Deux

     Summer allows me to enjoy some down time, but it always takes me at least 10 days to unwind and stop checking my calendar and work email. With that said, the perception of teachers enjoying a summer free of any school-related work is unfortunately untrue. I'm already planning for the fall, including redesigning the classroom space. I have several education-related books on my reading list and have signed up for a MOOC (it's tangentially related to English). Pinterest sings its siren song as always, as does Twitter.
     I'm moving classrooms again which affords the opportunity to purge materials and rethink the classroom set-up. I'm sad to lose a bank of large windows in my current classroom, as the open feeling creates the illusion of a larger space, allows for greater supervision as I move between my classroom and the adjoining collaboration space, as well as the opportunity to capitalize on the natural light (I had planned an indoor herb and fragrance garden).  However, we are gaining double the whiteboard and bulletin board space. As an added bonus, they are replacing SmartBoards in many rooms and installing Epson projectors and brand spanking new tables should be arriving shortly. I'm excited at the prospect of providing space for students to showcase their learning and have been browsing sites and blogs for ideas and the extra whiteboard space will enable us to collaborate in another way. The classroom space adjoins a collaboration space we creatively call the "long room" that we are planning to renovate. We really do need to come up with a better name, but nothing has come up as a replacement yet.  I look forward to utilizing this space again this year as an extension of the classroom, but also hopefully using it as an opportunity to collaborate across grades.
   Aside from changing spaces, my teaching assignment includes prepping for one new class. Oddly enough, I realized I've never really taught a single subject, having been in positions where integrating curricula was expected and encouraged.  I have an ELA course, integrated with two dimensions of Health, which I'm thrilled to take on, in addition to Humanities and Film Studies. I'm always excited to revamp my current courses, as we continue to play with PBL, inquiry and hopefully expeditionary learning. I need to keep reminding myself that we need to go slow to create change, but it is a struggle to see initiatives just hitting our school that I know have been in place elsewhere for some time. However, we have made strides as a school since I've taught here and I know we will continue to move forward in the best interest of our students. We will be experimenting with Genius Hour, so I've signed up for a FREE brief course to make sure I can facilitate its integration among our middle school teachers. I'm curious to see where our students' passions will take us this year and hope that the added sharing space in our classroom will allow students to showcase their thinking.