Organization Happiness: Data Analysis

Climate and culture are prevalent topics in businesses, organizations, and schools. Climate can often be described as the attitude of an organization, whereas culture is the personality. It is necessary to have both to be successful. When creating and maintaining a positive climate and culture, climate is often easier to change (Gruenert, 2008). When it comes to climate and culture in schools, administrators work alongside their staff to address morale and understand the difference between climate and culture and how they work together (Gruenert, 2008).

Schools and districts often gauge the climate of their employees or schools through surveys. These surveys are crafted so that the data can be analyzed and assessed for areas of strength and growth. One such survey was created and sent to a high school staff of 100+ which included administrators (Principals and Assistant Principals), classified staff (custodians, paras, secretaries, etc), certified staff (teachers, SSPs, TOSAs, etc) with years of experience ranging from two to over 21 years of experience. A total of 24 individuals responded to the survey, 9 identified themselves as classified staff, and 15 identified themselves as certified staff. No administrators participated in the survey.

The Likert scale was used to answer the survey questions, with answer options being:

4 - Strongly Agree

3 - Agree

2 - Disagree

1 - Strongly Disagree


There were 11 survey questions, which fit into five themes that support a positive climate.

The themes were:

1. Recognition and Satisfaction

2. Clear Focus and Vision

3. Leadership and Support

4. Communication and Engagement

5. Growth and Development

The five themes and average rating in each theme are shown in the chart.

A much deeper analysis of these results could be considered, such as analyzing results as classified vs certified, years of experience, etc. After analyzing the overall rating results among the 24 surveyed staff members, recognition and satisfaction are rated the highest, while leadership and support are rated the lowest.

When analyzing each question, the top 15 bolded responses are identified as certified responses, and the bottom 9 are classified responses. Numeric values were given to each response as shown above and then averaged at the bottom of each column. As seen here, question 11, which asked about overall happiness, is the highest-rated question. Whereas question 4, which asked about communication within the school, is ranked the lowest.




To promote support and trust in building leaders, some suggestions would be:

1. Getting into classrooms and not just for observations
Grissom, Loeb, and Master (2013) classroom observations can not only have a positive impact on student outcomes but can also be used to build rapport between teachers and build leadership. Being present in classrooms also provides an insight into students, staff, and general day-to-day happenings in the building (Grissom et al, 2013). Increased accessibility and reliability of building administrators can support building relationships that foster collaboration and confidence for staff and administrators.


2. Encourage Teacher Leaders
Teachers should share in school leadership and play a role in decision making, instruction, assessment, and professional growth for themselves and their colleagues. Principals expand their leadership skills to teachers and better support the school and its stakeholders by empowering teacher leaders (Ghamrawi, 2011).

3. Honor Commitments
Making and keeping time to meet with teachers, parents, and students, observing in classrooms, and following through on promises.

4. Develop Coaching Skills
Supporting teachers with tools and strategies to not only help themselves be successful but also their colleagues as well to improve teaching practices and student outcomes (Newell, 2025).

5. Foster Risk Taking
Fail Forward, support to try something new, and even if it isn't successful, look for what can be learned from it and what next steps might be.

6. Openness
The way a principal communicates, shares information, and gets the staff involved in decision-making or just giving teachers a "heads up" about an event or initiative (Kuykendall & Slater, 2020).


Education Week writer Larry Ferlazzo (2025) shares responses to the question of the week, in which he asks, "What is one thing a Principal can do to support their teachers?". Wendi Pillars (2025) shared her illustration, which supports the tips above.



In what ways have you felt supported by your principal(s)? What specific actions was your principal taking to help you or your colleagues?



References

Ferlazzo, L and Pillars, W. (2025, February 13). 7 Ways Principals Can Support Teachers (Opinion). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-7-ways-principals-can-support-teachers/2022/05

Ghamrawi, N. (2011). Trust Me: Your School Can Be Better--A Message from Teachers to Principals. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 39(3), 333–348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143210393997

Grissom, J. A., Loeb, S., & Master, B. (2013). Effective instructional time use for school leaders: Longitudinal evidence From observations of principals. Educational Researcher, 42(8), 433–444. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24571227

Gruenert, S. (2008). School culture, school climate: They are not the same thing. Principal, 56–57. https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/resources/2/Principal/2008/M-Ap56.pdf

Kuykendall, B., & Slater, C. L. (2020). Servant-Leadership and Trust between Teachers and Principals. International Journal of Servant-Leadership, 14(1), 249–273. https://doi.org/10.33972/ijsl.31

Newell, A. (March 2025). Coaching for teachers: What school leaders need to consider. Blog. https://blog.irisconnect.com/uk/coaching-for-teachers#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20an%20opportunity%20for%20two%20individuals,lead%20to%20professional%20and%20personal%20success.%E2%80%9D%20%2D&text=In%20addition%20to%20helping%20teachers%20transfer%20new,a%20culture%20of%20learning%2C%20experimentation%2C%20and%20collegiality.

quarantine day ???

First of all I am NOT quarantine material! Yall staying home is so hard!!! And the hardest part not going to school. Seriously the building misses me. I swear it does! 

So day 1 I stayed home and was a good rule follower. 

Day 2... HAD to get to the grocery store to pick up essentials

Day 3... Went out and got the dreaded COVID test. Funny story the nurse giving it was like it isnt that bad for women. Men though they can't handle it as well. Hahaha

Day 4... First day of remote quarantined teaching. Kids in school being monitored by Admin while I teach from home. All. The. Nerves. But we made it - just in time for that set of kids to get quaratined too! So now my whole cohort A and B day are at home! Also this is the day our district released we are going remote from December 1 through January 12. So all the things going on trying to figure all that out as well.

Day 5... Remote teaching was tough. I cried. Went to the store for toilet paper we are out at Costco and almost out at walmart. Great.

Day 6...Covid Test is Negative! Virtual Sock Battle with a super hero loving teacher friend. And had an amazing day remote teaching.

Is it over yet yall? Haha 8 more days.

quarantined teacher day 1

So it happened Yall. My team and I are quarantined. Got the news today. My school actually went 8 weeks without having to shut down a single cohort and then I swear it's been a downward slope every since. 

T7b - kid positive

T6 - teacher positive

S6 - teacher exposure to positive

T8b - kid positive

S7b - kid positive

It's been a lot. Administration and other support staff are covering classrooms of kids while their teachers are remote into the classroom. Technology isn't always working. Fear is running rampant. And both students and teachers are already stretched thin. 

We wear our mask. We keep distance. We sanitize and have cohorts and don't care the hallway spaces, have zoom meetings. And we are still having shut downs. It absolutely sucks. I feel like a prisoner at school. I cant talk to my friends in person. Only video calls. I can't hug kids or get hugs. We all need hugs Yall. And some of these kids - this is the tough one -  some of my students I have NEVER seen their whole faces. Just their eyes and forehead. It is heart breaking. 

I'm struggling with quarantine. I'm not a very good caged animal. I gain energy from others. I feed off the energy in the room. And I'm going to miss my kids. Hoping it goes fast and that my team and students stay safe and heathy!

Distance Learning

As if teaching 7th Grade math in person wasn't hard enough...let's go online, during a pandemic!

Things that have been good during this "distance learning" time
1. [7th grade] Math is about the "how" of the problem more than the "what" of the problem
2. Getting out of the box and really changing things up - teaching and learning
3. Focus on responding to problems not just answering them (C-E-R format)
4. Support from my administration staff has always been great but it has just stepped up tenfold
5. Connections with my kids have gotten stronger, not with every kid but with a handful of them

Things that have been a challenge during this "distance learning" time
1. I miss my students. Like SO much.
2. I never realized how much I really LOVED going to school and being in that space
3. I am a social creature and NEED in person interaction because
4. I miss my coworkers
5. I miss my classroom

4 day work week

That's right yall, you read that right!
4. Day. Work. Week.
You know that article that is circulating Facebook and other social media, about that school district in Colorado that is all the RAVE, being bold and out there because they have a 4. Day. Work. Week.
Yeah, that hip and cool school district, that's my new school district. And I am here to tell you, this 4 day work week thing - It's pretty sweet.
But in all seriousness, you have GOT to try this 4 day thing. Why have we not thought of this sooner? It is amazing. I can't tell you how great it is to have a three day weekend EVERY WEEKEND. The time to recharge is amazing. It gives me time to decompress and spend QUALITY time with my family. Don't get me wrong, cramming everything in is challenging. Teaching everything the state requires in 4 days instead of 5 is a lot. Not to mention the days I work are longer to compensate for the shorter week. But honestly, I am at school from 730-5 or so everyday anyway regardless of when I have kids. Kid hours are 830-432, which is a long day but again 4 day work week. It makes the calendar so much easier to manage too. Potentially by the end of year I will feel differently but right now, this is AWESOME stuff.

Some Cons:
Childcare - butttt what about districts on year round? Right? Plus it is only one day of full day childcare - which is sometimes a holiday anyway because I have Monday's off not Friday's - not to mention that snow and other weather are awesome at coming in on a Monday instead of mid week too.
Time - we all complain we never have the time, and a 4 day week cuts that time but, the ME time - yall we need that time to recharge and reconnect with ourselves and our families
These are really the two big ones I can think of.
Like I said so far I am loving the 4 day week. 

After a Decade

A decade of teaching. A. DECADE. 

Here is what a decade looks like for me:

3 states. 4 districts. 6 schools. 8 classrooms. 13 administrators. 333 students. 1800+ days teaching.

Year 1: cross category special education grades k and 4

Year 2: self contained emotional disabilities grades 3-5

Year 3 and 4: General Education Second Grade

Year 5: General Education Fifth Grade

Year 6: General Education Third Grade

Year 7: General Education First Grade

Year 8: General Education Fourth Grade

Year 9: General Education Fifth Grade 

Year 10: Sixth Grade Math Teacher

Here is what I know about teaching after 10 years. It's hard. For those in the back...IT'S HARD. And I don't mean the standard duh it's hard it's your job hard. I mean really hard. Heart wrenching, bone tired, belly aching, beyond exhausted HARD. And sure I could have gone into a different career path, one where I felt more appreciated by society, where I could leave at 4:30pm and not have to bring hours of work home to do from my couch while my dog looks at me wishing we could go for a walk. A profession where I get bonuses for doing well and overtime pay for working more than expected. Instead I CHOSE to be a teacher. And I honestly question it every year and when I ask myself 

"if you leave teaching, what would you do?"

The very loud answer back is

"I have no idea, I can't picture myself anywhere but in a classroom." 

Which if I'm being honest is a not all that helpful when you're feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. 

But none the less I CHOSE to be a teacher. I choose to be a teacher every day and I'll keep choosing to be a teacher.

After 10 years of teaching I've learned that I am not going to please every administrator, every parent or every child. And that doesn't define me anymore than state tests define my kids. I've learned that the kids that need the most love ask for it in the most unloving way. I've learned that while my kids have parents and families that love and care for them, I do too. I have learned that I would do just about anything for my kids; whether they sat in my classroom 10 years ago or this year or even if they never have and they were in the teacher's class across the hall.

I've learned after 10 years of teaching I love teaching. It's etched into my soul. 

Up Next, Year 11: Seventh Grade Math

I would love to get better at Blogging. I seriously dream about blog posts sometimes and yet they never actually make it to fruition. Will definitely need to work on that.

6th grade here I come!

First year in Colorado was a roller coaster...BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT

I'm going to a new school and a new grade level! Currently 6th grade is in the elementary schools but that could change next year with as much growth as we are having in my district. I am so excited to just be teaching math and for my new school! :)

SIXTH GRADE HERE I COME!

New Blog Name, New State, New School, New Grade Level, Same Teacher

It has been over a year since I have blogged! OVER A YEAR! 

Well there is so much new going on! I moved to Colorado. 
No more beaches. No more sand. No more hurricane watches, no more humidity. Now most of you are probably cringing because you love the beach, but I however do not LOVE the beach. I like it but my real LOVE is the mountains. And now I have dry air, snow capped mountains, ATVing, hiking, and high altitude! I am super excited to be on this new journey!

I was able to interview and get hired same day at an amazing school! I will be teaching 5th grade (again!) There will be 6 teachers on my grade level. My new school goes PreK-6th grade. So teaching at a school where 5th grade isn't the highest grade level will be totally new! 

Colorado is a Common Core state so the standards are the same as in Florida. (well until they changed them to Florida State Standards which were just CCSS with FL tacked on the front, and different numbers). Anyway, my new curriculum is Every Child a Reader, Every Child a Writer, and Everyday Math. None of these I am familiar with. But have researched them some, anyone else use them?

Either way I am super excited about this new journey and hopefully I can get back into blogging. Back to School and Meet the Teacher coming up! :) 

Home Sweet Home

Well after about two weeks I have decided I made a GREAT decision for me to move schools. I couldn't be happier. I really feel like I have found my home, as far as schools go. The grade level switch is an adjustment, 3rd graders are very different from 1st graders. But 1st graders are so cute and they pretty much love everything. I have a phenomenal team and mentor teacher. I have gotten really close with another new teacher on our 1st grade team and we have been planning TONS of collaborative activities with our classes and the library! We have already gotten our classes together for a Biography Research Project! It turned out awesome! So what's been happening at school for me these last two weeks? It has been busy, busy...


Florida Literacy Week - January 25-29
100th Day January 29th - I dressed up at Rainbow Fish because it was also Story Book Character day!
Groundhog's Day - predictions with adorable groundhogs for our hallway bulletin board
Black History Month Biographies - 34 first graders researching and writing about famous African Americans
Fundraiser kick off - I have already had 3 students earn space monkeys for all the items they have sold!
Mardi Gras - we celebrated by earning Mardi Gras beads for good behavior and enjoying King Cake

Coming up...Valentine's Day and President's Day!

We are having a class celebration Ice Cream Party and are doing a super sweet activity with conversation hearts and The Velveteen Rabbit!


President's Day we will be making George and Abe and thinking about what life would be like if we were President!


This has seriously been a great change for me. I am still getting the hang of things and learning the ins and outs but I am truly a happier teacher. So excited for the rest of the year!

Exciting News

So I haven't blogged in AGES! But I feel like now is a good time to start back up again.

Many of you know that this has been a rough year for me. I started at my second school in Florida and demographics of this school were incredibly challenging for me. I struggled both in my professional career and my personal life because of these challenges. I loved my students as individuals, they were interesting and creative, and smart but teaching them in the classroom wasn't working for me because of their behavior which was affected by their home lives and other outside factors. I didn't blame any of my students for these circumstances but it definitely made my experiences in the classroom very difficult. I struggled with what the best course of action for me was. Do I finish out the year, do I try and transfer schools mid year or do I just leave teaching. After lots of soul searching I decided I did in fact want to be a teacher but that I needed a different teaching situation. I thought this was best for me and my students. I had been applying at other schools since Thanksgiving. Not seriously but just looking around to see what if anything I might be interviewed for or offered. I made it though Christmas and came back with a positive attitude after an amazing break. I started team teaching with an awesome colleague of mine and we were working on things and seeing growth and productivity in my kids. They were actually engaged in the lessons I was teaching and working with their peers collaboratively. It was so great to see. I thought maybe I can do this, maybe I can make it through the end of the year. As luck would have it, I was asked to come in for an interview and then was offered the position at a school in a neighboring county. Making this decision to take this position was difficult for many reasons, firstly I would be switching schools midyear, secondly I would be leaving my current students who already have a track record of adults letting them down/leaving them, and thirdly what would me leaving mid year look like to other districts or schools I might be applying in, fourthly I would be switching grade levels, maybe the grass wouldn't be greener. I decided that I needed to do something for me so I made the leap and accepted the position at this school in the neighboring county. I am really excited about this new endeavor. I was able to meet my new kiddos today and spend some time with the staff at my new school. Today was amazing! I was so happy. I thought about the kids I left behind lots today and will probably think about them often. Sometimes we as teachers put so much into our students and forget to think about ourselves. I am excited for this opportunity and can't wait to share it with my bloggy followers! Thanks so much for your support!

Teacher Week - 5 Fun Facts

I am so excited to be able to participate in this year's Teacher Week. Here goes five fun things about me

One: 
My summer binge watching included a new favorite TV show Scandal. I absolutely love Olivia and Fitz together and can't wait until season 5 starts! I also watched Revenge and Orange is the New Black. 

Two:
Starburst Jellybeans are delicious. They only come out at Easter and I try to grab as many as I can when Easter candy goes on clearance. The cravings for them didn't subside though so I had to buy 12 bags from Amazon. 



Three:
I hate running. But I tried to get into running in January and managed to lose 22 pounds. I ran two 5k's and managed to improve my time. Over the summer it is so hot in Florida that running outside is miserable, so hopefully I can get back into running again and learn to love it. Lucky me that my boyfriend bought me new running shoes for my birthday. They are like running on clouds!! 


Four:
I love to read. I don't always get the time to read for fun but love it. I was able to read so many books this summer and it was glorious.


Five:
I have a great family and an incredible boyfriend. I am so thankful for them in my life. I wouldn't be the teacher I am without them. Ready for this year to be the best year ever!

Be sure to check out the other awesome teachers and their 5 fun facts over at Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week Linky! 

Teachers Pay Teachers BTS15 Sale!

So we all know all about the TpT BIG Back to School sale! Who doesn't love 28% off and some of you great teachers had additional discounts too! I was resistant at first because the pay schedule in my county is less than ideal and I had already felt like I had spent so much on my classroom already but I just couldn't resist some of the awesome things I picked up! 

Click the names of these awesome teachers to go to their blogs or TpT stores and see their great products!

Cart #1:

Christopher Columbus Close Reading from Elementary Lesson Plans
Close Reading: Florida from Creativity to the Core
Vocabulary (ELA) from Jason's Online Classroom
Math Vocabulary from Jason's Online Classroom
Science Vocabulary from Jason's Online Classroom
Common Core Standards Third Grade Teacher Planner from Teaching is a Work of HEART
Create-A-Pal Base Set from Polka Dots and Pals



After being so excited about all of these awesome products I quickly got to work creating my own pal and then of course had to have the other Create A Pal sets which is what led to cart number 2. 

Cart #2:

Create-A-Pal Super Pal Set from Polka Dots and Pals

Create-A-Pal Independence Day Set from Polka Dots and Pals

Then I remembered that I posted on Facebook about two awesome back to school items that are great for classroom procedures and policies and needed these two awesome products!

Cart #3 (after BTS sale of course! ughhh!)
ABC Parent Brochure Prek-5 Back to school from TCHR TWO POINT 0
Classroom Procedure Manual for students from Teaching in Room 6

 Hope you all enjoyed my purchases and check them out yourself!: )

Growing Dendrites

If you are anything like me you cringe when you hear the words Professional Development, because let's be honest do you really want to sit in a school chair all day surrounded by other people and be told how to teach your kids? I have had a hit or miss relationship with Professional Development in the my 5 years of teaching. Some of them are awesome and I would recommend them to other teachers (ie. SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) and the read aloud integration in Science lessons, and various others). However most of the others I could do without. They can be overwhelming and add another thing to our already full plates and while the presenter is preaching to you about all the great things that you should be doing for your kids, they aren't doing them for you in the professional development, you're sitting in the chair not moving listening to some teacher drone on about things you should be doing.

However when I was given the opportunity to attend a two day Marcia Tate workshop I was stoked. I had high hopes that this would be interactive, useful and easy to implement in my classroom. I always try to be optimistic about trainings, workshops and meetings and I was right on with this one.

Day 1: Shouting Doesn't Grow Dendrites
Behavior Management that will eliminate most of your behavior issues and guess what it isn't another clip chart, cool interactive app or even anything that is going to cost you anything!! WHATT? How awesome.

Things that you should be doing the moment kids walk in your room:
1. Greet them (this helps build a relationship between you and your student)
2. Play music (calming preferably, and it sets the noise level in your room, you shouldn't hear them over the music)
3. Start out with something positive (a compliment, a joke, a story, something light and fun to start the day off right)

You should spend 75% of the first days practicing the rituals and routines of your classroom
If kids are engaged they will remember 0-10% of what you are teaching, engage them and they will retain the other 90%. 

Six F's of Good Classroom Management:
1. Firm (not being mean, but meaning what you say)
2. Fair
3. Friendly
4. Fun
5. Flexible
6. Forgiving

Did you know human beings need 12 positive interactions daily to be happy.
We need 8 positive interactions daily to maintain life.
And we need 4 positive interactions daily to survive. Wow. That's startling to me. Tell your kids every day how special and awesome they are, because that could be the only positive interaction they are getting. 

These were my big take aways from Day 1. Such a powerful and great workshop. Check out her book for more information!!

Day 2: Mathematics Worksheets Don't Grown Dendrites
1. Greet your kids
2. Play Music
3. Start with something Positive

M - Math
A- Ain't
T -That
H-Hard
How cute is this little acronym?? I love it. I think it would help kiddos feel less stressed about math!

Fun activities to do with your kiddos to get them up and moving!!
1. Math (or any subject) Alphabet Book
2. Math Problems about your life
3. 9 Times Table Story
4. Number Line Hustle
5. Circumference Conga
6. Math Pictionary
7. I have Who has
8. Partner Appointments
9. Create a number 
10. Interactive Word Problem

Again these are just my main take aways from the second day. You really should check out her and her books if you get the chance!

http://www.developingmindsinc.com/about.html 

A Book Hoarders 12 Step Program

Hey Ya'll a second Blogpost in a week!! Whatttt?!

Well I have been in my classroom a couple weeks now and have decided since I own so many books which honestly these fabulous books spend most of their time hiding in cabinets or on special "teacher only shelves" where the kids can get their dirty little fingers on them. Yes I am that teacher I hoard books from my kids. 

Don't hate me just yet...The kids have plenty of books they can read in my classroom and I do read these amazing little literary nuggets to the kids. I love reading to my kids. I just don't have these precious books out where the kids can get to them. Have you seen what kids do to books?? It is awful. Dog ear pages, rip pages/rip pages out completely, color on the pages, write on the book, in the book, using the book as a clipboard and the worst of all they take them home and never bring them back! Whatt those are my books they can't keep them! Let's be real, why can't they? They are kid books, and kids should be reading them and loving them. Sooooo....


This year I am trying to overcome my fear of students touching my books.
 I have started this 12 step program...it's a work in progress 

1. Unpack the books from their boxes
2. Go through every single one of them and assess their awesomeness (let's be honest, Kinder books aren't really "Just Right Books" for Third Graders, and I can rehome them to another teacher, student or our little neighborhood library box)
3. Add them into an online database that will let the kids check them out of our classroom library just like they would in the school library.

The online database I have started using is ClassroomBookSource and so far I LOVE this website. I have only gotten about 480 books in so far. But it is a work in progress. It gives you tons of options to add AR stats, Guided Reading Levels, Genre, Location on your bookshelf, etc. You can also download a scanner app and have the kids scan the books in and out as they check them out or turn them in. Upon check in the kids can rate or review the book too! How awesome is that!? I haven't obviously done the check out/check in options yet since it is still summer, but I will be back to blog about that once school starts
  

4. Sort and put the books on shelves the kids can get to
5. Teach my kids how I want the library to look, feel, sound, and how it should be used
6. Let my kids touch and explore the books
7. Reteach how the classroom library and books should be used (because let's be honest I am going to need to do this haha)
8. No Freaking out if books have to go under the knife at Dr. Books office (Ha I made that up!! But I might make a basket that says that now for books that need surgery). It is okay, well loved people have scars and have had bandages, so well loved books should have them too right?
9. Breathe.
10. Smile.
11. Let it go, Let it go!!! If a book walks off, I can get another one, a student loved a book so much they took it, that means I am doing my job right?
12. Order more books to read and be happy!!

I am hoping this is a positive experience for me and my kiddos. Happy Summer!

30 days until teachers go back for me. :) I am excited to meet my new kids but loving having the summer off!! 

Finally Blogging about...my new school and grade level

Here in the beautiful sunshine state all teachers are on an annual contract. What does this mean? It means that all teachers' jobs "end" at the end of the school year. Stressed much? Yes...very much so. Now obviously this doesn't happen to everyone, there are some teachers who were grandfathered in and still have continuing contracts, lucky them. 

I suppose theoretically, it could work something like this: you work at a school, have outstanding observations, great parent rapport, engaging activities and technology, and good test scores and your contract gets renewed. No sweat.
However it isn't always that simple. Teachers get let go all the time. It is crazy. The county I work in loses a quarter of their teachers every year. A QUARTER! That seems like a fairly large amount of teachers to lose every year.

So being new to this annual contract thing, it was always in the back of my mind. I stressed about every little thing that I viewed as negative thinking this is going to lose me my job etc. Finally after going back and forth about whether I wanted to come back to the school I was at and then deciding that I did. At the end of the year I had convinced myself of this thought, "I worked hard this year, my kids saw successes and I learned a lot from them and the other teachers around me. It wasn't a perfect year but next year will be better." 

Then came time for everyone to start signing their new contracts...I waited and then was called in to discuss my placement and was told I would not be returning to the school. I was devastated. While this wasn't the perfect year, I had high hopes for next year and the changes I would make in my class, in myself and in my peer relationships. So now jobless I frantically began the job hunt to find another school to call home. I applied to 20 something positions. Some elementary, some middle school. I interviewed with 4 schools and was offered 3 jobs. 

I now happily call home to a portable classroom at a Title 1 School with 100% free and reduced lunch, 83% minority teaching 3rd grade. I will have to be at school an hour longer than last year (than any year I have taught actually) but I am really looking forward to the new adventure.

Happy to be teaching 3rd grade! 

Donor's Choose

I finally did it! I finally created a Donor's Choose project!
                                           
I have heard from many coworkers what a great way to get resources for your classroom this is but I was just "too busy" to look into it, or it was "easier" to just get whatever it was I needed for my classroom myself. But after being encouraged repeatedly and seeing all the great things my other teacher friends get, I finally submitted my first project!

I am so thankful to those teacher friends who encouraged me to just do it! I am hopeful that our project will get funded and my kids will get some awesome science tools! 

Check out my Donors Choose page here: http://www.donorschoose.org/TeamMaddox 

Thanks so much for you continued support and encouragement! Very thankful for Donor's Choose and their love for teachers and our classrooms too!

Rocks Rock!

As my first year in Fifth grade it is also the first year I was giving the opportunity to teach rocks and the rock cycle! EEEEK!
I was stoked about this opportunity because my mom used to work in a Copper Mine and we had all these samples of rocks and I always found so cool. Not to mention living in various places and seeing all kinds of rocks which were so cool. 

Having never taught Rocks or the Rock Cycle, I didn't have a lot of resources or even know where to start. Thanks to TPT I found TONS of awesome resources! I would like to shout out to Melissa Mazur and her awesome Rocks and Minerals pack that I used in my classroom. This pack comes with so many awesome activities and resources! I used the reading passages, the task cards and the word wall cards. Next year I will use more of the experiments and hands on activities because they are so awesome.

I used the word wall cards as a matching game. I cut the definitions apart from the picture and term. They have really great pictures to match the vocabulary terms and definitions. My kids matched them all first and then played memory with the cards. They loved it and I felt like it really helped the terms and definitions stick with them.

 


The task cards we used as they are intended. The kids worked as a group to answer the various questions. They love working on task cards it gives them a chance to move and talk while answering content related questions.

We have these great reading books that come with our Science textbook. Using these books the kids read to answer questions about the Rock Cycle. It is great to have these resources because they can be used in a small guided reading groups, read to a buddy center or just plain old reading non-fiction choices for the kids.

Sometimes I draw pictures and just love how I drew them! These are two examples of our Rock Cycle and Rock Formation pictures we drew for our Science Notebook.

Happy Teachin' 

Professional Development - what's your favorite and not so favorite

Every year most of us teachers get a survey about our intentions for next year. 

Sometimes I've been asked what Professional Development I think would benefit our staff. This year is one of those cases. This year it feels especially important to answer this question because I really feel like my principal really listens to us when we make suggestions. 

I have sat through so many different professional development opportunities some which were so helpful and some which were a waste of time. As a teacher I know our time is valuable and that we are incredibly intelligent and usually know what is best for our kids without someone reading us some book they wrote or some ideology they have "discovered". While these PD's are important and I don't mean to down play these PDs in anyway, ones that are more valuable to our teaching and classroom are far better than just any old PD. I wish I could be a full time student and just sit in classes all day and learn - seriously if full time student were a job I would sign up! I absolutely love learning.

There are tons of different professional development opportunities out there are there any that anyone could suggest that they LOVED or didn't love I would appreciate hearing your feedback. 

Thanks for helping out in advance!

January Wrap Up

Things have gotten away from me I was doing so well that last week of posting and then fell off the wagon! So here is the belated January Wrap up!

Florida's Literacy Week...we saw day 1, 2, 3...

Day 4: Snuggle up with a Good book (wear your slippers, bring blankets and stuffed animals to school)
My kids loved this day even though we didn't get to wear our Pjs they seemed content with slippers and stuffed animals. For our 30 minutes of independent reading time they were able to snuggle up and read and boy was my room quiet! It was so precious to see them all snuggly and reading.

 I love that this kiddo is using Mr. Bear for extra cuddles! He loves to read too!

Day 5: Reading Makes you classy! (Wear your class shirt) This was an unofficial day, fifth grade wanted to wear our class shirts so I added this to the week for my kids. We also had our guest speaker come from the Pensacola Light House and told us all kinds of cool facts about the lighthouse, it's history and read us a story about a similar light house from Maine called Abbie Against the Storm. It was a great Nonfiction book that made relating to our lighthouse great for the kids! Check this book out but keep in mind it is probably for older kids grades 3-5. 

The Pensacola Lighthouse sits on Naval Air Station Pensacola and is open to visitors year round. I has 177 steps to climb to the top! It is also pretty close to our school! You can see it from Pensacola Beach as well. :)

While we were wrapping up Literacy Week we were also wrapping up our unit on Space and the Planets. I created a sort (quickly) and had the kids sort the planets by size and then match the numeric sizes to the correct planet. Super easy but more fun than me just giving them the numbers. They worked in groups and some had it perfect on the first go. I love doing sorts like this because it lets the kids do the exploring on their own rather than having me drive all the exploring. It also helps them work as a team which some of them have trouble doing. haha 

Forgot to add this awesome board to my 100 Days Celebration! Fifth grade decided to create this board with 100 things we learned in Science. Each class got a different colored sticky note and the kids wrote what stuck out to them. Lots of kids and teachers admired our board because it is right after the office!

Some Groundhog Day Writing. Which animal from Florida should predict the weather and why? How will it predict the weather. These were some of the best writing pieces. I loved the different things they came up with! We also had a cute window display that I swore I took pictures of but don't seem to have the pictures so I will have to get those this week and post about them!

 Happy Teaching Everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

100th Day of School

Today was our 100th day of school! Hard to believe it has already been 100 days of fifth grade, 100 days through my first year of common core and teaching in Florida! Yay!! 

Since Fifth grade is a little old to be doing some of the standard 100th day activities but I still love doing them we celebrated in our own "grown up" way. 

1. Using number die cuts we created a Space Colony scene and then wrote about it. The kids were asked to use the die cuts in their picture and then explain why they chose this new place for their space colony.

2. We had a 100 cup tower stack challenge. I split the kids into two groups and gave them 100 cups and told them to create the tallest tower they could using all 100 cups. One group just couldn't get the cups to stay standing. The other group built two towers! one was 29 inches tall and the second was 48 inches tall! They really seemed to enjoy this activity. They do need some help working together and talking to each other like a team rather than just yelling but we are working on it.