First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school, and as crazy and chaotic as the day was because of the scheduling, I'd say it was pretty good. I gave students my class expectations, and went over my new grading policy. I am not going to implement the ZAP program this year, but I am going to be stricter with my homework policy. Basically, no late homework accepted! Period! I've made homework only 15% of their overall grade, so those students who are lazy and don't complete their work on time will still be able to pass my class, but it will be lowered. I took students on a tour of their student centers and explained all the aspects in my room. Here is your access to my classroom and my décor abilities. I'm happy how it turned out this year.

 This is the right side of my class once you enter.

 My wall of inspiration! Good quotes and things to remember!

 Entrance straight from the front door.

 My student center. Their go to spot for most things in class.

 Thank you Pinterest for this great Classroom Décor inspiration! Please ignore my messy teachers' desk, it's not usually this bad.

 I've labeled all of my desks so that I can randomly choose students to call on.

 This sign has stood the test of time for two years now. Did I mention how much I LOVE laminating things?!!

DIY Teacher Chair!

I am so excited to put this chair in my class. I love how it turned out; and it's making me think that this year is going to be a good one! It was broken, about to be thrown out, but I salvaged it, fixed it, and painted it to match my classroom color scheme. This is the final touch I needed to complete my classroom decor. I know it's going to come into so much use. Here it is...what do you think?

...Getting Ready...

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent searching the internet for ideas on interactive math notebooks. I now am feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of new lesson planning I am in store for this year...but I know it will be worth it. I teach 6th Grade Math, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. I am planning on starting the notebooks in ALL of my classes for the FIRST time this year. Too much of an undertaking? I'm not sure yet, but I will find out the hard way when I get no sleep for the next 10 months! I have a week left before I meet my students and am I eagerly getting my classroom together, but more importantly I am trying to get my Interactive Notebooks ready. I've taught these classes all before, but I am trying to get foldables organized, and ideally completely finish the first unit for all three levels. My to do list is never ending, but I am eager and excited to get started. I love all the great ideas I've seen on the web and hope to implement as many as I can.

Time to get to work...

Ms. Willis

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to another school year at OCS! The 2013/2014 year has so much potential to be one of the best. I am so excited to be your math teacher, for the first time, or once again. This year my goal is to incorporate more technology into my curriculum, and this blog is the first attempt at creating a more fluid classroom for you and your parents. Please come to this site as often as possible to learn about what is happening in the classroom and to download any documents you might need. I will try to post here on a daily or semi-daily basis to keep you up to date as best as possible. Please leave feedback and suggestions whenever possible as well. I am looking forward to an excellent year, having a lot of fun, and learning more than ever!

Here are some links to some great math game websites you can access for extra help at any time:
www.mangahigh.com
http://www.math-play.com/integers-game.html
http://www.math-play.com/Middle-School-Math-Games.html
http://www.mathplayground.com/
www.freerice.com
http://www.softschools.com/math/games/
http://www.xpmath.com/

Cheers to another successful year!
Ms. Willis