Snow Days, Weight Days, & Beefstick Days, Oh My! (Week 2 Cont...)

Sounds like our students

In addition to getting used to my teaching schedule this week I also learned that A-days, B-days, and 9^th period Club days are not the only things that affect my students and their schedule. We also have snow days, “weight days,” and beefstick days. Snow days seem really obvious at how they affect your schedule, but it’s not just the time difference; the students also act different. The teachers joke that you can predict the weather based on how rowdy the students get, and sure enough, today about the time that the students upped their rowdiness level was about the time our weather forecast upgraded from a “weather advisory alert” to a “winter storm warning.”

Don't wanna mess with the Dawgs

The weather is only one factor, the next is “weight days.” Many of the students in my ag. classes are athletes, predominantly wrestlers. Since we are in prime wrestling season, my students moods and behaviors shift based on their “weight days” where they make sure that they are within their weight range to compete. So for instance some days these past weeks some of my boys have been grumpy because they have to shed weight before a competition; other days they are stuffing their faces because a meet has been rescheduled due to weather.

The Coveted Beefstick Cabinet

This brings me to the next kind of days – beefstick days, or really beefstick week. One of the fundraisers for the FFA chapter is the sale of beefsticks in the ag. class. We can sell before and after school everyday, but because of school nutrition requirements we can only sell during the school day for one week per month, hence beefstick days. Students are very motivated by food, and even when they have to pay for it, they will work (a little) harder if they can buy a beefstick.

This is just some of the fun things I’m becoming a part of here at Tri Valley, including attending my first FFA meeting this afternoon. While I may be from the largest chapter, I’ve never attended an FFA meeting with over 20 students and thanks to Tri Valley’s 9^th period club schedule, every Friday we hold FFA meetings in the auditorium with at least 50 students. Today after moving through our agenda, introducing myself and advertising some of the FFA activities coming up over the next few weeks we watched part of Nick Vujicic’s keynote address from this past fall’s National FFA Convention. Even watching it on youTube, after seeing it in person I still enjoy his message and hope that the students are pulling something of it too. Hopefully, his message of accepting others and loving yourself and pushing yourself further to accomplish great things can be a message to theme my semester with Tri Valley.

Week 2: Ms. F Teaches: “She can’t be from the city…”

So this week has been another crazy schedule. My students enjoyed a three-day weekend while I had my first in-service day of finalizing lesson plans, assignments and making copies of FFA trip forms, while the other teachers completed first aid and CPR training. After getting to know some of my coworkers better and an insightful fortune cookie (“The beginning is always the hardest…”), I was ready to start my first week of teaching when the quarter changed on Wednesday, or so I thought.

Meet Cocoa, one of my youngest furry friends

Tuesday was the last day of the previous quarter so the day was a flurry of finalizing grades, students scrambling to finish assignments and students checking their schedules to figure out their new classes. It was also the last day I’d have with some of the seniors I’d grown to like, as they would be leaving to attend the vo-tech school for the rest of the spring. Thankfully, I was able to get one more helpful task out of some of the boys as they helped clean out the rabbit cages. They weren’t too happy to spend their last day in ag. doing that dirty job, but the rabbits and I greatly appreciated it.

So finally Wednesday was here, and while I was nervous I was excited to start teaching my 4^th period Vet Science class, and then the announcement came 2^nd period… “we would be having an early dismissal due to the snow.” So my first day with my vet science students was pushed back until Friday. I had put my classroom management posters up in class that morning to prepare for class, so of course since there was something new in class some of our ag. boys decided to welcome me… by pranking me and flipping my posters upside down. We all had a good laugh and they proceeded to try and distract themselves from their work by continually asking “what’s a parking lot,” but they’d just have to wait and see until Ms. F was teaching their class.

Finally, Thursday, my first day of teaching even with our two hour delay. I was starting with my 1^st period 8^th Grade Ag. Rotation and we were starting off with agricultural careers. While I still need to work on my timing of activities, after teaching my class of 10 students two days in a row now I think they’re gonna be a great class to start each day off. Every Friday our classes are shorter since we switch to a 9 period club schedule, so between that and our snow days, I’m still getting used to Tri Valley’s schedule. Today (Friday) was finally my first day with my Vet Science class and while I think I have a rowdy bunch of boys I know that they’re all good kids and I have a good bunch of students who are really interested in veterinary medicine and “zoological animals” (one of my student’s phrases).

I’m really excited to start teaching more classes this week, and excited to get to know my students better and let them get to know me. So that brings me to the title of this week’s blog: Ms. F Teaches: “She can’t be from the city…” One of the first activities I did in both my 8^th Grade and Vet Science classes was have students fill out index cards with some information about themselves and then we played “2 Truths and a Lie” so I could learn names and get to know them and I made sure that I always went last. I would change up my statements but I always kept my two statements agricultural related and my last one was always “I grew up in a city.” This has been pretty fun the past two days because all of my students 8^th-12^th grade (except for my FFA members who I got to know in the summer/fall) all believed that my lie must be about the city because “there’s no way she grew up in the city.” I won’t be able to use this game much longer since many of my students overlap in classes, but I am looking forward to seeing how my urban background can play a part in reaching my rural students and I’m hoping it’s going to make for some exciting learning experiences for all of us throughout this spring.

I can’t wait to keep diving right in and hopefully not too much more snow (though we’re already getting more) will mess with my teaching schedule over these next 13 (already two weeks down?!) weeks.

Cool it Weather Oprah...

To hear about some more things I’ve learned this week, including my first Tri Valley FFA meeting, check out my next blog!

Scoping out the Anatomy Class

This past Friday I got to end my first week by observing the 7^th period anatomy class taught by one of the biology teachers. It was my first real venture to the second level of the school so some of my 11^th and 12^th grade ag. students looked a little surprised to see me show up in their anatomy class. The class had been learning about hair anatomy and how different species have unique hair follicle characteristics. During this class they were completing a hair anatomy microscopy lab. Before they started the lab activity, the teacher reviewed the hair anatomy info from the day before, covering key terminology including integument, morphology, cortex, medulla, and cuticle. After checking comprehension with questions it was time to start the lab!

Once the students reviewed the directions on the worksheet they began the lab. They moved around five different stations in the back of the classroom, analyzing different hair samples with the microscopes to determine species identification, drawing their microscopic observations and recording descriptions of the samples utilizing key terminology. The animal species they were trying to distinguish between were sheep, cat, dog, horse, rabbit and human. The students appeared to enjoy the class and be interested in the lab and showing what they know. As I’d walk around the room, I’d ask the students what they thought their microscope station showed and why, and the students would explain to me how different characteristics of the hair samples helped them identify the species (or guess since they weren’t reviewing until the next class period).

Throughout the lab I talked to the teacher, we discussed how much she enjoys teaching at Tri Valley, how she still remembers her own student teaching experience and while teaching is still stressful it’s better once you’re in your own classroom. We discussed classroom layout and compared how the classroom is organized and how she would change it to better accommodate lab activities.

Say hello to Blackie

We talked about how much she enjoys teaching biology and anatomy at the high school, and how her own love of science led her along the path from “discovering dinosaurs” in the woods near her home to now using that “dinosaur” in her classroom. (The “dinosaur” is actually the real remains of a Shetland pony from her childhood. Her father helped her assemble it as a child and now, twenty years later, he resides in the back of her classroom. Pretty cool!)

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, with the teacher inviting me to come back and call on her whenever I needed. I’ve also noticed an appreciation of art throughout the school, as there are murals in some of the classes, including the ag. shop and in the anatomy class. Most of them are images related to the subject (like the FFA emblem in the ag. shop) or inspirational messages like this one in the anatomy class.

"COURAGE is knowing what not to FEAR"

Look at what pennants are right next to each other!

Higher education and careers are also emphasized throughout the school, with many posters advertising career and college opportunities. Many of the classrooms also have college posters and/or pennants hung up on their walls. Behind “Blackie,” the Shetland pony skeleton, the back wall in the anatomy classroom is covered with university pennants, including two that are very important to me.

Getting to know the biology/anatomy teacher was really helpful and I can’t wait to see what other wonderful staff I get to know over the next 14 weeks.