New Beginnings

September is often thought of as a time for new beginnings; summer vacations come to an end, the leaves change colour and students (and teachers) go “back to school”. As a teacher, I have always loved this time of year. It’s exciting to come back and catch up with colleagues and hear stories of everyone’s summer vacation adventures, or their adventures in their summer school classrooms. I love buying new school supplies and stationary. I even like organizing my teacher bag before the start of school. However, it can also be a stressful time of getting course outlines ready, getting classrooms set up and the somewhat anxious anticipation of meeting students on the first day. Nine years in, and I still get nervous on the first day of each new semester. I probably always will…

As I went back to work last Monday for our week of pre-school in service meetings, my mind set was totally different this year. I have had an amazing summer filled with new experiences, new adventures, and most importantly new learning, both personal and professional. While I always like to think I come back to my classroom with a renewed sense of energy and eagerness, this year feels different- I’m excited to be teaching some new courses, happy to have an “old” course back after a two year break and I am inspired to try new things and keep the summer of learning alive. The teaching world looks different to me this fall

This new lens and empowered feeling I carried with me this week has inspired me to start a blog. Sometimes my head is full of ideas and I just need to write them down. Having a focused outlet for all the “teacher things” on my mind will hopefully help me make sense of them and continue the creative inspiration I’m feeling today.

Happy new school year to all my teacher friends and good luck for the journey of learning ahead of us!