WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Teachers settle into new schools

Teachers settle into new schools

By Cheryl Mercedes - bio | email

GEISMAR, LA (WAFB) - In Ascension Parish, teachers are settling into three new schools and finalizing lesson plans before school starts Wednesday.

Principal Britt Colon of Spanish Lake Primary says his faculty and staff have the opportunity to develop something really special. He wants to make sure they make a good first impression when hundreds of students make their way through their new home away from home.

"I've been here many hours and even when I wasn't here, I was at home doing a lot of things," said Missy Delatte, a first grade teacher at Spanish Lake Primary. She has been working for months to make sure her learning environment is inviting to her incoming class of first graders. "I'm getting organized for when I give things out to kids."

These teachers aren't just decorators. They've become creative interior designers in the process. "We have everything from parts of speech, shapes, numbers, the alphabet, colors, punctuation marks," Delatte said about the decor in her classroom.

Erin Holley, a fifth grade teacher, and others are putting the finishing touches on their lesson plans and discussing ways to make every day count. "How can I teach this in a way that's not boring to them? How can I make these stories exciting? How can I connect that to their life?"

Teachers say they plan to get their students to put on their thinking caps from day one. They're hoping the steps they've taken this summer will make their students eager to learn. "I can't wait to see their faces when they see the school and to help them realize how awesome it is to start something new like this," said Holley.

Students and parents get to see the new school and meet the teachers at a meet and greet Monday evening.

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