First Day of School... In Guate

What a difference 2 years makes!  I remember (vaguely) how I felt my first day as a “real teacher” in Puerto Rico.  I’m pretty sure I was as petrified as the new 7th graders.  Last year was much easier, because I knew half of my students already, and I felt comfortable in my classroom and with what we’d be doing. 

This year, I’m at a new school in a new country.  So although it’s my 3rd year teaching, in some ways, I feel like a brand new teacher because I’m in such a new environment.  However, I do still have those years of experience under my belt, and I noticed it in the difference in my attitude the night before the first day of school.  I wasn’t nervous…I was excited.

First days are easy.  You meet the kids, create a welcoming environment, do an icebreaker or two, and go over the rules and procedures for the year.  So, while I may not be 100% sure yet where I’m going with instruction this first trimester, I felt comfortable with the first week of lesson plans.  My room is more or less set up how I want it, and I was SO EXCITED to meet my new students! 

And so, the first day went really well. We met with our advisories (like homerooms) for almost an hour and a half, getting to know each other and going over school-wide procedures, and then we cycled quickly through each of Day 1’s 5 classes, spending just 30 minutes in each.  At the end of the day, it was time for an assembly.  Our principal came out on stage with his electric guitar and a snazzy pair of sunglasses and sang a wacky song called “Middle School” to the tune of “Wild Thing” (apparently this has become a tradition), and then each grade-level team introduced itself to the students in an interesting way.  8th grade put together a really cool video.  We on the 7th grade team created a skit involving a mischievous translator.  And the 6th grade teachers introduced themselves in 10 seconds, then quizzed the students on “who said what,” game-show style.  Then, it was back to advisory for just long enough to teach my kids how to play Silent Ball, and we were out the door. 

Day 2 (and all of the days that follow) will be just as good, if I have anything to do with it.
Looking from the back of my room towards the front.
There are already more things up on the walls than in this picture.

Taken from the front door.  In the previous picture, I was standing
right in front of that bright green poster on the back wall.  

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