First Day of School 2015

Our first day of school was Tuesday, September 1. I've been nervous about this school year, mostly for these two reasons: 

Jonah and Micah are 6th graders in the High School. Our school district closed the middle school at the end of the 2013-14 school year. The 6th-8th grades were added to the high school, and the school was renamed the Jr./Sr. High School. The 6th graders spend most of their school day in 2 portable buildings (one is pictured above), but their lockers, cafeteria, gym class, music class, and bathrooms are all in the high school building. I was nervous for them to be among the smallest kids in the school, I was anxious for how they would feel among all the big kids, and I was uneasy because I would no longer see them every day anymore (because I work at the elementary school).

They picked out their lockers at orientation, and we got Micah's schedule tweaked a little bit, and they were more than ready to go! In fact, they were (shall I say) EXCITED to be advancing from the elementary school to the high school. They have, for the most part liked it (except for math--ugh, that's a different story altogether). They only have two classes together each day, and their lockers are pretty close together, so they see each other, and have a lot of the same teachers, but they have their own friends and schedule, too, which they like. Ammon drives them to school each morning (that's nice to have him go to the same building as them!!), and I take Kanyon to school with me.

Ammon is a Sophomore this year. He had to have his schedule completely re-done at orientation. This seems to be a common thing for us to go into the counselor's office and spend a considerable amount of time re-doing his schedule and trying to find classes that have openings for him to fit into. Just once I would like for him to get all the classes that he signed up for!! They gave him a schedule with 4 science classes (out of 7 classes altogether). His schedule isn't what he originally wanted, but it's better than what it started out as. His best friend Tim moved over the summer, and he's been trying to find a 'niche' group of friends this fall. He is adjusting well to high school life, and likes having freedom with his car to go to activities and events.

First Day of School

Kanyon is in 3rd grade this year. His teacher is Mr. Lund--the same teacher that Jonah and Micah had for 3rd grade. Kanyon has an interest in science, and Mr. Lund really likes science, so I hope that it will be a good match! This is the first male teacher that Kanyon has had, and Mr. Lund is very patient and level-headed, so I feel confident that it will be a good school year for him. Even though we're in the same building, I don't see Kanyon a lot during the school days because the 3-5 grades have a different recess and lunch schedule than the K-2 grades (and I work in the Kindergarten room). This is the first year since Ammon was in 1st grade that I'm not a regular volunteer in Kanyon's classroom, either, which is weird for me. There was not a good time between their class schedule and my daily schedule to make it work out. I do go into his classroom about 20 minutes once each week, but it's during spelling time, so I just help as Mr. Lund needs it (instead of being a regular guest reader, or having a regular weekly assignment to do with the students); mostly I just sit and observe (which is helpful for my future teaching experience).

My para assignments changed this year. Last year I was in the Kindergarten classroom all day (which I really enjoyed) because there was only one teacher with two big classes, but there was more Kindergarten students this year, so they have an additional teacher for a 3rd class. Mrs. Mark's morning class has 26 students in it, so I help her in the morning, but the new Superintendent said the afternoon numbers didn't qualify me to help in both the kindergarten rooms in the afternoon (they have 18 students each). So now in the afternoon, I go up to the Pioneer Preschool and work in the 4-year-old classroom. I specifically help a boy that has autism. It took a couple of weeks for me to get into the swing of my new schedule. I really missed being in the elementary school all day, and I missed working with the Kindergarten students, but now that I have gotten into a routine and found my groove, I am enjoying my new assignments and my schedule once again.