5 Pennies - Day 103

1. Gave another teacher an decoration in the shape/style of a cow
               I know, it sounds weird. That's the beauty that I am starting to realize with the staff members within my school. Not that they are weird, but that they all have such different outlooks on life and each collect their own thing. This particular teacher teaches 7th grade science and is also the head of the 7th grade teacher team - a lot of responsibility comes with job. He is very quiet, but has a great eye for detail. Most importantly is that he will listen to your ideas without passing any judgment. Anyway, he likes to collect various farm items - again, you have to think about the location of where I work and live - basically farm areas. So this past weekend at the church there was Fall Rummage Sale. So when I saw this cow decoration, I knew that he would like it. The best thing is that it was on sale at a very discounted price!

2. Wrote a "Thank You" note to various teachers
               - one teacher for returning some music that they borrowed from me
               - helping a student with a personal problem
               - getting a small personal gift for me
                            I like getting simple things too every once and awhile. Just to show that you care.

3. Complimented various members of the boys football team from their game this past weekend
             This was the first time that I saw many of my football students; mainly because of various field trips and such. So when I saw a group of them sitting together at a table in the lunch room, I knew that I needed to go over and tell them that I was really proud in how hard they worked. You may think that male students of this teenage really don't want to hear a female teacher say that they did a good job - that they want to act all big and bad. However, the kids still like the compliments & stickers - and sometimes when I don't offer silly extrinsic rewards , they question "Well, why not?" Middle school kids are the best - not quite old enough for high school, but still too old to enjoy elementary.

4. Refill the copier with paper
             I noticed that the one that I was using was starting to run out. So instead of letting the next person to do with this, I just grabbed a ream, prepared it, and now letting someone else use it. This is an easy penny to complete by anyone.

5. Spoke with a parent about their child and future colleges
           Yes, even at a young age of the middle school mentality, these students are starting to feel the pressure of going to college. So as I was preparing to leave the school for the night - a parent came into my room asking for advice. No big deal and I was happy to help!