If You Have One Hour with a New Teacher...

We've all been there; arms full of papers, books falling out of our bags, and so many questions that we hardly know what to ask - ahh, the plight of being a new teacher.  Or at the very least, a teacher switching schools, or jobs, or grades.  So who do you turn to, where do you find those elusive answers that will make you sleep more easily at night before the big show?  And mostly, which answers do you really need?

Today I had the pleasure of meeting with a great friend from college who just landed her dream job in a 5th grade classroom.  Previously she has taught as an ELL teacher but had the opportunity to switch jobs and switch schools.  Prior to our meeting, I asked my PLN what I should share with her and had some fantastic responses.  So here is what I thought was important.

1. Sign up for Twitter!  If you need to know why, read this post or read the Innovative Educator's fantastic blog on how to use Twitter.
2. Start a classroom blog; Tumblr or Blogspot are just fine - my classroom blog is is well visited by parents and they love how everything is accessible to them.
3. Start a professional blog for your own reflections, this can even be tied in with your PDP and you will be amazed at the thinking you end up doing.
4. Meet with teammates, ask questions but don't forget yourself, after all, you will be teaching your own class and must be able to stand behind what you teach.
5. Think about a morning and afternoon routine, or coming and going routine if you are non-elementary.  I explain and establish this on the 1st day of school and it sets the tone for the rest of the year's expectations.
6. Reflect on your hidden rules of your classroom.  We all have pet peeves, figure your out and then share them with your students!
7. Come up with community building projects.  Although curriculum will need to get started quickly, make sure you have opportunities where the kids are engaged in something creative to establish trust and excitement in your room.
8. Send home an introduction letter to students and parents.  Give them insight into you and your classroom.
9. Don't waste too much time on your hallway bulletin boards.  Spend the time in your classroom instead, setting it up for great learning and collaboration.  Cybraryman has a wonderful webpage with great resources for how to set up your room to boost learning. 
10. Laugh, joke, smile, and most importantly be yourself!  You were hired because you were a great candidate, so go in there and show it.  Curriculum will be taken care of but those first few days set the tone for the year so have fun with it!

I know there are many more important ideas to add, so what would you tell a new teacher they should focus on?  What did I miss?