14 Jul
I am so thrilled to let you know that Just Call Me Ms Frizzle was just honored as one of the Top 50 Science Teacher Blogs!
Teacher Certification Degrees, the website sponsoring the list has great resources for aspiring teachers. Resources include information regarding teaching degrees, state certification, education related careers, and other helpful tools!
Check out the other 49 recognized blogs as well and enjoy the summer!
13 Jun
I decided early in the year that I wanted to recognize each student for something at the end of the year. The awards were based on personality, character, and academic traits. I’ll be writing a post soon about the award titles and explanations.
After giving each student their award, I took a class picture so I can forever remember my first students :)
2nd Period
This class had its ups and downs; lots of big personalities as well as students who made better and worse choices. They may have driven me crazy, but they always kept me laughing!!
3rd Period
This class was so dependable. They may have been mostly distracted seniors, but they were always involved in class discussions. It was really fun to be able to connect with such a small group and I am really hoping they keep in touch!
4th Period
My honors students…these kids worked really hard this year. I am so proud of them; some started the year with no self confidence and ended up sticking with it and surviving the year. I’m glad some of these kiddos are juniors and I can see them around school next year!
5th Period
This class had me on my toes all year. In September, I would not have been surprised to see any number of them hanging from the ceiling – about half of them were in cahoots with one another and they drove me crazy!! Somewhere around the middle of the year they became almost pleasant and I can honestly say I’ll miss them. I think we came to a point of mutual respect. There were also a few students in the class that started the year expecting to fail and behaved accordingly; by the end of the year, they had made vast improvements and (I hope) gained self confidence.
6th Period
This class had the broadest range of personalities and attitudes. We had a hard time focusing at the end of every day, but we always had a good time doing it! No matter what the circumstances, this class could always laugh!
I am so thankful for all that I’ve learned this year as a teacher and all the students I have gotten to meet and work with. I’m sort of feeling like a new parent: I don’t know how I could ever love my second year of students as much as the first, we’ll just have to wait and see!
9 Jun
As our end of the year celebration, the faculty and staff from my school headed to Angel Park Golf Course where they have an entire putting course. It was a blend of golf and mini-golf for nine holes – a little more intense than I was expecting! But our principal arranged for a lovely lunch as well, so we were all happy :)
Some of us are skilled golfers...
Since there were no windmills, I decided to add some intrigue by hitting my ball in the bushes.
Nothing like a gorgeous day of golf in the desert!
9 Jun
One of my honor students this year is a foreign exchange student from South Korea. His host family have not been the greatest tour guides, so I felt it was my responsibility to bring him to the Hoover Dam :)
Two other students were able to come with us as well!
I love it when my kids get as nerdy excited as I do!!
Then we stopped by Boulder Beach at the Lake Mead Recreational Area just to give our Korean friend a bit more exposure to the beauty of Southern Nevada!
Hubby and I enjoyed the lake - we miss the New England coast!!
I love watching desert dwellers play in water!
25 May
Several months ago I showed my 9th grade students October Sky. As a quick end-of-class assignment, I had them write Homer Hickam letters expressing their personal reaction to his story.
I expected a few fluffy sentences finished with, “thanks for making your movie” type statement.
I received well-crafted, insightful letters expressing their gratitude for knowing Mr Hickam’s story. They could relate to Hickam’s rocky relationship with his father and feeling trapped by a blue-collar community that tends to discourage higher education.
A few weeks ago I finally mailed them and today I received a reply! The letter was from Mr Hickam’s wife, but it included his photograph signed just for us! I cannot wait to get to school tomorrow and share it with my students – now I need to find a special frame to treasure it always :)
Homer Hickam himself!
25 May
I have been so busy with end of school chaos that I haven’t blogged in ages. Therefore, to commemorate the end of my first year, I’ll be writing about some highlights throughout the year.
My first field trip was a success!!!! I took my physics students to the Atomic Testing Museum and (aside from last minute chaperone cancellations, paperwork nightmares, and students missing the bus to the museum) it was amazing. I loved watching my kids learn and experience things outside of the classroom; there was much laughter :)
My kiddos - gonna miss this crazy bunch over the summer!
4 May
We just finished the Electricity Unit. I ended up being much simpler than I would usually choose to teach it, but my students had some really intelligent and in depth conversations about the content, so I can chalk it up to success!! Now we’re in the Magnetism Unit and since it is proficiency testing, AP testing, and a-million-and-one other approved school absences, I chose to make it rubric-based. They have a bunch of assignments and labs to complete before their test next week.
I showed my 9th graders the PBS American Experience documentary on the Hoover Dam this week and they were amazingly interested! It may have something to do with our school being 40 miles from the dam, but they had great questions and really interesting reactions to the working conditions, racism, etc. involved in the building of the dam. Can’t wait to show my physics students! Too bad there’s no chance of a field trip this year :(
Only 37 days left of the contract year! Woot! So much to get done, but it is time for the seniors to move on, underclassmen to move up, and teachers have a break from all of the above :)
