--- My Childhood ---
I have lived in the same house since I was two years old in sweet home Hoover, AL. I graduated from Hoover High School in May of 2013 with a 4.17 GPA, ranking 14th of the 599 students in my graduating class. My education has always been one of the most important things to me and I have always strived to do my best and push myself further in every way. Besides schoolwork, most of my time growing up was spent performing. I began dancing at age two and was in my first musical when I was eight. I was hooked on the performing arts. I have participated in countless dance recitals, musicals, choirs, and show choirs over the years. These experiences have taught me confidence, grace, compromise, cooperation, discipline, and so much more. I have the people involved in these choirs, musicals, and classes to thank for who I am today and all that I have learned.
--- My Collegiate Career ---
I graduated with honors from Auburn University with a BS in Elementary Education and a minor in Business this past December. I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I entered the university as a Music Education major instead of Elementary Education, however. I spent a lot of time searching within myself to decide what my best education and career path would be. After some deliberation, I chose Elementary Education, and I couldn't be happier with my choice. I can always still involve music into my life in my classroom with students, during summer camps, and my regular every day hobbies, but giving children a strong foundation of knowledge to build on for the rest of their lives is an opportunity that I could never pass up. I feel blessed to have graduated from Auburn's challenging and rewarding Elementary Education program. While attending Auburn University, I also participated in several extra curricular activities, such as the Auburn University Singers show choir, Auburn's co-ed a cappella group MelAUdic, and my social sorority. Being a part of these groups for the entirety of my college career are really what made me love Auburn University. These people became my dearest friends and are like family to me! In each of these groups, I also got the opportunity to hold meaningful leadership roles that challenged me and pushed me to be my best. I could not have successfully made it through my college experience without the help, advice, and support of the amazing friends, peers, and mentors that I have had the opportunity to meet through my classes and social activities on the campus.
--- My Internship ---
I interned at Cary Woods Elementary School in Meaghan Kimbrell's kindergarten classroom in the fall of 2017. I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with and learn from Mrs. Kimbrell! She was exactly what I needed in a cooperating teacher. She set a wonderful example for how I should treat students, parents, faculty, and staff, helped me challenge myself in lesson planning, and gave me confidence in my abilities as a teacher! Mrs. Kimbrell let me dive right in at the beginning of the year by having me slowly take over new parts of the daily routine in her classroom and plan various lessons. She gave me good notes and advice on what I could improve on, but ultimately she gave me the confidence in myself that I was missing. She continuously praised me, providing positive reinforcement (the same way she does with her sweet kindergarteners) and it truly helped so much. Mrs. Kimbrell also sets a wonderful example for what I strive to be. Announced as Auburn City Schools' 2016 teacher of the year, she has terrific classroom management with her sweet and calm demeanor, knows how to engage students and continue to hold their attention, and puts in so much extra time outside of the classroom to make her activities amazing! I have several things that I would love to take with me from Mrs. Kimbrell's classroom to use in my own one day. A few being: her shared journal process, where I saw students' confidence and skill in writing and spelling grow so much more than they ever could have thought that they were capable of doing on their own, and her emphasis on love and kindness in the classroom, in which we carved out the end of every day for a character ed lesson and every student knew they were a part of a loving family in her classroom.
--- My Long-Term Substitute Position ---
I had the chance to take a long-term substitute position for a first year teacher on maternity leave at Wacoochee Elementary this February and March. I took over Paige Bell's 2nd grade classroom and absolutely loved my experience! Before starting the position, I observed Mrs. Bell's classroom for several days and discussed with her what materials I would need to cover and what assessments I was required to give. I am so thankful that I took the extra time to do this, because it gave me a chance to go ahead and plan most of my lessons before the maternity leave began! Since Mrs. Bell was also a recent graduate, she did not have binders full of old lesson plans to refer to to leave already prepared for me. I loved this, because it gave me a chance to be creative and really plan on my own! I knew the strict pacing guide and what quizzes and tests that I needed to give, so I got to plan all of my lessons off of those. My favorite part of the maternity leave was teaching measurement in its entirety. I used a Monster Measurement Unit from TeachersPayTeachers to supplement the math lessons and to add fun activities, games, and crafts, which the students loved! This position helped to prepare me more for my own classroom than any other experience could have, because I took on all of the full teaching duties myself. I stayed late nearly every day, but it was so worth it, because I loved those students as if they were my own!
--- My Future ---
I have no idea what my future holds, but I am excited to see where this crazy life takes me! I am currently a kindergarten teacher at Chelsea Park Elementary School and am loving my first year as a teacher! It is such a joy to go to work each day and get to work with sweet and motivated children. My goal as an educator is to give my students a strong background of knowledge and teach them to become lifelong learners! I am also hopeful that I will one day have the opportunity to create my own children's musical theater camp to run during the summers. I want to spend my life helping children in every way that I know how: strengthening their minds, knowledge, talents, and spirits. I feel that it is so important for children to have positive role models to look up to and learn from who truly care about their futures. I loved school and learning growing up, and I want more students to feel that way so that they can really enjoy their education experience. I can't wait to personally make a difference in children's lives as an educator and see where I end up!
Sydney Lauren Hall