Bingo!

Well, it happened...

I finally got a job!

All the hard work, putting myself out there, and committing to the jobs I was in has finally paid off. And, not quite in the way I expected, but not any less appreciated! I can not WAIT until August! =)

The second grade long-term gig in March/April went great. I had a lot of fun, and really got a chance to work with a team like a teacher. =) And, I seemed to make a good impression on the team, as well as the Principal and Asst. Principal.

Then, at the end of April, while subbing in 5th at another school, I got a call. It was the secretary of the OTHER school, on behalf of the Principal. They had a 4th grade teacher leave unexpectedly and the Principal requested my to fill the job until the end of the year. I was honored. And a little nervous. This was CLEARLY my chance. A working interview of sorts. My time to shine.

So, I did my best to jump right in. I wanted to show that I'm fully capable of handling myself, taking the initiative to fill the gap, and do what was necessary to finish out the year for these kiddos. And, apparently, it worked! =)

At the beginning of this week, the Principal asked me if I'd be available to interview later this week. Uh, of course! It was not for the 4th grade position I was currently in, but for a 1st grade position that had just become available. The interview took place yesterday, after school, with almost all of the 1st grade team. (including the teacher who's leaving, but I didn't know that at the time) Talk about nerve-wracking! First big-girl-job interview, and it's with about six people firing questions off at me and taking notes vigorously. Whew!

But, apparently I said something (or somethings) right, because the Principal called me back within an hour of me leaving to let me know that she would be recommending me for the job, if I'd like. (she can't hire me directly, but would recommend me to HR and they will do a reference check and make sure I'm certified and highly qualified...which I am. hehe) She said they knew as soon as I left the conference room, before I had even left the building. Wow! Ego boost! hehe

So, barring anything obscure happening with all of that...

I'll be a First Grade teacher in August!

I'm so excited I can barely contain myself. I've already started thinking about what I want my theme to be, how I want to arrange my room, and what Professional Developments I can start to attend this summer. (of course, I hope that it works out with the Summer Job I have lined up as a Summer Camp teacher...) Oh, and, of course, how I want to run my classroom website. Blog? Teacherweb? I have no idea, but I'm excited to play around and find out! =)

Well, that's all for now. I'm absolutely exhausted from the last few days, today was the last day of school, and I couldn't sleep last night after the great news. But, now I actually have a reason to blog. And, I'll probably start messing around with the look and all that. Time to be "professional". hehe

'Til next time!
~Mrs. R

(I think I need a cool signature graphic, what do you think? hehe)

Trial #1:

(how do I make that little box around it go away?!)

Spring Break & Second Grade

This week has been the first Spring Break that I haven't had to work, since I was in high school. It's been great! The Mr. and I went ahead and pulled the Boy out of Pre-k for the week so that he could spend it with us, too. The Mr. had to work, but since some of that required him to go downtown, the Boy and I got to tag along and partake in some of the SXSW festivities. The boy even had his first t-ball practice today. It's been so much fun! I finally remember what Spring Break is supposed to be like. =)

Next week, it's going to be back to business as usual...sort of. Graduating in December has made it really hard to procure a job--no one is really hiring mid-year. And, as we approach the big Testing Season, the sub jobs have been tapering off as well. Work has been harder and harder to find...unless, of course, you can find a long-term gig.

Lucky for me, that's just what I found. A few other girls have stumbled into maternity-leave classrooms as well, and are subbing out the remainder of the year. I didn't get THAT lucky, but a job is a job, and I get to help out a friend. =)

A girl who graduated a semester before me had surgery this week, and will be out for three weeks in recovery. So I'll be taking over her Second Grade class during that time. I haven't spent much time in Second Grade, I've been focusing on the uppers, because I've been pretty sure that's where I want to be. But it will certainly be a good experience.

I'm both excited and nervous. I haven't "taught" since Student Teaching, and even then, the plans were done, all I did was execute them. So, I haven't officially written my own plans and put them into action yet. Here, I'll have that opportunity! The first week's plans are written already, because I did not attend the planning session last week. She's a little nervous, as a first year teacher, to be out for so long, so she took care of it so that I'd have an idea of what to do. I will go to the next two meetings and take it from there.

It's going to be hard to not go overboard in trying to take ownership of my time there. I want my own room and my own space SO badly! I can't wait until hiring season starts!!

That's all for now. I hope to post some along the way of the next three weeks. And I hope to get this blog set up a little better...a little better organized and prettied up some!

Until next time,

Sarah =)

3...2...1... Blast off!

Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Well, welcome to my beginning.

I am a recently-graduated, job-searching, substituting, teaching-hopeful. I am also a stalker.

I have been stalking teaching blogs since I made the decision to get my degree in education, almost 4 years ago. I love poking around and seeing everyone's ideas: classroom management, design and setup, themes, libraries, centers, lessons, etc. I love it. I can spend (and have spent...) hours upon hours hopping from blog to blog to blog, making mental notes, making bookmarks, and even printing out ideas and keeping them in folders.

And, then, Pinterest came into my life. And, oh.my.god... Talk about hours and hours and hours...

I get so lost on there sometimes that my husband has to snap be back to reality. It's just amazing some of the ideas that you teachers can come up with. And, it's even more amazing how generous you all are. Between just sharing ideas for the taking (we love to beg, borrow and steal, no?) and even the great idea and prices from stores like TeachersPayTeachers.com and TeachersNotebook.com ... it's just amazing and sometimes overwhelming all the GREAT stuff out there.

And the BLOGS!!! Don't even get me started on the BLOGS! I love the BLOGS! They're amazing. Some are just Teacher-to-Teacher, while others act as classroom websites and are even for parent communication. I'm not entirely new to the blogging world, and I always thought that I would want to have a website and/or blog for my own classroom. That way my parents can keep up with the happenings in the room and I can share my ideas with other teachers as they have shared with me over the years.

But, anyway, there it is. My "blast off." My new beginning. As it stands right now, this will be a place for me to share things I've found, share thoughts and ideas, and get myself back into the rhythm of blogging while I am trying to secure myself into my own teaching world.

So, thanks for visiting, and thanks for listening. =)

Sarah