Amy Soto here from Georgia. I teach K-5 Gifted Ss. Today was our last day with our Ss. I cannot promise I will be awake throughout the entire chat, but I will try! #teachertired#dojochat
A1 I am most looking forward to recharging my "batteries" Sleeping in, going to the bathroom whenever I want, and reading some great literature. #dojochat
Amanda here, 1st grade teacher in NY. Soon to be Kinder teacher in AZ! We have 20 days left in NY. I think I can...I think I can...I think I can... #dojochat
A1 I am most looking forward to my move home! I have been living in NY for 4 years and get to move back to AZ in July. I will have a shortened summer since school ends at the end of June in NY and starts at the beginning of August in AZ, but it will be worth it! #dojochat
A1 part 2- Forgot to mention that I'm starting my Specialist Degree-Intec- Integrating Technology! Looking forward to some great online collaboration this summer too! #dojochat
Definitely! It is the district I grew up in, so luckily I know their schools pretty well and I have a former college classmate who works at the school. #dojochat
A2: I have a few students whose parents are friends so I'll be able to keep in touch that way but I also keep my classes active over the summer and encourage students to send me pics of anything fun they are doing. I do the same with them. #dojochat
A1: No summer here yet - school year just kicked off in March and Im on teacher burn out right now haha.. thankfully I get a week off next week! AH! #dojochat
A2 I try my best to stay connected to families! I obviously use @ClassDojo. I do not archive my classes so the parents know they can reach out to me for questions. I also like to post challenges to our Class Story that the students can complete throughout summer. #dojochat
A2.5 Summer hasn't started here yet but I am debating whether to tell my students that I am leaving the school or not. I am leaning towards telling them but I think I am going to wait until the last couple days. I don't want them to linger on the fact that I am leaving. #dojochat
I don’t keep in touch w my Ss over the summer, but I keep in touch with them throughout the school year. They know they can always come to me w problems or to celebrate their successes in 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade! Love my former k visitors #dojochat
That is one of my favorite parts about being a teacher! I love my visitors that stop by every morning. They really aren't supposed to, but it's hard to tell them no. 😉 #dojochat
Q3: I was able to get a student who hasn't varied his food choices in 3 years to try his first ever school lunch. I also was able to get to at least try all of the foods & drink. After then, he started going to breakfast on his own every day! #dojochat
A3 I have a few really great success stories in my classroom this year! I have a some students who their Kinder teachers wanted to repeat Kinder. They have grown a ton and you would never guess they almost repeated. This is exactly why I am typically anti-retention. #dojochat
A5: I started planning for next year at the end of April. I like to plan big things and convocations as early as possible to avoid scheduling conflicts. #dojochat
That’s the boat I’m in right now. Changing schools, grades, you never know. I was planning for one grade last year then was told I was teaching something completely different 3 weeks before school started #dojochat
A6 We set up our classes right after Sneak a Peek, once we meet parents and make sure our roster is correct. Since we are almost school-wide, setting up class is easy! #dojochat
A6 At my current school, I would set my next year's class up on the last day of school. We put next year's teacher's name on the report card, so the students already know. I am not sure how my new school handles this. #dojochat
A5: We start at the end of the year a bit, leave the big unit plans ready... then once I am back after break I start to ease into the detailed planning! #dojochat
A6: When my school gives me the class list and the ok! I sent out a letter a week in advance this year to my new class and a lot of parents appreciated it! Plus dojo was the easiest way to contact them from the directory since I had no email list! #dojochat
A7: I would tell them that we will have fun, but be respectful to all and learn from each other and Mojo. #dojochat
Gotta love the social skills taught.
Q6: I do not get my final class list until after registration in late July. Once I have my official list, I will set up my dojo class. I do not contact students, but I will meet most of them at Open House or registration. #dojochat
A7 I teach the power of YET from the beginning. Especially in Kinder, they come in at all different levels. Some can write their name, count, know their letters, etc. Some don't. It's important for them to know it takes time and everyone learns at their own pace. #dojochat
A8 Being school-wide, my students come in already knowing @ClassDojo. Before we were school-wide, I would do an intro and explain everything to them. It's a process, though. I change my points consistently to work on current goals. It's ever-changing! #dojochat
The Student Stories option is great! It allows students to post projects, pictures, videos, etc. to their own story to share with you and their family. #dojochat
A9: I was able to get 5 new teachers in my building to join Dojo this year. I'm looking forward to helping them and hopefully gaining a few more too! #dojochat
A9 I am excited to be back in Kinder! There is something so special about being the first teacher (besides their parents) for some students. 😀 #dojochat
