STRESS? NOT AS MUCH NOW!

So right now my life is pretty much all about the STAAR test!  I think about it all the time, and even dream about it!  You can say that with 8 more instructional days until STAAR, my stress level is through the roof!  We have new, much more rigorous TEKS this year, we are still teaching new material while trying to fit in STAAR practice and review, and I'm worried about a LOT of my students who are struggling with the pace we have to keep up right now.  I went to school this morning with a prayer in my heart that today I would not let my students see what a big ball of stress that I am.  I would be a good teacher today.  I would introduce Perimeter, and still have time for STAAR Math practice.  Thankfully, I think today went pretty well!

And then I heard the news.  Big, Big News!  TEA announced today that this year's Math STAAR for 3rd-8th grades will NOT count for a school's accountability rating!  That rating is a big deal!  Check out the good news at: http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/News_and_Multimedia/Press_Releases/2015/STAAR_grades_3-8_math_assessments_to_be_excluded_from_2015_state_accountability_system/

So, with great relief, I can breathe easier!  Of course I'll still do my best to teach my students what they need to know, but I don't have to worry about the big picture anymore!  My school won't be "on the bad list" if I can't pull off a miracle in 8 days, and I won't lose my job.  (Yes, that's what goes through a testing teacher's mind- the stakes are high, too high.)   Knowing myself, I'm sure I'll still have some stress over the STAAR, but definitely not as much now!  Whew!

On a different note:  I love teaching Perimeter! I have big plans for tomorrow with Perimeter Pig!  Last year I found some awesome units on teaching perimeter that were actually fun!  I'm not sure we will have time to do the Perimeter Craft project just yet, as we still have new concepts to learn before STAAR.  But if we can't fit it in before STAAR, we will definitely do it afterwards!   The students will create their own 3D pig pen, and figure out the perimeter.  Last year's class LOVED this project!