Welcome to Third Grade

Happy Saturday! 
I have been busy preparing the brand NEW classroom for kiddos this week. 
I can't believe school starts on Wednesday.
Last Thursday, we had our "Meet the Teacher" curriculum night. I was so excited to meet so many happy smiling faces, and it was great to meet such great and supportive parents as well. 

I am now busy spending my last weekend before school officially starts, preparing for our first three day week. I am overwhelmed by the lesson plan requirements here in Arizona. I am so thankful for an amazing team of excellent third grade teachers to work with, and honestly feel very confident that we will work well together all school year. 

I wanted to take this time to introduce myself...
My name is Sammy Niehaus. I am 25 years old, and this is my first real classroom year. I landed a third grade position in Phoenix, Arizona. I grew up in Michigan, graduated from Eastern Michigan with a bachelors in Education and a major in Reading. I LOVE teaching. I have always known that teaching was my passion, and my calling. I just LOVE having conversations with kiddos, and watching them grow and learn in the classroom. I accepted the position the first week of June, flew out at the end of June to find an apartment, and then on July 17th, my best friend, Ashley and I took off in my completely packed Nissan Sentra and drove 2,000 miles across the country to my new home in Glendale, Arizona. We had so much fun on our adventure, and I am so lucky to have a friend who would ride with me all the way across the country. She helped me move in, celebrated the move with our first night out in downtown Phoenix, and then flew home back to Michigan that Sunday. The next day, I started new teacher orientation. It was all week long, and there are about 100 new teachers in the district this year. WHOA! Lots of people from all over the country, and even one from Canada, and I think one from Germany. There is one other new teacher at my campus, and he is also from Michigan. It was great to connect with new teachers who are in the same boat as I am, far from home and most of them all alone, like me. It is still so very weird to be here alone. My family is very close, and I miss them all so much, but I am very confident in my decision to move here and grow as a teacher, and an individual. I met my team this past week, and finally got to spend some time in my classroom Tuesday night. The school is brand new after undergoing complete renovations this summer, and the campus is beautiful.
I am so excited to decorate my classroom with a purple and blue with penguins theme! :)
I can't wait to have kiddos this week, and to kick the school year off! 

This is my first experience with blogging, and I hope to use this to keep my parents up to date throughout the school year as well. 
Comments, advice, and questions are always welcome!

Happy blogging!

~ Sammy