Class is MOST DEFINITELY in session!

I'm well into my very first week of teaching, and words cannot describe my new experiences. To say the least, I've felt an extremely diverse range of emotions: ecstatic, ambitious, scared, anxious, worried, stressed, happy, comfortable, relaxed, etc. During my first couple of days of training last week, I worried myself sick over a number of things. First, I hadn't even been to the high school until Thursday of last week, leaving me with little time to acclimate myself to the environment and prepare for students. Second, my class rosters weren't posted online until Friday. Third, I was told not only would I not have my own classroom, but that I would be teaching in five different classrooms throughout the day. After three nights of little sleep, I finally said to myself, "There's nothing I can do about the obstacles that come my way. I need to relax and enjoy every moment of this. Things will work out because they have to." Since Friday, I've been un-Vanessa-ing-ly CALM. I even managed to steal myself a wood and metal, paint-splattered cart to call home while I'll be traveling from class to class. All of that being said, I LOVE MY NEW CAREER!

The new Ms. Noonan!
Look at that adorable, cheesy smile :)

 

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I read this today while looking for some solid ways to establish my classroom environment. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

That Noble Title

Teacher

- Trish Marcuzzo

 



As we begin each new school year, let us remember the fine nuances and the distinguishing essence of that proud word Teacher.

Let us be reminded of the tools you have at your command, because of your talents, your traits, and your training...and because you chose to become a Teacher.

Teacher - you are a poet, as you weave with your colorful magic language a passion for your subject. You create a vast and grand mosaic of curiosities to imagine, secrets to unfold, connections only to begin the cycle of learning.

Teacher - you are a physicist, as you bring magic, logic, reason, and wonder to the properties, changes, and interactions of our universe.

Teacher - you are a maestro, a master of composing, as you conduct and orchestrate individuals' thoughts and actions from discordant cacophony into harmonic resonance.

Teacher - you are an architect, as you provide each student a solid foundation, but always with a vision of the magnificent structure that is about to emerge.

Teacher - you are a gymnast, as you encourage the contortions and gyrations of thoughts and the flexing and strengthening of ideas.

Teacher - you are a diplomat and the ambassador of tact and sensitivity, as you facilitate productive, positive interactions among the multiplicity of personalities and cultures, beliefs, and ideals.

Teacher - you are a philosopher, as your actions and ethics convey meaning and hope to young people who look to you for guidance and example.

As you prepare for your first day and each day, when your students enter and you encounter their attitudes, ranging from eager, enthusiastic anticipation to uncomfortable, uncertain apathy, recall the powers you have within...from poet to philosopher...and present yourself to those students as a person worthy of the noble title... Teacher.

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I can't even describe how much my kids ROCK. Sure, there will always be the few students who hate reading (which makes me extremely sad), think I'm so un-cool, refuse to pay attention, and simply cannot keep their mouths shut during my class periods. But out of my almost 100 students, I couldn't have been more lucky.

Here's what my day looks like:

Period 1 - Strategic Literacy
Period 2 - ESL English 3
Period 3 - ESL English 4
Period 4 - Plan Period
Period 5 - ESL English 5
Period 6 - Lunch
Period 7 - Plan Period
Period 8 - Strategic Literacy

I have four preps, which may seem like a lot, and it is, but I really enjoy teaching mostly different things throughout the day rather that teaching the same content period-in, period-out.

Tuesday was also interesting because of the high heat index. The district let us out two hours early (1:45) so that students could try and get home before it was too hot to deal with. I'm torn on this. On the one hand, most of the school does not have AC, so it does get extremely hot in the classrooms; but on the other hand, I never got any time off due to heat. We went to school in rain, snow, tornados, and especially heat when I was younger. But hey, two periods off was a nice surprise (even though it was day 2!).

More to come this weekend. I apologize if I haven't really existed to anyone these past two weeks. As a brand new teacher, I don't have any resources to pull out from last year. I'm starting fresh, which means I am working both at East HS and at home to stay on top of my planning. No complaints here - I love it!!

As soon as I received all of my employee information,
I went straight to B&N to sign-up for my Educator card!!

Tomorrow, my new career BEGINS!

Tomorrow, my new career BEGINS! It's officially a work night for me; a week from tonight, I'll be able to say it's a school night - gosh, I haven't had one of those in a long time!!

I've set out my clothes and packed my bag for tomorrow. Now, I wait for sleep to come, though I must admit, I'm not sure when that will be! I'm so excited - ecstatic, beside myself, pumped!

I still cannot believe that tomorrow, a real district is going to train me to be a part of their team. I'm going to spend the next three days meeting new people and hopefully making some life-long friends. I'm so grateful that District 205 has new teacher training, not only to let us know how to work in their community, but also to work well with others who are experiencing some of the same things I am.

Miss Noonan will be reporting all week here! Wish me luck!

New Hire Meeting with HR!

It's official! I'm now an employee of District 205!

Today I went into the Administrative Building to have my New Hire meeting with HR. Even though they scheduled this appointment with me only yesterday, I was so excited to attend. It's now official. I signed all of the paperwork. I gave them my fingerprints. I took my teacher ID photo (and I must say, it turned out pretty darn cute!). The woman who worked with me was named Vernessa. How ironic! When she introduced herself, I commented on how awesome her name was (being so close to mine, that is). Where should I begin?

My initial interview back in April was at the Administrative Building, which lives on the upper levels of a bank. I wasn't exactly sure how to get back to its location, but during my drive, things began looking familiar. I'm proud to say that come Monday when I need to report to New Teacher Training, I'll know exactly how to get to the District 205 building without even using my temperamental GPS. Woo hoo! During my drive to and from Rockford, I did a lot of sightseeing because in just a few short days, these will become my new stomping grounds. It's odd - I'm about to go from being one of the poorest women in existence to a woman with money! So driving, I said things like Ooh, I'll have to hit that Target, and I can see myself picking up my morning coffee there, and I'm going to take Jay to that movie theater for his birthday. Just thinking about all of the new memories I'm about to make lifts my spirits so tremendously. I'm so excited to discover what the future holds for me!


Here's my first financial goal of my life: I will pay off all of my debt by December 31, 2013 (excluding Sallie Mae, of course, because she practically owns me). Friends and family, I'm relying on you to hold me accountable for reaching this goal by the new year. I can do it! "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can."

Let me just add that every single person I've come across who's employed by District 205 is nothing short of amazing. At this point, I could not have been placed within a better district. I suppose all of my griping about not getting hired with other schools was for nothing, huh? The right job has finally come along!

During my meeting with Vernessa, we discussed my pay (yippie!), benefits, pension, beneficiaries (oh, geez), etc. - you know, all that grown-up stuff! By the end of the meeting, my head was whirling (in a good way). I went and took my drug test on my way home today, but I still need to get a physical and a TB test done within the next two weeks. One of the HR workers told me that as soon as Principal Enright receives the results to both my background check and drug test, I can go to East HS to pick up my ID badge and laptop. Eeeeeek, I'm just so giddy with what's to come.

Next stop: New Teacher Training (Monday-Wednesday)!

I am SO ready for this!

THE CALL

ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013, I RECEIVED THE PHONE CALL THAT WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE FOREVER!

I was recently offered a full-time position with the Rockford Public School District 205 as both a Gen. Ed. and an ESL Strategic Literacy Specialist. Cool, but what the heck is that, you ask? Well, to be honest, I'm not 100% sure myself either, but let me try to explain.

On the General Education side (or the mainstream classroom), I will be working with tenth grade struggling readers. To strengthen their reading comprehension abilities, I will help these students decide which reading strategies will help aid in their comprehension of a text (maybe by completing a KWL chart, for example). And on the ESL side, I will be working with third, fourth, and fifth level ELLs as they continue progressing and internalizing their academics in the English language (all while continuing to strengthen their language skills). And let me conclude this paragraph with a big 'I think.' More to come on this after I complete New Teacher Training on August 19-21! Me - a new teacher?! THIS IS BLISS!

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But let me back up for a moment and explain the absurdity of all of this awesomeness!

So after six and a half grueling years of college education (two private schools and one public school transfers later), I finally graduated on December 15, 2012 - what was then thought to be the happiest day of my life. I had anticipated this date more so than my future wedding to Mr. Right, the birth of my angelic children, even the day when my retirement pension kicks in. But not a week after crossing the stage at a college where I was more than ready to leave, the dark face of reality kicked in: I needed to find a job!

After eight months of tirelessly filling out hours-long online applications and receiving either bad news or no news, I was about to give up. I was really beginning to think that I had made a mistake to go into teaching when there has been such a shortage of available jobs. My insurance would be running out in five months (I can only stay on my mother's until I turn twenty-six), so I needed to find something, anything, and fast. What also surprised me was the fact that I went on a rocking interview with an ESL representative from Rockford's district back in April. The interview ran over an hour long, and after most of the questions I answered, the interviewer responded with words of praise or encouragement. At the end of the interview, she told me that she would pass my information on, along with her recommendation, to a principal and I would be hearing from him within a couple of weeks. I then asked, "Will the principal still contact me even if he decides he's chosen another teacher?" To which she replied with a smile, "Yes, but I don't think you'll have anything to worry about."

So why the heck did early August show up and I had still heard nothing from District 205?

But while this year had been taking its toll on me, I did have a pretty fantastic summer, albeit one devoid of any sort of finances or means. I stood up as the Maid of Honor in a friend's wedding, tanned on the beach, camped in the Porcupine Mountains, read a whole TON of books, traveled to Buffalo, N.Y. to surprise the boyfriend's uncle for his seventieth birthday, and concluded with a trip to the Upper Peninsula, Michigan to visit my step mom. These last two trips took place back-to-back, and I remember being with both of our families discussing the great importance of me finding a job. So on my final 400 mile drive home from Hancock, MI on Monday morning, I was locked, loaded, and ready with a plan to find a job and secure myself some benefits, even if that meant stocking hay bales outside The Tractor Supply.

And then it happened.

While sitting stopped in bumper-to-bumper traffic along I-43 West in Milwaukee, my cell phone rang. It was the very wonderful woman who had interviewed me back in April. She was calling to ask me - ME - if I had already "secured a position" within her district. She was asking me - Vanessa Noonan, twenty-five-year-old-little-girl-with-only-dreams-of-becoming-a-REAL-teacher - if her district had already given me a position! And then get this: She was shocked when they hadn't! She then called HR to ask why I hadn't been placed, and they told her it must have been some sort of computer glitch or something, but that I was already supposed to have a job with the district. When I hung up, she was already in the process of having one of her principals call me. On Wednesday he called. On Thursday, he interviewed me; and by noon that same day, I had "secured a position."