2014-1015 begins!

When we last left off, our exasperated protagonist (me) was a finalist for a supervisor job, and since then for a few more principal jobs. Ultimately the timing/situation has not been right on any of these opportunities. So.....September 2014 will find me in front of 120+ more students as a 5/6 SS teacher for another school year.

I have been learning a lot of exciting technology over the summer and thinking more and more about how I can give these students opportunities to explore and critically think. I have many exciting projects planned and hope to enjoy this year as much as I have all my other years.

This summer was a busy one, adjusting to my newly married life, selling a home of 20+ years and moving to a city more than an hour away from my school. My two children are settled in their colleges (and I owe Bed Bath and Beyond MORE than my first paycheck).

We have a new superintendent in Old Tappan, Danielle DaGaiu. All evidence leads us to believe we will have an excellent year under her leadership. A cornerstone of Old Tappan school culture, Dennis Rossi announced his retirement. We will be getting a new principal too. While I wish that could be me, I don't think those stars will line up either. Dennis will be greatly missed as he has been a passionate advocate for kids and teachers for many years.

I have been communicating with our new technology leader, and I hope to have great access for my students to technology. I am also excited about finding ways to motivate families to get digitally involved with our work from home. I abandoned blogging with students several years ago when board policy dictated that every post be moderated before being posted . That just killed the whole immediacy concept and made it a daunting task for me.... but I have some ideas about how to get feedback to and from students with some different kinds of learning systems. It may take me a while to put it into place, but I will be sure to share results.

I am so privileged to get the opportunity to influence another set of students in a positive way to enjoy studying people and places now and in ancient times. I'll try to post more frequently and summarize my strategies as I experiment with them. Also don't forget you can follow me on twitter (@HollyProcida) to see what I am reading and reviewing.

Have a great school year !

Holly