excited (not to mention exhausted.)
Okay, snow. Not such a beautiful morning today. I guess it's really fine. Many people love it. Slippery, though and cars are sliding. I texted Dani that cars are sliding all over Kipling. Ooops, auto correct said '...cats are sliding...' Oh, well - If cats are sliding it must be really, really slippery. Anyway - my fabulous students are really impressing me with their effort and focus. Some will have to finish today. I spent a lot of time making sure they understood directions and felt confident with the format. I really am stunned at how engaged and thoughtful they are!
10/04/13 – What is this weather!? It was pouring rain when I got up. Changed to heavy 
snow when i wasn’t paying attention. Now it’s a jumping-over-puddles-with-snow-on-my-glasses kind of day
Created a goal sheet to use in our smaller classes today. We are having a modified contact day. All day, but only about half the students – for goal setting. I don’t feel like I have had enough time to do the preparation to discuss grades and TCAP growth, etc. We only found this was all about goals… umm, after-school on Wednesday. I just want to get to my conference with a parent and start my
buried-in-work weekend.
10/03 – Thursday. Today I have all day PD on the Reader’s Workshop model. This is a method to shape time in class. We begin with a warm-up which leads to a focused mini- lesson, then work-time (I can conference or teach a small group), then a closing. It is a model than works with Gradual Release of Responsibility… I do, we do, you do together, you do on your own… and is a great organizing/teaching tool. I’m happy because I have a student teacher who planned the day and will work with the sub – So no sub plans for me!! WooHoo!
I am truly juggling so many things this year, if I don’t stay organized I will crash.
AAargh!I need to picture this part of my walk. It is the sidewalk/short cut between businesses and my school. Stay the course.. keep to-dos in mind… don’t stray!
10/2 My neighborhood – and the neighborhood of many students – is full of odd and interesting contrasts.
Here is writing on the sidewalk, written into once dry cement. Wouldn’t it be nice if you 
spelled this word correctly? I think they meant to write ‘penis’ in a statement of naughtiness, but maybe his/her nickname was ‘Peanuts’. Either way, this is bad spelling.
Then we have more writing on the sidewalk. This time with paint. Not really about spelling. Clearly, tagging is not what you want to see in your
neighborhood. But, it better looking than pe permanent bad spelling. I know there are a few gang-kids around. Not really much noticeable, though.
Then on this same walk, I look up to a beautiful sky… And, surprise! One of the neighborhood horses is already up and out. Just such a unique and interesting place.
9/30 Today, I need to talk to classes about 1. Parent-Teacher Conferences: I have 
emailed all parents with information. Gosh, that took FOREVER!! Some have emailed back. Most asking how to schedule their conference. The kids need to tell parents they don’t need to schedule, just show up. 2. Modified Contact Days: Friday, only students with last names A-L come, Monday, M-Z. We’ll look at some data, one student at a time, and do goal setting. Look at grades, make-up work, visit the book fair. All I can think of now…
9/23-9/27 This week just wasn’t designed for reflection. Rainy some days. Chilly some days. The big issue though was 3 days of the week were adjusted schedules. And 4 scheduled 
meetings for me. Two days we had block schedules, because the eighth grade had to be guinea pigs for a new test… Science, maybe. Then on Friday we had an early dismissal. Rather than 53 minute classes, as usual, they were 29 minutes. Then we spent the rest of the day working with our new SAT. (SAT= Student Achievement Team) My team is working on Writing goals. Another team is working on Reading and one on Math. The week actually went off well. Reading classes worked on both figurative language and point-of-view. The
DHH (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) teacher did a demonstration, so that hearing students could see what it was like for DHH students. Hear what it was like, I mean. I made plans to collaborate with the psychologist in finding ways for several of my 180 kids to be successful. It feels great to have someone else trying to figure this out with me. Kind of takes the weight off.
View through my glasses>
Feeling pretty good about the week, but not really full of focused thoughts. Reading classes will be doing a web quest activity. They will be wandering some fable websites to read a few fables and look at the morals. I think looking at morals is a way for them to understand the concept of ‘theme’. The idea that the author of a book or story has a message that he/she hopes the reader will remember long after the characters or details are forgotten – Well, that’s new thinking for a lot of students. Fables and morals make it a little more accessible. Other than reviewing plans in my head and thinking about 
homework I need to do before 10pm tonight, I’m just noticing random things,,, The gas station sign has no decimal point, so car washes are 150 dollars. But at least things are spelled correctly on the sign. That is often not the case. Also, noticed a really spooky looking tree. 
They get all kinds of weirdly shaped when branches are cut back and cut back again to protect power lines. Maybe I’ll make a collection of spooky trees for students to compare for Halloween. If I turn this one sideways, I can see a dragon… with a REALLY long front leg…or wing.
It makes me happy seeing kids walking to school. First, I’m happy because they are walking and not getting a ride. That’s a good thing. So many kids get rides from parents, even when they live very close. Let them get some healthy exercise, for goodness sake!Also, it makes me happy, because most of them are former or present students. I like living in the same community with my students. I see 
them growing up, playing, babysitting, skate-boarding. Some of the younger girls just get so excited to see a teacher outside of school…Funny. Where do they think we live? This group was ahead and I was trying to figure out who was who. The young man is a former student – in high school now. Two of the girls are current students. One girl is at my school, but not my student. The last, I’m not sure about. All of them said, “Hi, Ms Hahn!” at the corner and stopped at the corner store – for snacks, I’m sure. Just a nice way to start the day :)
I walked out the door feeling just WORN OUT. My toothache kept me awake. I stayed up late working on AIP homework. I hadn’t eaten much…tooth thing. Just not a good morning and then I looked up and WOW! How can I not feel refreshed and hopeful and excited about the day when the sky is shouting joy at me? It makes me just feel like running to school as fast as I can… Well, if I wasn’t carrying this ridiculously heavy backpack!
So, now, on the good side. I don’t have any meetings during planning today, so I will actually be able to grade and plan. I want to work on the Word Wall and start an anchor chart for ‘moods’ students identified for reading. I need to sit down with the CAP documents and work on goals….. Read my professional books… Woo!Hoo! Let’s get going!
9/17 Feeling good about the use of the Refocus Room. It really seems to be working with all but the most stubborn and least caring students. My student teacher is teaching the 
Reading classes today so I’ll be able to focus on getting organized. I just love the growth and collaborative work in those classes. I am not feeling good about the ridiculous tooth pain I’ve been having. The pain feels like an electric shock and I can’t talk or move or touch my face when it hits. Here is my dentist’s office where I stopped yesterday – Sadly, my dentist is in Germany so I can’t get any antibiotics until Thursday! Ugh! It is just so hard to focus and stay on track when it hurts so much. Not very reflective this morning – I’ll be better once I get in the classroom.
9/16 - A lot of Colorado isn’t going to school this morning. Roads are washed out. Streams have completely changed their paths. Thousands of people are unable to go home, if they 
even have one left. The little creek I cross every morning has grass completely flattened on the right bank and a line on the concrete about 2 or 3 feet above the ground. I’m feeling prepared for classes and blessed that I seem to be in one of the few places not carried away by crashing, speeding water.
I’m only posting one picture for Thursday and Friday, because the world has looked the same for days and days. That’s good, because in a lot of Colorado, the water is getting 
deeper and deeper. And running faster and faster. I have a lousy cold and I NEVER get sick.
Thursday, September 12. Got a great lesson planned for Reading classes on setting. I found a couple pages from, “What I Saw and How I Lied” that have great description of driving into a Florida beach town on the off-season. Read 180 is again feeling like a battle, but today we start using the Refocus process. If a students behavior is stopping them or others from learning or the teacher from teaching; they get one warning and then are sent to another teacher’s classroom to reflect in writing on their behavior, the reason they were exhibiting the behavior, and how they can keep this from happening again. I truly hope this works.
Friday, September 13. Still raining – but today my team brings breakfast for the staff and that is a great way to start a Friday. Using the Refocus process in Read 180 was less successful that I hoped, but did lead to some progress. After I sent T and R each to the Refocus room and had no change in their behavior when they came back – I walked them to the office. Then I brought the class back together in their assigned seats, enforced silence, and had the students write an answer to “What can we do about this situation right now?” Those who chose not to write had to sit silently. I got some thoughtful answers and a calm and quiet class. We did the next rotation with some modifications. Then discussed the difference when the class was quiet and working vs trying to work with noise and wandering and trash basketball. T and R and the assistant principal came back for the final discussion. I think this will work!.
Wet and drizzly, chilly. My internet wasn’t working at home this morning. My computer at 
school got fried in the hail storm.Staff meeting after school today But three of my five class periods will be in the library. Mrs. Fluitt will do an introduction to the library and then they can check out books. Hopefully, I will have time to finish grading. I hope, I hope, I hope! .
So, I left school about 20 minutes early yesterday to walk across the street to the dentist. While I was in the chair getting my teeth cleaned a giant hail storm started and the dental 
tech started calling, “Hey, I’m seriously scared. Should we all go hide in the bathroom?” The dentist calmed her down. The storm stopped. All was fine and I walked home through 6 inch deep rushing water and little hail balls… in my high-heeled summer sandals. Some of the hail is still hanging on in yards this morning. Life is full of the unexpected. Probably one of the most important things I need to remember as a teacher. Seldom, really seldom, do things go just as expected - as planned. Our day is full of too many people with things going on in their lives that affect their day,,, and, therefore, ours. And they are emotional, very emotional, young people. I’m ready! What will happen today? I don’t know – but it will be fun!
I’m getting a really early start today, since I didn’t carry home stacks of notebooks and I NEED to get a first grading done. I’m really pumped. Feeling really good about my 
planning for my reading classes. Feeling confident about making sure they know what they need to do and why they are doing it…everyday. I’ve got my goal (Students will use a character chart to analyze characters) in line with their activity (use a new character chart in small groups with “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto) in line with our essential question (How does analyzing a text help me as a reader?). Woo! Read 180 went really well Friday, and that feels good, too. It feels especially good because we did a real class – not team-building and games. And Mr-can’t-sit-still-or-ever-be-quiet, rock star!! He was a mentor, a leader in his group. Let’s keep up the momentum.
My week got over-full at the end, so I’ll do Thursday’s and Friday’s posts now.
Thursday: So hard to put my energy in one place this morning. As I walk toward the bus stop that I pass each day, I start playing with perspective. Moving from side-to-side to see 
what happens to my view. When I look through the camera lens, it becomes more fun to play with movement and shapes. Maybe noticing my perspective… I have a very full day coming. I have a training for a new, fabulous discipline policy. I need to create a sub plan that will work for my end-of-the-day, two-period-long, still-can’t-use-the-computers Reading Intervention class. If I view this through the Ugh So Much Work lens, I am going to feel overworked and grumpy. If I remember that a lot of last years problems were because we didn’t have a consistent discipline policy AND this is an opportunity for my student teacher to take the reins with the support of a sub – Well, maybe this will be just fine. Maybe, better..
Friday: So yesterday evening, I discovered there was no water…Looked outside and there was a police car and a water company truck. A water main was broken directly in front of my house. It was opening night for the Broncos, so the guys who had to come dig up the street and repair the water main were missing the game. Fast and efficient. That’s what I like! 
I am thinking of (dang! my ‘ecks’ key is broken – can’t say fi-) repairing things that are broken. Today, I have my first PPP meeting – That means professional ..um..program…um – something. It is a meeting ALL Jeffco teachers (or all Jeffco Strategic Compensation teachers, I think) have - to plan how to build the skills that were not their strengths on their last year’s evaluation. I will meet with my new (yahoo!) peer evaluator, the assistant principal, the principal, my Master teacher, and the coach. For the first time in my life, my evaluation last year was… NOT GOOD. I was angry, mad, ready to throw a fit. Then, I got past that and said, “Well, ne-t year I will bust butt and be practically perfect.” So here goes – What if the evaluation last year was accurate? I will be working as hard as I can to build skills to be the best teacher for my students. What if the evaluation last year was NOT accurate? I will still be working as hard as I can to build skills to be the best teacher for my students. So either way, I’m ok. Whether my teaching was broken or not it will be fi-ed. (remember – no ecks key)
I’m thinking of rainy day songs this morning. The slight rain feels so good. Not even enough to even get me wet, but I know the garden will be happy! I guess the lesson here is that we don’t grow if all we have are sunny
skies. Rainy days are absolutely necessary. Students so often say, “Can’t learning be fun?” Certainly, learning can be fun, but it, also, must be hard work. We grow by doing work we didn’t even know we could do, not by doing what we already know how to do. This year I am going to get WAY better at structure in my daily lessons. I’m great at flying by the seat of my pants – but that is not what students need. They need routine, clarity, and a complete understanding of why we are doing what we are doing. I’m actually excited, but a little terrified, too. The stakes are just SO high!
How can a day not be perfect that starts with this sky? It is hard to walk, because I just keep snapping pictures. Feeling good, confident, 
Also, I’m feeling good about Read 180. Friday went VERY well! Keep it going!
Friday, Friday. I’ll never understand why 4-day weeks seem as long as 5-days. But it’s Friday there’s a beautiful sky and I have a plan for my Read 180 class. I consulted with 
Joe, who is one of our special education teachers. He gave me great ideas, so I am ready with a seating chart that divides the 8th graders up and allows them to be mentors to tables of 7th graders. Also, since we can’t use computers yet, don’t have a stable class list, and, therefore, can’t do much of what we need to do. Joe said, “Don’t try then! Play games, throw candy, build a happy classroom team, and throw more candy.” To nonteachers that may seem ridiculous, but if a class can’t work together as a team, they won’t be successful as individuals. As our slogan for this year goes – Teamwork makes the dream work! It’s kind of like this picture of a flock of birds in the sky. They moved together in a circular pattern through the sky over and over. When they land in the grassy field between this gas station and the dentist’s office, they wander individually. Even then, though, some are alert and watching so the others can relax and eat. Teamwork, big picture.
Fresh start, fresh day. Today I’ll use the Book Pass activity we learned in our workshop. I hope the reading classes love it as much as the reading teachers did. We wanted to spend the day doing Book Pass. I’m starting with books that are all Realistic Fiction. It’s accessible for the kids and easily understood. A lot of TV shows and movies are realistic fiction. Works for me.
Read 180 is another issue. 
i don’t know how to deal with the I-don’t-want-to-do attitude of the 8th graders. I’m going to try to set up rotations without having computers yet. If they have their groups and get to move through activities… maybe our problem behaviors will be water under the bridge!
I just can’t seem to stay focused this morning. I have parents to call second period to tell them their children made so much growth they don’t need to be in reading support. Then I have to notify the appropriate person to change schedules. I really want to just curl up with a cup of coffee and read. I’m not sure how long classes left-over presentations will take, so not sure how to plan class. Read 180 has testing, so no way to create an orderly class since they are crowded in a lab and get done at various times. Some kids there 
today are moving out. Others are coming in. I’m really enjoying rereading old Hercule Poirot mysteries. Maybe we can all just read. Ha-ha! I have a meeting period 3. Another after school. Ah, well. I’ve arrived. I can’t wait to put the students pictures on the wall tomorrow – and I know my Reading classes will be full of smiling faces ready to go. I have a lot of great ideas to try out from Notebook Connections by Aimee Buckner. I’m going to use her “What I know about reading” today. I’ll take a picture from my balcony and write my posted learning objectives! Happy Good Morning!
Today all my excited 7th graders will be presenting the results of their inquiry studies. I am quite thrilled at how engaged they all are. They created the questions about reading. They researched online or by doing surveys and interviews. Today they share what they 
have learned, so much fun! It feels so good to be heading for school confident that students are prepared and feeling pleased to share what they have discovered. My biggest problem is how to get the 8th graders in Read180 as willing to jump into learning. I UNDERSTAND why they feel defeated and that there is no point in effort. I do. If you haven’t been able to read the work in your classes for years, you don’t expect success. But without the buy-in to giving your best, they are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. With no effort they will not make growth. This will back-up their feeling that they are going to fail so why try. Equally bad – The 7th grade students in Read180 believe they can do well, but the 8th graders attitudes can convince them other wise. This is the tough stuff, for sure!
up to ankle deep in some classrooms. After the official calls were made and the decision was made to cancel school for the day, the staff began dealing with the problem. Parents dropping off students were informed and took their kids home. Walking students passed the news to each other, but many stayed for breakfast. Students on buses were dropped off. Parents were called. We escorted kids out and checked ids. It was interesting and parents seemed to feel very reassured that we were taking such specific care of their children. It made me stop and take notice. As educators, we spend much of our time concerned with creating lessons and building students skills. At times like this we, also, remember that parents are trusting us, trusting that their children are safe.
When I moved to my little house several years ago, its most important selling point was that I could walk to school. Well, that and the big yard for a garden. The walk to school and the garden are both just as important to me now. My walk in the morning is always a time to get my body moving, my thoughts percolating, to feel the wind and look at the sky. Right now I am walking into the sunrise. Kind of wonderful. My goal in this blog is to post a picture daily and record my thoughts during the walk. Because today is actually the fourth day, I will review my weeks thoughts.
