My Expectations Upon Entering the Field Pre Student Teaching I started to get all kinds of jitters as August 2013

rolled away and student teaching approached as fast as I could imagine. So many emotions were flooding internally ranging from excitement to anxiety to nervousness to feeling an overall sense of overwhelming fear. This was my internship that would realize my becoming a teacher. I must admit I lost sleep pondering whether teaching was my calling, if I could handle a class of unknown students and the critique of my cooperating teacher and my field supervisor. Although I felt prepared academically from the great courses that I took at Manhattan College, I felt unprepared for the unknown. Entering the Field On September 4th 2013 I entered P.S. 19 where I have been assigned for my student teaching experience. I must admit that I was nervous about entering this building of unknown staff and children. After meeting the office staff, my cooperating teacher, Ms. Michele Patafio, the special education s" grade CTT teacher and Ms. Katie Charles the general education teacher of the class where I am assigned, I felt somewhat more at ease. I attended a staff development meeting where I was given the class program, school organization sheet, and copies of the chancellor's regulations. These regulations deal with everything from corporal punishment to school based investigations. They also gave out handouts on bullying and Charlotte Davidson's Framework for Teaching. My immediate thoughts were comforting because I quickly realized how small this school is and it reminded me of the small schools I've attended all my life. Upon entering I immediately got a sense of community from the way that everyone spoke and interacted with one another. I found teachers, office staff, security officer and the administration within the building to be very friendly and welcoming which put my worries and my mind at ease. The physical makeup ofP.S. 19 is three floors making it a very small school, with the bottom floor dedicated to the cafeteria and the two upper floors for the main office and classrooms. The organization of the school consists of two classes for each grade ranging from K-S. There is a building principal, Mr. Sullivan and two assistant principals. The classroom that I am in is a CIT class with Ms. Charles being the general education teacher and Ms. Patafio (my cooperative teacher) being the special education teacher in the room. There are two paraprofessionals in the room assigned to specific children. There are 32 students on the roster but on the first day only 26 students attended. 12 of these students have IEP's and I of these students has been decertified but still receives services. In the room there are 5 groupings of desks, each grouping has 6 or more desks in it. Both teachers have kidney shaped desks with chairs around them allowing for small group work. The classroom is brightly lit, colorfully decorated and is really quite beautiful, not to mention state of the art with technology. There is a Smart Board and an Elmo in the room. The classroom has a laptop and the teachers are incorporating application technology in the classroom by using apps such as, Class Dojo. There are many graphic organizers in the classroom and even a "clipboard" which is used

as the classroom reward system. P.A.W.S. is used as the school wide reward system, which my students respond very well to as was evident, even on the first day. When the first bell rang, I went outside with my cooperating teacher to greet the class in the schoolyard lineup. Having previously worked with preschoolers, I was expecting fifth graders to be very tall, chatty, perhaps aggressive and moody. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was wrong. I do not want to jump to any conclusions since it is the first couple of days but my class seems to be filled with very tall kind boys and girls. They entered the classroom quietly and they also were respectful during attendance and supply check, helping each other out find their desks. The teachers went over the code of conduct for the classroom and explained how both reward systems work. They then did a classroom walk and explained where everything in the classroom is located and how everything worked. This helped put many of my questions to rest. When I first met my students I felt overwhelmed but after playing an icebreaker game with a beach ball that had questions on it, it helped me learn my students names and made me feel more comfortable in the room. A story was read aloud and students were given a writing assignment on memories, I went around the room and helped students indent properly, put titles on their assignments, and use the dictionary properly. This helped me to feel less anxious around my students and my cooperating teacher, I did not expect to participate on the first day as much as I did and I am very happy that I was given the opportunity. There is evidence of plarming and structure in this classroom evidenced by the activities I mentioned beforehand. It is too early to give any assessment of the alignment of plarming and core curriculum. Below are some images that I photographed of the classroom and the rewards PA WS and the ""J:_1..~~_~ "
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Mission Statement The mission statement of PS 19 is very important the school community take it very seriously. and it appears that all members of

We, the Judith K. Weiss-Woodlawn School community are dedicated to fostering a partnership between the home, the school and the community. We are committed to the child by providing a nurturing, stimulating environment that maintains high expectations for all students. In order to achieve this, we will promote learning; develop dignity, selfesteem and mutual respect while promoting learning in a standards driven instructional environment. Moreover, we will provide opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and the skills necessary for decision-making and problem solving. Our overall goal is to enable students to become team players who are technologically adept as well as independent thinkers and responsible citizens in a multi-cultural society. The Standards PS 19 has adopted the new Common Core Standards and this is evident in their staff development workshops that I was fortunate to be able to attend. It is also evident in the climate around the school and the school's monetary investment in their new math textbooks and technology equipment. All the staff seems to be making strides in their preparation and continued staff development and in their preparation of the students to meet the goals of these new standards.