My first post!

Hi all!

I just created this blog to connect with other teachers and to get some great ideas from the blogging community!  It's my first year as a full time teacher.  I was a K-8 substitute teacher at a small charter school in Woodland Hills for the past two years.  Now, I'm starting my adventures as a third grade teacher in Las Vegas!  PD starts next week at the Venetian Hotel for two days.  How exciting is that?  Maybe I'll sneak downstairs and do some gambling on my lunch break?  Hah, just kidding.  At least they have PD in an exciting place for those new to the district.  There are TONS of new teachers out here and so many people are moving to Las Vegas from all over the country.  We are a part of a group for new teacher on Edmodo and everyone is posting about where they're from, what school they'll be at, and what grade/subject they're teaching.  I saw some people from Alaska, New York, tons from California, and a few from right here in Las Vegas.  Man, I wish there had been TONS of job openings in California.  I definitely miss the weather in sunny, Los Angeles.  Yes, Las Vegas is extremely sunny, but I miss the 80 degree days and 50-60 degree nights.  One day, it was still 97 degrees at 2 am!  EEK.  My AC has been on SO much.  I'm not used to needing the AC.  We only used it on extremely hot days in our apartment in LA.  

I'm dying to get into my classroom.  We can't get in there until Tuesday, and we start PD on Wednesday.  Not too much time to really work in there.  I'm hoping that I can work most of the day on Tuesday and then maybe again on the weekend.  My school here in Las Vegas is a turn around school.  That means that a couple of years ago, the test scores were really, really bad.  They brought in a new principal, a new staff, and completely redid the school.  Now they're considered a 5 star school (the highest score a school can get) because they've raised their test scores so much.  I'm just concerned because it is so rigid, which I understand because it is in a high poverty part of town, but it seems like teachers really have no freedom to be a teacher.  I've been so lucky (and spoiled - according to my mom) with my last school, that I have a huge reality check ahead of me.

I'm nervous about the first couple of days of school.  I've never been in a classroom during the first days, and I have NO idea what to do!  School starts on the 26, so I have a lot of work to do in the meantime.  Until then, how do you teach rules and procedures on the first day?  It's going to be tricky because the kids in my class on the first day are going to be switched up after a few weeks.  Weird, I know, but that's what the principal has decided on.  So, I have to be able to teach rules and procedures twice.    Let me know your thoughts.

I apologize about the boring look of the blog.  I just created it and I'm not sure how to make it look better!  Any suggestions on that would be great!  :)

xoxo,
Jen