The Classroom

 I just completed my first week of training at my school, T.A. Sims, & finally met all the other teachers & staff, woo! I can safely say, knowing that I have 9 TFA Corp Members & MANY wonderful teachers around me, I am as supported as can be.

With that being said, being the "new teacher" is still extremely overwhelming. I've been setting up my classroom this week, & boy, was it STRESSFUL. There are specific rules to how a bilingual classroom needs to be set up (example - Spanish words must be associated with the color red, while English words are with blue). I've had to clean, organize, & design my classroom, which I've never done before, whist preparing for the first week of school. I was lucky enough to have some help cutting, stapling & laminating from Daniel.

My classroom essentials are in place. I still have a lot of work to do, but now it's time to complete lesson planning.

Other things this week: Meet the teacher night was yesterday (Thursday, Aug. 24) & was absolutely wonderful. I met 9 of my future students + parents. The majority of these students came from another TFA Corp Member (& TCU Alum!), so I already have some things in common with them :)

4th grade me! So long ago...time to go back!

Entering my classroom

Sorry not sorry about the teacher carrier :P

Outside of my classroom

The 4th grade nook

Fish tank!

T.A. Sims main hallway

The gymnasium

The library

The Power of a Teacher

"I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my personal approach that creates the climate. It's my daily mood that makes the weathers. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated & a child humanized or dehumanized."

-Haim Ginott, Teacher and Child

Prepare

I finally visited my school, T.A. Sims Elementary, & could not be more thrilled to begin working. The school is just the right size, the faculty & staff are super friendly, & the school seems to be very cohesive & united.

I will be one of the five 4th grade instructors, & one of the three dual language instructors within that team. A tentative school day is as follows:

7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. - School breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Reading (120 min)
10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Reading MINDS
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Writing (120 min)
12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lunch
12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. - Math
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. - Teacher Conference
2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. - Math
3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. - Bilingual Centers
3:45 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Science

I will be teaching reading/writing in both Spanish & English (50/50), math in English, and science in Spanish (twice a week). My school day is much longer than most, as we participate in extended days.

This week & next week I am participating in Fort Worth ISD teacher orientation. My district is wonderful!

T.A. Sims Elementary

Teach For America assignments

Teach For America was lucky to receive a huge donation from Cengage Learning. To show our appreciation, many DFW 2012 Corps Members attended the Cengage Rise & Shine Event...which began at 5:45 a.m. in Dallas for participants! 

TFA Corps at Rise & Shine

 The event was themed Michael Jackson...it was interesting!

In my free time, I explore Fort Worth...

Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth

 ...but my future class is constantly on my mind :)

Goal: Teach WITH Leadership

Test, Test, Test

Post-institute life has been filled with tests, paperwork, & orientation. Besides the tests, I've enjoyed the free time, which has allowed me to road trip to Colorado & settle home in Fort Worth.

Another thing that has happened post-institute: I got an RT (retweet) from the Teach For America Twitter account! For a social media queen, this was really exciting to me. Haha.

Check out that #1 tweet!

Test 1: The Bilingual Supplemental tests your knowledge about how bilingual education came to be in the U.S., as well as best practices for a bilingual classroom.

I wore my Nike Olympics tank for good luck to my
bilingual supplemental test..

...& good thing, because it helped me pass! Performed like a champ.

Test 2: The Language Proficiency Test (LPT) checks oral & written proficiency in both English & Spanish. It ended up being a bit more difficult to me than expected...

Doormat outside of the testing site.

My Fort Worth ISD new team member pin I received at orientation.

I moved into my house in Fort Worth! My room contains only the
essentials - a bed & shelf. Still on the lookout for a desk & dresser!

The Fort Worth Stockyards. YEEHAW.