Staff ID Cards

My district is pretty tiny. In the 23 years I've worked there we have never had ID cards, never really needed them. Everyone knows everyone, we punch in codes to check out books or eat lunch. So the concept of needing Staff ID cards never really came up. Then suddenly businesses everywhere start offering discounts & free stuff for teachers - you just have to show your staff ID card. Well, everyone likes free & cheap stuff, so I took it upon myself to make us some ID cards (I was under a deadline as McDonalds is offering free breakfast to teachers next weeks!) I thought about putting a barcode or something on them to make them "official" looking, but what good is a meaningless barcode? These ought to do the trick! 

Fabulous Friday!

I organized our first welcome to school for students at the end of our first full week of school. It was a blast, and something  we plan to repeat throughout the year! Showing students you're happy they are there sure makes teachin more enjoyable!

When choosing between school pictures & school spirit

Not my school picture but is my outfit

So homecoming rolls around and me & my colleagues are really into this school spirit thing. Dress up day is blast from the past, so we dress up and enjoy our day. Then the photographer comes along. Dilemma: do we go ahead & get pictures taken? Do we plan on retakes? Do we find this funny? Answers: Yes, we all get our pictures taken. No way are we getting retakes! Yes, this is hilarious! Best part? We are in the yearbook!!! Winning!

Guidance Counselor: 80s Rocker

HS Math Teacher: John Wilkes Booth

HS Social Studies: Abe Lincoln

Fall Homecoming 2015

During the pep rally for homecoming some of us got together and challenged the winners of the senior vs junior volleyball match. I don't know why I was so sad.... ;) We have discovered the students love it when we participate with them, and we, as a staff, enjoy each other's company! Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters 2014

Things get crazy & hectic in schools in December. There's always so much to do, everyone's anxious for the holidays. I decided it was time to organize Ugly Christmas Sweater Day 2014. Our awesome district clerk decided if we were going to do this we should have prizes, so she ordered some Bernie Bott Jelly Beans (those really nasty ones that are hilarious!!!).

My partners in crime

My middle school mini-me!

Score

March 2014: Our incredibly awesome 4th grade teacher approached me to create a motivational testing video. We looked online & decided we'd create one titled "Score". Enjoy!

It's All About Your Best

March 2015: Last year our awesome 4th grade teacher approached me about creating a motivational testing video. Of course I said yes! We had so much fun with it that of course we made it our new tradition! This year's song was "It's All About Your Best". Our high school girl's choir sang the new lyrics, our secretary & one of our para's filmed and I edited it all together. It was fun to all work together to create this fun little number to inspire our students to do their best on those tests!

2016 Staff Dance

Last year (2014-2015 school year) I saw a staff dance making the rounds online & I was TOTALLY jealous! I emailed my co-workers & asked if any of them would be interested in doing a performance. They said YES! So we did a performance and it was awesome. And a tradition was born! This year I came up with the idea of doing a dance off, cause it would be a longer dance with less to remember. Dividing up into teams, Team Red chose new current songs, Team Black re-visited the 80's. We performed at the last home basketball game this year. That awesome guy performing as Vanilla Ice & Michael Jackson is my superintendent. You all go ahead & be jealous! The students & crowd went wild! It was a great bonding experience for all of us. Love my small community!

Team Black (80s Rock)

Team Red (New School)

Ag Olympics

Meet the 2015-2016 Team Teach Ag Olympics team! Our FFA program had Ag Olympics week, and since there wasn't any rule about teachers not participating I got my team together and made us some shirts. The kiddos LOVED it! We made our grand entrance wearing our shirts and proceeded to roll tractor tires, rope practice bulls, and walk together on planks with ropes (don't ask!). We didn't win (we did come in 2nd, cause one team kind of quit...). But what fun we had! Next year we'll dominate (JK! We don't stand a chance at winning anything other than best dressed!)

Spirit Monster

One of my goals this year is to promote team spirit - meaning my teaching team! One fun idea is our Spirit Monster. One day I got this zany idea & grabbed this old abandoned clay project from forever ago, painted it up, & sent it on it's journey. The rules are simple - display it on your desk for at least 24 hours, sign the card, then send it on it's way. Some teachers didn't want to part with it. Many showed their school spirit by posting images of their class with the little guy. It was such an easy fun way to get some school spirit going among our staff (and share this awesome abandoned art project!)