2 Stars & A Wish: Week 28

     With Spring Break come and gone, we are on our last stretch of school before summer holidays and I know that these next three months are going to go by very quickly! It is hard to believe that at this time last year, I was student teaching here and nervously hoping that a job opening would come up. That time only seems like a few short months ago and it is mind-boggling to think about how it has already been a year!

     I didn't write a reflection the last two weeks as it was our Parent-Teacher interviews and Spring Break holiday. I am trying, however, to finish strong with my reflections so I am back at it again!  Two things that I think went well this week are:

1 ) Completing 3 Labs This Week With Students
- While I teach Grade 7, 8, & 9 Science I do not have direct
  access to a lot of supplies or our science lab as these informally
  fall under the jurisdiction of our High School Science Teacher.
  As such, I've had a hard time planning a lot of science labs due
  to the logistics of putting everything together.
- Luckily, this week I was able to book our Home-Ec room so I
  would have access to sinks, lots of space, and some supplies, as
  well as borrow some supplies from our High School science
  program.
- My Grade 9 class completed a 10-station lab regarding Physical
  & Chemical Changes for our Chemistry unit and my Grade 7 class
  completed a exploratory lab regarding heat and thermometers for
  their unit on the Particle Theory of Matter!
- During Spring Break, my husband and I renovated our laundry
  room with all new cabinetry from IKEA which meant that we had
  A LOT of boxes on hand. To take advantage of this, I brought
  some into my Grade 8 Math class so we could not only build
  forts, but then practice determining the surface area of our fort
  for our unit on Measuring 3D Shapes!

2 ) Completing the Last Step For my Masters Program Admissions
- So this accomplishment isn't necessarily something that
   occurred in my classroom, but it is something that I am still
   very proud of as it occupied a lot of my mental energy this
   last little while.
- Earlier in February I completed the first portion of the admissions
  program which was very basic (forms with general information,
  letters of reference, about me statements, etc). After that I awaited
  anxiously for my email saying that I could schedule a time for my
  writing test, the second and last step to be considered for acceptance.
- On Thursday I was issued my timed writing test via email and now
  it is just a waiting game for a few weeks to see how it all turns out!

     One thing that I want to work on for next week, however, is organizing material for substitutes. I will be away Wednesday and Thursday to present at the MTS Awakening Possibilities Conference as well as attending meetings on Monday for my school. After factoring in that there is no school on Friday that leaves me with just one teaching day... the shortest teaching week for me on record. This will be the longest time I've planned for a sub so I hope it all turns out!

Week 26 Update

     Before Spring Break I shared that I wanted to put together some independent study packages for my students to finish over the break. After talking to other teachers, both in my school and through the blog, I decided against it. Many teachers agreed that the work wouldn't get done and I would be in the same place after Spring Break, but also have frustrated students. As such, I didn't put anything together and am just trying to get through the material that I can.