School Stuff

Oh my...we are but one week away from Spring Break.  Wasn't it just yesterday I was showing off my room and welcoming my new class of students?  

And I just need to mention that I have an amazing team.  There are 4 second grades this year so I have 3 other team members.  A couple months ago, I was asked to be the team lead (which I accepted because it came with a monthly stipend) but even though I have the title, we all work so amazingly well together.  

As for my class...they keep me busy.  The "Ms. Koeck, ______________ (fill in the blank with some useless information or other) is still an everyday (all day) occurrence but they are generally otherwise well behaved and hard-working so I can forgive that little annoyance.  

That - and they keep me laughing ------

A couple weeks ago, we had Spirit Week with special dress up days each day.  One of the days was crazy hair day and I did not participate in this day.  I was trying to find some excuse to appease their disappointed and feeling like a spoilsport when one of my girls says, "that's okay, Ms. Koeck, you have crazy hair anyway."  

Hmmm...I know her motive was to be kind and understanding in encouraging me not to feel bad but 'crazy hair anyway'...really???? 


Last week Friday afternoon, the entire school went to an assembly to watch a Black History play some of the 4th and 5th graders put on.  During the performance, I noticed one of the 3rd grade boys doing everything he could to bother and annoy a few of my girls who were sitting in front of him.  Well...I don't play that way so on Monday, I 'invited' that boy into my room to apologize to the girls for being a nuisance.  One of our vocabulary words for the week was ashamed and one of my girls said, "can I ask you something?  Are you ashamed of yourself?"  Wow! I just about died laughing on the inside.  

And now for the biggest and best news on the teaching front...I  received a "best and brightest teacher" award from the state of Florida.  This award was based on last year's school year and to receive it you needed to have earned a rating of "effective" during a formal evaluation by your superior and your students needed to show an improvement growth  from beginning of the year to end (based on standardized test results).  The best thing about this is that in all my years of teaching, this is the first time I have ever received recognition for my work...it also is extremely delightful and helpful that it comes with an $800 bonus.