Wednesday was our first day and it was meant for teachers new to the county without any experience teaching (beyond students teaching or subbing). So we came in, had a light breakfast (we all looked like the new kids at school in the cafeteria trying to figure out where to go and who to sit with), and then went and sat in the auditorium. We listened to a few speakers talk about the mentor program that the county has for us and then we met in groups with a bunch of the lead mentors in our schools. This was nice because we were able to at least meet one person in our school who we will work with and it lead to us meeting the other new teachers in our school. We spent about 2 hours in these groups talking about general procedures within the program. Then we had lunch, and about half an hour question and answer time with a panel of second year teachers. I really like this panel time. They answered the questions well and were able to ease some of our concerns since they were all close to our situation. After that the new teachers from each school went and met with their lead mentor again individually at their school. Since our school was a ways away (30 minutes) and we all lived closer to where we actually were, we decided to just go to Starbucks and talk there. So we went over more procedures and she was able to answer a lot of our questions about our school specifically. It was a really informal conversation which was nice.
By the time I got home around 3:45 I was exhausted! I had been awake since 6am and talking to people or listening to them since 7:40. It was a lot of good information and there was a lot that I needed to know. It made me feel better to start to ease into things.
Thursday was another day just for new teachers without experience. This was a little more content and classroom based than the day before. We had a small group session in the more about delivery of instruction where we were "re-taught" different strategies of instruction and teaching. Some of them were helpful to review, some of it was just a lot of review of "book-work" from college. After lunch we had a really great session on classroom management. The three women that led that session had some great ideas and just kept us engaged the whole time. Not to mention they put us at ease about the first few days of school and gave us some concrete ways to make them go smoother.
It was another long day and I was definitely tired by the end of it but I was encouraged after it. I had a positive outlook and despite information overload, most of it was good.
Friday was crazy! This was for all employees new to the county, whether they've been teaching for twenty years or just started. There had to be a couple hundred people, it was nuts! Anyway, when we showed up, there was a red carpet rolled out, all of the administrators from the most of the schools, and the cheerleaders from that specific high school were outside cheering for all of us as we entered the building. It was kind of awkward to say the least, but at the same time it was nice to feel appreciated. We spent the morning listening to presentations from different vendors and sponsors. They gave away a lot of door prizes and raffles which was kind of cool. After walking around the gym talking to some of the sponsors, the group from my school went to lunch. Then we headed back to our school and met with our assistant principals. We then went over the handbook quickly and talked about specific school procedures in more depth and got a tour of the school. I will be in three different classrooms for my three different classes at that school. It should be rather interesting.
I finally got home around 4:45 and was truly exhausted. We had gotten so much information in the afternoon that I know I won't remember when the time comes. Physically I was fine, although I did find out my b12 level is dangerously low to the lowest end of the "normal" range even with the monthly injections which is not fun. That might be accounting for why I'm feeling as tired as I am recently. Mentally I really was just feeling a bit overloaded, it's the only way to explain it. I just felt like I needed to shut down.
Today I took a little time to rejuvenate. I slept in until 8:30. It wasn't much but it was all my body would let me do. I had a lazy morning, just watched a few tv shows online and then I ran a bunch of errands and got things for the apartment that I needed and went grocery shopping. Then I made a delicious risotto for dinner because the recipe looked delicious and it seemed like a good idea to have real food around the house, even as left overs. Not to mention cooking felt good. The recipe is below.
Emotionally I'm in a weird spot. It's been nice to start meeting people who I'll be working with, at least some of the other new people in the school who are in the same boat as me. I also met another new teacher who lives close by to me and we are planning to get drinks sometime soon which will be nice if it happens. I'm trying to stay occupied because I've never been good at being alone and not over-thinking everything. I'm hoping that once I get into school I'll have more to do, or at least more to do with people. I'll be able to start planning lessons in a few days, I haven't been able to much because we do a lot of common planning and I need to talk to the other teachers that are teaching the same classes as me to see what is being taught when and how certain things are going to be taught so it has limited what I could do at night and on the weekends. I'm trying really hard not to miss home (Rochester), and everyone there, and the life I had built there but sometimes that is just really difficult.
Tomorrow I'm planning on going to a different church and seeing what it is like. Then I'm going shopping with my friend from high school. I need to get some more teacher clothes before the year starts. I'm hoping between retail therapy and being out with a good friend it should be a very good time! The rest of the week I'll be off and running with more orientation and training. The next two days are still for new hires and then the end of the week is for everyone. It will be a lot of professional development, curriculum, technology, and planning. I've got 2 weeks to get ready for kids!
Tomato and Sausage Risotto (Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
Ingredients:
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbls olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic chopped (not in original recipe but I added it and enjoyed it)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4-6 oz. flat lead spinach (the recipe called for 10-14 oz. I used significantly less and liked it a lot better) wash well, removed touch stems, chop
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls butter
Directions:
1.) In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (With their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
2.) In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3.) Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
4.) Add about 2 cups of the hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomator mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
5.) Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired).
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