Blog one

Week of Reflection: 8/31/2018 (list the date of the Friday for week just completed)

Welcome back everyone! The summer has come and gone again and we are now student teachers. The first week and a half back at school was full of meetings, training, and preparing the classroom for our Kindergartners. This week, we had our staggered entry days and our first two full days of school with all of our students. My week has been great meeting students and parents and beginning to form relationships with my students. On a scale of 1-5 my week was at a five because I am very excited to dive in to this semester of student teaching. Accomplishments that I achieved this week include learning all of my students names and forming relationships with them and their parents. One parent came in and told me that her daughter told her she loved me and that I am so nice. The little things like that can make a bad day into a good one and remind me why I started all of this. Lessons that I've learned this week include being consistent with the students so they listen and follow directions when I take over the classroom. Next week, I will ensure that I am being consistent with the PBIS program that our school has began this year. This is a short term effort that if I begin working on classroom management from the first day, the class will behave best throughout the school year. This pours in to my long-term goals because in my future classroom, I want my students to be respectful and well-behaved. I could have spent more time preparing for the next weeks lessons by doing two lessons everyday so I am not overwhelmed toward the end of the week. Apprehension impacted my actions because I am worried about not having relationships with my students so I have tried extra hard to build these relationships early on in the semester to help me out when writing edTPA. Next week, I will continue building these relationships as well as picking up math and science lessons. The first logical step I will take is to work on task one for edTPA. The first three days of school were the staggered entry days and the students were only at school for half a day. Thursday was our first full day with all 17 of our students and there is no school data for these students. However, I am learning about these students and what they like to do with their families. This helps me to prepare lessons that will interest the students which provides them access to learning. One piece of advice for my fellow student teachers is to take this one day at a time and don't over load yourself with work.

NCTCS

Standard one: I was able to demonstrate leadership this week by reading to the students on their phase in days as well as communicate with parents at drop off/ pick up. I have been assisting not only my CE but other teachers on my grade level as well.

Standard two: Last week, my CE and I worked really hard to make our classroom inviting and safe for the students to learn in. Our room is colorful and creative and the students loved seeing it on the first day. We have a cool down corner in our room for students when they need to cool down. This is a great way to ensure they are feeling safe in this environment.

Standard three: My CE and I have attended many training sessions and meetings to help prepare us for the new curriculum we have this year at Springfield. Reading over the standards and lesson plans helps me to see what I need to teach and how to get students to retain the knowledge.

Standard four: One way I have facilitated learning to my students this week is by having them work in groups to develop qualities they will need to use during group work or activities.

Standard five: Blogging every week will allow me to reflect on my practice to decide what works and what doesn't work when teaching in the classroom.

• Other:
• • What components of your portfolio have you started to complete? I have began to create my classroom website for the portfolio. I have also began polishing my resume by contacting Erin Cook.
  • What support does your clinical educator need from your university supervisor? None at the moment.
  • What support do you need from your university supervisor? None at the moment.