Saturday, May 2, 2015

Currently May! And.....how to finish strong this year!

Hooray!
Thanks to Farley I'm back to blogging!
Where did the time go?
I have been swamped with some exciting (and not-so-exciting) thing the past few months.
I hope to be back at this blog more frequently.
Look for a blog make-over to be coming soon!

Now on to this month's Currently--

I love Sirius XM!
I have it in my car, and on a small player for when I'm at home.
Couldn't live without it!

We have 70 degree weather today people!
It was great to be out and about in short sleeves.

Our PLC meetings have been a bit stressful this year. 
We've been trying to mesh tried and true traditions with new experiences.  It takes a lot of planning.

My sweet little dog has been diagnosed with a heart murmur, and is having an EKG done this week.
I'm hoping it all turns out to be a minor issue.
He is a chipper 12-year-old cock-a-poo, and my best buddy.

Ugh - our district writing assessments were due Friday. 
They are hanging over my head this weekend.
As you can see I'm blogging, rather than working on them.

The summer looks to be a fun one.
I have a new teaching position that involves some traveling each month.
I'm so excited about it, and will share more soon.
I also have getaway shopping trips in the works with some girlfriends.
And I hope to have more time to decorate my house - possibly with some new furniture.

Are you looking a way to help your students to finish the year in a strong way?
One of the things we did to encourage our students to make the most of the last few days and weeks of school was to do a lesson on "Finishing Strong".
We watched this truly inspiring video:
The kids absolutely loved it!
The music and quotes just make you want to step it up!

I created some follow up activities so the students could write down their plans for finishing strong 
this school year.
We talked about perseverance, and how setting goals is the key to achieving more.
Check out the packet of activities by clicking on HERE.

6 comments:

  1. I hope your dog is ok!
    My principal showed us that video last year…She should probably show it again. I am having a hard time this year. Spring/summer fever has hit me just as bad as the kids.
    I don't have any suggestions about your new team member…sorry. I've always been the new person. I know that it can be intimidating trying to step into big shoes. Good luck! Have a good month!
    Steph
    Simple Insights

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    1. Thanks for the comment!

      I agree about having spring/summer fever. With the weather being so nice it seems like school should be out.

      Hope you have a good month, too!

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  2. I hear ya on the writing assessments. I have the biggest stack of published pieces on my desk I still need to work through. As much as I love seeing my kids end product I cannot stand grading them, it might be my least favorite thing. I think it's got to be because it's so time consuming. It seems like there's got to be a better way!

    Good luck on getting yours done!

    -Melanie
    A Trendy Teacher

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    1. I love reading my students' writing, too. It's just that the stack is so intimidating!

      Thanks for the comment!

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  3. I'm also drowning in assessments! Reports are coming up so fast! I hope the new person mellows out a little over time! Sometimes I think people feel that they need to prove themselves when they are new to a school and go overboard. I'm very lucky to be working with a cohesive team this year but I have seen it in the past! Good luck!

    Yukari
    A Pinch of Kinder

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    1. Thank you for the comment on my blog. I'm hoping the person mellows out, too. You are probably right that people want to prove themselves - thanks for sharing that perspective.

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