Internship: Day 1

well.. today was day 1 at Southwestern Middle School! Woo hoo! I was kind of nervous.. and had no idea what to expect! So I decided to expect the unexpected. :-) I know, so cliche. So what happened that I did or didn't expect.... here we go...

I had to be there for a staff meeting at 7:45 am. (Did I mention that the school day starts at 8:39 am? That's my kind of school!!! ) I had no idea how long it would take me to get across the entire county, so I determined it would take 30-35 minutes to get there. I left my house at 6:55 am (ouch!) And made it with plenty of time to spare. It did take about 28-30 minutes. :-) And when I got there, there was hardly a soul in sight! (once again, that's my kind of school. :-) ) I found the secretary in the office and she put me to work and we were good to go!

So the principal arrived and I helped her set up for the meeting. I was trying to not be a shadow, but still didn't know what to do or where to go! So the meeting gets started and I just chose a random seat at a table with a few teachers. Eventually the principal had me introduce myself and tell a bit about my teaching background, etc. So I mentioned not only what I taught, but all my coaching and academic team experiences and found that I was sitting at the table with all the academic coaches! It was meant to be!

After the meeting, they had a short assembly in the gymnasium to commemorate 9/11. I suddenly realized that these kids were in K-2 grades when that happened. WOW. I did see the 2 kids from church that I know and they were very friendly to me! That was nice!

After the assembly, it was decided that I could sit in on the teacher team time. Middle schools in Indiana have teams. I had no idea what they were or how they were supposed to work, so that was one of my interests in figuring out for the internship. I got to go to a team meeting for each grade level. Today was talk about student day. I don't mean that in a bad way, but seriously, that's what Tuesdays are for- talk about the students who are having problems and what they should do (call parent, refer to resource room, etc.) Each day they have a different thing they are supposed to accomplish! Very interesting stuff!

Other than that... the somewhat unexpected stuff is 1) I have an office! My very own office. :-) Now I have to take stuff to decorate! 2) I get to help with I-STEP stuff. YAY. 3) They have lots of people named Tammy that work there. 4) I love it. I know, it's only day 1...but it feels so good to be back in a school. (REMIND ME OF THAT IN FEBRUARY!!! ;-) ) I'm excited, but yet still afraid. :-) Fear is a good motivator, though right? :-)

So... that pretty much summed up my day! It was a great time! I can't wait to go back. (I'm such a dork. :-) ) So, stay tuned- I'll be back there on Thursday afternoon... should be lots of fun! ISTEP here we come!