Where did August go? I have been challenged for time lately as I move into my new classroom in a new school with a new team. The biggest challenge is to learn the culture and procedures at Washington. The easiest part was working with my amazing team and colleagues and welcoming my students.

I am excited to bring my Kenan experience to third grade. I decided my theme is THINK Different. I have not really rolled it out yet. I want to build consensus among the kids so they trust me and each other. I created a bulletin board with images and quotes I found this summer. I’ll post a pic soon.

One of my colleagues “thinks different” like me. We will collaborate this year for sure. She is the tech teacher and she reinvented the “computer lab” into an iLab — a collaborative space with room for kids to work together. She and I are already collaborating on two grants for 3D printers. She is using my Kenan project in her grant. We are going for 2 grants in case we only get one… but I hope we get both! She introduced me to Nathan who knows tons about innovation and maker spaces and education. We had a meeting and my head was spinning — so many wonderful ideas to engage kids.

I know that  Washington is the school for me. Wake is a huge district, but I feel like I am home at WES. Many staff at WES are interconnected in sooooo many ways… I think we were all put together in one place for a reason… Watch out!!!!!