The First Week of School 2009-2010 School Year

Honestly the first day of school felt just like any other teaching day. It didn't feel like the first day of school, it felt more like an ordinary day and that I had been teaching them for a long time. But when I looked at their faces and nameplates I was reminded that this is a new group of students and a new experience for them. It is the first time they have been in 4th grade, and for a few it is the first time being at Saipan Community School.

I am pleased to say that in spite of my not feeling too well on Wednesday and Thursday, the first week of school went extremely well and I can tell that I have another wonderful group of students to work with. Altogether I have 19 students, but I am expecting one more by the end of next week. There are 14 (will be 15) boys and 5 girls. As has been in the past, the boys dominant in number and in talking! A phrase I think I will be saying a lot will be, "Nael, please stop talking so much." Cute kid, likes to talk.

On the first day of school my desk was pristine. By the end of the week it was a disaster. I swear I couldn't find it. I am really going to have to work on organization throughout the day, otherwise I will find myself in the classroom every weekend just trying to find my desk.

On Friday I instructed the students to make their first journal entry about their first week in 4th grade. I simply asked them to write about the things they learned this week and how they felt about the first week of school. I was pleased to read that many of them mentioned how much fun they had this week. Some even said they had fun with the homework. Can you imagine that?

Getting Ready

This past week I have been busy getting ready for another school year to begin. I can hardly believe it is that time again. The summer break has gone by so fast. Am I ready? Aside from a few little details such as labeling folders, filing papers away, and making sure the classroom is cleaned, I am as ready as I ever will be.

The first day of school is always the biggest challenge for me to anticipate and plan. I probably spend too much time or thought on getting the lesson plans done, but I consider the lessons one of the most important parts of my job. I would rather over plan than not be thorough enough. Another time consuming project I worked on this past week was creating a new classroom newsletter. I could have used the format from last year, but I rather like the challenge of being creative and trying something new. It took me nearly all morning just formatting the cells to fit the information I want to include in the newsletter, but I think it was well worth the time and effort. I'm sure I will tweak it a time or two before I am completely satisfied with it.

As of Friday, I have 19 students. A nice size class. I am getting more excited about meeting them and getting better acquainted as the year goes on. Last year I fell in love with my 4th grade students. They were a really good group of students to teach and I had a lot of fun with them. I hated to see them go, but I did my job and I had to promote them to 5th grade. Fortunately, 5th grade is right next door to my classroom, so I will still see my former students everyday.

I have been praying for some time now that God will show his favor upon me in the classroom for this 2009-2010 school year. Sandy and I even hope to have Pastor Abe pray a prayer of dedication in our classrooms. He did this for both of us under the cross in the chapel at the first of the year. It was very moving and I felt like God was giving me the courage and strength I needed to do my job.

My goal for this school year is to work on keeping a balance in my life. Last year I spent too many hours in the classroom and too many tutoring in my apartment. As much as I enjoy helping students, it was just too much and nearly consumed all my time. I had no personal life. So this year I hope to keep a healthy balance between helping my students and getting away from it once in a while. I'm not sure yet what activity I will get involved in, but I am considering getting a personal trainer to help me work on my other goal of losing some weight and gaining some muscle.

Another goal I have set for this year is to stay on top of grading. This is the one area of teaching I dislike the most. Grading is time consuming and I tend to avoid it. So, I am trying to think of creative and efficient ways to keep me motivated and pumped up about grading papers and staying on top of things like that.

Tomorrow is Saturday. I think I will take a long walk along the beach....before I head to the classroom

.

The Beach along Sugar Dock

The Last Few Days Before Another School Year Begins

I have been back on island for ten days now. In some ways it feels like I never even left. I am happy that I came back early, though. In the days before school begins I have kept busy giving my apartment a thorough cleaning. By that I mean taking everything out of the cupboards and closets and getting all the dust, cobwebs, and dead insects cleaned out. I even borrowed a ladder in order to take the overhead light covers off and clean them of dead bugs. Don't you just hate looking up at light fixtures and seeing shadows of dead things in them? Well I do. Now my sister, Becky will tell you that I am not one who particularly likes cleaning at that level, but she would be proud that I cleaned the light fixtures. Anyway the apartment is now very clean and organized. I should celebrate by having company over for dinner.

Working in the apartment isn't the only thing I have been busy doing. I have a project I am working on now. I am hoping to create a little flower garden on my balcony. Last May a kind lady gave me some flower seeds from her flower garden. Zinnias, marigolds, bachelor buttons,

and some other kind of seed that I can't remember just now. I stored them up for the summer and this past week I finally got around to planting them. I am hoping they will sprout and flower. I think it will make a lovely flower garden on the balcony. If things bloom as I hope, then later I would like to try to grow some fresh herbs. The hardest part is being patient while the growing process takes place.

Tomorrow teacher inservice week begins and the week after that students start school. Like I said I am glad that I returned to Saipan early if for any reason to avoid feeling rushed getting ready for school. That happened last year and I felt like I was always trying to catch up. This year I feel different, though. I am struggling with wanting to be back home in Indiana. I really miss my family and friends and especially my sister. I feel like I left my heart and my head back there. I know I will do my job and I will give 100% doing it, but I can't seem to get rid of this heaviness on my heart. Maybe my garden project will help.