If I think back to this time last year I was only just getting ready to interview for possible teaching positions for the 2013-2014 school year. Thankfully, before I knew it I was offered a job, and was giving my two weeks to my current employer at the time. Which reminds me, if you do not get a teaching job right away, do not refuse to work somewhere else! There are many other job opportunities in the education field, I ran a tutoring centre for just under a year. No, not my dream job, but a job that paid my bills and gave me valuable experience towards the big, and wonderful world of education. Explore it, or heck, try something completely different and unrelated if you wish!
With transitioning from one job to another so quickly and having very little time before I was face to face with three groups of enthusiastic, to say the least, 12 to 15 year olds, I of course was flying by the seat of my pants. Luckily, I think I work best under pressure. I like to think procrastination works in my favour… however, with having more time to prepare for this school year I thought why not share some helpful tips for starting off the school year a little less frazzled.
I am definitely proud of my organization and planning skills, but I am certainly not that teacher who already has her lessons planned and copied all the way up to Christmas break.
Be real.
What I plan on having ready before our first day back are more general tasks that will be helpful for teachers of all subject areas.
Planner: Some schools provide teacher planners while others do not, and you may have to purchase your own. If the Staples creation is not your cup of tea, there are plenty of wonderful teacher planners available online, and can be easily found by searching “teacher planner” on Pinterest. I am a sucker for planners, and this year I bought Kate Spade's 16 month planner from Chapters, simply because I could not let it pass me by. Personally, I use one planner for my everyday life, and with being given a school planner, I use one for my daily lessons and meetings.
Staying organized is a key foundation to a successful, and non-stressful school year.
Attendance and Grading folder: Secure your attendance files in something light and slim, easy to carry in events such as a fire drill or assembly. I like to copy two sheets per month to avoid overcrowding. Some choose to copy their attendance sheets for grading purposes, however in the past I have created a new document with larger columns simply for clarity. This year I have recently discovered a pre made grading document on Pages for all you Mac users, not sure how good/useful it is yet, but I am excited to try it! I am not sure if Word offers something similar, but I definitely recommend checking it out. Oh, and I highly suggest having a pocket or envelope of some sort for administrative handouts or student late slips, they pile up.
Substitute folder: Having a supply folder with pre made attendance sheets and a general welcome letter and daily schedule made my life so much easier in times of needing a replacement. I recently found this lovely editable cheat sheet online the Inspire Me, ASAP blog. Teaching high school I would adjust the left hand columns to periods of the day, providing a detailed outline of my lesson in the right column. It is definitely a ton of work to prep for a supply, and was surprisingly stressful. I didn’t think I was so attached to my students and classroom until I had to take my first day off for a conference. Having this folder definitely helped for my future days off, especially those unexpected.
Meeting notes and communication log folder: So excited to have found a great resource online the Clutter-Free-Classroom blog to organize my notes from school and parent meetings. I definitely plan on making this purchase! I will also be including communication logs in this folder, to keep track of parent communication, when, why, the resolution or conclusion etc.
I also recommend taking the time before first bell to organize your computer. Just like I do when organizing my home, I always make sure everything has a place. Every file has a specific folder, making my life so much easier when looking for something to use throughout the year!
With this little head start, hopefully our first days back in the classroom will allow us to have the much needed time between meetings to decorate, organize and plan our first days. Cannot wait to share my classroom with you!
XO
Ms. Elizabeth A.
| Originally posted online August 14th 2014. |
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