Summer on the Horizon

I was working through my lesson plans today when I turned the page in my planning calendar and there was June! Suddenly it seems that the year is about to end. (June 9th is our last day with students.) We are all talking about next year and what we are going to work on over the summer.

I am excited about next year and also a little disappointed. My Assistant Principal came to talk with me several weeks ago. She said that next year I won't be teaching Encore'. Encore' is what we call the classes the students attend while their classroom teachers have planning - art, PE, music, library and computer. This year I was part of the rotation for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders. You probably remember me complaining about 2nd grade being added during the first 9 weeks of school. It made it difficult for me to collaborate with teachers and keep up with the things that needed to be fixed.

But I was able to teach. For 40 or 45 minutes each day, the kids were mine. We went on Internet adventures, wrote stories and played games. I love the kids and the challenge to engage and stretch them. So when the AP came to me and told me that I wouldn't have a fixed schedule of classes next year, my first thought was "Darn!" I'll never be able to tell Kelsi from Jennifer. I won't get a hug from Nancy once a week. I won't be a real part of the Encore team of teachers.

I stewed about it and then I began to see the possibilities for next year- podcast book reviews, create a wiki for 5th grade, apply for grants, create digital photography projects, team teach with the librarian, . . .

In reality there is a lot still to do this year - inventory, computers to fix, decorate my classroom, finish a writing project with 1st grade and a unit on research with 3rd grade - but I am excited about the possibilities that next year holds.