Stop, Think, Connect Video

The wonderful Director of our Citizen Schools program wrote a grant to receive $10,000 in technology funding for our school.
AND GOT IT!
Way to go Chris!

Here is the video that they produced as a part of the grant.
I have many students in it...and I will warn, you it is incredibly cheesy and just as adorable.

Please share it with others, like it, post it on your FB page. EMC deserves big credit for reaching out and helping our school join the technology movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV2iBIWFyQQ

RT and connecting with colleagues

The first month at the Irving was the most intense month I've ever had as a teacher. We implemented so many new programs including RT, Learning Walks, a whole new schedule, Advisory block, online discipline/attendance reports, and there's still more to come!
I have been having a really tough time adapting to the RT way of life. What is RT? It is Reciprocal Teaching. In just a few words, it is students teaching students. Sitting in groups, they RT articles, short stories, and other chunks of text. It is my job to give them the tools do so. Namely, to make sure they carry the 4 Reading Strategies in their toolbox and USE them: questioning, predicting, summarizing, and clarifying. The Irving adds visualization into the mix since so many of our students are ELL and benefit greatly from visualizing words, phrases, or chunks of text.
So RT has not come naturally to me. Until a colleague defined it simply as "interactive annotation." Interactive Annotation! Literally the light bulb turned on, the clouds parted, the light shone down upon me and I had it.
I look forward this week to sharing my newly acquired lack of ignorance and confusion with my students this week!
On another note, I am really not loving this new schedule. It is complicated to learn, and doesn't have the distinct "A,B,C,D" blocks that the previous years' schedule had. Additionally, I just do not see my 7th grade colleagues like I used to. Here's what happens when I need to talk to Johanna or Ernestina, my teaching partners for 7D and 7E about a student.
We let our students out of class and as they are milling past us from class to class, we quickly debrief one another on any pressing student issues. And that's it. In total we get about 30 minutes of authentic time to talk.
It's great that we are getting to meet with our content departments weekly, but it is really taking a toll on the relationship I have with my students' OTHER teachers, and they are across the hall from me!
Perhaps the Irving is trying to do a little too much this year?
I would rather do a couple of things REALLY WELL than 10 things mediocre. What will happen, in my mind, is that programs and relationships cannot be successful unless they are fully supported and that means in terms of time and execution. So what happens to things that are not given the time, patience, and development they deserve?
You tell me.

First Day of School

First Day of School.
First Day of School.

Wore a cute little dress from Target on clearance and felt very comfortable in it, which was perfect!
I really feel I have made a wonderful group of friends/coworkers. I feel so lucky.
Lots of support this morning and in the past days as we settled back into the routine.

Arrived at 615, worked on my classroom until it was...ok. Still missing a whiteboard and have a broken table. That broken table would come back to haunt me...

My homeroom students arrived, lots of girls; less boys. Opposite of last year. Kids seem sweet. I really like middle schoolers. There is no guise, no veil. WYSIWYG.
While all students were filing this morning to HR I spotted a boy walking toward me.
me:Where are you headed?
him : I don't know. (grim-faced)
You ok?
My heart is pounding in my chest.
I don't blame you, today is a big day.
Yeah.
did you like 5th grade?
yeah. (brightening) I did.
I think you're going to like 6th grade even better.
(looks right at me for the first time) Yeah?
Yeah.
Thanks.

Cha-cha-cha-changes.

I thought my first year of school was the hardest year ever. My second got a little easier, as did my third, fourth. My fifth, last year, was my best year yet, my most confident year yet.

I am terrified of this upcoming year. Leaving the most precious being in the world for 8+ hours a day is all I can think about. How will I cope?! How will I be able to provide for him emotionally and physically when I am 20 miles away from him 5 days a week? What kind of mother am I to leave him. When he needs me most. I can't answer these questions now. I hope I can answer them in a few weeks.

While I am at work, my one concern is pumping. I originally hoped to breastfeed Zeke to 6 months. We've both become quite good at it, I am proud to report! Now, I'd like to go for a year. That means I must pump 2x a day to replace the milk he is consuming while I'm gone. Our 10 day rotating schedule will make that complicated, and I hope I can come up with some sort of reasonable solution.

There are so many changes afoot at the Irving. They are exciting, but the width and breadth of these changes are so grand, and I want them to go grandly. I will be the 7th grade ELA teacher again, and am adding Theatre Arts back into my ingredient list. I am so lucky to get to combine the best of both my worlds, and I look forward to what it brings.

My room is wonderful. Big, on the cooler side of the building, and surround by my friends and biggest supporters: the 7th grade cluster. I am so grateful I get to continue working with them. I have become so close with many of them so quickly. For the first time in my life I feel like I can be totally honest and open with a group of people knowing that we can share a difference of opinion like adults! It is so refreshing and freeing!

So. Here's to SY 2010-2011.
Gulp.

Read more...

I did not include where I gained my information on the Irving's upcoming status change to a feeder school:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/west-roxbury/news/education/x313362061/Roslindale-gets-a-K-8-feeder-school-option

and more...

http://www.wickedlocal.com/roslindale/news/x427966107/Menino-applauds-Pathway-Program-for-Roslindale-students

Irving is a feeder school.

In a unanimous vote Wednesday, the BPS school committee passed Supt. Johnson's proposal to "bring" a k-8 school to Roslindale. She is doing this by making the Irving a feeder school for Roslindale elementary schools. Essentially, the vote "will give fifth graders who attend the Bates, Conley, Haley, Mozart, Philbrick, and Sumner elementary schools priority admission to the Washington Irving Middle School."
I have mixed feelings about making the Irving a feeder school for students from Roslindale elementary schools.
While I am well aware of the benefits and drawbacks, I still haven't come to my own conclusion about the situation.
Well, the School Committee will immerse me and my fellow teachers in a bit of "reality teaching." The faculty and staff of the Irving will open its doors next school year first to 5th graders attending Roslindale schools, then to siblings of those elementary school students (of middle school age I'm guessing), and third "would go to those students who don’t attend the six elementary schools, but live in walking distance of the Irving."

I am sad because many of my favorite students are not Roslindale residents, and this may seem like a trivial reason to dislike the change, it is, nonetheless, true for me.
Also, while Roslindale is an increasingly diverse neighborhood, it is far less diverse than the city of Boston, which is where all of my students come from now. I even have students traveling from East Boston---ah, perhaps no longer with the new proposal.

What I am hoping will come out of this is 2 things: increased enrollment and increased funding. Simply, our numbers are down, and perhaps those parents who were wary of the Irving's reputation will see this as a reason to send their kids to our school.
What I said above, about our numbers being down, is in fact a bit ironic. While the school numbers ARE down, my classroom sizes are UP. The fact of the matter is, when school numbers go down, Administration cuts positions. When positions are cut, classroom numbers go up because there is one less teacher for each subject area. Last year I had about 22-23 students in a class. This year I have 27-28 in each class. While 5 students may not sound like a lot, it is!

Just one year of this "experiment" may be too little to tell its repercussions. I only hope they are positive for all our students.

Go Irving Warriors!

Had the pleasure of stopping by the girls basketball game today. I was really impressed with how aggressive and focused the girls are! I have a couple of the players on my team, and they were AWESOME. Nadia and Irene had some impressive moves. Basketball was never my sport...so I was a basketball cheerleader instead. Needless to say, I know the game as a spectator and I like it that way.
It's really a shame that no students or parents can come watch the games. What was Boston thinking when it built a school with a gymnasium with no room for spectators?!
Some of my fondest middle school moments were spent at basketball games, gymnastic meets, and wrestling meets, all of which took place in the gym.
Before the game, my very own student Cassidy Gorash sang the National Anthem. What a beautiful, clear voice she has. I envy her natural talent and look forward to hearing her grow as a singer. One of my best friends from high school is a professional opera singer now. Once upon a time she was just like Cassidy singing the National Anthem in our middle school.

The staff had a baby shower for me yesterday, and it was just perfect! I was so overwhelmed by the large gathering of people. It gave me such a sense of gratitude and thanks for the community of teachers I work with. Lots of adorable little outfits for our little guy, gift cards and cash to buy those essential breastfeeding devices I've been putting off buying, and a photo album by one of my coworkers with pictures from the shower---so thoughtful!

Hard to believe, but only 12 days of school left before I go on maternity leave---unless my little rock start decides to come early! According to the school nurse, Ms. Brunson, and all the wonderfully wise ladies I work with, "Zeppelin" hasn't even dropped yet...so I have a little while. Hopefully not more than 3 weeks, ok Zep?

After the play, before materinty leave, and a crossroads!

Sometimes I feel like I spend a lot of time at school focusing on the NEXT BIG THING. In past years, it has been things like: a show opening, a cool field trip, MCAS, week long vacations, and the end of a term. This year will be different, as I am the ONLY person gearing up for what I have my sights on: March 19th.
March 19th will be my last day of work this school year. I wish it weren't, as I feel like I'm really getting the hang of being a homeroom teacher and teaching ELA. Although it is 6 weeks away I feel like that time will pass quickly!
Of course I am excited for WHY I am leaving. And apprehensive, and scared, and even a bit ambivalent. But aren't we always filled with so many emotions for that which is unknown to us?
So I have this NBT coming up March 19th and there is so much left to do. With the play I need to get the yearbook page ready for Ms. Pick and have a cast party. With ELA we need to finish our essays on Scorpions, do MCAS prep, get into some poetry, and start Word Generation!

On top of all that, I am at a crossroads once again in my career. The Principal is opening another theatre arts position. Which he would like me to take over starting next year. There are so many opportunities that come with the position that it is hard to even think about staying in ELA!
However, I am reticent to go back to theatre arts. First, because I AM enjoying ELA. I enjoy my coworkers, my collaborators, the bonds I've formed with the teachers in my cluster. I also am grateful for the relationships I've formed with my students; relationships that are so much deeper than I formed with my Theatre Arts students. Those are things that I definitely lacked in my previous position as Theatre Arts teacher. Although, I did have a close bond with the PE teacher, Ms. Griffin, I didn't eat lunch with her daily---it wasn't something I simply fell into (so nicely) as I have with my 7th grade team. My major reason for wanting to stay in ELA is so completely selfish, though. I would like another chance to find out if I'm any good at it! This year I spent so much time learning the curriculum, creating my classroom expectations (ELA and TA classrooms run SO differently!), and creating a high level of expectation for my students and making those expectations clear to myself AND to my students. It would be lovely if I could work in ELA for another couple of years at least to learn more about my abilities and capabilities as an ELA teacher.
Theatre Arts does lend itself to the many things I enjoy about teaching, though! Certainly I get to see students in ways their ELA teachers NEVER do!
With all that in mind, I talked to my union rep from the BTU (Caren Carew) this week about my options. My concern is this: what is safest for me in the long run, to remain in ELA or move back to Theatre Arts? Although I am permanent, BPS is still making cuts to permanent teachers, and as the Superintendent's letter to us said last week, SY 2012 isn't looking any better. Therefore, I've been advised by the BTU to stay in ELA, as there are teachers with less seniority in ELA positions than in Theatre Arts. In fact, I am the least permanent teacher in the Performing Arts in Boston.
Never did I think I would have to deal with the pink slip again!
So, it sounds like to have job security ELA is the way.
the way.
the way.
ELA is the way.
hmmmm....

A hiatus!

Oh it has been awhile since I've been able to post!

For now a quick note: The show, How To Eat Like a Child opens next week! The production is Thursday at 230 and 6pm, then Friday at 7pm.
The kids (and adults) have been working so hard to do justice to the show, and after tonight's rehearsal, I think we will do just that!
The perfect test? An early preview Monday at 6pm! We will be performing for the Superintendent and about 50 or so members of the Irving Advisory Group. The Musical Director, Greg Allen, and I are presenting 1 scene and 2 musical numbers: How To Eat Like A Child, Sayonara, and I'm thinking I'll do the "How to Ride in a Car."
Wish us all "Break a Leg!!!"

Being Absent

Being absent from school is a dangerous thing.
I warn you of the terrors it brings.
Papers awry,
Desks on their side,
Your favorite plant is dead,
The hamster's not been fed,
The whiteboard is black,
And, is that a crack?!
All the markers are capless
The whole classroom's a mess,
And you wonder with doom:
How in the world could my
wonderful,
lovable,
sweet and hugable,
7th graders do this to
ONE ROOM?!

Homework. 0%

I thought homework turnout was measly when I gave it in Theatre Arts. Little did I know turnout is almost as bad in a major subject!
Stealing from a great teacher (and equally great friend) in our building, Ms. Pick, I have come up with a more effective way of holding the students accountable for their work. Here's the layout:
If a student misses 2 homeworks in the same week and DOES NOT stay after to make up those homeworks the same day they miss the second, they will get a phone call home alerting their parents.
You'd think that would increase the amount of HW turned in AND the amount of students staying after.
Not so!
Today I had 2 students stay after. That was 2 out of 10 students. 20%. I have to call 80% of the students. I have 73 students total. In 2 days, 20 of them (or about 25%) didn't have their homework either day. That doesn't include the students who have turned in only 1 of 2 homeworks this week. Let's see...30 kids. 41% have done only 1 homework this week. which means 50 students (well over half!) have done one or less homework this week. And it's only Tuesday.
Kudos to those kids that do their homework regularly. I will certainly reward them with a homework pass at the end of this week.
But what do I do about what I can only call a homework failure rate???
I'm at a loss.

Strike One: Charlie Brown

So the new Theatre Arts teacher, Greg Allen (formerly of BCLA fame), and I have been collaborating on a successful Irving Drama season. Our first project in the works is a touring show "a PR" gig as the Principal, Mr. Unobskey called it. The idea is to take it to the elementary schools from which we get our 6th grade students.
I'm all in; it'd be a December show, just before the holidays and a great way to ease into an early production schedule.
I had my heart set on doing "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," and I rented the book and script. Then we got a letter in the mail from the library company Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc.: "Your quotation is as follows: Royalty and Rental for first performance $275, Charge for each additional consecutive performance $105...the above quotation is based on a seating capacity of 250...and tickets priced at $5 and no charge." Did you get that last bit? Some tickets, in fact MANY of them, will be FREE. We aren't going to charge a group of elementary students to see our play! So where does this $ come from?
Needless to say we are exploring other avenues.
Ultimately it was better this way. Greg said the music was more difficult than he remembered and we both agreed a lot of the language was complex or antiquated.

When I was 12 I was in a musical called "How to Eat Like a Child." It is similar to "Charlie Brown" in that it broken up into vignettes of small groups of characters, the songs are about childhood, it will appeal to elementary school students, and it will appeal to our students. Unlike "Charlie Brown," if I read the Samuel French website correctly, we could afford to do this play! It has a really simple set: 6 cubes plus some props would do the trick, and if there is something more elaborate we can cut it and the continuity of the play is not lost.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the text. Cross your fingers that we strike gold with this one!!! Time is starting to become an issue!

Is it too early to tell?

Well, shoot!

Everything is going really well in Room 312: the room with a first-year teacher in the confident body of a fifth-year teacher.

I have an AMAZING cluster, who eats lunch together everyday. While the specialty cluster (as much as I love them), didn't spend much time together outside of our meeting schedule, and being spread throughout the building certainly didn't help that feeling of isolation.

My partners in crime/fellow ELA teachers, Sharon and Nicole, make me feel like I know what I'm doing! And while I go into each class with new material I've only previewed on my own, when I use it in instruction I feel like, hey---maybe I'm supposed to be a teacher!!!

Teaching ELA is fresh, exciting, and fulfilling. I feel like I'm seeing my students from an entirely new perspective. In specialty I got a version of the students sitting in front of me today. My ELA students clearly come from a background trained in ELA techniques, strategies, and concepts. Theatre Arts students were somehow wilder, freer, uninhibited by what is and isn't ok in acting class.

Once again I am faced with the challenge of 2 performances this year: a december touring musical, and another talent show. I've already had students begging for info on the talent show, which makes me think we did the right thing last year.

I'm also attempting to add a bit of cultural education to our 7th graders. At our first cluster meeting I suggested we organize monthly meetings for the students with guest speakers. Anyone out there in the interweb with ideas for adults who could be: role models, share experience, inform (entertainingly), or teach our students something they don't get during the school day? I'd love your feedback. I've already gotten some ideas, but you can never have enough!

Work will be nothing if not interesting this year---new principal and big changes afoot. Some changes include: uniforms for kids, a new "in school suspension" room, and random search and seizures of students who bring food into the school. You wouldn't believe what an epidemic the junk food is in our school!
I feel like all of these changes are steps in the right direction to providing our students with a positive and challenging learning environment. And...it was revealed in a meeting of teachers today that Mr. Unobskey does not want us "teaching to the MCAS." WHAT?!?! Is that even possible for us to do? We have been so conditioned to teach to the test. Good news for both teachers and students.
Meanwhile, there are many changes in my own little classroom. I'll be teaching ELA for the first time as a teacher (this is my FIFTH year!!!), and the new theatre arts teacher may want to be involved in the drama club. The Principal, Mr. Unobskey, has requested we do a December touring show to the area elementary schools too. That will definitely be a new challenge.
Is the Irving being ushered into a new era? That is still to be determined. But I'll keep you updated!

Emily Mathews, Irving Theatre Arts Teacher: R.I.P

I come to you today with a heavy heart.

After performing their last scenes and playing their last theatre game the students are gone.
And I, my room stripped bare, am gone too.

In a small act of hopeful defiance, I left one thing in Room 116, the first classroom I could call my own.

Hanging on the hallway wall, just outside of my classroom, is a room sign, welcoming one and all to Ms. Mathews' Theatre Arts class. With any luck (and lots of shameless plugging on my part) that sign will have a purpose next year.

It's funny, because when I first started at the Irving my room sign did not hold up too well to the students' abuse. Neither did I. I was an inexperienced teacher and had much to learn. By the end of the year that sign had a few choices words on it letting me know exactly what they thought of me. This year, my room sign looks almost like it did in September when I hung it. I'm a 4th year teacher now, and everything has changed. Unlike my room sign, the words of my students linger inside of me, reminding me exactly what I mean to them. It makes me so proud to know the teacher I've become and I feel so lucky for the students I've had that make me a better PERSON.

This is a sad day, and while there's hope on the horizon, I am going to wait a few days before I share the details of that hope. I'm like a movie sequel: just when you think they've killed off the main character, she manages to resurrect herself bigger and better than ever before!

The perfect job...

would have:
(in no particular order)
1. about 20 kids in a classroom.
2. be in a high school (1st pref) or middle school.
3. give me the flexibility to design my curriculum.
4. let me bring my dogs to school.
5. allow me to have a drama club that does multiple productions a year.
6. a principal/administration I can go to and feel comfortable no matter what's on my mind.
7. a staff of caring teachers who are interested in supporting the arts and helping out after school on some awesome productions.
8. I can take public transportation to get there.
9. doesn't start before 8am.
10. JOB SECURITY!!!
11. people in the building who respect one another, their property and all the walls, sticks and stones around us.
12. vegetarian options in the cafeteria.
13. theatre arts is either a. an elective or b. kids can "choose" the top 3 or 4 specialty classes they want to take.
14. there are other arts teachers in the building I can collaborate with on classes, projects, and performances.
15. a teacher's lounge where people actually...lounge.

And a district where...
1. Arts teachers get together and have regular discussions about art and education
2. several workshops a year both for teachers and students to hone their craft
3.maybe more later...

Job interview from Monday

Monday I interviewed for a half-time Arts position at an elementary school in Dorchester.

I was really excited to do so, because at this point that school doesn't have theatre arts. It is reminiscent of my tenure at the Irving because when I applied and interviewed at the Irving they had not had a theatre arts program either.

Regardless, I think it went quite well. But interviewing, much like auditioning for a part, requires practice. I know I talk too much in general, so when someone asks me about something I'm passionate about like teaching Theatre, woo! Watch out!

And while an interview isn't the best place to share a philosophy I've been working on, I have such little opportunity to talk with other drama teachers about ideas and methods I've been working on, so when someone DOES ask me about my philosophies for teaching theatre, I let loose....and sometimes those ideas aren't fully formulated.

Maybe I've said it here before, maybe I haven't, but I think I was born to be a classroom teacher. Many teachers end up in an administrative position or going down to "Court Street" as the admin offices are called here in the BPS, but I don't really like that idea at this point. Of course, I'm a young teacher, finishing my fourth year (YAY!!!!). So with that in mind, I do have a vision of where I'd like to see myself in 5, 10, 15 years. But it all relates to being in the classroom.

So, I'm going to say this, while one day I hope to have a job where, not only am I using the arts to teach, but I am surrounded by teachers who have similar methods. AND we have the time, be it in professional development, content meetings or another setting to discuss and develop ideas.

I get lonely in my basement cave---connecting with other teachers is sometimes the only solace in an otherwise difficult day. But I need something more sometimes. I remember in grad school Bob & Bethany (theatre ed instructors extrodinare) asked us to list everything we could in the "perfect job."

I don't know where that list is...I'm going to take some time to look for it. But before I do, I am going to list NOW what I want in the perfect job.

To be continued...

Talent Show pics just posted!

Please see the fantastic Talent Show pics taken by the awesome Ms. Heather Buckland, a 6th grade math teacher here at the Irving. Thank you, Ms. Buckland!!!
Without her, I'd have no way of showing off our fantastic students.
Especially since I took Ms. Pick's batteries from her so we had a working microphone.
Thanks again, Ms. Pick :)

Talent Show 101, and sad to go

After our wildly successful Talent Show I am relieved and saddened.

I'm relieved because it's over, and I don't have to stress over it anymore! It was fun and I can't wait to do another one (especially after all I've learned from this year). We had a few technical glitches, and as my husband said, I was definitely spread too thin. Apparently, I can't do everything myself.

First, a few shout outs!
I had such awesome student help: Kareen ran lights, Aliyah ran the curtain, and Geneva just RAN! Before the show, I had Brendan and Mikey setting up lights and Jeru and Hayden moving large objects off the stage.

My teacher help made me look sooooo good! Sharon Rusconi, Terri Dsida and Maureen Magee-Quinn made this all possible. In my thank you card to Maureen I said, thanks for doing all the work and making it look like I was responsible---which is all so true. I feel like I was able to do so much else because I had these 3 awesome ladies' help.

Interesting fact about the 4 of us: only 1 of the 4 of us had a contract guaranteeing employment next year in BPS. Differently said, 3 of us were unemployed as of the opening of the Show! That night, Sharon got home and found a letter in her email inbox congratulating her on her position being reinstated.

That being said, neither Terri nor I have a job for next year. I hope that I will be blogging about that change...and not regretting the title of this blog!

As I said before, the Talent Show went really well. A few things that went well:
1. Performers were AMAZING!
2. Potluck before the show was a hit.
3. Our teacher support really showed me how the Irving can come together.
4. The show's attendance was shocking. There were probably about 200 people in attendance.
5. Our partnership with Making Music Matters allowed us to rent lights and have a sound system. Thanks, Sarah!
6. Did I mention the performers????

A few things that need worked on:
1. Potluck needs to be condensed to a smaller area. Too much space in the cafeteria.
2. Do a sound check/cd check closer to the time of the performance.
3. 2 words: Extra batteries.
4. Leave house lights at half so as to identify students who do not know how to behave as an audience member.
5. DO NOT let a performance go on until the audience is silent.
6. Hold people accountable for their trash as they leave (and don't let them bring in food to begin with!).

As to why I'm saddened, if you keep up with my blog I'm sure you can guess. As I have no job at the Irving next year, these last few weeks are my last. I told one group of 8th graders that I started at the Irving when they started 6th grade, so it seems fitting that I leave when they do. While they may be ready to leave, I know I'm not.

Tired...but not so tired I can't blog a bit!

When the awesome group of ladies and I made up the Talent Show schedule, we carefully planned.
Then, a person named Murphy and his stupid Law showed up.

Up until yesterday everything was great! We were making gigantic strides toward tackling this huge project.

In the case of our Talent Show, Murphy showed his face in the form of a non-working sound system. Oh good, the thing I know least about!!!
Our lights are hung, the acts are set...and there's no microphone or cd player. Greaaaat.

A teacher from the Mozart, Mr. Trotman, came in and saved the day, but not before some harm was done.
Regardless, the show MUST go on. And as they say, the worse the dress rehearsal, the better the show!

I thought we had a bad dress for "A Simple Task." Boy---if I'd only known! This show is going to be awesome after today's dress rehearsal!
Break a leg, performers!!!