First Time....

Tomorrow.  Tomorrow is the first time in 13 years I won't be standing at the door of my classroom, eagerly awaiting the children as they race down the hallway, ready to meet their new teacher.  Tomorrow marks the first time I didn't set up a classroom, or decorate any bulletin boards.  It's the first time in 13 years I didn't have to send a "Welcome to Ms. Diem's class" email to the families that would be spending the next ten months with me.  No labeling of coat hooks or mailboxes, desks or folders.  Tomorrow is the first time in 13 years I won't be greeted with hugs from students, past and future.

Instead, I will be in a new school, with a community that doesn't know me.  I'll watch as 400 students stream through the doors in search of their classroom.  The younger students will flood the hallway with hugs in their arms as they approach their new classroom and their new teachers.  The older students will send high fives flying across the hallway as they check in at their lockers before heading to meet their new teachers.

The hallways will be full of energy.  The teachers will be smiling, hiding that tiny bit of first day anxiety that lingers no matter how many years you've been teaching.

And me?

I won't be standing at the door of my classroom waiting for my students.  Not this year.

Am I sad about that?  Yeah.  I am.
I miss my classroom.  I miss the families that I've known for years whose children were finally old enough to be in my class.  I miss my hallway pals and the conversations we had every morning while the kids streamed in.

But.

I am excited.  I am actually really excited.

Because this year?  This first day of school?

The whole building is my classroom.  And while I am not going to be greeting everyone by name (yet!) and I might not have my own class, this new adventure will have me exploring the world of educational technology with over 400 students and 100 staff members.  An easy transition from corner classroom to entire school?  Nope.  A scary one?  Kinda.  One I'm ready to take on?  Absolutely.

Let the technological adventures begin!

It's Elemental

I love reading books that are littered with quotes like this.  It makes me feel like I'm on a treasure hunt, and there are gems buried everywhere I look.  This one though?  Super timely for me.

The idea of finding your passion, of being in your element, it's what convinced me that it was time to consider a change.  I've loved my 13 years in the classroom.  I love meeting a new group of kids every September, and crying when we part in June.  I love setting up my room each fall, clean and shiny desks, awaiting eager little brains.  I love watching the light bulbs go off as dendrites are built.

Mostly, though, I love watching kids do things they never thought they'd be able to, things they never knew were even possible.  Most of the time, this involved technology, an element in which I love using to connect with kids.  I love using technology to light up little brains.  Figuratively, of course - no electrodes touching any heads in my room! (arms and legs?  That's a different story, thanks to the MaKeyMaKey, of course!)

So when the opportunity came for me to transition out of the classroom, and into a position that revolves around using technology to help turn on light bulbs for a whole school?  I couldn't pass it up.  And I am SO excited.  I love walking into my new school, the energy is unlike any other I've been to.  I mean, it's hard not to get excited when you enter a building, a school community, that has devoted time, energy, resources, and funding to "inspire a passion for learning... in a warm, innovative, and engaging environment" for all members of the community - teachers and students alike.

They don't just talk the talk - saying they incorporate technology as a tool in all learning areas.  They walk the walk.  They do whatever it takes to support learning in all areas, from providing laptops and iPads to students and teachers, to scheduling time in the innovation hub, to providing recess for ALL (yes, even 6th - 8th grade) students because it's the right thing to do for kids.

Walking into this school, I am in my element.  The passion is palpable.  And I so LOVE what I'm doing!

Triple Crown Worthy News

Yesterday, after 37 years without, the horse world celebrated a new Triple Crown Winner.  That's quite a long spell without watching one well-bred thoroughbred claim victory in the Belmont, Derby, and Preakness.  But yesterday, it happened.  American Pharoah and his jockey Victor Espinoza crossed the finish line of the Belmont with a victorious fist pump, securing the first Triple Crown since 1978.

Affirmed took the title in 1978 with jockey Steve Cauthen aboard.  I was born in 1978, which makes it a pretty special year.  And 37 years later, 37 years after Affirmed took the title, I've got some big news, too.

I've spent my entire teaching career in the same district, same building, and believe it or not, the same classroom.  From pre-student teaching to student teaching, to a year and a half as the building sub completing three long-terms, including one in my room..... I have spent all 13 years of my career in what I have always thought was the most incredible place to teach.  And while I still think that my district, and especially my school, is a pretty incredible place to teach, it's time to move on.

An opportunity crossed my path that was too good to pass up.  So, after 13 years in my classroom, I am stepping out of the classroom and into a leadership role at a local community day school as their Coordinator of Technological Play.  When my students asked me what that mean, I explained it to them like this:

In our classroom, I get to help guide you, my students, through your education while incorporating all sorts of fun technologies into our learning experiences.  In my new position, I'll get to do the same thing but instead of only my students, I'll get to work with an entire school.  And instead of helping just my teammates, I'll get to work with all the teachers.

I could see it landing in their eyes, and there were some tears (many of which were my own) but I think we've come to an understanding that while there is sadness in leaving my home of 13 years, there is excitement in starting a new adventure.

So it is with a bittersweet note that I bid farewell to the incredible Conant Elementary School and say hello to Hillel Day School.  As this momentous event in my life has been punctuated by a Triple Crown win, I think that's a good sign, don't you?

State Testing Guidelines?

State Test Protocol: Severe Weather

1. Should a severe weather situation occur during testing, please remain calm. To display any kind of anxiety would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.  

   

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2. Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes. You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a testing irregularity and must be reported. 
3. Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing materials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage which may short out the technology that is already on it's last limb.
4. Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a student's test materials. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing. 
5. Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room, have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the technology, causing a short. 

   

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6. Note that if technology shuts off mid-test, all work will be lost, and as technology is limited as it is, there is not time for your class to have an additional tech period to retake and finish any assessment.
7. Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone shove their test tools into their shirts….. being very careful not to break screens or accidentally shut off the tool.  See step 6. 
8. If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing. And of course make sure they leave their test tools behind. You WILL have to account for those. 
9. Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land. So…..please take extra precautions. Remember…..once you have checked them out, they should never leave your hands.
10. When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests, unless of course they have been through standardized test training and have signed off on the test administration document. 

    

    Source

11. Please do not pray should a severe weather situation arise. Your priority is to actively monitor the test and a student might mark in the wrong section if you are praying instead of monitoring. I'm sure God will put war, world hunger, crime, and the presidential primaries on hold until after testing is over. He knows how important this test is. 

Source: Anonymous Internet Wisdom

Updated for 2015 by @GetTeaching

Tutoring?

It's spring break here in Michigan, and today, it was Opening Day (capitalized because it is indeed a holiday!)  I love that the two coincided this year, as I was able to catch quite a bit of the game, and will be able to watch the rest of the games this week without worry of staying up too late.  (Boring, I know, but I'm in bed early most nights....)

Back to spring break.

Aside from not having to set an alarm, breaks are a great time to play.  So far I've played with my friend and her family at the Detroit Institute of Arts, with my niece both at home and at Saturday's Seder, with my twitter world (that I've been neglecting lately,) with my puppy pals on our day time walks, and today, with my Minecraft tutor.

He wouldn't necessarily consider himself a tutor, but he might.

We met a few months back, when I was just starting off with Minecraft in the classroom.  He offered his services then, yet I wasn't quite ready.  I didn't even know what to do, much less what to ask!  Fast forward four months, and I was ready.  I had my list of questions, and sent them to him ahead of time.

I arrived and he was working on some really neat projects in the back yard that involved power tools and wood.  Two fun things to play with in my mind!  He shared the projects that he's working on (American Ninja Warriors?) and then we headed in to the computer.

My goal was to learn how to build and use sticky pistons, circuits, and create different effects using light and sound with the circuits.  He was quite prepared - had multiple examples already set up in the world he created just for this lesson.  As he explained different things, more questions bubbled.  Overall, we spent almost 90 minutes exploring Minecraft.  I took about 4 pages of notes, too, so I can follow up when I'm playing on my own.

Let me tell you, I learned way more than I bargained for!  Like I said, I was hoping to learn about circuits and such, but I also learned about pressure plates, building songs with note blocks, different server commands, different "worlds" that can be joined.  I'm so glad it's break so I can continue to explore!

By the way.  I don't think I mentioned it yet, but my tutor?  He's 9.  He's almost 10, though.

Sometimes, when we sit down and listen to what are kids are becoming experts on, we find we learn a lot more than any test or paper would ever show...

Finally! A blog!

For the past few years I've had class websites, class blogs, helped other teachers create websites, and supported said teachers in maintaining their websites.

I've had countless visitors in my classroom, nearly 200 students and their families... you name it, I've probably had it in my classroom!

And through it all, I've had the idea of a blog of my own running through the back of my brain.... and now it's time to make that a reality!

I'm looking forward to sharing the ins and outs of my classroom and my life as a teacher.  It's been a wild ride, and there's always room for more!