I just had my first meeting with my principal and assistant principal yesterday at my new elementary school (my home base) and I am getting SO excited for the new school year! Am I the only one who still gets pumped for the back-to-school season? It's ok. I fully embrace my nerdiness. I would like to think it is part of the SLP DNA and I just can't help it.
(This is me in back-to-school mode while my family and friends just don't understand)
While the rest of the world follows the calendar year and celebrates New Year's in January... I always feel that my own personal New Year's is really the beginning of the academic year. This is when I start fresh. I go back in just 3 weeks! This year I am setting some goals to keep myself organized and happy. I love my job but I need to keep balance in my life. So here are my goals to help keep me afloat this year!
- Doing a little paperwork every day: I am the champion of doing anything BUT medicaid or progress notes. I miraculously always get them done on time, but I end up having a personal
pitypaperwork party at the end of every month. As the end of the month draws near I get a huge pit in my stomach and it just adds so much stress to my already busy days! This year I plan on doing a little bit of paperwork every day so that I don't end up with a huge pile of work. Staying after for 20 minutes is better than several hours later on. - Not my circus, not my monkeys: I probably need this plastered to my wall in front of my desk at work. I like things organized and done correctly! But I have to accept that not everybody does things the same way. When I start to get stressed about what other people are (or are not) doing, I need to remember this little mantra. I can only be responsible for my own actions!
- Don't do paperwork during lunch: Being an SLP, I do not have a designated lunch time every day. I kind of just fit it in when I can. Those 10 minutes before an IEP meeting when you know a parent is going to be late - this is my typical lunch time. This just adds to feeling too busy and too stressed. As much as I can, I need to take a little break for twenty minutes while I eat my lunch. This helps me feel refreshed and ready to tackle the afternoon.
- Take some language and literacy CEU courses: I have been asked to be on the literacy RTI team at my new school. It's been a while since I have done this type of work/intervention apart from phonemic awareness. Things seem to always be changing in the area of literacy and I need a refresher! Any suggestions on some good courses?
- Make friends with the teachers: I'm a little nervous to be at a new school with all new people. I am not great at branching out socially with people I don't know. At my last school, it took me a while to get to know people outside of the special ed department. But once I did - I formed some great relationships and did more co-teaching in the classroom (which I love). While I would be perfectly happy in my little speech corner with my special ed team... those other connections are important too!
So that's that! I am ready for the new school year to begin. What are your goals for the new year?
~Erin
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