Last day... Again? So soon??

My last week with my 3/4s was serial. I didn't believe that it was going to end. I felt as though I just got there. I was finally in my groove and wanted to plow on.
Thursday night I put their gifts together... A container of bubbles with a tag that said "You've 'blown' me away. I will miss you. Love, Miss S" and some bubble gum.
Friday we went on with testing. The kids were talking in whispers about the party and the end of the day. Once the end of the day came we had our party. I began to cry as I told the students how much I would miss them. It was shocking to me that I was even crying. I did love my students and had a wonderful time with them but I felt ready to go. It was a wonderful celebration. We hugged and they went to PE.
I received a few gifts but the most precious of all was from one of my 4th graders. It was a toddler's book about the five senses, wrapped in lined paper with a make-shift bow. I will always cherish this gift. Even now I am crying like a baby just thinking of how I will always remember her and all of my 80+ student-teaching students.

I went into this placement longing to be back with my other kids. Now that I am finished I am just so thankful for the opportunity that I was given. God has blessed me and molded me using these young children. I couldn't be more amazed.

NYS Testing

The big weeks are here. The students have been working so hard reviewing for the NYS ELA and NYS Math assessment. Two weeks of testing 3 days each. It is hard not to be worried. You worry that the students will be scared. You worry that you didn't review the things that they put on the test. You worry because although the students are assessed by this test, you are being assessed by your students performance.

On test days it always seemed that the students were eating the pencils. We were constantly running out. The 4th graders loved the listening piece. It hey were excited and writing notes as fast as they could. The 3rd graders were happy that there were a lot of Geometry and Measurement questions because we had just covered those subjects.

Overall, the testing was not as painful as I imagined it would be. The students were exhausted by the end of they day which was a small price to pay for the hard work they put in during the teat. It was a good experience and I feel confident that the next time I face the NYS assessments as a teacher, I will be well prepared.

Guara Devi

My second cooperating teacher, Mrs. T, puts on a musical play every year with the 40+ in the 3/4 MAC. All of the teachers in the 3-elementary-school district know about her plays. My first cooperating teacher mentioned the play as soon as I told her that I would be with Mrs T.
This year the students are putting on a play called Guara Devi that tells the story of how the tree-hugging movement began in India in the foot-hills of the Himalayan Mountains. The women of the hillside, also known as the girls of the 3/4 MACs, stand against the woodcutter, played by the 3/4 boys, who are trying to cut down the forest for money.
The students are excited for play practice. Even on the days when we go through the whole production, they are exciting. Which can be part of the problem.
Aside from all of the invitations, playbills, to-do lists, and letters home, my jobs was to keep the students who weren't in the current scene quiet was they waited. It was a large task. Keeping 30 students deadly quiet is hard at any time but when they are excited it is nearly impossible. As they move farther alone they are getting better at being quiet. I am sure that on the final show, they will do great.

It has been wonderful to see the students practice and perform. Seeing Mrs. T use the Arts and drama in her class was truly inspiring and I hope to have that ability one day.

There is a difference!!

In my 3/4 MAC placement I have been teaching with another student teacher. I knew from the beginning that she was coming just a few days after me. I was a little nervous thinking there would be a sort of competition between us. It was awkward and first but I found her to be friendly. Our teachers told us that they wanted to do a bulletin board together and to put together a project for the students. I was excited but the other student teacher was not. She was hesitant toward many of my ideas but was not offering any herself. I just chose something for us. I decided for the board we would do a Great Wall and have the students write different things that they learned on the board. Once everything came together my partner was proud.
After many different occasions where we shared our ideas or expressed our ideas I was made very aware of the different between our preparation at Nyack and the preparation at other schools. I am so glad that we are encouraged to be creative, positive servants who want to go above and beyond for our students. God has truly blessed me!