#Truth

A few truths I've discovered this year:

• Positive phone calls home are soooo worth it. 
• You will never win them all; focus on the 98 doing the right thing and don't lose (too much) sleep over the other 2 who are intent on fighting tooth & nail.
• There is no such thing as too much coffee.
• Love and Logic is magic. Read it. Learn it. Use it.
• Kids that wear you out make great errand runners. 
• 50% of the parental population need to empty their voicemail boxes. Too many messages from last year's teachers, perhaps?

-Mrs. C

Google Win

Today was such a great first day of school! I am exhausted, but I am excited to go back to these kids tomorrow. Since this is my second year with eighth, I actually knew what to expect walking into the room today. Last year I was a little caught off guard by the difference two years makes. An eight grader on day one is NOT like a sixth grader on day one. Having experience with this level definitely helped. After some of the kiddos and attitudes I dealt with last year, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything.

The great thing is that the personalities we have this year seem to be a little more drama free than what we experienced last year. That probably has to do with the boy to girl ratio. I feel like my biggest challenge will be ornery boys, and that doesn't bother me one bit! Boys are easier to handle at this age, I think.

Part of what made today so great was how successful my first day activity was. We have been fortunate enough to get a set of iPads to share between our two English classes. I snagged them today and had my kiddos fill out a survey using Google Forms. IT. IS. AWESOME.

I wanted to know specific things about them:

• What tech they have
• If they enjoy reading
• What are they like outside of English class
• If/why they need preferential seating
• What worries them about the year
• If they will have a need for supplies

The survey took them all of 10 minutes, and it allowed me to show them that if they use technology right, we will use it as much as possible. I was dying to see their answers, but had to wait until the end of the day. The great thing about Google Forms is that it compiles their answers into a summary. So I could see immediately how many kids had smartphones and gauge the level of reading enjoyment for the whole class at once. I have access to each students' complete survey as well. Here are what a few of my questions produced!

 

I was surprised at how honest some of them were in their answers. I wonder if answering the survey on the iPads made it feel a little more safe? Either way, it was a win. I learned a lot about each of them, I don't have stacks of papers lying around, and I have this information at my fingertips all year long. 

Now I'm off to bed. 

-Mrs. C

She's (maybe) back!

I'm back!

Maybe.

It's been a few years, and quite a bit has changed. By "quite a bit," I mean that I've changed schools, changed grade level, and birthed a toddler. He's pretty awesome, but he does take up 22ish hours of my day. Also, I'm learning Spanish, folding a load of laundry every once in a while, and updating my Facebook. I'm a busy gal.

Needless to say, this return to blogging may not stick. It looks like I wrote a total of ONE last year. Now THAT is commitment.

I'm not sure what direction it will take. Eighth graders - my new adventure- are a whole new animal compared to sixth. They aren't nearly as cute and funny, though they do have redeeming qualities that I'll (maybe) blog about later.

I guess the most notable thing going on right now is my syllabus. I'm geeking out over its design and the fact I have included QR codes that link to the gradebook, handbook, and other important info. Rough draft of page 1 below!

'Night! Gotta grab some ZZZs before Brantley steals them from me.

-Mrs. Combs

Silver Linings

The fact that today marks the completion of the thirteenth day of school, yet the completion of only my first blog, might be a sign of how the year is going.

The transition from Madison to FTG MS has been much tougher than I thought it would be. I imagined my third year of teaching being a breeze. You know, because I've "been there, done that, and literally bought the t-shirt." Apparently experience doesn't mean a whole lot when switching schools. I did not know that two schools could be more different. I don't necessarily mean that negatively either. It has just been a whirlwind trying to adjust to the different procedures. Little things, such as kids bringing their backpacks to class, which I thought was OBVIOUSLY a no-go, turned out to be actually encouraged. Even tardies are counted differently. Of course I knew things would be different, but having EVERYTHING be different was (and sometimes still is) very stressful.

I realize that part of what is making the transition so difficult is how much I love Madison. In the beginning I filtered everything through my Madison lense, and complained about how it was different and made no sense. I have surprised myself, however, with all of the times that I've eaten my words. For instance, I originally thought it was a bit stifling that we are supposed to submit our copies to be made by an employee in the copy room. Shouldn't I be able to make copies whenever I want?? This is America! :) As it turns out, I LOVE having my copies delivered to my room, and I LOVE not fighting with the copier in the 6th grade hall at 8:30 on Sunday evenings. We had some intense moments, that copier.

I still feel very much out of my element with many of the procedures and rules at our school, and many more things are required out of me that take extra time and effort outside of the school day, but I do see the light at the end of the tunnel. My first few weeks were pretty dark- especially considering the raging hormone issues I'm dealing with (Thanks, Kyle Jr.). Sometimes even little issues seem like THE END OF THE WORLD! Ha. 

Hormones aside, I'm officially determined to find the silver lining in every situation this year. For example:

Situation	Silver Lining
My commute is now 30 minutes versus 1 1/2 minutes.	I get to spend even MORE quality time rocking out to Tay Swift and improving my car karaoke skills.
Lesson plans should be turned in by Friday afternoon, versus not turning them in at all.	My weekends are now free to spend at Hobby Lobby obsessing over nursery decor.
Boys and girls are basically segregated in the halls and at lunch versus being allowed to mingle at will	My room is by the girls' lockers. No sweaty boy smell in my hall!
While teaching, I often receive several swift kicks from an ornery boy.	He resides in my belly and will be here soon! :)
There are so many things we  need to track for each student, that it became necessary to use an old school grade book.	I learned a new skill! Next, I'll learn how to play Snake on an old Nokia.
Wednesdays are shortened to 45-minute classes, which is a very challenging time-frame for me.	Because classes are shortened, staff meetings take place during school hours. No early meetings!
Lunch is at 10:40 versus 12:20.	I can literally eat anything, anywhere. Baby Combs is flexible. And hungry.

Here's to staying positive!

-Mrs. Combs

PS. I miss everyone at Madison! I may wear my yearbook out soaking up the memories. It was a great two years. :) 

Advice Round 2

One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to have the kids write advice for the next class. It's so funny to see what they write! They are very honest about which teachers they like and dislike. "Be sure to get Mr. Massey" was a common theme. And of course there were a few "Don't talk in THAT teacher's class!" One girlie apparently didn't get the advice she wanted from the counselor's office and advised the new kiddos to come talk to HER instead! Ha. Worst advice ever!

Here are a few that made me smile:

I am VERY good at phone detection!

Smoking Smarties was a real thing this year...

Not exactly advice, but I'll take it!

ISO: Magic Transporter

In keeping with the name of my blog, it's time for another ROOKIE MISTAKE.

Although I thought I was quite nearly finished making mistakes (on my road to teaching perfection), I definitely goofed when it came to scheduling our 6th grade research. Rather than scheduling it earlier in the year when the computer labs were sitting open and empty, I decided to wait until after our OCCT. I forgot that once testing starts, the computer labs are booked nearly solid for a month or two. Fortunately, I was able to scrounge up one lab for a full week. Although that sounds like a lot, it is really not sufficient for a full research paper. Add in a couple of sick days (strep is awful!) and we were even more behind. What started out as a 5 paragraph essay quickly turned into a 6 slide PowerPoint (Works cited included, 7th grade. Don't freak out. Still meeting objectives over here!). I started the week with the feeling that we might not even have enough time to complete the PPT, but thankfully it has been less stressful than I anticipated. We are doing career research, and apparently I'm training the next generation of surgeons, dentists, pastors......and Sonic carhops.

Speaking of careers (segway much?), things are going to look a "little" different for me next year. It's as if the universe knows I want to perfect one level of skill and promptly screws everything up.

Last week I accepted a job at Fort Gibson Middle School! Kyle and I have wanted to move back closer to home for a while now, and we both started actively searching for jobs near Tahlequah around Spring Break. Honestly, I thought there was no way that anything would open at the right time, considering that our lease isn't up until July, and if HE found a job first, he would have had to start long before I could leave due to the school year. It seemed like an impossible puzzle until all of a sudden it wasn't.

I've always had my eye on Fort Gibson, and when I heard there was a middle school opening, I jumped on the opportunity. I'll be teaching 6th grade still (HALLELUJAH!), though rather than either of the two schedules I've had thus far, I'll be teaching reading and writing all in 1 class period. It will be challenging, but absolutely doable. I know I've vented about how this year pushed me in different ways, but once I heard the job requirements for my new position, it all made sense. Literally every change that we made helped prepare me for the upcoming year, from the combined classes to the co-taught hour. I'm grateful that I got to "practice" teaching it all in such a supportive environment. There really is a reason for everything.

Although I'm excited for the new experience, leaving Madison is one of the hardest decisions I've made. I've already had my share of teary-eye moments, and there are more to come, I'm sure. I have always felt 100% supported by my administrators and I have the best/funniest coworkers. We ARE one big, happy family...and every person in the building has the biggest heart for kids. I don't know how any other school could top the experience I've had here. I DO know, though, that anyone who works with kids must be amazing, and although I'll miss everyeone here, I'm sure I'll be surrounded by people equally as amazing. (Side note: if anyone knows how to magically transport a school from town to town, I'm listening...)

Well, there's that. Off to grade adorable biographies and learn WAY too much about the weirdos I teach.

-Mrs. Combs #FutureTiger

Life Lessons

This weekend, Madison experienced something that no one should have to experience- the unexpected death of a loved one.

While I was not personally close with the student who passed, many of my current kiddos, past kiddos, and coworkers were very closely connected to him. When they hurt, we all hurt.

I realize that in no way was this experience about me or my feelings, but I can say that going through this time of tragedy with our school family has taught me so much.

1. It reminded me why I teach. I teach because I love these kids. English is the subject that I "get," but I'm not here for the English- I'm here for the kids. In the grand scheme of things, English doesn't matter at all. My kids' lives do.

2. It reminded me that there is so much more to life than school- and certainly so much more than TESTING. I love that I work in a building that recognizes this fact. I guarantee you that NO ONE is analyzing our friend's test score. Rather, we remenisce about his character and friendship.

3. It reminded me that kids deserve our patience- This week we were reminded (and likely internally prodded) to extend more patience than normal to our kiddos. I found that when I consciously did this, our classroom time was more productive, and our relationships grew. I will strive to start every day with this mindset. We NEVER know what a student has experienced before entering our room. While we do need to be consistent with our management and consequences, every student deserves our best every day. So I'll be taking a breathe, counting to 10 (or 100) and addressing all of my kiddos as patiently and respectfully as possible.

Please extend thoughts and prayers to Madison teachers and students who will be attending the funeral tomorrow evening.

-Mrs. C