Welcome to Castle Rock School District

We are thrilled to have you as a part of our team! Please feel free to contact your mentor and myself at any time for support, ideas, or just someone to talk to. I know you will do a great job with our Castle Rock Students!

Paulette Johnson

Director of Teaching & Learning
District Office, Teaching and Learning
Phone: (360) 501-2940

Preparation: This is key!

We know the first three days of the school year are vitally important. Here are some tips from Rebecca Alber…

This will immediately stand out to students. Wow, supplies are all organized and labeled, books are on shelves, and look at her desk! Everything has its place and all is in order.

Be sure to also have ready your procedures and hard rules so you can share them at the very start of the day. Explicitly teach everything!

Make extra copies, just in case. There is really nothing worse than being one or two copies short. Panic! Need name tags or construction paper? Get the extra large pack (you can use the leftovers for another project). Have a surplus of pens or pencils handy for those kids who have already misplaced or lost theirs. It WILL happen!

Timing is everything. And the last thing you want is for there to be six minutes left before the lunch bell and have little to nothing for students to do. You don’t want them to see you scrambling for a sponge activity not connected to the prior teaching so overplan the day. And the best part about this? You’ll have most of the next lesson already done.

If your “welcome to this class” speech includes new material (a new procedure or content — something you’ve never introduced before), practice. If you are a new teacher, this is imperative. By rehearsing, this gives you an idea on pacing, one of the greatest challenges for most beginning teachers. Keep a PERKY PACE!

If you are using technology, arrive early to make sure all is in place and working.

Don’t think you will need the principal’s phone extension that first day, or that replenished first-aid kit, or have to directly address name-calling with a student five minutes after the bell? We wish, but unfortunately, it happens. Students will be impressed if something goes awry and you handle it quickly, and with wisdom and grace. So, be ready for anything!

The sooner you dive in on this task the better! I am a visual learner so making a seating chart right away and using their names as much as possible helps. Many teachers will tell you that getting names down as soon as possible helps with discipline and, sure, this is true. However, I believe that rather than assisting in an authoritative way, it more importantly sends the message loudly and clearly that you are interested and that you care. That is what students need to know – you care about them! Learning Names Activities

Most of all – have fun, keep the day upbeat, but be extra structured, organized and explicitly teach absolutely everything you expect!

Room Environment: Your home away from home!

Create Classroom Learning Zones! Veronica Lopez shares tips for creating the perfect classroom environment. Check it out…

TIPS: Think about classroom space fundamentals! (by Todd Finley)

Students should be able to easily transition to functional spaces, such as a class library, literacy center, computer area, stage, reading nook, etc.

Learners should feel like the space is theirs. Put up pictures of kids and exemplary work. Put up posters that feature diverse faces.

By turning their seats, students should be able to quickly work with a small group.

Show off valued materials. (Elementary school teacher Chris Weaver displays books by inserting them into inexpensive vinyl rain gutters attached to her walls.)

Supplies, tools, furniture, and books should be stored instead of left out (see Scholastic’s Survival Guide and list of clutter busters, and Pinterest’s DIY Classroom).

  • In 2011, Kenn Fisher, head of the OECD Programme on Educational Building, stated that air quality, temperature, and lighting are linked to student behaviors and academic performance.
  • A number of studies on temperature with office workers (not students) demonstrate that excessive humidity and class temperatures above 77 and below 72 degrees Fahrenheit degrade mental output and attention span. As the instructor, you might be hot from continuously moving all day. So set the temperature for your students.
  • Sound-absorbing materials will help students focus. (Ask your administrator to buy Roxul Rockboard 80, Mineral Wool Board, or other low-cost acoustic insulation. If a parent or administrator asks why, explain that noise can release excess cortisol, which impairs the prefrontal cortex’s ability to store short-term memories.)
  • Do fluorescent lights negatively impact cognition? Dozens of studies on the subject since the 1940s offer contradictory conclusions.

Also, your classroom walls are important learning real estate — spaces to fill with content-related murals, posters, banners, whiteboards, and bulletin boards.