Week 11

Last week, the CTU was on strike for most of the week. As a result, I was temporarily placed at Namaste Charter School on Thursday. I was assigned to the monolingual 2nd-grade classroom. I was really happy to have been placed in that classroom because last school year I worked with that class in 1st grade. The students were really excited to see me and I was excited to see them. Upon arrival, I noticed the teacher had a greeting sign by her classroom door. The students had the option of greeting the teacher by a hug, handshake, high five, or fist pump.  I thought that was a really positive and welcoming way to start the day. I definitely will be stealing that idea. Halloween was on Thursday so it was a pretty busy and fun-filled day. The teacher planned many fun activities for the day. My favorite was the Halloween mystery boxes. The students had to put their hand in the box and write down what they taught was inside the container. The students had a great time.

Thursday night I learned that CTU had accepted the mayor's proposal and that an agreement was reached. On Friday, I returned to Calmeca Academy. Class attendance was really low, nonetheless, I was thrilled to see the students that were present. Mrs. E introduced the Day of the Dead Mexican holiday. She shared some art, and sugar skulls she has collected over the years. This holiday is hugely celebrated at the school and many community members contribute to the school's altar. The picture below is only a section of the very large school altar. Each class gets an opportunity to visit the altar. The students had a great time learning about the day of the dead.





My goals for next week

• get back to the routine 
• video record for showcase video
• learn more about and facilitate guided reading