Another Year at TMS...

It never fails, but a school year just sneaks up on you and before you know it, you are three weeks in wondering how you got there.

August 27, 2012 started like any other day.  I got up, showered, and drove to school anticipating a new year at Texas Middle School.  The day was all about learning names (which makes kids camp seem like a snap when I have twice as many names to learn, but I did it) and reminding our eighth graders of the expectations and rule.  So needless to say, the first day of school always seems to drag on.

The rest of the first week seemed to be just the same.  Our school is big on relationship building and expectations in the first week, so that leaves little room for teaching.  I felt as if I would die if I didn't get to start math.  I was ready for it, but were my kids.

The first unit in our curriculum covers comparing and ordering rational numbers and then goes into expressing numbers in scientific notation.  This was getting into my wheel house.  I love teaching scientific notation.  When I was in school I hated it.  Trying to remember which way mad the exponent positive and which way made it negative was exhausting.  So I thought that I would teach my students the powers of ten and how they relate to sic not.  The started picking it up so fast.

Along with finally getting to start 'teaching', I have been getting to know my students over the last few weeks.  My 3rd period class is my smallest and I love when they come to the room.  There are two that are real characters, Eric and Kameron.  Yesterday morning, I saw Kameron coming down the hall way and he was wearing a shirt that said, "I Ain't Even Mad".  I thought that was great.  I told him I loved his shirt and he thanked me as he walked by.  About 20 min. later Eric came down the hall wearing a shirt that said "You Mad Bro?"  I cracked up thinking about Kameron.  I told Eric that Kameron was wearing a shirt that answered his question.  He said, "Yeah I know"  (and I thought girls were the only ones that planned wardrobes together).

When they finally showed up for class a couple hours later, I had to get a picture of them.

All and all, this year has started out rather well.  Can't wait to see what the future holds.