First Week of School

Congratulations to all my fellow teachers, we made it through the first week of school! I know I said in my last post that this was going to be a great year, and I’m going to say it again, I know this will be a fabulous year. I have a wonderful new partner and we are on the same page! Whew! Also, after spending a week with my little hoodlums, actually they are very sweet kids; this year should be better. I know there will be some challenges but I feel that my two classes are a better mixture of students than last year. I don’t mean that my students last year weren’t good kids; what I mean is I feel that more thought went into the grouping of my classes this year than last year. And if you have a mixture of kids who just can’t get along, then you have a recipe for disaster!

So on the first day of school I gave each of my students an assignment to write a paragraph answering questions about me based on their first impression of me. I love this activity because it’s really fun to see what they think of me! Here are some excerpts from my students. I have corrected all grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes, but the responses are from 4^th graders.

Reagan: “I think my teacher is really nice because of her big smile”

Pablo: “I think my teacher is 35 or 37 because of how tall she is”

Bianca: “I think my teacher is 30 because my parents are 35 and they look young too”

Gillian: “I think my teacher’s favorite food is meatloaf with mashed potatoes and extra gravy”

Jake: “My teacher’s favorite food is salad, because she’s skinny”

Trent: “I think my teacher is married because her name has an “S” on the Mr.”

Cameron: “I think my teacher is married because there is a picture of her with some guy”

Joshua: “My teacher’s pet peeves are open closet doors”

Sandy: “My teacher’s pet peeves are kids talking when she is talking”

Itzel: “My teacher likes to shop at walmart because she likes to save money like my mom”

AND MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE RESPONSE OF ALL….

Juan: “I think my teacher likes to shop at Victoria’s Secret!”

Oh kids say the darndest things! Happy school year teachers!

Back To School!

It’s that time of year again, a time when students and teachers stock up on pencils, paper, markers, crayons and so many other fun school supplies. It’s time to go back to school.

I’m really excited to start the new school year, it’s my second year of teaching and I’m really excited about it. I never thought I would become a math teacher, when I interviewed for the teaching position I actually applied and interviewed for a Language Arts position. But when I received the call a few days later with an employment offer I was shocked to hear that they wanted to hire me to teach math, even after I told them I was horrible at math. But desperate to change careers, I took the 4th grade math position trusting my principal that she was making the right decision. In fact, our conversation at the beginning of last year ended with her saying, “Kelly, don’t worry about it. You will be a great math teacher. Just trust me, you’ll see.” And boy was she was right, I actually liked teaching math. I guess because I struggled with the subject when I was a kid it made me aware of the struggles my students would face, especially my friends who were receiving services for special ed., and allowed me to find ways to explain and demonstrate the concepts in ways they could understand. There were many challenges to overcome last year. Not only did hurricane Ike completely mess-up the entire year, but there were several educational challenges with my special cluster of students. Out of the three math classes I had, two of them were special ed. clusters. But by the end of the year my student’s hard work paid off and 60 students out of 65 passed the TAKS test, 22 of them were commended! That means those 22 kids only missed ONE problem on the TAKS test, quit an accomplishment! I’m so proud of my little superstars!

This year, I’m adding science to the mix and I’m looking forward to helping my students explore math and science. I just know it’s going to be another successful year! And now…
Welcome To Mrs. New’s 4th Grade Math/Science Class!

Blonde Moment of the Week

Earlier this week, Rob rented a DVD from our neighborhood RedBox, first off I love RedBox and here is why. 1. We don’t have to drive five miles to the nearest Blockbuster 2. You don’t have to walk all the way around Blockbuster to find a movie worthy of watching and 3. The most important thing, is it’s like $4 cheaper than Blockbuster!

So back to my story…after Rob watched his war movie I thought I would be a good wifey and return the movie on my way home from work. I pull up to the Redbox and wait in line to return my DVD. When it’s my turn I select the option to return the movie and immediately slip the case into the slot. A few seconds later the DVD slides back out and a message pops up on the screen, but I wasn’t able to read it because the message was displayed for like a microsecond. So I try again making sure the barcode on the DVD is showing. Same result. I try again for a third time, now there is a line behind me, and I get the same result. By this time I figure the machine is acting up so I get out of line and go home deciding to try returning it the next day. Fast-forward to Thursday and I decide to try my luck with the Redbox machine again. I pull up, select “Return DVD” and slide the case in the machine. I wait a few seconds and out comes the DVD AGAIN! I try one more time before going inside Walgreens to talk with the manager; I’m thinking maybe he knows something about the machine. So the nice manager walks out to the Redbox with me and he begins the return DVD process and BINGO Success on the first try! It was then that I realized why I was unsuccessful with this process. You see, I had tried sliding the case in with the barcode facing me INSTEAD of the barcode facing the machine. There is even a picture to demonstrate this on the case AND the screen. Needless to say I felt like the ditziest blonde ever! Now many of you may think that I have never returned a movie to Redbox before, but this is not the case! I have rented and returned numerous DVD’s to Redbox, I just must have gotten really lucky with all the previous DVD’s.

Dallas Divas

This past weekend I went to Dallas for a girl’s weekend with my best friend Kelcey. We had such a fabulous time laughing, catching up, and doing what we do best together…having FUN!!!

 

Friday night Kelc and I went to dinner at Victor Tangos. It was the first time both of us had been there, Kelc had been hearing great things about it from friends, and it definitely lived up to it’s great reviews. If you go there you must order the Ahi Tuna Nachos, Lollipop Lamb Chops, and Mac N Cheese. It sounds like an odd combination but trust me, you will not be disappointed. This restaurant has very eclectic menu items but that’s what makes it so great! And you must try one, or all if your feeling adventurous, of their cocktails…so yummy.

 

Saturday we enjoyed pedicures and spent the afternoon on the boat hanging onto the tube for dear life. So Fun yet so sore!!! Saturday night Kelc, her friend Vanessa, and myself got all dolled up for the Alpha Rev concert at the Granada. Before the band took the stage, the three of us sipped on yummy margaritas and of course if you are having margaritas you have to have chips and salsa! Let me just say that Alpha Rev is a fabulous band! It was the first time I had heard them and I can say I’m a fan.

 

On Sunday, we slept in, had a yummy brunch and gabbed even more about anything and everything. Then, I made my long trek home, sad to be leaving my Kelcey but excited to see the Hubs. 

 

I absolutely love my Kelcey, we have been best friends since 2^nd grade and we have been there for each other through every twist and turn. I just love that it doesn’t matter if we talk every day or every couple of months, we never run out of things to talk about and we always pick up where we left off from our last conversation.

 

And now, here are some pictures from the weekend. There are more, but Kelcey needs to send them to me {hint, hint Kelc}

 

 

Kelcey and myself at the Alpha Rev concert



Hanging out on the boat



Tubing!

More Pictures to come, stay tuned!