Last Day of School Pictures!!!

Even some excitement from the teachers on the last day of school! I cannot believe I finished my first year of teaching. 

I am going to miss my students so much! They mean the world to me. They are truly what gets me through the day. This one is such a sweet heart and she has gone through a lot. But perseverance and strength are some of her gifts. 

These students make me smile and make all the crap that teachers go through worth it. This young man is one of the most mature in the class. He has grown so much this year. I am so proud of him. 

Let me hear you say "Hey Miss Potter!" "HEY MISS POTTER!" This woman is such a bright and shining light on my day. I will miss her dearly next year. 

Of course a student even almost missed the bus as they were leaving and had to run to it with seconds to spare. Honey the buses left at the same time every freaking day. 

And who could forget the squad. These woman have helped me so much. I couldn't have made it through this year without them! 

Summer Plans

As the school year is wrapping up. Summer is already beginning. This summer I have made the decision to complete my Masters of Education at Lipscomb University. And my final semester begun today. I am so excited for this summer filled with classes at Lipscomb and PD sessions to improve my teaching as a whole. 

I am taking three classes to finish up my masters program at Lipscomb. All summer I am focusing on Research in the Classroom (which began tonight). Later this summer during the month of July, I will be taking Methods of Adolescent Learners and Instructional Design. I am ecstatic for the learning and growth that will occur. Already as I have started my Research in the Classroom. As any educator everything I do will continue to impact my students, classroom and my school. 

In addition to working on my Lipscomb classes, I plan on attending several Professional Development sessions this summer. I have already signed up to take a three day PBL training and a Social Studies Techbook training. Both of these PD sessions are going to help advance everything I can do in my classroom next year. 

This summer is all about better myself as a teacher. There are so many things I can do in order to advance my classroom, advance my education, advance my pedagogy. I cannot wait to see what I can bring back to my classroom this fall. 

Summer is almost here...

But really this week. There are so many emotions going through my mind. This for sure being one of them. I know how excited I am for my first summer vacation as a teacher. However, I can only imagine how my kids and their parent are feeling right now. 

Last Week of School

Monday - Memorial Day. No School. 

Tuesday - Last full day of school for students. 

Wednesday - Half day for students. Full day for teacher. 

Thursday - Last day for teachers to report. Clean and pack classroom. 

Friday - First day of Summer Vacation 2015!!

The Fruit of Our Labor

“In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.”

— Jacques Barzun

So Much Happens In 290 Days

There are only 1.5 days of school left for my kids this year. Teacher have 3 full days left. Summer 2015 is right around the corner. I cannot believe this is happening. First and foremost I want to say how happy I am. Not that I am about to have two summers of no work, but because I have made it through, by no means of my own, my first year of teaching. There are so many emotions going through me right now. 

It has been 290 days since the first day of school this year. So many things in my life have change. My confidence in teaching. My relationships with my students. My social life. My reading list. My learning style. The choices I make in my classes. All of these things and more have changed. This year I have learned so much about myself through change. I have grown in ways that I did not imagine. But most importantly, I have grown as a teacher. My kids have grown and my kids have tremendously changed. 

In this next day and a half with my kids I plan on just enjoying it. I have grown to love them so much. I never understood what teachers meant when they said they have their students as children. But now in ways I do. I see them as my family. I spend most of my time with them. They are the center of my world. They are the thing that keeps me going.

Just as teacher after teacher have always said, "Just as I teach my students, my students have taught me so much more." So many students come to mind when I think of the students who have impacted my life in ways I did not expect. 

With year one coming to a close, it has caused me to reflect in so many ways. What can I do to better myself as a teacher? What did I do correct this year? What did I do wrong this year? Are there things that I could have changed? Did I change the life of any of my children? Did I impact one student and help them make a better life for themself? What will next year be like? What more can I learn about pedagogy? 

State Testing

Hearing the words state tests brings some very mixed emotions around Jere Baxter Middle Prep. These words bring the reminder that the most important time of the school year is just around the corner. It might be the most important time, but it can definitely be seen as a good thing and a bad thing. I know that I have several opinions on the topic of state testing, especially TCAP here in Tennessee. 

A little information on TCAP for my friends, family and followers outside of Tennessee. TCAP is the state test that covers Math, English Language Arts, and Science. This tests is given to students in grades 3 through 8 in the state. TCAP determines many things for schools and districts across the state. But it also is a part of the overall evaluation on teachers in those tested subjects across the state. It is a fascinating system and it is very flawed. The students are well aware of their scores and what those scores mean. Typically students are labelled and are completely aware of their rankings and everyone else's.