I worked with the union and administration to put in writing that teachers could voluntarily come in one week before contract hours. Teachers love autonomy and being able to choose when and how to set up their rooms. Many union members weren't too happy with it at first, but when they saw later that it didn't add one minute to anyone's contract, all were happy about it the next year. Now that I am in a private school I love the freedom of being able to go in any time I like to set up my classroom. I haven't been in this summer at all, but some summers it has really helped.
Hmm, I need to #1 arrange the furniture. It's all stacked up on the linoleum since the shampooed the carpets. #2 create a bts bb #3 print out my bts package (rules, policies, procedures) #4 create plan book #5 plan for and make copies for first few days #6 label cubbies, Popsicle sticks, job chart, name tags Good thing I still have 4 weeks!!
Ahhh! I had a nightmare that the kids showed up on the first day and my room was bare! To top it off I had forgotten to make a rules poster and a morning warm up! Plus I had like 50 4th graders!!!! What a nightmare.
I'm starting in a new school; I'm not at all sure what I need to do... My room's being used for summer school until next Wednesday and the teacher who's teaching is also the teacher who's moving out of that room (she's leaving the school), so I don't know waht the room will really look like when I go in next week. Meanwhile, I can work on this stuff from home: Lesson plans for the first week. Learning the smart board (my old school had Promethean boards) Creating, printing, laminating math centers
Usually a few times a year. It tends to be around state testing time, or during teacher appreciation week. He will have someone set up in the conference room and we try to fit it in during our conference time. We sometimes will cover each others rooms to fit it in. Last year he also brought in a lady to paint our nails. He feeds us lunch about once a six weeks and takes groups of teachers out for birthday lunches or perfect attendance drawings. These are little things, but make us feel appreciated. Any good boss knows that keeping morale high will result in your employees working harder. I have to add that he does just as much stuff for the kids. Field trips, fun Fridays in the gym, assemblies. I work in a Title 1 school so for some of the kids this is huge! We have very little turn around. There is a long list of teachers wanting to get on. To get back on topic: 1. I want to rearrange my room. 2. Clean out cabinets. 3. Make sure all copies for the first week are made.
I've had dreams like this! So annoying! I have a to do list a mile long before we go back. As of now our building is not finished, and our start date has been pushed back two weeks until after Labor Day! So I just got a longer summer. It'll be a late school year too, but I try to just think about this end of things. I've been doing stuff at home like reorganizing my library, shopping, and making stuff on the computer (job chart, name plates, etc). I've got a ton to do still, but there's also over a month left of my summer, so there's no rush.
