Podcast: Learning at Lely - Episode 5

In this episode, two teachers who are new to Lely Elementary, talk about the challenges of being a first year teacher, or being a first year teacher in a new school, and the ebbs and flows of the first semester. They talk philosophy and learning and have many valuable observations to share.

Math and Muffins

Another day, another triumph at Lely Elementary School. Earlier this year, we had an amazing standing-room-only turnout for our morning program, Books and Bagels. A couple of weeks ago, we put on another morning program, Math and Muffins. Now, early morning programs are not all that well-attended in general, especially considering the work responsibilities of our students' parents. We thought that the Books and Bagels success may just be a fluke. Well, we could not have been more wrong.

The media center was packed again. Parents streamed into the library with their kiddos, grabbed a bite to eat, and then settled in for some math pointers from Patti Jones-Ragusa, our math coach. For the second time in two months, we had a standing-room-only crowd in the media center, finding out ways to help their kids and support our school. It was awesome to witness.

I've talked a lot about a rejuvenated spirit here at Lely Elementary this year. When we have successes like Math and Muffins, it breeds success. Suddenly, we expect more. When we expect more, we work a little harder to meet those expectations. The hard work pays off by snowballing into a series of positive events.

We have higher aspirations now. We know we can turn out a crowd for our morning programs and can elicit parent participation at school events. As our community involvement increases, so too will our achievement. We cannot wait to see what successes lie ahead for our kids. We know that our positive attitude toward our school is contagious. This is an awesome year to be at Lely Elementary.