Another School Year Begins!

Oh boy! Here we go! The beginning of another school year.

Remember that classic feeling of excitement and nervousness as you put on your favorite new outfit, put your new patterned notebooks and pencils in your backpack and run to the bus with a granola bar and butterflies in your stomache. Anticipation overwhelms you as you prepare to meet new people and get a glimpse of what your life will involve for the next 9 months.

Growing up my mom used to make us French Toast and Strawberries on the first day of school (and test days) and coming from a religious family my dad always said a special prayer for all of us kids as we approached a new school year. It always made it feel like a truly exciting and special time of year. And to this day I still love the feeling of a new start that comes with this time of year.

It's a little different when you are on the teaching end of the new school year. It is easy to get caught up in the stress of it all. But I refuse to let the good feelings of excitement be overpowered by stress. In order to keep this goal I have to be organized. If I'm not, then goodbye happy feelings.

So, here is my to do list for the next two days. If I can accomplish these things, then come Monday morning I will get to enjoy myself.

• Review caseload list and make sure all students are accounted for
• Print class lists to find which classes each student is in (highlight all speech students)
• Make group lists based on grade, teachers, and IEP goals
• Write teacher notes explaining which students are in speech and when sign up for speech times will be
• Write parent welcome notes (include importance of practice, homework expectations, and time student will attend speech)
• Make schedule!!!
• Buy homework folders
• Make copies of materials for inside of homework folder (rules, goals list, personal behavior contract, progress charts, practice pages, homework tracker and sticker chart)
• Prepare a getting to know you activity for the first week of school