School Days!

I've had lots of people ask me how school is going, so I thought I would give the low-down and let you guys see some pictures of my classroom.

Overall, I am enjoying being back in the classroom. I am teaching 6th grade Social Studies at Conway Middle School, which is part of the Jefferson County Public Schools . (JCPS is the metro-area district, so it's ENORMOUS!!! I thought Springdale was large!!!) I'm on a four person team, which means that my students rotate between 4 different teachers. The best way I can describe Conway is that it's basically the same as JOKMS, minus the Hispanic/Marshallese population. (Which means that most of my students can speak fluent English, and since 6th graders tend to be a little on the mouthy side, I haven't decided if that is a good thing or not! HA!) I have probably half Caucasian, half African-American in my class, and probably over half are free and reduced lunch. The good thing is that right now, my classes are not full. I think we only have 86 total on our team. While teaching this population can be wearing, right now, I feel called to these students, as they need to see Jesus in a way I can't even begin to describe.

One of my favorite parts of the day is our C.A.R.E. time. If you are familiar with the middle school model, one of the components is an advisor/advisee time. Middle school kids are different breed!!! They need a lot of social guidance and thrive on good relationships with their teachers. JOKMS implemented an advisor/advisee period last year, so while we did some things to build teacher/student relationships, we didn't have a time built in the day every single day while I was there. C.A.R.E. is a whole program that is used to build relationships and to build character. The period is 30 minutes every day, and my first period class is my care group. Everyday, we get in a circle and have different activities to do or topics to discuss. I am really enjoying getting to know some of my students on a different level and seeing some of them really come out of their shell. We've already had some interesting conversations like, "why fist fighting doesn't solve problems" and "why it's important to encourage and praise people for the things they do well." The kids LOVE this time of the day!

I also get to teach one literacy class. The students are actually ability grouped, and my literacy students are right at grade level. I like this group a lot, although I think the program is a little dry. I plan on implementing some different strategies that will hopefully help these students advance a little. I would also like to try lit circles with this group, but will probably wait until next semester.

I think the saying rings true that 10% of the kids cause 90% of the problems in school. I'm constantly getting on to the same students over and over. I love it, though, that I have a phone in my room and when students misbehave, I can just call their parents immediately. Better yet, I can have the student call his/her parent! I am making good use of that phone! It's also universal that you can often understand why a student acts the way he/she does after you meet/talk to parents. I've already had SEVERAL interesting incidents with parents. (Nothing bad/confrontational, just interesting!)

Here are pictures of my classroom. It's really not decorated like I normally do, but because of circumstances, I just let it go. I JUST got around to getting my "Meet Mrs. Smith" bulletin board finished last Thursday for open house. The kids love looking at all the pictures and asking questions! I also still have a very blank wall behind my desk and need to get some concrete nails to hang some things, but it's not priority! (Oh, and the dingy carpet is supposed to be replaced with tile sometime this year...can't wait. That stuff is NASTY!)

Evan stays home with Kendall on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and Abby keeps Kendall on Thursday and Friday while he has class. So far, everything has worked out just fine. I think Kendall has been on the cranky side when she's with Abby, Andrew, and Christian, but hopefully that will pass once she gets used to being there. (I'm also wondering if she's got some more teeth coming through...her cranky behavior seems all too familiar!) My school day is from 7:30-2:20, so while I have to get up early in the morning, I am usually home at least by 4:00, if not earlier on most days. The drive is 30 minutes right now, so once we get in our house, I will be home even sooner. Kendall and I have a lot of afternoon time together, and I love it because she's through with her naps by the time I get home and we can do all kinds of fun things!

Evan is doing a great job balancing school, work, and Kendall. He ended up dropping one of his classes after we got home from Arkansas. He had 20 chapters to read by that Thursday (realized it on Monday) and was concerned about balancing coaching soccer, leading an Academy class on Wednesday nights, and being our ABF class director. While I know he wants to push through, I don't want him to be overwhelmed with too much. I know he can catch up during the summer or even one of the J-terms in the winter.

Another tid-bit of info and I'll go...The 6th grade Assistant Principal had to have back surgery and is out for six weeks. The lady that is filling in for him (who used to be the AP at Conway before retiring) is Larry Birkhead's (A.K.A. the late Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy) stepmother. Let me just say: she don't play when it comes to the kids. I love her!