School update.

School is so much better.

Thank goodness. I honestly don't know if I could have lasted with how it was in the beginning. It was rough.

But we finally had a big meeting to figure out what the heck we are supposed to teach.

The kids are learning my routines and we are getting used to each other. I'm getting to know my admin better and am starting to understand where they are coming from.

I am still working a LOT (more than I did in FCPS) because though we know what to teach, we are not given anything to teach it with, so I have to plan and prep for 7 very different classes a day from scratch, every day.

And, because it's a low performing school, the superintendent is there pretty much every week to check in and watch. It's a totally normal and frequent occurrence for my 3 principals and the superintendent (in a 3 piece suit) to walk into my classroom (and everyone else's) and sit in the back and watch for 15 minutes.  A month ago, this idea gave me anxiety starting on Sundays and causing me to wake up in the middle of the night. But now that I am in my groove and more confident with my lessons, I just try to ignore them and their suits.

It is still absurdly hard to get supplies. It's become laughable, because the principal tells us to buy all of these expensive ESL materials, but then it literally takes me 2 weeks, 23 emails, and 6 loud sighs from the office staff to get a piece of poster board. Whatever.

I know it's cliche and that I've said it before, but I really am learning so much and growing as a teacher. They teach ESL completely differently here, I think more like the rest of the world teaches it. I am becoming a better teacher, and seeing how schools work outside of FCPS.

But the kids are of course the best part, and I love them, so let's meet them...

Kindergarten.

First grade.

Second grade.

(I told them to smile the biggest smile in the whole world. A+ in the front right.)

Third grade.

Not pictured: Fourth grade. Tough crew. Forgot to get out the camera while making sure no one was skipping my class (no joke).

I also do two reading intervention groups each day, for kids reading significantly below grade level. Here is fourth grade.

And you must meet Alex.

Alex is deaf and wears a cochlear implant. He doesn't speak another language, but he's in my 3rd grade ELD class because he needs work on his oral language. Every day, I wear a transmitter with a microphone, that only sends my voice into his receiver, not out to the rest of the class. 

He is so. funny. and warms my heart so much every day. He's a spitfire and wouldn't smile for me because he was "too tired," even though he had just been running around the room during our warm-up.

And to show you that I am in fact meeting friends at work, here is a picture of me and my favorite co-worker, Sarah, at the farmers market.