Day 2 of PD

So I am back after a summer away - a summer free of stress, anger, frustration, sadness, etc. And I am reminded of how good I have it after our first staff meeting yesterday.

Our principal is great. He is a professional who keeps things honest, fun, and relevant. What I love most is the transparency - no hidden agendas, no BS, and a genuine sense of appreciation and respect for me and my colleagues. This is a far cry from my previous principal - no names required, right?

I am getting more and more nervous as the real Day 1 approaches. And it will be even more hectic knowing some students may not be there right away and/or not be in class on Friday before Labor Day. Add in the fact that my AP students won't get textbooks until the 8th/9th and I have even more accommodations for which to plan.

I am really hoping to get the tech integrated into my curriculum, using Moodle for forums and wikis (as well as for handout downloading), my classroom blog for ranting and more informal communication with students and parents, and the Google Calendar so they can follow more closely what we did and are going to do in class.

I may even upload video/audio from classes for podcasting...but there may be legal issues.

Oh well - onward and upward.

First Push

After so much time waiting to enter, I finally found a seat in the throne room. So now I can begin...