January Currently

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a fun and safe New Years Eve. I had a great time with my friends here in Jacksonville and am trying to squeeze in as much as possible in the next 5 days before I head back to Memphis. Time is going by too fast!

I saw this on a lot of blogs so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon for January and try it out. Here's what I'm up to currently!

Most of this is pretty self-explanatory. It's warm and rainy here in Florida but I am NOT complaining because I know I'm going to be cold for 9 weeks straight between winter break and spring break. Wah. 

I need to pack up my room here in Florida because we are selling the house after my mom gets married in March (over my spring break) so I won't have another chance before then to go through everything. We've been here 20 years so I have quite the collection of junk. 

I got Les Mis for Christmas and still haven't watched it yet. What's wrong with me?

I think we all need to re-hydrate after last night. No comment. 

And one of my favorite traditions is our family white elephant gift exchange. My whole extended family wraps ridiculous and horrible gifts and we spend the whole afternoon drinking, eating, and laughing as we unwrap velvet dresses and jars of mustard. 

That's me currently, what are you doing on the first day of 2014??

Being All Official and What-Not

So I think I knew on some level that accepting a teaching job meant that I was gainfully employed, but it wasn't really until TODAY that I FELT employed! We started new teacher training for the Achievement School District on Thursday (there are 75 of us from 5 schools) and got all pumped up about being a part of the movement to move the bottom 5% of schools to the top 25% in Tennessee.

(Courtesy of ASD's fb page)

Then, today I filled out all my paperwork with HR, got my badge, and was given my school laptop and email address! It was all so exciting (except maybe some of the paperwork).  It's actually starting to feel real, which is simultaneously exciting and terrifying....

I am SO pale in this picture!

I'm excited to have my own school laptop, so I won't have to carry mine back and forth. Rumors are floating around about classroom iPads so more on that later.... As far as technology goes, our school doesn't have a traditional website, so I'm considering making a class site using Wix. I'm just not sure if the families would be interested or not. Maybe a class blog so my fourth graders can broadcast their voices!

Sticker on the bottom- see, it's mine ;)

Perfect background

This past week has been really productive! Once training started on Thursday, I was pretty much done with Institute. We had our last day with the kids on Wednesday and got to go to the zoo. They had so much fun! It was hard seeing them go, but not as much for me, because I'll get to see a lot of them this fall =] I just can't believe Institute is already over! Not that I'm complaining ;)

Our favorite exhibit!

I started buying some furniture for my bedroom, set up our cable/internet plan, and started moving some things out of the dorm and into the apartment. Another perk of last week was getting to see a children's performing arts group called Watoto Memphis practice and they are INCREDIBLE! They focus mainly on dance, but also work with the students academically, having them research the music and time eras and write about it. Some of the schools have already partnered with them to do some after-school or even during-school arts programs and I am so on board!! It was such a boost to see these kids go all out dancing to African drums, Hairspray, and then Justin Timberlake. Such talent!

incredible

Well, 2 and half days till my momma gets here! Can't wait to see her and move everything into my apartment =]

Happy Blog-iversary!

Can you believe it's been a year? One year ago today (er...Friday) I wrote my first blog post as I was getting ready to start my internship and year at home. Now I'm getting ready to start my first year of teaching and setting up my new home in Memphis. It's so funny to think that a year ago, Memphis wasn't even a blip on my radar. If you had asked me where I'd be a year from then, I'd have laughed at the idea. A year ago, I had no clue I would have to leave my original placement of second grade and end up in fourth with the best mentor teacher I could have asked for. I know I would not be half the teacher I am now if it weren't for my mentor and that school! However, not too much changed, I still watch the Bachelorette and take it too seriously and I just got to stand up with Lexi as she got married this weekend (pictures to come!). Everything has worked out so well that I have to believe that God wants me here. I get to live with Meghan, one of my fabulous friends from UF, we have a beautiful apartment in a great area, I get to teach the grade I spent a year interning with, I have already met a ton of really great friends, and the food is to die for. Good things to remember when the first year of teaching gets rough (as seen in the last post). Happy one year! Can't wait to see where I'll be next year!

One of my last Gainesville celebrations!

Hey Memphis ;)

A Typical Day in Institute

Hello again! Getting ready to start week 5 (out of 7) over here at Memphis Institute and I am STOKED to be past our half-way mark. The next three weeks should be downhill (work-wise, not attitude-wise) so these are all good things. I got the keys to my apartment Friday and was able to check it out and walk around imagining it all set up yesterday. It is absolutely gorgeous =]

Apartment 4 =]

My favorite room! No surprise there.
Excited to cook with a gas stove for the first time!

Stunning, right?

 So that's what I'm currently excited about. But alas, we still have work to do people! I wanted to give you a glimpse into my daily schedule because I think that most people have no idea what exactly Institute looks like (at least I didn't before coming). So here we go!

A Typical Day at Institute:

• 5:45- Wake up in my dorm room and get ready. Professional dress, OF COURSE, all day every day.
• 6:15- Head downstairs for breakfast. Scarf down food like my life depends on it because I'm normally very late (oops). This is also when we pack up our lunches.
• 6:30- Walk out to our bus. Try to not be rude to all the people smiling and telling us to have a good day on our way out. How are they so chipper so early?
• 6:40- Sleep all the way to school. No shame in this.
• 7:10- Sign in, set up the room for the day, have a quick meeting with the other 30 or so corps members at my school.
• 7:45- Welcome the kids to school and sit with them while they eat breakfast.
• 8:25- Community building time. All three of the teachers in my room do morning meeting and an activity with our whole class (of 8-10 kids).
• 9:00- Teacher number one teaches reading. The other two leave the room to observe other corps members or have a training session in our whole group space.
• 10:30- Teacher number two takes over for writing! The other two either prep for their lessons, observe other teachers, or have a training session.
• 11:40- Lunch time. Have you ever seen an 8-year-old try and peel an orange? Not an easy task. I have learned to pack extra napkins. 
• 12:20- Teacher number three takes over for math! This was me all last week. While I teach, my TLC (teacher leadership coach with TFA) observes me, as well as other teachers, staff members, corps members, people from other cities that want to start a charter school, literally ANYONE. 
• 1:45- All three teachers do some end-of-the-day reflection activities with the kids then send them home.
• 2:15- Head back to University of Memphis on the bus.
• 2:50- Walk straight off the bus and into a session on lesson plan writing or working with families or teacher evaluations or whatever else we need to learn.
• 4:30- Session number two starts!
• 6:00- Freedom. Time to eat in the downstairs dining hall again and talk to everyone about who had the craziest day.
• 7:00- Revise lesson plans, print out materials, prepare things for the next day, turn in lesson plans, relax? No, don't relax. Except on Tuesdays, when we watch the Bachelorette online. This is non-negotiable.
• 10:00- Go to bed. Finally. 

As you can see, it's a long day (6am-6pm of going non-stop), but compared to my internship where I had to teach 22 kids all day, teaching 10 kids for an hour and a half is a nice break. The sessions are helpful, just exhausting. They're basically college courses on education, but much more practical than theory, so that's good. You will never know everything about teaching, so I'm just taking it all in! This week is short: just 3 days and then Tampa! Woohoo!

One Week Down, Six To Go

Ok, time to celebrate. I survived my first week of Institute! One week ago today, I was driving into Memphis with a car full of junk and a stomach full of butterflies. I seriously feel like I've been here a month, every day has been so so long! Last week was very inspiring and general and this week we get into more of the concrete ideas.

To celebrate surviving my week of endless sessions, I had a really fun weekend! My Transitional Team Leader (TTL) took me and another girl in my group on a little tour of Memphis and we went by my apartment in a fourplex. I hadn't seen it yet and my apartment is still being remodeled, so we wandered inside and found it unlocked and got to explore! It was very exciting =] Then I got to meet my neighbors downstairs and they were so nice. They let us walk through their apartment and we chatted about Memphis some before exchanging numbers and making plans to attend their house-warming party. Win. Then we went for sushi and froyo, which, if you know me at all, you know I was very pleased. It was just a really nice night to forget about Institute and relax and laugh.

Yummmmm

Froyo at YoLo hehe so fun

Saturday I slept in, had some brunch downstairs, and just lounged. Definition of lounged: watching Real Housewives of the OC in bed while working on my online class intermittently. Then we headed downtown for a baseball game! We had free food from Rendezvous (delicious) and the weather was beautiful. We had some fireworks to top it all off!

America's pasttime

Oooooooh aaaaaaaaaah

Today I went to church at Fellowship Memphis: Downtown with about 15 other TFA girls! I really enjoyed the service and am looking forward to joining a community here in Memphis =] We went to Young Avenue Deli for lunch and oh my goodness. Delicious. I had a pita with turkey, bacon, gouda, and bbq sauce with sweet potato fries on the side. I have been here a week and haven't eaten at a chain yet. Jealous?

That's not three beers, btw, it's the ketchup/mustard holder haha
TFA hasn't given me a drinking problem....yet....

Then we allllll headed over to Starbucks to work on our first big assignment- to write a vision and set goals for our summer school class. (Does ordering a drink here mean I've eaten at a chain? ouch)

TFA takeover!

I leave you with this. It was seen on a post-dinner walk some of us girls took. I guess when a tree looks funny, you go with it. Here goes week 2 of Institute!!

Help! I'm trapped underground! 

A Spirit of Justice

Well, I made it! I'm in Memphis now and have already finished two full days of Institute! I had a really good drive here with all good weather and no car trouble. I also got really into the new Jodi Picoult book I downloaded on Audible and am now wishing I had it in book form so I can see what happens next!

You're the only TEN I SEE [wink wink]

Sunday was dominated by driving from Atlanta to the University of Memphis and then moving alllllll my junk up to my dorm and unpacking. Lets just say I don't pack light ;) Then dinner downstairs and an early bedtime. Yesterday, though, we heard some really great talks from our executive director and then from some Memphis experts! The opening talk was so inspiring as it focused on the spirit of social justice. Our director talked about how as a teacher in an inner-city school, you stare injustice in the face every day. One of my favorite quotes from a speaker was "I'm a teacher because I'm an activist" and that we need to be relentless as we answer this lifelong calling, regardless of if that means in the classroom as a teacher or doing something else.

My new home =]

That's when it dawned on me that TFA is so much more than teaching, it is answering the call to social justice that I have had since my time in Gainesville. This is such a passion for me and I consider myself lucky to be answering it through doing something I love to do- teach.

University of Memphis Tigers
Ain't nothin' like a Gator though...

So yesterday and today were long days- breakfast at 7am and then coming back to my dorm around 8pm. BUT, I've gotten to hear some really inspirational people, meet my small group of 10, go visit the area of Memphis I'm teaching next year (and this summer), talk with some people in the community about what they want to see in their children's teachers, and learn more about what I've signed up for. I'm optimistic and excited to see what happens over the next seven weeks!

PS: today was the last day of school for my babies and I already miss them terribly =[ HOWEVER, I am very much enjoying the "fan mail" I've received since giving out my email address! Shout out to St. Johns county kids enjoying the beginning of summer!

Winding Down

Wow my internship year is officially coming to a close and I am moving to Memphis in four days. My last day at school was Friday and I'm going back tomorrow for the end-of-the-year party and to say goodbyes =[ This is by far the most attached I've ever been to a class before (I've been with them since the beginning of October!) and they were so sweet to me on my last day. They had their big play (The Frog Prince Continued) and then we had a surprise ice cream party (yum!) with lots of homemade cards and gifts from my teacher, the teacher next door, and the parents. I feel so loved! I gave each of my kids a personal note and a crazy straw with Kool-Aid that I saw on Pinterest.

So cute right? 

This weekend was chock full of family and friend time. We had a big BBQ with my dad's family on Saturday and then with my mom's on Sunday. I was basically out by the pool from Friday when I got home through last night. It was so fun spending time with everyone and hanging out with my friends. I am definitely going to miss everyone and I feel like I did 5 years ago when I left home for UF [sigh].

My crazy friends

So this is my ONE week of summer and boy is it a busy one. I'm packing up twice: one set of stuff/boxes for me to take in my car on Saturday and one set of stuff/boxes for my mom to drive up in July. I'll be staying the dorms at University of Memphis from when I drive up there this weekend until July 19 and then I'll be moving into my new place with Meghan! We signed a lease [hooray!] and my mom will drive up the weekend in July I move out of the dorms and into the apartment.

Oh hey, University of Memphis

I'm also working on my last online class (which ends in late June), getting everything set to move, trying to visit with EVERYONE, and, oh ya, relaxing during my week of summer.

The beach house a bunch of us rented two weekends ago.
Heaven.

That's a bit of an update with me. I'll be keeping my blog because I'm teaching fourth grade again next year, but it will no longer be an intern blog. It'll be a first year teacher blog!