Hey all! I am linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5 2.0!
For teachers, September is the "New Year". It's a clean slate. While so much about my job stays the same year after year and it can get monotonous, there are a lot of things that change. And even the small changes bring some newness and excitement to the school year!
Here are a couple new things going on in my music room this year...
2. The faculty lounge has moved. I know this sounds silly, but the faculty lounge moving is a BIG DEAL. For my first 13 years teaching, the lounge was upstairs. My room has always been about as far away from the lounge as you can get. This year, it is right down the hall! I'm happy about this for two main reasons:
1. My refrigerated food will now only be about 30 seconds away. This means I will have access to it even if it's not my lunch time because I could make a quick pop over to the lounge between classes or even send a student.
2. More traffic in my hallway. Since my hallway is a dead end, I rarely see other adults in my neck of the woods unless they are bringing their kids to music class. I'm excited to see more of my colleagues throughout the day. A quick smile or a hello is a great pick me up! My friend Peggy always waves hello when she passes my room on her way to lunch. I'm always teaching kindergarten at that time, so it's fun to have a quick distraction!
3. New ideas! Summer really gives me a time to decompress from the school year and become CREATIVE again. I am proud to say that this August, I have come up with some great ideas for new music lesson, strategies, and themes for my classroom. I also starting surfing around on the website Teachers Pay Teachers and even though I haven't bought everything I want, I am getting ideas for things I can make myself. I did buy a lot though...
4. Under the desk bins. Passing out materials is soooooo time consuming. Sometimes I put materials for the whole day under the desks, but everything ends up getting kicked around. Well this year, I purchased some bins for under the desks. So far, having these bins has saved me A LOT of time passing out materials.
You know you are a teacher when you are excited for UNDER THE DESK BINS!!!
5. I have a new, POSITIVE attitude for the school year! I'm trying to stay veryyyyyyy positive. No, not everything at my workplace is perfect, but I am determined to be positive and hope/work for the best.
Are there any new changes happening at your workplace?
LoL on the desk bins! It's the little things! Even though I'm not in school and my kids are out of the house, I've used the start of the school year to re-set and work on some new goals. I hope your positive attitude can last - I'm sure it makes a difference!
ReplyDeleteIt sure is the little things. :) I hope my positive attitude lasts as well. I mean, it always wanes, but if it wanes in April, that will be better than if it wanes in Feb. ;)
DeleteGreat idea to put the bins under the desks for the day. Hope you and the kids have a great school year! You teachers do work very hard :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deborah!
DeleteI would be so excited about having the faculty lounge so close! I had a bathroom in my old room and when I got switched to a new room I was so excited that I was right next door to a restroom. It's a student hall bathroom, but who cares. It's the little luxaries that make us excited!
ReplyDeleteSo where did you get the extra 100 minutes from? Was that time that you did not have class last year? Do you still have the same amount of plan time?
I remember you telling me about that bathroom in your room. That would be AMAZING!! But I wouldn't let the students use it. It would be MINE. ;) The extra 100 minutes = 20 minutes per day and it's out of my plan time. :(
DeleteWOW! I love how enthusiastic you are about your job! That is so rare and such a good quality especially for teachers. My sister (9yr old) has had very elderly, very ready to retire teachers who have lost that go-get-em attitude. Very refreshing, and believe me I totally understand excitement over things like bins. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am not enthusiastic every day... and I am not enthusiastic come March, lol!! But I try my best. I am sure I will someday be that very old, very tired teacher who just wants to ride off into the sunset just as soon as I have enough in my retirement fund. :) hahaha!
DeleteSince I posted on IG, I was offered a new job closer to home! I signed the offer letter yesterday and kicked off the background check.
ReplyDeleteWow, congratulations! That is so exciting!
DeleteThe biggest change at my work at the bank (and it's really big) is that they hired a person to be my backup. She works all week, and I only work 3 days a week, so it's nice to know someone can help out and put out the fires if anything comes up when I'm out. That makes me feel better about vacation time too - not stressing that people are really missing me at work! Eventually she will take over my job when I decide to retire, so it's all good. Under the desk bins are exciting!! I'm trying to get my office at home more organized. I bought a lamp so I can see better. I like to have really bright lights! Working at home is a challenge. I find a million other things I'd rather be doing :)
ReplyDeleteThat's so awesome you have a back up! I can imagine how settling that must feel. OH yeah, if I worked from home, I would want an organized space. The better the space, the quicker I could get done with work and do fun things, right!?
DeleteHooray for being closer to the faculty lounge and therefore the food and bathrooms. I have never understood how teachers could hold it for so many hours... ;).
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the desk bins and being organized, cleaning things out, etc. I think I've been in my current home office so long that I could stand to do that. When I worked at corporate we have cubicle moves every so often that forced it.
Where is your office in your home?
DeleteHaving the lounge closer to your classroom sure is convenient! I love that you took on a new responsibility to make sure your students have the option to learn band instruments. You're a dedicated teacher!
ReplyDeleteThanks San! Hopefully I keep my sanity!
DeleteThis is such a happy post! With that attitude, I think you are going to have such a fab school year :-) I like that you will be a bit closer to other colleagues. That really helps me get through the day sometimes!
ReplyDeleteit's so nice to connect with others! Really helps morale!
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