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Student Teacher Day in the Life • Classroom Tour & MARCH MOTIVATION!!

TEP Blog Takeover (Week 9 Day 3)

Monday March 25, 2019

Happy Monday! Here’s a little tour of Sullivan Middle School and my classroom. ↓

How do you stay motivated while student teaching?

We are more than halfway through student teaching. Some days, it is hard to stay motivated and positive when that alarm goes off in the pitch blackness. However, I use Pinterest as a Dream Board and I check it every morning to get motivational quotes and photos. Here are some examples of what pops up on my feed:

My mom is also a 7th grade teacher and she sends me morning inspiration 🙂 It helps to have someone in your life who is doing a similar job that you are! We send each other lesson ideas/quotes all the time.

I also watch daily Lenten Reflections from Dynamic Catholic to help me find purpose in each day. The videos are sent straight to my email and they are only 3-4 minutes long. I like to listen to them on my walk home from the gym in the morning before I leave for school.

Usually, I watch the sunrise from my couch if it isn’t cloudy. Not a bad view! It makes getting up before the sunrise worth it.
Lunch time with my classroom neighbors! Mrs. Foley, Ms. K, and Ms. Trueman make my day every single day. I am so lucky I get to work with such positive, amazing humans! They have made my student teaching experience so fulfilling. I couldn’t do it without them.

In summary:

  1. Utilize Pinterest or other forms of social media to manifest your dreams and receive daily inspirational quotes.
  2. Interact with people who are going through a student teaching experience like you. Don’t be afraid to ask them for advice! Ms. K and Ms. Trueman always make me feel better when I am having a tough day.
  3. Surround yourself with people who bring you joy and make you feel better about yourself.  Lunches are my 30 minutes of the day where I can relax with fabulous coworkers who inspire me.
  4. Stay in tune with nature. Watch a sunrise or sunset to slow down and realize that the days are getting longer and better weather is coming!
  5. Watch short guided meditations or reflections on YouTube in the morning before you start your day to find purpose.
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Day In The Life: Friends, Food, Free Books • SPUD EDITION!!

TEP Blog Takeover (Week 1 Day 4)

Happy “Friday Junior!”

After a week of rainy weather, the sun finally came out!☼
After work from 8:30-12, I met up with friends for lunch. Then, I edited my resume in the library for a workshop next week.
The history department always has free books for us– I always grab ones that look interesting or I could use for my new class!
After a meeting with my professor, I ran into my friend, Tara, in Hogan. I voted for the Spring Concert 2019 genre!

SPUD TIME!!!

I am so excited to share about my SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development) site, Ascension After School Program. The students, grades 1-6, go to Union Hill School and are so filled with life, love, and energy. This program truly gave me the confidence to change my major and affirm that I wanted to be a teacher. I have been going to this site weekly from 3-5 PM for four years now. We spend the first half of the afternoon playing with the kids in free time. Then, we work on homework together. Sister Pat, who runs the program, was actually my dad’s first grade teacher☺

After SPUD. . .

Pasta dish recipe: Broccoli, kale, olive oil, spinach, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, onion, garlic, garlic powder, dash of salt, pepper.
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College Day in the Life + Apartment Tour!

TEP Blog Takeover (Week 1 Day 3)

Happy hump day! Here was today’s schedule:

9:00 AM: Pre-Practicum– Today, we learned about an active learning strategy, Four Corners. We discussed an article on the Finnish education system and compared it to ours. When I saw that my professor made my class cookies, I knew it was going to be an awesome day!

The cookies were SOO good.

10:00 AM: 20th Century America– We submitted hard copies of our 5-7 page papers on the Redemption era and continued our discussion on the Gilded Age.

11:00-1:30: Black Biographies Seminar– In class, we learned about Marcus Garvey’s life. Then, we made Jamaican patties for lunch! My professor always makes us food because our class is during lunch time– it’s the best.

Here are the Jamaican patties cooking during class!

2:00-3:15: Urban Education– We learned about what solidarity means.

After classes, I met my younger sister, Catherine, at the gym to go for a run. Then, I did homework at Starbucks with a friend.

Apartment Tour!

I also wanted to show you my room and what my apartment looks like! Here are some pictures.

Here is what our living room looks like. We are ready for fall!
This is what my side of the bedroom looks like!
Here’s the view overlooking the city from my bedroom window. It’s so beautiful!

In addition to my bedroom and our living room/dining area, my three roommates and I also have a full kitchen (with a dishwasher, fridge, and sink), a bathroom, and a shower.

Pro-Tip: You can tell how long it is going to take you to get to school when you live on city-side of the building. This video shows how you can see the traffic on the major highway, Interstate 290, that takes you across Worcester. It’s great!
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What I Eat in a Day | Easy and Healthy Ideas!

TEP Blog Takeover (Week 1 Day 2)

Breakfast:

For breakfast, I made oatmeal using gluten-free oats, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cocoa nibs, strawberries, blueberries, black raspberries, dark chocolate sunbutter, and a little granola on top. So delicious!! I only drink decaf coffee (with a little coconut milk) but I love to start my day with something warm to drink.

I eat this vegan, soy free, gluten free, nut free chocolate oatmeal recipe basically every morning.

Lunch:

For lunch, I packed a salad with spinach/kale blend lettuce, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, and some pumpkin and sunflower seeds on top.

Here’s what my crazy countertop looks like when packing my lunch.

Dinner:

I ate dinner in my apartment with my two roommates, Lexi and Sarah. This was a true “comfort food” dinner. I have to admit, the soup wasn’t homemade– I used a tomato soup from Panera in the Holy Cross Lobby Shop 🙂 But it sure did the trick!

There’s nothing like a little grilled cheese and tomato soup to end a chilly fall day.

Besides Food. . .

My work view! Dinand Library is absolutely beautiful.

Today I worked in Dinand again from 8:30 AM-12 PM (here’s my view– can you tell I LOVE my job?!) and then I had a Personal Research Session with a research librarian for a paper at 12 PM. Then, I met up with friends in Lower Kimball for lunch. After lunch, I registered for a parking pass decal for my car from Public Safety.

This is what our parking passes look like!

For the afternoon, I did some homework and worked out. My day ended with a super interesting seminar, Student Mental Health, which goes from 6-8:30 PM! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I share an apartment tour.
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Day in the Life // “Almost” Student Teacher

TEP Blog Takeover (Week 1 Day 1)

I’m so excited I get the opportunity to start the College of the Holy Cross Teacher Education Program (TEP) blog takeover series for the week. Today, I spent three hours at  Sullivan Middle School in Worcester where I work with 7th grade history students.  I am only spending three hours a week this semester there, but in the Spring I will be there full-time. For today’s post, I really wanted to focus on giving a little tour of what Sullivan Middle is like— hopefully the pictures below bring it to life!

Break down of today:

Here’s a little run down of how my schedule went today:

8 AM: Wake up, shower, breakfast, pack lunch, some homework

10 AM: Class (20th Century America I)– We learned about the Gilded Age and what makes a corporation unique.

11 AM-2 PM: Sullivan Middle School– I observed and assisted with small tasks and one-on-one help in class. I get to carpool and spend lunch with my two friends Ally (Math) and Hannah (English), who are also in the TEP.  We are all part of the 7th grade team.

2 PM: Office hours– Went over a few questions for a history paper due Wednesday with my professor.

3 PM: SGA Meeting– Since I am Treasurer of the senior class, I met with the class president, Brandon, and our advisor, Simone, to plan more Senior Ball details.

4 PM:  Writer’s Workshop Appointment— I met with a trained student worker to make some edits for my paper (the same one I went to office hours for earlier!).

5 PM: Gym and dinner– Even a short run on the treadmill helps 🙂

6-9:30 PM: Work– I work 10 hours a week in Dinand Library as a Student Reference Assistant.

10 PM: Manic Monday– My roommate, Lexi, is an amazing singer and my friends and I always go to cheer her on at the Monday night Delilah’s performances in Hogan Campus Center.

Overall thoughts on the day:

Today was a great day! It was super busy and scheduled down to the minute but I really enjoyed spending most of it with my students at Sullivan Middle. I’m still getting to know their names and personalities, but I’m getting better each week. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I talk about what I eat in a day as an “almost” student teacher!