What's new in Mrs. Allen's Room?

Hello again!  This looks like a busy week as our district starts back with in-services on Wednesday (our 1^st day with kids is Tuesday the 21^st).  Today, I got to meet our new middle school art teacher that I am mentoring this year.  My building principal asked me earlier in the summer if I would be willing to be a mentor teacher for our new art teacher.  Since I have never mentored another teacher before (let alone a teacher in another content area!), I was a little skeptical, but agreed to do it.  I mean, what do I know about art?  Anyway, I was invited to the “new teacher” luncheon today, where the new teachers in the district get to meet their mentors.  It was great!  My mentee (if that is even a word) is super nice and we clicked right away.  Afterward, I showed her around the school and answered questions that she had about policies and procedures in our building.  I also had a little time to put the finishing touches on my classroom.  Below are some pictures of my classroom and bulletin boards.

 This a new dry-erase/bulletin board that I installed this summer for little things that stay up all year.  I included a "tweet" section for daily announcements for students to see as they come and go each day.

 My new invention!  My office/emergency button is located right by the pencil sharpener and I had kids leaning against it and calling the office all last year.  A couple Command hooks and a basket from the Dollar Tree and the problem is fixed.  :)  Oh, by the way, Command hooks and poster tabs are amazing and THE best way to hang anything in the classroom.

 A new twist on my "Homeroom Spotlight" bulletin board for this year.  Every couple weeks, I "spotlight" a different homeroom student.  I use the information from a student info. sheet that the kids fill out at the beginning of the year (which can be downloaded as a freebie from my TpT store) and then ask the kids to bring some photos to share.  I always start out the year with my info to introduce myself to the kids.

 My "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" question of the day.  Students write their guesses on a scrap a paper and enter it in the question of the day jar.  At the end of the day, I randomly draw a winner who receives a piece of candy the next day and recognition on the board.  The kids love it!

 My classroom curtains make my classroom look "homey"....thanks to my crafty mom.  :)

My students' goal bulletin board.  The first week of school, we have a class discussion on goals (what they are, why they are important, etc.) and then the students choose 2 goals for themselves to accomplish that semester.  They choose one personal goal and one school-related goal.  The kids write their goals on little paper footballs that I provide then I hang them up on the board to remind them of their goals.

Well, that's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by....until next time!

Mandy   :)