sounds familiar...

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sounds familiar...
By rose

Wow, sounds very familiar. I am a first year teacher and we've just been back this week from out break. The day before our break started, I also had a neww student. I was a nervous wreck because it is so late in the school
year and I am new myself and to top it off, this child is from the Phillipines and I was not sure of her language skills. She has a brother in my room, so I figured I could pair her off with him and he could help. The advantage I had was that I knew she was coming for quite a while. I had the class make a huge card welcoming her with their own personal messages. When she arrived, she was

very shy and hardly said a word. It turns out, she speaks our language very well and is a very good reader, etc. I asked another teacher about how to assess her and she suggested I give her some of my past tests just to see where she is in the work. I was pleasantly surprised that, on her first day, I was reviewing math with the students and she was able to do it! She's adjuste quickly (and so have I). The students have welcomed her and that makes me so happy. I don't know, however, if she will be promoted to the next grade since she arrived in the last quarter. I'll have to find out, but quite honestly, she could very well be one of the brightest in my group.

I'd love to know how it goes for you. Oh, I also had the students introduce themselves to her individually. Good luck and please don't be too nervous. I do know how you feel, though.