As my school year came quickly to an end, I have much to reflect on this summer as I look for a job and enter into my second year of teaching. First off, I will be leaving North Carolina and returning home to Massachusetts in pursuit of a teaching position closer to home; so if anyone knows of anything in the Western Massachusetts area please let me know!

Anyways, as I wrap up the year there are a few things that I’d like to share and a few bits of advice that may be helpful.  First off, the year comes to a close a lot quicker than you think.  Going into the year in August, June looks very far away, however, looking back it was all just a blur.  Make sure you take advantage of the time that you have because time lost is time that is wasted and in education you really can’t waste any time.  Secondly, stay in contact with parents of students who may be in danger.  I feel I could have done a better job of this as school came to a close but I know now going into next year that this will be a main focus of mine.  Lastly, and this is more for science teachers, when you close up your room, make sure it is as neat and organized as possible.  As a science teacher you are always under scrutiny because of all of the labs, demos and chemicals that you must keep in order.  It is a good idea to have some sort of system in which you can keep track of all chemicals.  I asked an experienced teacher what they do and this was the response:

“Before leaving for the summer, I make sure all chemicals are labeled appropriately and sealed carefully. All equipment is clean and put away. The most time consuming task is doing a complete room inventory. Having an electronic version of this would be helpful..”

Hope this is helpful!