Tests and More Tests

This week is Bridgeport's end-of-year testing. The district decided that since teachers tend to slack off towards the end of the year, they would introduce a new round of testing when everyone's already got one food out the door. I understand needing to hold teachers accountable, but this is a little ridiculous. Not only are we losing 90+ minutes of teaching for four days this week, we are also only testing in math and language arts. Anyone care about science? No? Beuller?

Testing was scheduled for Tuesday through Friday, but since Friday is field day, they decided to announce this morning that our testing would start THIS morning. Surprise! This time around, my class would not be split (~22 kids) and I wouldn't have help--but they were awesome anyway. I was proud of them and of me. I told them that if they're good this week, I'll make them Rice Krispy Treats, since I'll have a ton of bridge marshmallows left. I rediscovered these lovely treats this weekend at my attempt to ameliorate a very stressful situation, and they worked pretty well, with only about 10 minutes of preparation. The only hard part is clean up, but I dumped that on my mom (Sorry, Mom!).

The rest of the day had a lot of unmotivation from all sides. I heard a ton of rumors and discussion about changes in the school for next year, which had all of the teachers buzzing. They would be cutting down the middle school to only 2 seventh and 2 eighth grade classes (instead of 2 and 3), but they would all be maxed out at 29. Some of the other grades will also be shrunk, and some teachers are shifting around. A few of the newer lower elementary teachers were dumped. It sounds like it'll get a little messy, and the teachers were tense about it. I stood and smiled politely.

I spoke to my new principal today. She is a TFA 2002 CM in Newark and sounds awesome. North Star Academy is in a huge growth spurt, planning to double in size in the next several years. I'll be working at Vailsburg Middle School, which is adding in a 7th grade next year (previously only 5th and 6th grade). Two of the 6th grade science teachers will be moving up to 7th, to keep some continuity, and I'll be joining them. 7th grade science will consist of some Earth Science, some biology, and some chemistry.

I CAN'T WAIT. I was sent this year's quarterly assessments, to give me an idea of the curriculum (the best planning is backwards planning - use the assessments to drive objective-based lessons). I read through the first quarter exam, which included some weathering and erosion, and conservation, and then I got so excited I had to stop reading. I am so excited. I am going to do so much better at creating some sort of continuity in my class, so it tells a cohesive story. No more random units that students don't know why we're learning. Next year will be awesome.