"Excuse me, Flo?"

Last week, I attended a new teacher orientation that introduced me to my district and some of my new colleagues. It was very helpful and I am grateful to be part of a school district that considers this, as part of a New Teacher Mentor Program, to be a priority. Interestingly, there are 5 other new teachers and staff at my middle school that are about my age. I think it is great that there are others in a similar place as me- I think we can support each other quite nicely.

I also entered my classroom last week. The principal led me down the maze of hallways and when we got to my room (312) he said, "Well, it's a blank slate" and it certainly was. All the student desks were stacked on the window sills and the other materials in the room (including my desk, filing cabinet, white boards, and computer) were either empty, blank, or not set up. It was a little overwhelming and besides moving in some books, I didn't stay for very long. I didn't have the requisite caffeine level/frame of mind to get started. That said, my classroom is absolutely lovely and I am excited to get started.

Thsi past weekend, I did a fair amount of "conceptual" planning, including a diagram of my classroom and outline for the first week of school. My sister thinks I am *a little* crazy but at least I feel more comfortable and prepared to walk back into my classroom and roll up my sleeves. I also had a nice rest in the Berkshires this past weekend as I knew I would need it to gear up for the first month of school. After getting lost in Boston for 2 HOURS on Thursday afternoon on my way to see an apartment, I decided to start my ride home a little earlier than planned. (I was going to drive home after visiting the apartment but since I was unable to locate it, I just jumped on the Mass Pike and drove into the setting sun.) My time home consisted of watching the doe and her fawn in my mom's backyard that eat from the neighbors garden every night at 8 p.m., picking 16 pounds of blueberries with my dad, baking my first ever apple pie, and spending Saturday night at Tanglewood listening to the Boston Symphany Orchestra (with Yo Yo Ma). Whoa, talk about culture shock and I only had to drive 2 hours to obtain it.

Off to my canvas- more to follow...