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“Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’
I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!”
― Lewis Carroll
Welcome back to DigiLitSunday. Believe it or not school has started for me. Summer break flew by, and my focus has quickly changed to being prepared for my students. I have not prepared as much as I would have wanted to. I have read some professional books. I’ve had conversations with my colleagues. I’ve been reading blog posts from #cyberPD.
When kids come into my classroom, however, who they are is the most important thing.
I am lucky that I teach my students year after year. Once they’ve been identified as gifted, they become mine for one academic subject every year while they are in elementary school. My relationship with them is most important to me. It matters. It endures.
Last week teachers sat together to review policies and learn about new curriculum initiatives. We decorated bulletin boards. We arranged desks, prepared supplies. I enjoy this part of the process. Like cleaning your house for guests, the tasks have a purpose.
When the guests arrive, the preparation stops and you spend time together telling stories and making connections.
When my students start coming to me this week, I’ll be ready. I’ll talk to them about their summers, the books they’ve read, the places they’ve been.
I’ll also leave space for believing the impossible.
A new year.
A new notebook.
Clear pages ready to be written.
We are still becoming our best selves.
Leave room for who you want to be.
For the first day of school, there was a rainbow in the sky. Not kidding!
I invite you to jump into this journey with me and join our DigiLitSunday community. You can join the Google+ community here. Put your information into the shared Google doc. Link to this post weekly and Tweet using #DigiLitSunday. We are a community of educators who support each other. Please visit at least 3 blogs and leave a comment.
Reflections on the Teche 
Ready to dip into the sacred waters of Back-to-School life as I work with teachers. Margaret, the impossible is but a few steps away. Your quote leads me to a new path:
Clear pages ready to be written.
We are still becoming our best selves.
Leave room for who you want to be.
Simply a beautiful reflection for the beginning of the school year Margaret. So glad you are out there paving the way with such optimism and wonder for those of us who will be opening our doors in the weeks to follow. You are such an inspiration.
Thank you. Good luck in your new position this year.
Oh, the new school year….better than any ball dropping in Times Square. Enjoy the freshness. November is coming…and then the doldrums of February & March. But nothing’s better than the fresh, crisp new beginning we teachers get. I’m intrigued in sharing in the google community. As someone who incessantly bites off more than she can chew….I may just lurk for a while.
Feel free to lurk but also know that this is an accepting community. Your voice is welcome.
I think the rainbow in the sky is such a good sign for a fantastic year ahead! I can’t believe you are already back. We have less than a month to go- but mostly a month! September 6th I welcome my 3rd graders and Sept 1 my little boy starts kindergarten. It’s a big year! Thanks for all your hard work behind this gret Sunday tradition!
There is something so appealing about the idea of impossible. It makes me think of superpowers. We all have them, but the young are probably more in tune with the possibility. Thanks for setting up this community Margaret. It’s going to be a good year!
This is the wonderful thing about teaching – starting fresh and new! Here’s to a great year!
New starts are always refreshing and welcoming. The rainbow is surely a sign of a great year!
We started last Thursday and this will be our first full week. I took the month of July off from blogging and writing…and pretty much everything but enjoying each day. I need to get back here and get caught up, especially about your trip. Happy New School Year!