"Words are our most
inexhaustible source of magic."
-J.K. Rowling
Grades are looking good - maybe a little crazy good. I always like to kick-off the year with the opportunity for students to earn high marks to make sure we all realize it is possible. This year - since we’re up to our eyeballs in uncertainty - I laid it on thick. I’m glad I did. At this point, if you don’t have the grade you want, you may be missing assignments. Time to book an appointment with me for Distance Learning Support - I’d love to help. Those of you with great grades, congratulations! Also, be aware that the assignments will be ramping up in challenge and expectation; you will have to work harder to keep those marks. I know you all can do it.
Last week we got two of our most important practices up and running: Writer’s Notebooks and Independent Reading. We’ll be reading five days a week for at least 20 minutes each time, and writing as often as possible. Parents, ask your kids about both. Together those routines will strengthen our writing and reading skills and get our brains up and running again. To aid these ventures, this week we kick-off our vocabulary work. It’s all coming together. The start of any school year is a lot of work for everyone. This year, I’m guessing we can agree, has been harder than most. We’re all a little tuckered out! Luckily, we have a long weekend in our sights. We’ve got this! Our first full week was just that - very full.
I do feel as though I’m beginning to see real students emerging from those screens, and I so like what I see. You Dragons are eager and positive and full of personality. Best of all is your potential - it’s impossible to miss! So… Back to School Night happened. I have to be honest, it was surreal. I missed seeing all of my Dragon parents personally. That being said, I loved our team’s presentation. We have so many teachers on Team Dragon this year, with many interesting stories. I kind of loved hearing first hand about my peers’ classrooms - I never get that chance. I feel very lucky to work with the people I do. Your kids are in very capable hands. Monday and Tuesday will be important this week in class. My teaching partner and I created an assignment which allows us to get a great snapshot of our students' capabilities and learn exactly what we need to guide our teaching moving forward. We’ll be able to accomplish this with engaging material and little stress. Win-win. The best part of this week will be the beginning of QuickWrites in our Writer’s Notebooks. I honestly love this with all my heart! And my past students have loved it too. Really! Even if you didn’t like writing before, this is going to be the year you learn to love writing. Parents, ask your kids about their “Apparently” story on Friday. I’d be lying if I said our first week went exactly as planned. There were, in fact, more than a few hiccups. Time to put flexibility in overdrive!
That being said, my students are rockstars! You all figured out how to find multiple virtual classes and adjust to having six teachers instead of just a few and you even made it look like it was no big deal. I was impressed. For me, last week was a huge relief. My biggest worry (and I am a professional worrier!) was that my students would feel very far away. And while it was different, we really started connecting, even on the first day. The best part was I got to see most of you through the heatwaves at our materials drive-through. At 105°, it was a sweaty party! I’m looking forward to meeting my new Dragon parents at Back to School Night, Thursday, August 20th. As I write this, I have no idea how that’s going to work. Watch for an email with the specifics; I’ll do the same. We’ll need to partner together to get through this crazy year! This week we will establish our classroom expectations, protocols, and vibe. We will do another “get to know you” project that will allow me to meet with every student in small breakout groups. We’ll close the week with our first writing assignment to kick things off and help me fine-tune my to-do list. Oh, and there may be a few more hiccups… Full disclosure: I've never written a blog before. Some I read can frustrate me. Have you ever Googled a recipe and had to scroll through miles of images and text, in search of a list of ingredients? Me too! I don't have the time.
However, I find something freeing in the craziness of this school year. I want to keep both students and parents updated. I also want us to all feel connected, even under the tagline, "Distance Learning." Blogging it is! I promise to keep things honest, pertinent, and brief. Please email me with comments and questions. Welcome to what is certain to be a year like no other. Together let's make it a good one! |
AuthorBeth Fabiano - Busy 7th Grade ELA teacher, wife, mother Archives
May 2021
Categories |