Writer-in-Residence

School started up on the 8th of October, and luckily this start was much smoother! There was less of reinventing the wheel, and more confidence. We also were lucky to have a writer-in-residence for all 10th grade classes! Mimi Herman came to the school and lead a week-long workshop on poetry. The focus was on describing the experience of an immigrant in 1901. All tenth graders participated, and even us teachers were involved! I've always enjoyed writing poetry, so it was great to be able to write poetry and not be the one leading. It was amazing to see all the students get into their characters and become this immigrant (some students were even cross-gender!). Families were formed, and it was an interesting experience for me to be the child of some of my students. I think it really engaged my students on a whole new level. Students who normally wouldn't write at all were writing three poems in four days! It was a nice way to ease in the new quarter, and I wish we had more opportunities like this. I'm really glad that I work in a school that helps students attain experiences like the one they had that week; it changes the face of education!

End of Volleyball Season

The volleyball season ended about two weeks ago. We had a 8-12 season (sadly it was losing), but I'm still proud of the girls. They worked very hard and fought some tough matches. The girls have a lot of heart, but sometimes they give up easily. They got easily intimidated by other students already signed to colleges, and could not get over that fact. However, many girls improved greatly throughout the season. All of our middle hitters had never played that postion before, and by the end of the season, they were getting kills and solo blocks on hits. Our sophomores stepped up and became a dynamic group. With only three upper classmen on the team (all seniors), our freshmen and sophomores really had to step up their game to play at a varsity level. I am really excited to see where this team grows as the girls grow and mature. The team already wants to have open gym practices so we can all play together again. Sadly, one of our players left school the day after our last game. Her family is moving across the Atlantic for the father's job. Luckily, we won that last game so we gave her a great memory of the season. Hopefully she finds somewhere to continue to play volleyball. She has a skill that shouldn't be wasted.

Coaching was a new experience for me. The jury is still out, but I think it was a great experience. As a first year teacher, there were times when I was unsure if I was being wise to help out. In the end, I'm glad that I was able to help. I got to be involved with my school (something I really wanted), and I got to know students better. I think that if I had not chosen to help coach, I would not feel as at home in the school just yet. I am really excited for the years to come to see how this team grows, and to get more involved with this school.