My first week, well...kinda

Here I am, ready to go at Manheim Central high school! This week has been crazy but exciting all at the same time. Keep reading to hear the full scoop on my first week as "Ms. Barbour".

 Week 1

I began this week at the Pennsylvania Farm show. Given this was my first farm show, my cohort members of course had to guide me through the experience and yes don't worry Mr. Gabel got me my first farm show milkshake. 

An example of an above and beyond project 

Monday morning my fellow cohort members and myself had the opportunity to judge the Agriscience fair. Mr. Coolidge, Mr. Moyer, and I evaluated the Environmental and Natural Resources projects. While there were a few projects that raised a couple eyebrows, I was genuinely surprised at the quality of these projects. Students had clearly put a lot of time, effort, and planning into their projects and it showed. 

Looking at my future classroom, I would definitely like to take advantage of this project. Given its vastness, students have a huge amount of autonomy when it comes to choosing what their project will focus on which ultimately will encourage their participation in the project.

After judging the event, I was able to meet up with Mrs. Anderson and my students for Mid-Winter Convention. Things were a bit awkward with the students as I only knew a few of them; even so, all of them seemed kind and welcoming. Looking forward, I'm sure that as I start to build connections with my students, the awkwardness will be replaced with probably too much talking.

Embarrassing first day of school picture

I spent the rest of the week in the classroom observing Mrs. Anderson's instruction. This week allowed me to get a much better feel for what Anderson's teaching style and classroom management look like. In general, this week was a lot of logistical things, i.e. planning and organizing. While these things aren't what get me out of bed in the morning I do recognize their importance when it comes to making the most out of my experience here at Manheim Central. 

As of right now, I've had enough of observation and can't wait to take the reins with the students. Manheim follows an A B block which means next week we will be getting an entirely new group of students which is SUPER exciting. I can't wait to meet them and start building relationships with them. While I don't feel hugely confident in what my teaching will look like, I'm ready to give it a shot! tune in next week to learn how my first lesson goes💕

Funny Moments From This Week:

• I forgot lunch on the first day 
• Tuesday was intended to be a dissection of male sheep anatomy. However, when Mrs. Anderson opened the sample bucket to begin the lesson, we discovered the bucket was full of dirt... like the superstar she is, Anderson adjusted on the fly and we worked on the next days lesson
• The general questioning by students/staff whether or not I'm a student or not

Anthem for the Week: