Training and the 1st Day of School!

8/19 - You know you're a TEACHER in Las Vegas when...

-You are trained alongside 1,000 other new teachers in the county at the Venetian Resort and Casino. The training was led by some very experienced Clark County teachers, and their concrete strategies will surely prove invaluable!

-Moving books and supplies into your new classroom feels like doing aerobics in a sauna. I'm up on the second floor, in the back corner hallway, so each box of books is a serious workout.

-Whenever you chat with a local and get to the "profession" topic, they respond with "wait, high schoolers? GOD BLESS YOU" This has happened MULTIPLE times, with some people even giving me some sort of free item at their place of business.

-You positively narrate your friends (fellow teachers) as they do things throughout the day and even redirect their bad choices. When you see a movie together on a Saturday night, you end up critically discussing the use of drinking, the green light, or music as a thematic symbol in the Great Gatsby. Of course we all agreed the book was far superior.

-You get a 25% discount at Goodwill, yes, you read that right, GOODWILL. This hardly needs an explanation. Most discounts don't surprise me, but I think I need to be better prepared for some seriously frugal shopping in my future.

8/24 - I finished setting up my room with positive quotes from some of my favorite authors. I want the majority of "decorations" to be exemplary student work, but for now, it's nice to have  something on every blank wall.

 

8/27 - Yesterday was the first day of school. I swear I was not nervous until I arrived and saw the kids. Putting faces and names together with REAL teenagers was incredibly nerve-racking. Luckily I have a very supportive staff, friends, and family helping me feel confident each and every day.

Though I had just 35 minutes with each section I feel that I have already begun to create relationships with my kids. Many of them are 80's music fans like me, they all have an appreciation for my corny/quirky sense of humor, and their curiosity and engagement is exactly as high as I'd like! On Tuesday we will dive into a Mary Oliver poem so I can see what they know about literary analysis and how well they can dissect deeper meaning. I cannot wait to learn more about each of them so I can include curriculum that is deeply meaningful to their lives. This worked wonders with my kids at summer school when I brought in articles about gangs or spanish poetry, and I hope my Vegas students will similarly appreciate my attention to their interests.

(Chalk Talk - Students "graffiti" their most important VALUES on our wall!)

I want to give a shout out to the Hertz family for a wonderful visit this past weekend. They took me out two nights in a row to fabulous shows on the strip! And they even earned extra credit by coming to see my classroom and apartment! I have such a wonderful family :)

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, and every day with my students. I know you may be thinking, "how is it all butterflies and roses?" My only answer is this: all kids start out wonderful and knowledgable. A good teacher knows that and keeps them WANTING to be wonderful and share their knowledge with the class. That is what I hope to do with my 9th graders.

As the quote above my desk suggests, I cannot wait to see the future my students and I CREATE!

With Love,

Danielle

From Snails to SPARTANS!

"A lot of you are gonna have gray hairs after this year. That means you're doing it right" - TFA staff

Can you believe it? In a little over two weeks, approximately 180 9th graders will walk into my classroom on their first day in the big leagues (high school!). I was ECSTATIC to receive my assignment of five sections of 9th grade English Honors at Cimarron-Memorial High School, home of the SPARTANS. That's right, from snails (at Madeira) to spartans. I have gone through quite the transformation to say the least!

After signing my contract I am officially a Clark County School District teacher (cue the applause and jumps for joy!) I have never filled out so much paperwork in my life, but the fingerprinting and I-9's were all worth it because I get the opportunity to be that incredible 9th grade teacher who changes the trajectory of my student's high school experience. As honors students I know they have the potential to change their school's statistics, graduation rates, ranking within the state and even county. I will be able to create truly rigorous questions that challenge my students to go above and beyond what they THINK they are capable of this year.

On one of our session-free days I toured the school and was able to see inside my classroom! Sadly I have no windows, but the size is great and I even have a smartboard! I feel very lucky to have plenty of space for the activities I am envisioning for my 14 and 15-year-olds! The back wall is entirely blank so I can easily put up black butcher paper for a "Chalk Talk" graffiti wall. And the multiple white boards will be great for splitting the class into teams and guiding them through speed-brainstorming and peer editing!

If you have fabulous activities or projects YOU remember from your high school english classes, let me know! I'd love to incorporate them!

 In non-school related news, I was officially hired by the gold's gyms of Las Vegas as a spin instructor (subbing to start)! It is so important to me to get to know the north-vegas community and invest myself in the people living in and around my school. This was a huge realization I had this summer with my Los Angeles students. Anytime I was able to bring up events or issues affecting their community, their interest skyrocketed. I'm truly looking forward to seeing my students outside of the classroom, at football and soccer games, at their jobs, or just at the grocery store.

My brother will be in town for a bachelor party this weekend so I'll be able to see him on Saturday and then my mom and sister are visiting next week! I'm feeling very loved and excited to share my life here in Vegas with family and friends in the near future.

Sending love and sunshine to all,

Danielle