ROLLing into tech integration

The new year is just around the corner (T minus 5 days and counting!) and I'm excited to get started and meet my new colleagues. Although I'm planning to go around and introduce myself and chat with everyone individually, I also wanted to have just a little something to give the teachers in my buildings to start those conversations. After going up and down the candy aisle multiple times looking for the just right treat, I decided upon Tootsie Rolls, because let's face it, what teacher couldn't use just a tad bit of chocolate during these first few days?!

I had these great little jewelry-sized bags that I bought for a project at some point and never used. Finding them in my now "stored in the basement" classroom totes was an interesting endeavor, but I found them and they couldn't have been more perfect. I placed 3 Tootsie Rolls in each little bag and then created the iPad tag to attach to each one. I'm planning to put them in each teacher's mailbox on the first day back and then follow up with my personal chit-chats. 

If you're interested in the cards,  you can access them here or by clicking on the picture. There are two different options to choose from. I printed mine on cardstock, cut them out and stapled them to the bags. The cards are approx 2" x 3".  If you need bags, you can find a variety of them on Amazon, click here.

Click image to access the printable pdf

I'll turn the arrow on this board
to show where I am

One other project that I've been working on is finding a way to let the staff in my buildings know where I am if I'm not in my office (Ok, that just seems so weird to say- I've never had a job with an office before, and quite honestly, I don't plan on spending much time in it either) That being said, the 1st grade teacher side of me will never be gone and I plan to embrace it in my new position as well (watch out everyone!) so I repurposed the "Where Am I?" boards that I used in my classroom last year (hence the dog theme). I'm going to hang these outside of my office space so that if a teacher comes to see me and I'm not there, they know if I'm in there building or not and if so, where I may be. There's nothing more frustrating than having a bit of time to catch someone only to find out that they're not around and you nave no clue if they'll be back in 5 minutes or the next day. With being in 2 buildings on alternating days, I want to be sure that I am as transparent as possible so teacher's can utilize me to the fullest extent. 

On this board I'll move the circles
to the top spot by the arrow

The boards are simply made from cookie sheets from The Dollar Store that I modge-podged some fabric on to. I created the various pieces, printed and laminated them and the hot-glued magnet strips to the back. The arrow has a fatter magnetic circle so that it pops up over the other pieces. I then used E-6000 to attach some extra fabric to the back for the hangers.  The rectangle cookie sheet has neon green Duck tape around the edges.