Well it's January and you know what that means?!
Tornados??
As unusual as that sounds, that would be correct...at least this year.
Oh, and a lockdown too?? (This is looking to be one interesting blog for sure!)
It was a normal morning at Richardsville. 1st graders, 2nd graders, 15 minute break, 3rd graders, lunch break....and then suddenly...LOCKDOWN!
Another teacher came to Mrs. Thurman's door and told her that we were on lockdown. Luckily, with us being on our lunch break, there weren't any students in the classroom. However, we still had to take precautions, such as closing the blinds, getting out of view from the door, remain quiet and wait for further instructions. We were on this lockdown for about 5-7 minutes until the all-clear came over the PA system. Apparently, someone was in the building that didn't go through the office...WHO DOES THAT?! Regardless, all was fine and we finished our lunch and prepared for the Kindergarten kids.
As the students marched into class, the clouds outside began to turn a dark grey, the rain began to pour and the thunder rumbled. Mrs. Thurman had the class completely engaged in her flannel story of "Peter and the Wolf" but that thunder was too frightening for the kids:/
She continued to ensure that we were in a nice, new sturdy building and that the thunder couldn't harm us. This was true.
And then...the COWS began their screeching.
Over the PA system, we were told to begin moving to our tornado "safe-areas." Great. JUST after we get done with the lockdown, it's time to prepare for a possible tornado. AWESOME.
Luckily for Mrs. Thurman, her designated safe-area is in the faculty lounge located on the basement floor, where there are no windows. Thank goodness! (haha)
I broke a rule...I took out my phone and checked the radar...in front of other teachers...but I wanted to see when the weather would be gone! Oh well...
So that was probably one of the more interesting days so far. But it was definitely weird being on the other side of these things. Having to ensure the students that everything would be alright (even if we knew things wouldn't...although this time they definitely were fine) and making sure all the students followed instructions.
Today was my first seminar class. On some Fridays, I have to go to WKU for a seminar class that helps us work through our Teacher Work Sample, which is a portfolio capstone project which covers a unit of study from start to finish through 5-10 days of teaching. It includes contextual factors of the school and students, learning goals, pre-tests, the lessons, post-tests and other supplemental materials that go along with it. Basically, it's a huge project that takes a lot of time and effort to complete. Something to lose sleep over essentially. Great.
The seminar is scheduled from 9am-3pm, although I had been assured many times by other friends that had already been through this process that they "rarely" take the full time. Today, our teacher took the FULL TIME. That was one issue. Another...he only gave us 30 minutes for lunch. Really?! Come on. Looks like I'm making my lunch for these days too.
And lastly...our teacher made the comment, "And you absolutely CANNOT use a Mac for this class...all work MUST be done on a PC."
Excuse me.
I own a Mac...I've grown to love the Mac...and I will use a Mac for this class. His issue with students using a Mac (even if it has Office) was that there are significant formatting issues that happen when submitting files to Blackboard. I respectfully disagree.
Other than those minor complaints, however, he knows quite a bit about the TWS and his daughter is even in the band at Greenwood (she plays saxophone too!) so he's not completely clueless about music. I expect to learn a lot from him...
...especially if we're going to be there from 9am-3pm most Fridays.
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