Let's get Ready to Go! 2022 - 2023

The past few years have been draining, to say the least.  This summer, I have found that I finally having the energy again to focus on my love of teaching.  

Here are my goals the 2022 - 2023 school year:

1. Prepare in advance as much as possible.  That's what I've been trying to do this summer, as much as possible.  By having resources, lessons, digital posts and activities ready to go, that will allow me to have more time to respond to immediate student needs, flex my lessons and activities to meet students where they are and create fun, hands-on activities that tend to require more preparation.

2. Continue to focus on adjusting and refining my spiralled math program. It works.  My teaching partner and I have been using this method for the past 5 years and the results are clear. Students retain information and gain confidence.  This summer I am continuing my learning by reading/listening to (thanks Audible) Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics by Peter Liljedahl .  I am excited to see how I can improve my program.

3. Get into the Science of Reading and understand how to smoothly implement structured literacy practices in the junior grades. This summer I was lucky enough to take a course from the International Dyslexia Organization - Ontario.  In this course, I looked at the Basics of Decoding and Spelling Instruction. This course really made me think about how I can target my student's areas of need and effect real change. 

4. Instill a love of reading. As a former teacher-librarian I am passionate about engaging students in reading. I am constantly searching out books to add to my classroom library.  I love doing read alouds and my favourite yearly tradition is The Global Read Aloud.  This year I am reading Thirst and have created and compiled some activities to share.

5. Promote Digital Citizenship and the positive use of Social Media to make a change. This has always been a passion of mine and I look forward to connecting my class online to show them the power the online world has to make a positive change.

6. Bring back my flexible seating classroom. I missed it so much. I hate desks. Enough said.

7. My final goal this year is to make achievable commitments to my students and school community and not overextend myself. I tend to want to be all things to all people, unfortunately often at the cost of my own health and well-being. This year I am going to select the activities and events where I feel I can make the greatest impact and support the most students, instead of helping with it all. 

Yup, those are my goals!  I am looking forward to this school year! 

Yes, I know that it is only the beginning of August, but I am also looking forward to a fantastic camping trip up North...hence the early post about the upcoming school year!