I am currently sitting at my desk watching students and their parents out my window. Coming and going to Teacher Meet and Greets and excitedly filling their new desks with new school supplies. Heading to the gym to take their school pictures. Some kids are excited, some are not. Maybe school isn't their thing, or maybe they are anxious about a new year, new teacher, new class. I don't blame them- new is scary! But I was sure to greet them as they came through the doors with a warm smile on my face. Hopefully I didn't scare some of them even more! At the beginning of every year, I find it difficult to see familiar students as a year older. I keep having to remind myself that they are now a fourth or fifth grader, not a third or fourth grader, respectively. It is amazing how much some of them have grown over the past few months. Some have not changed at all, or so I think. Slowly but surely I will find out what friendships have changed. Which ones are new, which ones are broken, and which ones don't exist anymore. That really seems to happen in fifth grade. Kids are forming their identities and their friendship groups. But what they don't realize at that age is that the process never ends. Middle school, high school, college, real life... they all bring changes. I can only hope that my students are able to cope with these changes and even thrive.
There are a lot of new changes at Waubesa Intermediate School this year. In order to give our homeroom teachers a common planning time, we have created a solid Related Arts (specials) block. The problem is, there are eight homerooms and six Related Arts classes. It will be quite a change having 27-30 students in a classroom. A new (to me) classroom that won't have any desks, tables, or chairs. A classroom that will have a projector but not a Smartboard. A classroom that gives me my own space without having to disrupt homeroom teachers. A classroom that will be the perfect space for me to meet with my 5th grade Student Council kids while homeroom teachers enjoy their peace and quiet during lunch. I am so grateful for this space to be available this year, even with some inconveniences.