I get it...I get it. It's the end of the year and it seems that your students know exactly which nerve to get on to completely undo you. I am there as well. And it is understandable and completely okay to feel done. You've worked hard this year and this year has held many challenges for our school family...personal and professional. But we're so close and as I have told a few of you individually...you are an educator and you were created to handle HARD. If not, you'd not be here at TCEA right now. You are exactly where you are supposed to be right now and we can get through these next three weeks together.
One thing I want you to keep in mind when your rope begins to fray and you feel as if you just CAN'T EVEN is that our students need and love us. They show it in weird ways sometimes but they do need you. They deserve respect EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T GIVE IT TO US. We are are the adults and they are the children in need of training and support on how to handle hard times. We can model this for them and when we do get it wrong, cause we will, lets circle around a model humility and apologize for losing our **it and handling a situation with a lack of grace and mercy.
I am the first to say that this practice is hard to do. I have lost it as well and thank goodness I have such a supportive team of people around me that help me continue to see the purpose in all that I do and allow me to say "I am sorry" and "Let me try this again". I also encourage you to explore these ideas shared by GradeCam and maybe employ a few.
10 Ways to Finish the School Year Strong
1. Recognize and accept that the end of the year is difficult.
Sometimes just mentally recognizing this is the case and not bemoaning the fact or denying it, helps immensely. Know you will put in some extra time planning, grading and going to end-of-year activities. Let friends and family know you won’t be available.
2. Know your triggers and plan for them.
What do you dread most about the end of the year? Spend a few minutes reflecting on what is the most difficult part for you and come up with a plan to make it easier. If your school doesn’t have AC and you know the rise in temperature affects your mood, buy extra fans and spray bottles. If your final exams take forever to grade, explore how you can make all or parts of the test graded automatically with GradeCam!
3. Brain dump your To-Dos.
Whenever you feel you have the weight of hundreds of tasks on your mind. Sit down and write them all out. Just getting them all out of your head will relieve stress. And, oftentimes, there will be fewer things than you expected. When deciding what to do first, try this Intentional Procrastination System.
4. Make sure you have the important stuff covered and ditch the rest.
When we get overwhelmed, it’s easy to forget that not all tasks carry the same level of importance. There are a few things essential to closing out a school year. Usually, these include giving final assessments, grade reporting, and other end-of-year paperwork. There are many other things that feel like they should be done but just aren’t necessary.
As we discuss in this article, 20% of what teachers do in the classroom accounts for 80% of student performance. Keep a laser focus on that 20% at the end of the year and ditch the rest.
5. Celebrate the successes of individual students.
If you’ve been keeping data throughout the year, you have evidence of how much your students have accomplished over the year. Celebrate them individually or as a group. You could write notes to the students who have made exceptional strides, print out their individual reports and ask them to reflect on the year and what their achievements mean to them, or hand out gold star badges to the entire class and throw a party to celebrate them crushing their goals!
6. Celebrate YOUR successes.
What the students achieved this year is all due to your hard work and dedication. Celebrate that! Also, pat yourself on the back for going above and beyond. What new technology or organization system did you implement this year that made it so much easier? Take some time to congratulate yourself for all those #nailedit moments throughout the year.
7. Don’t over complicate things!
Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. There is no sense in trying to push through all the material that’s left to teach when you can only realistically get to half of it.
8. Have students help out.
Why should you shoulder all the burden for checking off the end-of-year to-do list? Beyond clearing out their own personal items, students can take inventory of classroom items, sharpen pencils, organize cabinets, or file away papers.
9. Amp up the fun.
A little joy and whimsy can go a long way in keeping morale high. Take the lesson outside for a change of scenery. Buy some fun stickers or stamps to use on assignments. Plug in a bubble-making machine. You could even vote on silly superlatives with a GradeCam form. Especially in higher grades, anything outside of the normal routine can have a big impact.
10. Choose joy.
This may sound cheesy, but simply choosing your mindset before you start the day has a profound impact on your experiences. Choose to enjoy your last few days with these kids. You’ll never be with this same group of students again. Maybe you had a trying year with them or possibly it was your best year of teaching yet. Either way, you’ve been on a journey together and that’s worth honoring.
Hope you enjoyed your weekend and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow! - Angela
Week of Monday, May 20- Friday, May 24
Final NCEES Observations Continue
K-2 EOY iReading makeups
EOY mClass Continues
GEEK WEEK
Monday, May 20- Put on your thinking cap! (Hat Day)
- 5th Grade planning at 10 AM
- Planning for Middle Grades Math (Clough)
- Planning for Middle Grades Humanities (Connors, Motsinger, Fiore)
- TCEA Board Meeting at 5:15 PM
Tuesday, May 21- We’ve had a successful year! (Dress to impress)
- MTSS PLCs (facilitated by Mrs. Samuelson)
5th Grade 10-11 she will email team to check in4th Grade 12-1 she will email team to check in
- Instructional PLC 9-9:30 AM
- RTA training 11:30am – 12:30pm
- TED-ED Club in Theater 11:30-12:00
- 3rd Grade Planning 12-1
- Planning for Middle Grades Science (Ezell and Hughes) 2-3
- TED ED Presentation 5:00-5:30
- Trimester 3 Middle School Arts Elective 6-8 PM
- Theater & Film
- Music
- STEAM
- Visual Arts
Wednesday, May 22- Mrs. Ezell Day (Wear purple, her favorite color, or dress like her)
- MTSS PLCs (facilitated by Mrs. Pond, Mrs. Samuelson, and Mr. Falls)
8-9 Kindergarten - Mrs. Pond she will email team to check in9-10 2nd Grade- Mrs. Pond she will email team to check in10-11 1st Grade- Mrs. Pond she will email team to check in12-1 3rd Grade-Mrs. Samuelson she will email team to check in2-3 Middle School- Mr. Falls he will email team to check in
- First Grade will dress up like animals for their Science Project
- Surprise Event at 12:30 in the Lobby
- Arts Training with Mr. Thomas 1-2 PM
Thursday, May 23- Leave it on the FIELD! (Field Day)
- 1st Grade ELA Unit 8: Comparing Texts Post Assessment
- Field Day Reminders (please review Mr. Thomas's email sent on 5.19.19)
- There will be not Arts' class on the 23rd or staff members on lunch duty. Therefore you will stay with your class for lunch.
- Lunch Schedule (Everyone will eat in the cafe except (2nd grade)
- 3rd-5th; 11:00-11:30
- K-2nd; 11:30-12:00 (2nd grade will eat lunch in classroom)
- Middle School; 12:00-12:30
- Field Day Times
- Field Day is from 9:45- 2:30
- K-2nd- 9:45-11:15
- 3rd-5th- 11:30-12:45
- Middle School- 1:00-2:30
- K- 2nd grade teachers will leave the park at 11:15 to ensure they make it back to the school on time for lunch.
- Trimester 3 Middle Grades Elective Night 6-8 PM
- Culinary Arts
- Dance
- Drum Line
Friday, May 24 - Color Wars (K-1: Purple, 2-3: Green, 4-5: Orange, Middle School: Teal)
- Kindergarten Planning 8-9
- Pie in the Face Event in the lobby at 10 AM
- 1st Grade Planning 10-11
- Vocabulary Bee in Theater
- 3rd-5th 1-1:30 PM
- Middle School 1:30-2:00
- 4th Friday 5-7 PM Mr. Kline will let us know what he needs the group to do
- DeNoble
- Riffle
- Hughes
- Hill
🦎👏 Chameleon Clap 🦎👏
From Mrs. Hill
- Thank you to Ms. Williams, Ms. Motsinger, Ms. Lanham and Mr. Falls for all of your work in making Friday night a highlight of my time at TCEA.
- Thank you to Mrs. Goodman for making TCEA Night at the Woodpecker game possible!!
