#MTBoSBlaugust: 20 Facts about me

1. Tell us about you!  Post 20 facts about yourself.
2. What is your fitness routine and how to stick to it during a busy school year?
3. A  mentor/colleague who impacted your classroom/teaching…
4. The best teacher I ever had was …. because ...
5. How do you tame the paper tiger?
6. What are your best organizational tips?
7. What’s the toughest challenge you face as a teacher today?

20 Facts about me...

1. I'm an Austin girl!  I love the city, all the fun things to do around town, the nature, the closeness of the hill country and that it doesn't get too cold here. 
   
2. I love to run.  I've done 4 half marathons (I'm only half crazy) and I'm planning on doing another 2 in January and February of next year. 

   

   Friends talk friends into doing the "Toughest Half Marathon in Texas" multiple times!

3. I also love to do yoga.  I haven't been able to do it as much as I would like lately due to an injury from attempting to move a ton of stuff ourselves but it's something I find myself doing even a little of each night to center myself before bed.
   
4. My husband and I just bought a house this summer and I'm loving being a homeowner! I still feel at times like someone is going to come in and tell me that I need to stop messing with their house and to get out. Hopefully someday soon it will all really sink in!
5. I got married April 4, 2015 and I'm still not used to my new last name.  How long did it take you to get used to yours?

   

   From our ceremony in my parents backyard.  Small weddings are the best!

6. We were engaged for a year and half and during that time I was teaching 2 preps, the credit recovery class (which was not completely computer based), and working on my masters. 

   

   From a day when I was trying to figure out how to fit in everything I needed to do; teach, run, read, go to class.  Such an exhausting and hectic time!!

7. I have my masters in Educational Leadership and Administration (yes, I just had to double check that on my LinkedIn profile).
8. I don't think I'm ever going to be an administrator even though I have my degree.  It's been over a year since I finished my degree and I still haven't taken my Principal certification test but I'm happy in my current role and it's really what I wanted in the first place!
9. I was in the classroom for 10 years working with everything from 8th graders to seniors, a majority of the time teaching Geometry.  Last school year was my first year as a math Instructional Coach and I loved it!  
10. As an Instructional Coach I love my job and being able to work with the teachers on implementing new practices, lessons and strategies but I do also miss having my own classroom and group of kiddos I get to know throughout the school year.
11. This year my goal is to get into the classroom and co-teach with my teachers more often.  I was hoping to do that more this last spring but with my mom's health issues I found myself working from home or the hospital more than I had anticipated. 
12. I love, and I mean LOVE, animals.  Cats, ferrets, foxes, bunnies, sloths...  You name it, I love them!  Someday I would love to open an animal rescue sanctuary with a close friend where we nurse animals back to health and build their independence and trust back up.

    

    The rescue cat, Gracie, and the rescue ferret, Dottie

13. On our honeymoon I went snorkeling for the first time and I wish there were more places close to me to be able to see such a beautiful and peaceful space.  

    

    snorkeling in Antigua

      
14. My husband and I both LOVE live music and while at SXSW, ACL and various music events around town we've met some pretty awesome folks over the years.

    

    From Left to Right: with Arcade Fire at a show at COTA, with Delta Rae at SXSW, with Max from Catfish at SXSW

15. I love to color!  I love coloring and tangling/zendoodle.  If you've never heard of it it's a wonderful therapeutic thing to do while at PD that you're not finding very useful or while sitting around waiting for a Doctor.  You can find tons of links with tips and tricks for adult coloring and zendoodle/tangling on Pintrest.
    
16. I'm a horrible procrastinator!  I'm currently doing this post instead of figuring out what PD I'm going to be presenting once school starts.  So far my calendar just has the topic of the first PD and all the meetings I'm going to go to. 

    

    I think I might need to actually start to do some work soon!

17. While I'm currently back on contract and supposed to be working the building hasn't officially been released for the teachers to work in it so this is currently the area around my desk.  I'm finding myself working in other people's offices more than my own right now...

    

    My desk is to the right of the interactive whiteboard.  The campus got new AC this summer and interactive whiteboards were installed in all the core classrooms but everything isn't quiet done yet.  Oops!

18. My husband and I are addicted to reality TV shows!  Bachelor, Bachelorette, Big Brother, Survivor, MTV's The Challenge, American Ninja Warrior, RuPaul's Drag Race.  You name it, we watch it!  Well, I really got into RuPaul's Drag Race after hearing about it on a podcast we listen to regularly.  If you're a member of Bachelor Nation I highly suggest the podcast Rose Buddies!  There's even a facebook group for the people that listen to it too!!!  FYI, it's NSFW but it's hilarious and great!  
    
19. I love to garden and play in the yard, even though I already killed our first lawn mower.  At least it was only $25 off of a Facebook swap and sale group.  

    

    Took forever to get it started and then the spokes on the wheel just broke right off.

20. I haven't been really good at posting blogs in the past few years but my goal this year is to blog at least once month, but ideally once a week. 

Looking forward to reading interesting things about everyone else participating in #MTBOSBlaugust!!!

#MTBoSBlaugust Day 4: Lesson Inspiration - Audible Books, Shows, Random places

So a friend of mine got me started on Audible in December, which ended up being perfect in multiple ways.  It's been great since I've spent a lot of time in the hospital with my mom over the past 9 months and I've actually gotten some inspiration for various math lessons since then through the books I was listening to.

The first was from Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs.  This series is what the TV Bones is loosely based off of (if your read it expecting everything to be the same as in the TV show you will be disappointed).  

In it someone is killed and there is an in depth discussion of blood spatter evidence and how the point of origin was previously calculated using the string method, compared to how it is now calculated with a program and utilizing various functions.  I came up with an extension for some of the Algebra 2 students that dealt with using the absolute value function to find the point of origin and made an additional extension for the PreCalculus students to do it with trig functions.  Placing it in PreCalc really is more appropriate but I thought it would be interesting for some students to do it in both courses and compare their findings and see which is more precise.  I'll upload that lesson once I get it more flushed out after working it with some students.


Another inspiration that came to me just yesterday was from The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerriotsen.  These books are about Rizzoli & Isles (another great TV detective show, I might have an addiction to these) and again, the TV show is loosely based on the novels.  Lots of little differences between the books and the show.  In The Mephisto Club someone is leaving clues behind and at one uses the eye of Ra.  The eye of Ra, also known as the eye of Horus and the all seeing eye, is an early use of math and each part represents half of another piece.  

(from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/shayna-or-sheness-israel/all-seeing-%E2%80%9Ceye%E2%80%9D-proprioceptors-electrodes-pick-brainwaves)

I'm not quiet sure yet how I'm going to use this in an lesson other than maybe when doing geometric regression, but it's definitely something I want to try and incorporate next year.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Before I've also gotten inspiration for math questions or lessons while at live shows when thinking about where the best sound will be or watching a show being filmed when someone is using a Jib Jab.

(from http://jgbroadcast.tv/)

I'm curious what are some of the interesting or different ways you've gotten inspiration for a lesson or question to pose to your students.  I'm looking forward to hearing about it!

#MTBoSBlaugust Day 3: Getting ready for the school year (yesterday's post)

You know you're kinda crazy when you're willing to help an old co-worker out that is opening a new high school in a district unpack and inventory stuff rather than get ready for your own school year.

Those are of her classroom that she's going to be sharing and of just half the biology supplies that needed to be unpacked, inventoried, and then packed back up (because the storage room currently has a bunch of lab desks in them).  

While working with her it really made me think about all the things that go into opening a new campus that many administrators don't know or take into consideration since they've never had to do it before.  It got me thinking that more than just Principals, APs and Department heads should be involved in determining the hours, pay and time available to work in classrooms before the school year starts.

I'm curious how other schools, districts and states attack opening a new school and the supplies that stream in before school starts.  I hope everyone is gearing up for school smoothly!!!

#MTBoSBlaugust Day 2: School year hasn't even started and I've already got success!!!

I just got done meeting with the Geometry PLC lead at my campus and in just 2 hours we laid out the topics for the 1st semester in Geometry while also talking about where to integrate NMSI/LTF lessons.

For only the 2nd day back to work I'm feeling pretty successful and on track already!  Woohoo!!!  Now if I can just keep up with the daily blogs for the month I'll be on fire.  It might be challenging since we're still moving out of our apartment and into our house.  We're so excited for the first house and all the accidental math applications I found while sprucing things up.  Note to self: Even former Geometry teachers don't always do the math right when finding the area of a trapezoid on the back of an old receipt while standing at home depot.  *Sigh*  But at least it's not constantly visible!

Happy 2nd day of August everyone!!!

Count me in for #MTBoSBlaugust!!!

OK, I gotta join in on this so I can get back in the habit of blogging more regularly!

Here are some of the prompts for #MTBoSBlaugust for those interested.  I'm probably going to be going off topic on some of them since I'm no longer in the classroom but really love being an instructional coach!  I'm also in need of more ideas to diversify the lessons and activities we do in our remediation/intervention/enrichment flex time during the day and I think this will be a great way for me to see more ideas from various people.  I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm hoping to get more in the habit of blogging by participating in Blaugust and I'm looking forward to making new connections, finding new ideas, and sharing ideas and strategies with teachers from all around.

Prompts for the MTBoS Blaugust 2015

1. What do you hope to get out of Blaugust this year?
2. Show us your classroom
3. Top 5 Tips for New Teachers
4. What are your Back to School Must-Haves?
5. What would you like to Start doing this school year?  What would you like to Stop doing?  What would you like to Continue doing?
6. One time in math class… (as a teacher… or when I was a student…)
7. 5 APPS I can’t live without…
8. Something I read/learned this summer that intrigued me…
9. Pinned It, Did It and/or Pinned it, Did it, It flopped.
10. Recipe Swap for Busy Teachers
11. Something that makes your classroom unique
12. A  mentor/colleague who impacted your classroom/teaching…
13. The best teacher I ever had was …. because …
14. How do you tame the paper tiger?
15. Brain breaks for students.
16. Favorite take 5 for yourself?
17. Be the Change.. what will you do this year to impact the culture of your school and/or classroom?
18. Using your school mascot, create an acrostic of character traits you wish to instill in your students
19. What is your focus/theme/mantra for the year and why?  Create and share a notecard for your desk as a reminder.
20. What are your go to quotes?
21. Reblog an old post – reflect how you see/use it now?
22. What are your favorite formative assessment strategies?
23. Professional Growth Goal
24. What are your best organizational tips?
25. Theme song for the year? like your personal fight song?
26. What is something in your classroom that you cannot live without?
27. What’s a positive change you would like to make in your life – could be community/school/home/health?
28. Last time you belly laughed…
29. List of gratitude.
30. Describe a typical day (or hour) in your classroom.
31. What is your biggest classroom pet-peeve?
32. Link to 3 blog posts that impacted you and share why.
33. Read 3 posts from blogs you’ve never visited, give a quick take-away from each.
34. What is your greatest joy in teaching?  What is your greatest fear?
35. Tell us about you!  Post 20 facts about yourself.
36. What are your New School Year Goals or Resolutions?
37. What’s in (and on) your teacher desk?
38. Interact with a new follower and use FORE from Make It Stick reading, then introduce them in a post?
39. What’s the 10th song on your device playlist?  What memory does it conjure?
40. Text 5 people, ask them for 1 word that describes you and reflect.
41. What’s your “One Good Thing” for today?
42. What do you do on parent night / open house?
43. What’s the toughest challenge you face as a teacher today?
44. A favorite activity that is fun and leads to learning…
45. A nostalgic thing/activity in your classroom you wish to modify and improve.

Enjoy! And please tweet out your posts with #MTBoSblaugust so we can follow along!

Instructional Coaching - Year 1 - Check!!!

As I write this post it's the last day that students are on campus and taking finals for the school year.  This year as an instructional coach at a new campus has been eye opening, educational and so enlightening!  

While I have missed having my own class of kids and interacting with them on a daily basis I have not missed taking home piles of material to grade and getting frustrated with the students performance.  Instead, while working with the teachers I would attempt to find new strategies and resources that would engage them throughout the year in Professional Development while also creating lessons and activities for our built in math intervention throughout the year.

This year was also the perfect year to start as an IC since my mom spent a lot of time in the hospital this Spring.  The flexibility of being able to work remotely while staying with her in the hospital was needed and appreciated by everyone in my family and the nurses that worked with her.

I learned a lot this year and I'm looking forward to the next year where I can improve on my PD and coaching of the teachers while also preparing the students even more for their upcoming classes.

I can't wait to see what's in store for us next year!!!

My thoughts last night... (FYI, this has nothing to do with school)

First day back after Spring Break, I'm already dying this morning.

  
Next time I don't think I'm going to run a half marathon the last weekend of Spring Break after walking all around Austin for SXSW.  It was a great break, had a ton of fun seeing friends, kids, dogs, great live music and celebrities.

Got to see Jake Gyllenhaal...  



Got to see a panel with the stars of Bajillion Dollar Properties (it's going be hilarious!)














Got to celebrate a friend's birthday party and practice our Resting B faces while enjoying some wine and pizza and Mexican Train Dominoes.











Got to have FREE Franklin's BBQ and Torchy's Tacos.  Thank you Verizon Wireless and #ATXUnite! 

Got to see what one of my cats looks like when done in latte art!

Petted some super sweet dogs while, unbeknownst to me, I stood next to Elijah Wood (I was just to their left; so glad my husband finally turned me by my shoulders to show me who I had just been petting dogs next to!)

Took a much needed nap while hiking through downtown Austin. (I love my city!)

Got to see some awesome live bands.  YACHT (left) and Mitski (right) just to name a few new ones.

Enjoyed some great performance art at The Historic Scoot Inn before Dan Deacon's set.

And then like a crazy person drove to Waco to run the Toughest Half in Texas with some great friends!

But of course, that couldn't be the end of it!  Had to go to the "closing" show that Peelander Z always does the last day with some great friends and then "hike" up Mt Bonnell.

I think I need a vacation from my vacation!