Back to School Goals!

I am a huge list maker. It literally won't get done if it isn't written down on 12 different sheets of paper. Also, confession time: when making a list of things that need to get done, I will sometimes always write down a task that I have recently created JUST so that I can cross it off the list! Is that horrible?? Sometimes I feel like this was written JUST FOR ME!

Gets me every time!

Anyhow...this list is REALLY a set of goals for this school year. I always start off the year with high hopes of things that I want to do, and then December rolls around as the first time I really get to reflect on the year so far. By then, my mental list is so far in the past I don't even remember what was on it. 

So, I am linking up with I Heart Recess for her Back to School Goals! This should help keep me accountable:

Personal: I want to be able to leave school by 4:30 each day. School ends for us at 3:55, and my contract time is up at 4:10 PM. However, that is usually the time I get back to my room after having hall duty. So, I feel like 20 minutes is enough time to get set up for the next morning and clean up any supplies that need to be cleaned up. We don't start school until 8:55 AM, and I usually get to school between 7 and 7:30 AM. That won't happen this year since I will live so close and won't have to beat traffic, but I will get grading done in the morning--fingers crossed!

Organization: I am going to a new school, and purged so much junk at the end of the year that I have no excuse to not be organized. I need to not let piles of papers and other things pile up on my desk. I need to file daily, etc. I can do it!

Planning: I had three preps last year, and a lot of my planning was done at home since there wasn't enough time to effectively plan during my planning period. I usually spent that time calling parents and grading. Or just venting to my teaching partner :-) THIS YEAR...I have one prep...and although it is brand new to me, it should be easy to plan at school during my planning period. I may have high hopes, and I don't mind bringing things home every once in a while, but I don't want it to become a regular thing.

Professional: Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those "the only things that matters is the state test and I only teach to the test" teachers. HOWEVER, in Texas, the only way kids can move on from 8th grade to high school is by passing. I am not changing the way I teach, but I do have a goal that 100% of my kiddos will pass. I will have as many tutorial sessions as I need to help them be as successful as possible.

Students: By the time students reach 8th grade, they usually either love or hate math. This can pose a challenge, because math is not a subject that you can master by just watching. You have to DO it. So, my goal is to get the students who "hate" it, to give it a chance, and to get the kids who "love" it, to keep on loving it!

Motto: Believe you can achieve--if students do that, they will be successful!

What are your goals for this year?!