My Cooperating Center is KINDA A BIG DEAL!! Week Four Student Teaching ATHENS Style

WOW, hard to believe that it's already week four!

So no big deal... but Athens was featured as the Program of the Month #StudentSuccess #SoProud #Blue&Gold You can read more about it at http://teachagpsu.blogspot.com/2016/02/program-of-month-athens-studentsuccess.html I feel very blessed to be at such an innovative, student centered, and successful program. So congrats Athens, so glad about this special recognition!

What happens at school when school is over?

We started off the week by setting everything up for the strawberry sale, and ordering more supplies for the Greenhouse. As the week continued, Mr. Steinfelt and I got some supplies for the tables in the Greenhouse, met with the Vice Principal to discuss differentiated instruction, and delved into the Tractor Supply Company grant. We also narrowed down the registration for ACES, looked up information regarding SLLC, and discussed IEPs... it was a good week with so much learning... on my part at least! (But I certainly hope my students as well!)



Strawberry Sale is up and running!

What happens INSIDE the classroom from bell to bell?

After a particularly difficult day on Monday in two of my classes... I decided I needed to do a better job with my "Bounce-Back!" Luckily, I have my prep-period right after the first problem period, and the second group is my last period of the day, but as I reflected on Monday I realized it would have been really hard for me to transition to another period after that. While one group was extremely sassy, and I found it hard to understand how to respond to their sassagression (yes, I coined a new term! ha ha sassy and borderline agggresive), the other issues stemmed from simply not wanting to complete an assignment. I don't know, but it just got to me... it was not my best day... and I have decided that that's ok BECAUSE I very consciously did not let it affect me on Tuesday. I made an effort to just shake it off and get back into the groove.

So my next step is to figure out how to "shake it off" in the three minutes between classes.... Still working on that! #BounceBackFactor

We got a brand new shipment of FFA Jackets just in time for ACES next weekend!

Next week I am excited to pick up my last two classes and officially have a full schedule! Ag Mechanics I class is going to be very interesting and I am definitely going to be learning a lot alongside my students. Looking forward to growing in that area!

This week while observing students in their last week of welding, I was able to work with some who were done with all of their assignments and we fixed the potting tables for the Horticulture class!

We removed the old wood and reinforced the structure in order to add a new table top.

 

This week I definitely felt more comfortable with my students and feel that I am truly cultivating the classroom culture that I desire (fun, energetic, but still serious and learning a lot!) I also am extremely excited to be helping Mr. Steinfelt with this Tractor SupplyCompany grant, and am hopeful that the animal / biology / STEM lab project idea will be a success!

Opportunities for growth certainly are plentiful! My goals for this upcoming week are to better manage my time! I need to make sure that I am starting the class off at an appropriate speed, yet allowing time at the end of class for a wrap up! I also want to make sure that I am being consistent with each class that I am teaching (ex. sharing the same announcements about upcoming events, and requiring the same sign out procedure, etc.)

It was another WONDERFUL week in Athens, and I am INCREDIBLY proud of the Athens Ag Program. I hope that these next 11 weeks I can continue to add to the Athens legacy ! #StudentSuccess!

Best
-Sarabeth