Teacher planning day

All of these photos are in the opposite order I wanted, but no matter. This is the view of my classroom this morning from the computer lab next door. My desk is behind the curtain on the right. I will wait until my room has been decorated before I post the next picture of it.




At 8am, I am talking with Joel and Lorraine, two other FOCUS teachers, when they see three people walk towards the school and set up chairs right under Lorraine's window. From L to R we have Eddy, Tom and Rod. They have all retired from FOCUS in the last three years and have about 60 years combined working at FOCUS. We were impressed that they all got up early to rub in the fact that they were retired. I received a lot of good advice for teacher math from non-math teachers. I believe I am the first math person that FOCUS has ever had. I also keep getting introduced as the "math guy," so I have to remind people that I am a person, not my problem. I also have had to remind people of that at Marylhurst, where I am also the only "math person."
This is one view of Madison High School. This is the main entrance to the school. The school mascot is the Senators. On the left out of sight is NE 82nd St. If you turned around you would see Glenhaven Park, and a very decent skate park. I am wondering how much the traffic there will go down once the kids go back to school.



This is the view of the wing where FOCUS is located. You can almost make out our sign on the right side of the building. My classroom is the third door on the left as you go in. FOCUS has the first three doors on the left, and the first on the right on the ground floor, and the first two doors on the right and left on the second floor (or first floor for all of you french speakers).



Today was my first teacher planning day, and my classroom almost looks like a classroom now. There is about the right about of furniture, arranged in a way that probably wouldn't last a week. My computer is set up, and I have a projector and a screen. All I need now if a nail strategically placed so that the screen will stay down. I have no art of decorations on the walls yet, I am hoping that my students will help me out with that.
I am closer on books. But not that close. I went and visited Lisa, another Alliance teacher at another campus, and received a lot of great info. I will not have to reinvent the wheel for some of my classes. She has lessons linked with the district standards and specific learning targets. I still need to track down some Algebra 1, and Geometry books that correspond to the lesson plans I have been given. But I am moving in the right direction.
Tomorrow is a meeting with the principal and all the FOCUS teachers, and then we will plan our first three days of combined activities. So 6 days until students, and 12 until actual teaching of math.