A new year, a new role

This past week, I started my 12th year of teaching - wow! I can look back at old class photos and still vividly remember my very first group of students (many of whom are now in college!), my nervousness on the first day, and all of the ups and downs of that first year. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago! But it was.

This year, for the first time ever, I don't have my own class. And it's been rough! Although it was nice to not have to prepare a classroom and worry about supplies, student lists, and first day of school activities, a part of me missed every one of those things. I LOVE being a teacher and I love working with kids every day.

Luckily,  I will be doing just that again very soon, even if in a different capacity. It's hard to believe, but after a four year hiatus, I'm back in the role of a literacy coach! Many hours were spent this summer on preparing for this role and essentially creating it for ASB, something I've never done before. And it's so exciting to be part of this transition! I am learning SO much everyday as I prepare to work with students and teachers from kindergarten through grade 5.

So although it's a bittersweet time for me at the moment, caught between missing my own class and the excitement of my new role, I couldn't be happier. And as Scott Robison told me this summer, this new position means I have the potential to effect twelve classes of students, not just one. And that's pretty awesome to think about.

Holiday Fiesta!

During the holidays at ASB, traditionally, each staff member gets a lote - a box filled with wine, cava, and turron. It´s a fantastic gift! However, this year we had a holiday party instead. And it was amazing! There were about 80 people who came, ranging from teachers to administration to kitchen staff to security guards. Pica-pica and an open bar meant everyone was having a good time. :) I was quickly reminded just how much I enjoy the people I work with and how much I love Spanish culture. Everyone is just so affectionate - giving dos besos, putting an arm around your shoulders, etc. I love this - it´s so different than American culture.

The dance party started early - Gangnam style, salsa, and dance-offs were happening everywhere. It was just so fun to see everyone dressed up a bit and having fun together. I´ll take a holiday party over a gift any day!

Ten Years of Teaching - wow!

It's hard to believe, but I just wrapped up my 10th year of teaching! Where has the time gone?! Every year has been a bit different - the kids, the teachers, the content. Some things get easier, some get more difficult, but at the end of each year I feel so lucky that I truly love my job as much now as I did ten years ago.


For me, the end of a school year is always a time for reflection. Thinking about what went well, what didn't, and why. I always love to hear what students have to say, too. These are some of my favorites- how reflective kids can be! 


"Another thing that I worked on throughout the year is writing good stories. At the beginning of the year I wrote awful stories, but now that Ms. Jenny told me some strategies to make my stories better I also improved by writing more at home."


"In fifth grade this year I learned how to write really good stories. In the past years I wrote simple and boring stories, but with the help of Ms.Jenny and with all her good tricks and strategies I learned to write great stories and I improved a lot (in my point of view)."


"One of the things I have learned this year in fifth grade is: writing good stories. Thanks to all those lessons we have reviewed, now I know how to write good stories."


"I learned many more ways to be nice to people. In fifth grade there are usually many problems with friends, teachers and maybe even family. I have learned how to solve these problems. I have also learned so much about science, math, and LA. Ms.Jenny has a special way of teaching where she makes everything fun and listens to all the suggestions. She also has a very good way of teaching LA."


"What I learned in 5th grade is Fractions, Geometry, Poems, Water Cycle, Heredity and lots more. But what I really learned socially is most important: Treat people the way you want to be treated.I already learned that in 1st grade but in 5th grade I learned the true meaning of it."


Hearing that kids came to see themselves as writers and learned how to treat one another makes me happier than I can say. Although there is so much we hope kids learn in a year, I feel that I've done my job when I read responses like this.


This class was definitely more challenging than my first ASB group of kiddos. However, it's their craziness and energy that I came to love the most! I was exhausted at the end of almost every day, yet exhilarated, too. I feel like I built some strong relationships with these kids and I know I'm actually going to miss them over the next few months - crazy, right?! Luckily, I'll be able to spend my 11th year of teaching with them as well. :)

Such a beautiful message (and rose)!

Each student and I drew a name and had to write a letter to that person (a great idea borrowed from Anne!) . The letter was supposed to be full of memories and positive experiences from the year. We read these aloud on the last day and had to guess who each letter was written to - they were amazing! 
This is the one a student wrote to me - so thoughtful!
It was a great way to end the year.

ASB Website

ASB recently updated their website for the 50th anniversary of the school and it looks SO much better! Many of my students and I happen to be in photographs that were published on the site. Check it out!

http://www.a-s-b.com/

A Surprising Advertisement!

I was quite surprised last week when someone at school complimented me on a photo she saw in the newspaper. I had no idea what she was talking about! I came to find out that ASB had put a full page advertisement in La Vanguardia (one of the Barcelona daily papers), as well as in some other small publications - and I'm in it! (I'm happy to say that I don't mind the photo too much!)

Although many of us have been photographed for updates that are being made to the ASB website, the ad was a very last minute thing. Who knew I'd have a few moments in fame in the Sunday newspaper?!

Here's the link to see the ad: http://www.a-s-b.com/userfiles/pdf/asb.pdf

Not a 5th grade teacher for much longer . . .

I have to share some exciting news! It was just confirmed this week that I will not be teaching 5th grade next year. I LOVE 5th graders, but after six years with this grade level, I knew a change would be good for me professionally. I had expected to move down to primary grades, but instead I will actually be moving up to 6th grade!

Because we currently have three sections of 5th grade, they needed to create a third section in 6th for next year. In addition, ASB is moving forward (slowly, but surely!) with technology integration, readers/writers workshop and eventually instructional coaching. My director knows my background in literacy coaching and I approached him early on this year about really wanting to get back into this - my passion definitely lies in working with both kids and teachers.

So . . . next year I will be teaching "humanities," which is a combination of literacy and social studies, for half the day. I'm SO excited to teach social studies again - it's been years! (And I'm pretty happy to not be teaching math and science. :) The other half of my day will be spent working as a "technology integrator" in grades 4-7, helping teachers integrate technology projects into their lessons.

Although I think I know quite a bit about how to use technology as a demonstration tool (i.e. interactive whiteboards), I have a lot to learn about technology-based programs and software! For the past three years, I have been craving professional development - I miss the learning I was able to do at Crawford so much! I have a feeling that the next six months/year are going to be FULL of learning opportunities for me, which makes me so excited! Between possible technology training, writer's workshop training at ASB in June, and possibly attending the reader's workshop training in NYC this summer, I will certainly be learning a lot.

Needless to say, I'm really excited about this opportunity! Getting to work with teachers and students in a new way, moving back into more of a coaching role, teaching two-three subjects instead of four, and getting to spend another year with many of my fantastic kiddos - how lucky am I?!

Oh, what a night!

Wow - last night was one of those nights that reminded me just how lucky I am to work with the people I do! The MAIS (Mediterranean Association of International Schools) conference was held in Barcelona this past weekend and ASB sent 50 staff members to the conference. It was a great opportunity to attend workshops and enjoy some professional development. In addition, I was part of a presentation - my first at a conference!

In addition to teaching and learning, there was some definite fun provided as well! On Friday, many ASB teachers took visitors out to dinner, including Tessa and I. This was great opportunity to show off the city and delicious Spanish food, as well as talk with teachers from all over.

Last night was the gala dinner, hosted at the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos, one of the fanciest in Barcelona. Upon arrival, we were greeted with glasses of cava and led down a palm tree-lined path into a beautiful outdoor area. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were served there until we went inside for dinner and drinks. After dinner, there were flamenco dancers who were really good - it brought me back to Andalucia!

But, the best part of the night was definitely when the DJ started! Drinks were endlessly poured and the dance party began! I knew we had some good dancers at our school, but this was incredible! It was absolutely hilarious to watch dance-offs and crazy moves by many of our teachers, including our director and some older staff members. The best dance moves definitely belonged to Anne (not a surprise!), Alan, and Brett. It was SO much fun dancing for hours to a fabulous mix of music with this group. My body is a bit tired today, both from the dancing and the laughing!

Last night was a great reminder of why I love living and working here. Although I might get frustrated with things at times, the fact that I get to live in a city that takes enjoying life to a whole other level while working with such fun, amazing people makes it all worth it. I feel like a pretty lucky girl :)

The First Week of School

I'm happy to report that I survived the first week of school! It was questionable at times - having not had a full first week of school in years, having a group with 4 more kids than last year, and realizing that this class is like day and night from last year's! However, they were amazing yesterday, a feat for a Friday, and I feel confident that they are going to be a great challenge, a ton of fun, and a group I will never forget!

The biggest differences from last year's class to this group is that they talk even more (not unusual for a group with a lot of Spaniards!), they are academically lower and have a wider range of abilities, and that there are quite a few boys who can't be seated within 10 feet of each other without a conversation, play-fighting, or anything else happening! Luckily, once the behavior log was put in place, as well as consequences (thanks, Mary Robison!), kids started responding. Again, it's such a great reminder of the importance of high expectations and consistent follow-through.

My class is bigger due to having 12 new students in 5th grade this year! Most of these students are international, so it's helping to balance out the languages. At this point, I have students whose native languages are: English, Spanish, Catalan, Hungarian, Swedish, Korean, Greek, Afrikaans, Dutch, and Portuguese - it's pretty amazing!

I stayed at school pretty late all of last week and feel kind of nerdy for it! However, there is just always so much to do at the beginning of the year that you can use throughout, and to be completely honest, I love it! It's great to feel re-energized about teaching and believe that I can really help these kids to improve. Again, I'm missing the intensity and level of conversation from Crawford, but feel more prepared to bring pieces of it to ASB, poco a poco. (I am also feeling very grateful for all of the amazing flipcharts we made, too -- my room is looking SO much better already! :)

And so, the first week is over. A much-needed night in and 9 hours of sleep did wonders! I'm now off to do a bit more preparing. Below are some photos of my classroom - a year later, a horseshoe table, and some rearranging have it much improved!

We're ready to write!

classroom library and writing supplies

cabinets full of supplies for all sorts of things

and prepared for student work

student seats, homework, daily schedule

my teaching area

Newbies!

This summer I've been the coordinator for new teachers at ASB. When Mark asked if I would be interested, I jumped at the chance for a number of reasons. I SO appreciated Katharine, who had been the coordinator when I started. I also loved all of the work I did with new teachers in APS. But I think the main reason I was interested is because I love Spain SO much and I always want other people to love it as much as I do. I know this won't always be the case, but I figure whatever I can do to help that happen, whether it include creating a tour itinerary for friends and family or showing new teachers around town, it's well worth it!

Because we have so many new teachers this year, it's proved to be quite a job! Nothing too difficult, but lots of planning, organizing, emailing, and trying to keep information straight. I was definitely feeling a bit of stress from it, but now that almost everyone has arrived I feel so much better. It's fun to see and talk to everyone and remember what it was like when I first arrived in Spain two years ago. This group seems to have an amazing range of experiences and stories - international teaching is fascinating! They are so energetic, social, and fun. It makes me excited to think that some of these new people will likely become good friends this year as well.

And, as the responsibilities of this job wind down, I'm getting more and more excited to begin my second year at ASB and no longer be one of the new kids on the block . . .

Year One of International Teaching - Complete!

Wow - I can hardly believe that my first year teaching at ASB is over! My kids and I were reminiscing about our year together, all of us shocked that it could already be finished. I was happy to see that it doesn't matter where you are or what group of kids you are working with, the end of the year is always crazy! I was consistently asked if we could have a party every day for the last week and saw many shocked faces when I told the kids they would actually have to do a little bit of work.

However, our last day was full of movie-watching, sharing letters with one another, yearbook-signing, and lots of junk food - it was perfect! Some students gave me gifts which were just incredible. It's clear how well they know me - I got multiple pairs of sparkly earrings, a beautiful summer scarf, a beach bag, and more. However, my favorite gift was definitely the power point describing why I was the "BTE" (Best Teacher Ever). I teared up as a few students read the sweetest letters to their friends and when one of my most favorite students waited until he was the last one left, hugged me, and told me how much he would miss me over the summer. Luckily, I know I will see all but one of these students again in September - it's amazing how much easier that makes the end of the year!

A few friends and I have talked before about how one of the best and worst things about teaching is the fact that you have such a concrete end and beginning every year. There's something refreshing and motivating about getting to start over each year, yet it can also be quite emotional to say goodbye to kids and teachers each summer. (I think the emotions that go with this are quite dependent on the group of kids you have!)

After spending the past week at the AERO conference in Washington, DC, I'm already feeling excited to start a new year! I think one of the best things I could have done professionally was to be a "new teacher" again. It's amazing how easy it is to get used to philosophies, systems, resources, and kids when you stay in one place for a long time. I feel like so much of this past year was about me finding my way, learning how to incorporate what I believe in and know to be good instruction into new systems and structures. Now that I know how ASB "works," I think next year will be even more productive for both me and my kids.

Although I'm excited to begin a new year, I'm even more excited for a vacation! No more teacher talk - look for posts about summer adventures coming soon!