Life in South Seattle

Sunrise from my home.

I moved into my new home in south Seattle on Sunday, August 23rd, and the next morning there was a lovely sunrise. I can also see Mt. Ranier... It's not pictured in the photo, but it's to the right of the tree. :) I went shopping everyday after work this week... Monday - Ikea & Costco. Tuesday - Target & Ross. Wednesday - Trader Joe's. Today... I'm planning to go to the Chinese supermarket called 99 Ranch Market. Tomorrow I'll probably end up going to Ikea to get some things I forgot or didn't realize I needed from my first trip. 

My Classroom!!

Yesterday I finished THREE full days of planning curriculum and assessment for my 6th grade math classes. I am so grateful for the math department. Everyone is so welcoming and easy to talk to and soooooooooo funny!!! I feel very comfortable with my team, and it feels like I've known them for years. Above is a photo of my classroom when I walked in. I did some rearranging yesterday... The desks take up a lot of space because the chairs are attached! I like to have a horse-shoe layout... and I tried that yesterday, and it was a bit difficult. I also moved my desk to the back of the room. Look out for before and after photos. They will come later... Maybe next week. Oh, I start teaching next week! Next week Thursday is the first day of school. Yes, it's before Labor Day, which is quite strange for the U.S. Public Schools here usually start after Labor Day... Not this year. It's a unique year... Speaking about 2015... On Monday, my department did a get to know you activity where you draw a penny from a bag and whatever year that is on the penny you need to share something significant from that year... Guess which year I got? Yep... 2015. So many changes this year, and it's not even over yet... hahaha. The best part of 2015 is just about to begin... teaching middle school math! I can't wait!!!!!

Back to Public School Teaching

Did I mention I will be working at Showalter Middle School? I will be teaching 6th grade math in Tukwila School District. It will be my first full-time teaching position in the States AND I am beyond excited and looking forward to it. I am grateful for the many experiences and learning opportunities while I was teaching in Kawagoe, Japan. I am ready for this next chapter.

These last two days I have had new hire training at the district office, which is to the right of this photo. :) The school district consists of 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. How amazing is that??? It's one of the most diverse school districts in the nation. There are over 80 world languages spoken within this district. The training had lots of information divvied up to all the new hire. There was so much information that was covered it's hard to say what exactly was covered. ha! I found it beneficial to see that the district is proactive in making changes to improve and better itself for its student population.  Change is scary and people will be resistant to it, but when we get out of the comfort zone that is where we are allowed to grow and expand.

Cheers to the 2015~2016 school year to all the educators/ mentors/ advocates/ parents/ students/ administrators/ everyone involved in creating a more equitable education for all students around the world. Keep up the great work.