Day of Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

WHY????

Yesterday, a tragic event occurred at an elementary school in Connecticut.  I repeat, an elementary school.  Twenty-six people were killed, more than half were children between the ages of 5 -10, just babies!  What type of person goes to a school with the intent to kill babies?  I cannot fathom experiencing what those children and school staff experienced during that short time period.  I can't concentrate on anything at the moment, my mind keeps going back to that small town in Connecticut.

Here I am sitting in my classroom, expecting students to flow in at any minute for Saturday School.  I'm wondering if any of my students have heard about this, and if so what do I say to them?  Because of the times we're living in, my school as most schools around the country participate in lock-down drills.  This is where we "pretend" that an intruder is in the building and we lock the doors, find a safe spot in the classroom and keep quiet.  Well, to many students this is a quick game of "Hide and Seek" and many do not take it seriously.  No one ever believes that something so tragic would happen to them.  What happened in CT could have happened anywhere.  Praying for the families and the entire community of Newtown, CT.  May GOD bless their souls.   

My first Observation

Well my first observation has come and gone and I can breath a little easier, just a tad bit.  Lol!  My principal came in on last Friday during guided reading time.  I begin my lesson maybe five minutes before she arrived.  I was fine at first but the minute I saw her walking towards my classroom I became nervous.  I was afraid that some of my students would act out or maybe I would say something wrong.  Overall it was a good observation.  There are definitely some areas that need improving and I'm working to improve them.  

Which brings me to the reason of this post. My school uses Everyday Math for our math curriculum.  Anyway, I was just browsing the site and looking at the professional development videos, something I planned to do back in September.  But being the procrastinator that I am, I'm just now watching the videos.  I know what you're saying, shame on me.  Lol!  Anyway, I wished I had watched these videos earlier.  Maybe my students would have caught on to the lesson much better.  I know many of them could use extra practice in this topic so I plan to do the lesson again.  I'm sure they will have better success the second time around.  

Cue the music!  "If at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again, you can dust it off and try again, try again."

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy your weekend!