DARE

We began our DARE program in January, meeting once a week for an hour. One of the Waverly police officers joins our class for this hour time period and conducts lessons with the students. Although some of the lessons may be cheesy, I feel these lessons are very worthwhile. My students look forward to the DARE officer coming in and greatly enjoy interacting with him. Our DARE officer is phenomenal! He is funny, personable, but also a realist. He tells the students like it is and gives real world experiences that they can relate to. He challenges them to think outside the box and to be honest in their answers.

This past week we had DARE role models come in for the lessons. Our role models consisted of seven high school students who are actively involved in all areas of the school. I sat in on the lesson and listened to the questions and responses given by the high school students. I was quite proud of my students questions, but I have never seen them so speechless! They were either super intimidated by the high school students or just did not want to speak in front of them, because they were extremely quite throughout the entire lesson. 

Following the lesson, I asked my students what they thought of the entire thing and they discussed how much they enjoyed it. I began talking to them about how important their decisions are now and in the future and one student said, "You sound like you are sending us to high school!" It shocked me how soon my students will be in high school, and how soon they will be put in uncomfortable situations where they have to make a choice. Next year will be the first year where they have a plethora of extra-curricular opportunities available and they are going to have to manage their time. Next year will be the first true test of how successful they will be in high school! It is absolutely crazy how even in 6th grade, students really need to be thinking about the choices they make and how it will affect them later on.

I don't think DARE was meant to go quite as deep as I took it this week, but it definitely hit me hard! In six years, my students will be seniors! Crazy!

South America Wrap-Up

We have officially finished the mad dash to our Spring Break. The last three weeks have been an absolute sprint for our students as we finished up our South America unit presentations. Students were placed into six different groups and assigned the task of selling their city to the 2020 Olympic Committee. They then chose their South American city and researched its historical and cultural background, tourist attractions, and overall way of life. Students had four roles to represent; mayor, cultural ambassador, travel coordinator, and advertising specialist. These four roles came together to create a 10-15 minute presentation that represented their city and why they should be chosen.

I must say I was IMPRESSED! A week ago I was grimacing as I thought about how our presentations would compare to the rest of the 6th grade, but holy cow! My students really pulled their stuff together to create some top-notch presentations. One group from each class was selected to present in front of the entire sixth grade, a total of seven presentations, and one winner would be picked. Although we were not picked as the overall winner, I must say I thought we were (though I may be a bit biased)! :) My students definitely went above and beyond and I could not have been prouder as each group truly pulled together to create great presentations! What a great end note to our mad dash as we headed into Spring Break.

Iowa Assessments

And they have begun.... The dreaded week for all students! Iowa Assessments. It always shocks me how much students hate this week. Our sixth grade team has designated the first hour of every day as our testing period. We are done in a week and each day our students are only testing for an hour, but it still seems to drain each and everyone of them!

I have loaded up on Lifesavors, Jolly Ranchers, and Lemon Drops and I think this may be my students' favorite part of the testing period. Our Wellness Committee also used grant money to fund healthy snacks three of the five days; apples, string cheese, and pretzels. Along with food, I try to break up the monotony of testing with brainbreaks, found on GoNoodle. Mr. CatMan is quite creepy, but so far my students find him quite entertaining! These have been the biggest hit so far, but I'm hoping to find a few more entertaining videos or activities to break up the testing periods.

As much as I dislike this week, I am excited for results to come back. I always enjoy seeing the growth my students make and identifying the areas that are in need of support. Our district does not put a lot of weight on these tests, but they are always quite interesting to evaluate and analyze.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! This is my first year in 6th grade and it has been a whirlwind! Last year I taught a self-contained 5th grade classroom, and this year I was given the opportunity to move up with the class. I now am a self-contained 6th grade class, teaching literacy, math, science, and social studies. I have loved it! It has been an amazing opportunity and I am having a tremendous year full of great students.

Our 5-6 classrooms are structured as teams. Each student has two teachers, except mine :) My students are with me all day and I have had the chance to create genuine relationships with all of my students. I also am able to teach four subjects throughout the day, meaning I have great variety and my day flies by.

I'm excited to share my daily whirlwind with you! I work with some of the greatest teachers and have some of the most terrific students, so I'm enjoying every minute of it!