Believe it or not, what gets me excited are all the new materials we get to put on our walls as well as all the new ideas I want to implement with my students. #ycsdchat
A1: It's the feel of new clothes, the smell of new supplies, seeing old friends, meeting new ones, the anxiety and excitement, and the promise of a fresh start! Back to school never gets old! #ycsdchat
A1: I cannot lie, I love school supplies and lots of books, but especially the children who are just as nervous and excited as we are. I hope to keep my excitement and theirs up all year! #YCSDchat
Usually I love getting my classroom ready for my students. This year, as a math coach, I am really excited to get my room ready for all the fabulous YES teachers! #yesfalcons#YESFalcons#ycsdchat
A1: As a classroom teacher, I was always so excited to meet my students and their families. I also liked designing my classroom and learning new strategies, ideas, activities, etc to share with my students. #ycsdchat
A1: It’s the butterflies of the unknown that also makes it awesome to look forward to. I know that I’ll have the opportunity to reflect on where I started and the growth I’ll have in the coming months! #YCSDChat
Meeting the students is always great! Do you have them and their parents complete interest inventories or engage in any special activities to get to know them better? #ycsdchat
Q2: I am always excited about learning. I hope that I can share with my peers so they feel excited about the learning that will be happening in their classrooms, but I'm also excited to learn from my peers!#YCSDchat
A2: By being an example myself! Everyone has hard days but by showing others that even when you’re exhausted that you can still give encouragement and demonstrate positivity - gives permission to others to do the same! #YCSDChat
A2: Setting expectations and procedures, but in a way that is engaging and fun. I'm also building on what we did last year with #readingisMARVELous to keep the excitement going! #ycsdchat
Music is a great way to welcome students on the first day. Regardless of the content area. It really sets a good mood and lets the students get to know a little about you too! #YCSDchat
A2: Spreading the excitement is all about building the relationships. Getting to know the students ignites their excitement. Us "old" folks may be "lame" but they love our efforts!! #YCSDchat
I'm excited about getting back into a routine as well. I really am excited to be with the kids again. This is the first time in a long time that I haven't done summer school and I missed them so much. #YCSDchat
A2: I like to take the time to just be present with teachers and colleagues at this time of year. Sometimes just having someone to share your new idea with means the world and gives you courage to try something new #ycsdchat
A2: I’m going to spread the excitement by trying a few new things this year (like this educational twitter) and more collaborative PBAs. I’ve done a decade of 7h grade history so if I can keep my excitement high it will spread. #ycsdchat
I do! Parents fill out basic inventories about their children (I can see their perspective of their children). I write letters to my Ss & have them write back - gives a little insight into their writing ability & to learn about their summer.
A2: I'm waiting for this book to be released in a couple of weeks. Curious to see other peoples take on the effect of being an authentic teacher and how that sets up your year. #YCSDchat
A3: Remind them what we did as a school last year and challenge them to go even further this year. 20,000 books? Nah...we're soaring to 50,000 this year! #readingisoursuperpower#ycsdchat Also read books and show them all the books we've added to our library for this year!
Q3: #1: Learn their full name. No matter how hard it seems to be. Practice it. Learn it. Use it. #2: Learn something about them that doesn’t relate to school. #YCSDChat
Q3: Since I don't have my own class, I'm excited about welcoming all of the students with a big smile and hopefully hugs for anyone who needs them- I want parents and students and the new teachers to realize what a great school they've joined! #YCSDchat
A3: I’m going to listen to the kids, talk to them, see what they are thinking. I have a little one participating in the chat over my shoulder now and she has tons of ideas about back to school excitement. 🙄🙃😂#ycsdchat
A3: I created a 4 corners (get out of your seat and MOVE) game for my class to play as a whole group on the very first day. I’m excited to get to know my kids and to start conversations. #ycsdchat
A3: Planning the excitement isn’t a crazy idea. Think about the last event or concert that you attended. You were engaged and had a blast right?!?! It was intentional, the fun moments were planned and prepared for. #ycsdchat
A3: I am going to have students trace their handprints on pages from damaged books. We are going to glue them to a bookshelf for our class library. I started it last year with this same group, and I am very excited to finish it with them. #ycsdchat
A4: We get to do enrichment projects since each class will get to come to us twice a week for one quarter. I'm thinking of adding green screen projects for those "Fun Friday" enrichment days! #ycsdchat
A4: As a school administrator I am focused on supporting my teachers and keeping them excited throughout the year. I am implementing a communication board that will make the tough conversations easier. Now, I just have to sit down and put it together. #YCSDchat
Q3: #WholeBrainTeaching strategies are something I’m super excited to implement this school year! Can’t wait to see how student engagement and classroom management will aid in student growth! #YCSDChat
A4: Attempting to do some student-centered goal setting this year that stems from the Walt Disney quote: "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." #ycsdchat
A4: In the same vein as the one word I’m going to set my goal(s) and then check back to see how I’ve made progress. Sometimes we need to see how far we’ve come. Maybe, have students have that opportunity to see how they are growing and learning too? #YCSDchat
A4: celebrating Ss and Ts successes in the classroom and out. It promotes taking a risk to keep trying something new which extends the excitement. #YCSDchat
Q4: I will be implementing more cross curricular activities to tie into what my classroom teachers will be working on, trying to help keep the fun going across the board with classroom and resource. #YCSDchat
A4: I'm hoping to try #observeme with teachers if they would like and I hope to try a lesson study to
positively impact student learning. I've never done either, but looking forward to trying. #YCSDchat
Q5: Asking for help when needed, knowing that I have the support of my administrative team and fellow colleagues and just the overall fact of knowing, what doesn’t work today doesn’t mean we can’t try it again in a new way. #YCSDchat
Q5: This question relates to my one word: balance. I need to care for myself. But, I also think it is important to care for each other and support each other because this isn't an easy job. #YCSDchat
A5: My one word for this year is choice. For me personally it means making choices that are what is best for me, not just what is easiest. It's also about making the choice to be positive and encouraging. #ycsdchat
A5: The lulls serve a purpose. We never ask ourselves "Why?" when everything is going great. We ask ourselves "Why?" during the lulls. So having a representation to answer that question is my self care. #YCSDchat
A5: I think spending time with other educators outside of school keeps me fresh. Grabbing dinner or seeing the latest movie with a group teacher friends and the convos that follow are great. Other teachers really “get it” #ycsdchat
Messing up is not easy to accept,and I think we carry this burden to be perfect for our students. It's easy to say that mistakes are okay, we are human, but I agree with you, accepting it for myself is difficult. #ycsdchat
I want to thank you all for participating tonight as we continue to kick off the #YCSDChat! Join @MattTayman next week as he moderates the discussion and shares strategies on Building Student Relationships! Wednesday, Sept. 5th at 8:00! Have a great first day and stay excited!
