2014 i promise i'll be nice to my blog...promise.

well....2013 was pretty crazy....i feel like i blinked....and it was over. anyone else feel like that?? 2013 was especially crazy for me in the early months preparing for STAAR....for the FIRST time. man o man, i was just a huge stressball from february-april....but all in all it was a pretty jam packed awesome year, i really do have a lot to be thankful for, and looking forward to what's to come in 2014! :)

anyways...i am making a new years resolution (which are always broken...but i'll try my hardest not to) to keep my blog updated with fun things that are happening in my classroom, life, and other tidbits that i feel like sharing! well, because lets face it....i haven't really done a stellar job at that in the past, so fingers crossed i won't let stress get this best of me this year! :)

instead of updating you on some of miss kranz's favorite 'happenings' at the end of last school year through paragraphs of random ramblings (which you know i'm good at) i decided to update you through pictures....my favorite, and i hope yours too....enjoy.....

{i'll update you on more soon....stay tuned!!}

my first experience with standardized testing!!

a still shot from the STAAR video we made at school...to macklamore's thrift shop, of course!

another still shot from our STAAR video!

poster i made for our STAAR pep rally we had in the spring

another poster i made for our STAAR pep rally we had in the spring

a selfie of 'coach kranz' ready for 'reading madness'....a STAAR camp i created...yanno instead of march madness...get it?

i was honored with our schools "CHERYL" award...it stands for Creative Habits for Educating and making Ready Young Learners. i was soooo excited!!

one of my students quick writes....the prompt was, "what is greatness? and what does it mean to you?"

 ok so.... another cool thing happened at the end of the school year in may....my extremely talented friend, Bo Armstrong, who lives in new york... decided he wanted to enter in the Cannes 2013 Mofilm Competition; which was a video contest for Reebok's new #livewithfire campaign. reebok wanted real life people that live life with passion/fire instead of the usual famous athletes. when bo contacted me asking if he could use 'Miss Kranz's classroom' for his commercial....i was excited/flattered/nervous that he thought of me as a person that lives with  fire/passion. 

here is the blurb that he wrote for the commercial:

"All too often we brush aside the "ordinary" as plain and uninspired. In doing so, we overlook great potential begging to be unleashed. So-called "ordinary" people who live life with passion can have an extraordinary impact on those who they reach out to and touch. Miss Kranz is more than just a teacher --she's an inspired, creative soul with an uncanny ability to tap into young peoples potential."

setting up in my apartment for filming....

Ordinary People. Extraordinary Impacts. (MOFILM - Cannes 2013) from Bo Armstrong on Vimeo.

although we did not win the contest....it was an experience that i will never forget, a fun bonding experience with my class, and bo did an extraordinary job...what a vision.

bo signing autographs for my students after filming! :)

some art of my students did at the end of his quick write after all the filming excitement!


 well....i hope you enjoyed some of my fun news....until next time....which i promise will be soon! :)

xoxo, miss kranz