THE BIOLOGY TEACHERS ASSOCIATION of NEW JERSEY presents:

Mentor @Café-Connect: Helping New Teachers Grow

If you can answer YES to any of these questions and are a new or soon-to-be teacher, then you are in the perfect place to get help in surviving your first (or 2nd or even 3rd) year as a Biology Teacher.  

• Did anyone tell you that your first year as a teacher would be the year you remembered forever? 
• Did anyone tell you that your first year as a teacher would be the most challenging ever? 
• Did anyone ever compare your first year of teaching to climbing Mt. Everest or to an emotional roller coaster ride undulating with anxious anticipations and cycles of will I ever survive feelings?

BTANJ is starting Mentor @Café-Connect, a monthly meeting for new teachers to foster teamwork with other Biology/Life Science Teachers.  Come meet with veteran teachers, other new teachers, and BTANJ members and pick up innovative and fresh ideas.  At Mentor @Café-Connect, you can expect

• practical suggestions about knowing
• what is expected of you
• what kind of support to expect (and not to expect)
• the nature of your curriculum
• what to ask, whom to ask, when to ask
• your evaluation process
• classroom management tips
• 1st day of school agendas
• Ideas to stay organized
• What you didn’t learn in class
• lesson plan exchange
• Technology in the 21st century classroom
• Inquiry learning
• Hands-on, Minds-on Units

Beyond the first meeting, our goal is to provide you with a network for practical resources and an additional source of professional development that will guide, nurture and orient you towards a successful career as a Biology Teacher.  Remember, our motto is “Get connected…Stay connected”

So, come join us at Mentor @Café-Connect for the first of many “Wine and Cheese” Socials for some good advice to put you at ease.