Hi Gator Gang,

I hope everyone had a fabulous first week of school. I know that I did. This week has been very fun and challenging for me. The week has been fun because I have learned many new things with my new job. Everyday, I am trying to write down all of the new things I am learning so that I can look back and see how much I have grown as a teacher. If any of my former students read my blog, I want you to know one thing: new experiences are scary because you are out of your comfort zone; however, they are so worth the butterflies in your stomach. It has been a challenging week because......well.....I miss having a classroom......I miss singing "My Country Tis of Thee." I miss the hugs each morning. I miss reading stories to my boys and girls. I miss telling my students they are the smartest kids in the world. However, even though I am doing a great deal of missing, I am also gaining a great deal, too. I love hearing Mrs. Massey read stories. Mr. Lemons has been a big help to me setting up my computer to talk to other coaches. Ms. Marshall has helped me with questions about interventions. Mr. Hayes and Mr. Harris have answered lots of my questions about my new job. Mrs. Frances makes sure I have a snack each day. I even got to each lunch with Coach Neal one day. My new neighbors have welcomed me with open arms. I get to go into classrooms and learn, learn, learn from every teacher at Gilbert. I also get to be apart of each grade level every Thursday during Huddles. You could say I am one very blessed teacher. I will end this week's post on this note. When I became academic coach, one of my sons said, "Well mom, I guess you are not a teacher anymore." The comment caught me off guard and made me quite sad. After I thought about it a minute, I replied, "No son, a teacher is someone I will forever and always be."