Wow. My last blog post was over 2 months ago!! I'm sorry, world.
I just read my last blog, and it mentioned a few upcoming things, that have all since happened!
My friend in America did have her baby boy, his name is Peter, and I have met him on Skype...he is just gorgeous!
I did plan/host the baby shower for my old housemate. It all went well. We had tonnes of food, way more than we could eat, and I even accidentally left a platter of food at home! Most people at the baby shower guessed that she would have a boy, and she did! On Friday morning, Caleb was born! I got to meet him in person yesterday. He is such a sweet little thing! I think he is the second youngest baby I have ever met (I have a feeling I met my eldest nephew on the day he was born). Caleb was so snuggly and beautiful, I loved holding him. I'm hoping to be able to take some photos of him and his parents next weekend....which will be SO much fun!
Also, my contract at my school got extended til the end of the year! Which is fantastic! I do love my class a lot, and I was getting sad about having to leave them, and now I get to keep teaching them til mid-December! Week 2 of term 4 starts tomorrow. I had typed up a letter for the kids to take home to their parents, to let them know that I would be staying on, before I let the kids have it though, I said that I would read it out for them 'so that they would know what it was about'. I began to read, about how I had been offered a position at the school, but I didn't know at that point who I would be teaching. When I got to the bit about me staying on as the 3/4 teacher, my kids erupted into a big cheer, and a few of them started hugging each other. It was SO sweet I almost started crying! I was hoping that they would be as happy as I was about it :)
I went to visit my mum for a week over the school holidays, which was really nice. I love visiting down there, cause it's so peaceful and quiet...and the stars at her place are really easy to see cause she lives out of town. Mostly, I spent the week hanging out with mum and one of my sisters at the house. It was such a great feeling to not have to get up at 6am every day!
I spent a few days visiting friends in Lismore too, which was lovely. I have some wonderful friends down there that I miss dearly. I love that Brisbane isn't too far away from Lismore...not that I get down there heaps often, but when I do, it's only a 2.5 hour drive.
Anyway, that's a brief overview of my life lately. I am sorry I haven't written a blog in so long, it turns out being a teacher can get busy...I didn't sign up for that! :P I'll try really hard to be more regular with blog posts....
Have a super fabulous week!
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
So many exciting things!
Today, my class told me they wanted to throw a party for me at the end of the term. Mostly, I think it's just a good excuse for them to get out of doing work for a day...but part of me likes to think it's because they'll miss me. Oh how students and teachers differ ;)
We've been learning about fractions this week. Either I'm not teaching it in a way that they understand, or they really just don't get it yet. I mean, some of them do. Today I was trying to explain that when the denominator is the same, and you are asked to add the fractions, all you have to do is add the numerators, and then leave the denominator as is. Except when your answer has the numerator and the denominator as the same number, then it's a whole. Man. Who knew it would be so hard to explain! We ended up getting out a pizza game, and I think most of them got it by the end...I think! :)
On another note, I have the task of planning my old housemate's baby shower. I have just emailed my sister, asking if her 6 year old daughter can draw a picture of a mother pushing a pram for me, cause I want to put it on the invite. Being my niece, and god daughter, she is awesomely talented, so I'm expecting a pretty sensational, and uber cute drawing. The mum-to-be has picked a date, and I have to figure out the rest!
In my sentimental, over-emotional self, I am so excited to be able to plan it, cause I planned her wedding shower a couple of years ago (when we were still housemates), so it's nice to be able to plan this as well.
Speaking of babies, my dear friend in America is having her baby tomorrow! I can't wait! We already know it's a boy, I'm excited to find out his name though. I'm even more excited for the day when I can meet him on Skype! I love Skype...it's one of the greatest inventions EVER! (to date anyway, I'm sure in a few years there'll be something that out-does Skype).
I found out today that Monday is a public holiday. Brisbane has this show day, called 'Ekka', and we get a holiday for it! I don't think I'm going. I've not been before, but it's insanely over priced, and crowded. I'll go one year, just to say I've been, but I don't think it'll be this year. Anyway, it means I have a 3 day weekend! Which is so perfect, cause I'm going to Lismore this weekend, for the first birthday and dedication of my friend's (Ally and Kelvin) baby.
Ally and I met when I was 17, and she was 20. We were at the same camp, and were put into the same group. Well, we got along like a house on fire! We wrote to each other for a couple of years after the camp, and then kind of lost touch. Then, when I was about 24, and living in Lismore, (I can't remember how old exactly), my housemates went out to a friend's place for dinner. When they got home, they said that they had met someone new, that they thought I would know. When they said it was Ally, I couldn't believe it! Turns out she had been offered a teaching job at a school in Lismore, and she had just moved there. We met up a few days later, and were amazed at the coincidence! I am still so hugely thankful to God for crossing our paths again! I love her so much! She is a huge blessing to me, and a very dear friend.
Isn't that a cool story?
I love Ally and Kelvin's little girl so very much! I can't wait to celebrate her birthday and dedication with them :) And since it's a 3 day weekend, I can spend more time down there! Woot!
Wow. It's late. I should get to bed.
I hope you're all having a sensational week so far!
We've been learning about fractions this week. Either I'm not teaching it in a way that they understand, or they really just don't get it yet. I mean, some of them do. Today I was trying to explain that when the denominator is the same, and you are asked to add the fractions, all you have to do is add the numerators, and then leave the denominator as is. Except when your answer has the numerator and the denominator as the same number, then it's a whole. Man. Who knew it would be so hard to explain! We ended up getting out a pizza game, and I think most of them got it by the end...I think! :)
On another note, I have the task of planning my old housemate's baby shower. I have just emailed my sister, asking if her 6 year old daughter can draw a picture of a mother pushing a pram for me, cause I want to put it on the invite. Being my niece, and god daughter, she is awesomely talented, so I'm expecting a pretty sensational, and uber cute drawing. The mum-to-be has picked a date, and I have to figure out the rest!
In my sentimental, over-emotional self, I am so excited to be able to plan it, cause I planned her wedding shower a couple of years ago (when we were still housemates), so it's nice to be able to plan this as well.
Speaking of babies, my dear friend in America is having her baby tomorrow! I can't wait! We already know it's a boy, I'm excited to find out his name though. I'm even more excited for the day when I can meet him on Skype! I love Skype...it's one of the greatest inventions EVER! (to date anyway, I'm sure in a few years there'll be something that out-does Skype).
I found out today that Monday is a public holiday. Brisbane has this show day, called 'Ekka', and we get a holiday for it! I don't think I'm going. I've not been before, but it's insanely over priced, and crowded. I'll go one year, just to say I've been, but I don't think it'll be this year. Anyway, it means I have a 3 day weekend! Which is so perfect, cause I'm going to Lismore this weekend, for the first birthday and dedication of my friend's (Ally and Kelvin) baby.
Ally and I met when I was 17, and she was 20. We were at the same camp, and were put into the same group. Well, we got along like a house on fire! We wrote to each other for a couple of years after the camp, and then kind of lost touch. Then, when I was about 24, and living in Lismore, (I can't remember how old exactly), my housemates went out to a friend's place for dinner. When they got home, they said that they had met someone new, that they thought I would know. When they said it was Ally, I couldn't believe it! Turns out she had been offered a teaching job at a school in Lismore, and she had just moved there. We met up a few days later, and were amazed at the coincidence! I am still so hugely thankful to God for crossing our paths again! I love her so much! She is a huge blessing to me, and a very dear friend.
Isn't that a cool story?
I love Ally and Kelvin's little girl so very much! I can't wait to celebrate her birthday and dedication with them :) And since it's a 3 day weekend, I can spend more time down there! Woot!
Wow. It's late. I should get to bed.
I hope you're all having a sensational week so far!
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Howdy!
Wow, it's getting longer and longer between blog posts these days...I must be busy or something...
I don't even know what's happened since my last post.
School is going pretty awesome! I LOVE my class, so much! They are tonnes of fun, and they (most of them) can give out sarcasm as quickly as they receive it :) Tomorrow is the beginning of week 4, which means there are only 6 weeks of my contract left...I was getting all teary at work on Friday arvo cause I was sad that I'm gonna have to leave these guys soon. I'm so over-emotional at the moment. I like to think it's sympathy hormones, cause one of my best friends is mega-preggers, so I'm sharing her crazy, all-over-the-shop hormones with her. That makes sense, right?
In fact, this friend is having her baby (a boy) on Thursday night at 11pm! Well, it will be Thursday morning for her, the 15 hour time difference makes it night time here though. I'm SO excited!!! I got to talk to her on Skype last night, and I got to see her almost-two year old son as well (he's usually asleep when we Skype, so I haven't seen him in ages). So, come Thursday night, I'm going to have 2 honorary nephews! Can't wait!
Last week we had our inter-school athletics carnival. My guys went really well. I have some awesome little runners and high-jumpers in my class (there was shot put, and discus, and long jump too). One of the girls in my class actually won the trophy for receiving the most points individually. I was so proud! (probably not as proud as her mum was, but I reckon I was pretty close!)
I went down to Lismore a few weekends ago for my nephew's 16th birthday! I hated when I was younger and people used to say "I remember when you were knee-high to a grasshopper", or "I remember changing your nappies", and other comments along those lines. When people say it to me now (and it doesn't happen so often these days), I actually kinda like that those people knew me when I was little. How things change, hey?
Anyway, for my nephew's birthday, I morphed into 'one of those people'. I found my hand writing comments in his card about him when he was little...it was like my hand had a mind of its own! I couldn't stop it! I really cannot believe he is 16 now though, he's so old, and tall (taller than me, has been for well over a year now, and I'm not short). He is such a great kid though, and I love him dearly. He's the eldest of my 7 nephews and nieces, and he can learn how to drive now. It's weirding me out. It was so nice to be with him for his birthday though, so I am very thankful that I live close enough to be able to do that.
My class have to do their first assessment tomorrow. On map reading (looking at legends, scales, etc). They have been learning all about maps this past week, so, hopefully, they will ace the test. They also have a test on their 1, 2 and 3 times tables, I will be very interested to see how they go with that.
In other news, I think I've eaten my weight in peanut m and ms these past few weeks. I really need to do some exercise to counteract this sudden increase in fat....I probably won't though. So, if I die from clogged arteries, you'll know why.
I should probably go, I do have lots of work to do. Not that I don't love keeping a blog, just that I also love my job, and I should get crackin' on finishing my plan for this week.
Peace out!
I don't even know what's happened since my last post.
School is going pretty awesome! I LOVE my class, so much! They are tonnes of fun, and they (most of them) can give out sarcasm as quickly as they receive it :) Tomorrow is the beginning of week 4, which means there are only 6 weeks of my contract left...I was getting all teary at work on Friday arvo cause I was sad that I'm gonna have to leave these guys soon. I'm so over-emotional at the moment. I like to think it's sympathy hormones, cause one of my best friends is mega-preggers, so I'm sharing her crazy, all-over-the-shop hormones with her. That makes sense, right?
In fact, this friend is having her baby (a boy) on Thursday night at 11pm! Well, it will be Thursday morning for her, the 15 hour time difference makes it night time here though. I'm SO excited!!! I got to talk to her on Skype last night, and I got to see her almost-two year old son as well (he's usually asleep when we Skype, so I haven't seen him in ages). So, come Thursday night, I'm going to have 2 honorary nephews! Can't wait!
Last week we had our inter-school athletics carnival. My guys went really well. I have some awesome little runners and high-jumpers in my class (there was shot put, and discus, and long jump too). One of the girls in my class actually won the trophy for receiving the most points individually. I was so proud! (probably not as proud as her mum was, but I reckon I was pretty close!)
I went down to Lismore a few weekends ago for my nephew's 16th birthday! I hated when I was younger and people used to say "I remember when you were knee-high to a grasshopper", or "I remember changing your nappies", and other comments along those lines. When people say it to me now (and it doesn't happen so often these days), I actually kinda like that those people knew me when I was little. How things change, hey?
Anyway, for my nephew's birthday, I morphed into 'one of those people'. I found my hand writing comments in his card about him when he was little...it was like my hand had a mind of its own! I couldn't stop it! I really cannot believe he is 16 now though, he's so old, and tall (taller than me, has been for well over a year now, and I'm not short). He is such a great kid though, and I love him dearly. He's the eldest of my 7 nephews and nieces, and he can learn how to drive now. It's weirding me out. It was so nice to be with him for his birthday though, so I am very thankful that I live close enough to be able to do that.
My class have to do their first assessment tomorrow. On map reading (looking at legends, scales, etc). They have been learning all about maps this past week, so, hopefully, they will ace the test. They also have a test on their 1, 2 and 3 times tables, I will be very interested to see how they go with that.
In other news, I think I've eaten my weight in peanut m and ms these past few weeks. I really need to do some exercise to counteract this sudden increase in fat....I probably won't though. So, if I die from clogged arteries, you'll know why.
I should probably go, I do have lots of work to do. Not that I don't love keeping a blog, just that I also love my job, and I should get crackin' on finishing my plan for this week.
Peace out!
Thursday, 19 July 2012
I love meeces to pieces!
Man, keeping a blog is hard when you have to work full-time...didn't know how good I had it! Actually, I did, I savoured my last weeks of leisure before my teaching contract, I knew that I wouldn't be getting much sleep for the term. And I'm not.
I have (almost) completed my first week of term 3. Monday was a student free day, and tomorrow (Friday) we're going on an excursion, so it's not been a bad first week. I am still doing my planning for the term, so that has taken up a lot of my time, and it still is. I have to plan for maths, english, science and history, and since I have a composite class, I have to write a plan for both grades, hence doubling my workload. Being a rookie at this whole 'planning' thing does not help my cause either, but I'm getting there. The principal told us today that he wants as much detail as possible on our assessments for the term in the next week or two. I have scheduled assessments, but I have no idea what I'm going to do for them. Ok, I'll stop carrying on. I should just be thankful that I have full-time work, albeit temporary.
You may remember from earlier posts, that I have a mouse friend/s that like to hang out in my room while I'm not here. Well, I mentioned it to the admin at school before the end of last term, and I was informed that it would be dealt with while I was away. It wasn't. Yesterday I was handed a mouse trap, and today I was handed a teeny container or peanut butter for said mouse trap. This is just what I didn't want to happen. I wanted to come back from holidays, in the delusion that the mouse/mice had moved on, and were now living in a big field somewhere, with plenty of food and friends to play with. I didn't want to have a trap set, and for it to go off while I'm in the room. It's too traumatic for me. This particular trap is called a 'revolver' for crying out loud! How dreadful does that sound??
Maybe a door shuts gently behind the mouse when it walks in there? Then I would be able to take it and release it somewhere nice. Somehow, I don't think this is the case. It makes a really loud 'snap' sound when it goes off, which is sure to wake me up if it goes off during the night...and if I so much as hear a little mouse scream, I think I'll cry! :(
I think I need to move on.
I think I need to move on.
This morning, as I was pouring my cereal, one of the other teachers that lives here came walking into the kitchen. Not an odd scenario, but usually she doesn't stay at the accommodation on Wednesday nights, so in my mind, when the other teacher left for work this morning, I figured I was in the place alone. So, when she walked down the hall, and I saw her in my peripheral, I jumped and said "Man! You scared the life outta me!". She didn't though. As soon as I said it, I thought 'that's a really odd expression'. If she had 'scared the life outta me', that would mean I would be slumped on the ground, and really, I probably wouldn't have said anything, because if the life has 'gone outta you', past tense, I presume it doesn't hang around for a few seconds so you can get out a final sentence. Know what I mean? I guess expressions like that don't really mean anything though. They're just that. Expressions. So I shouldn't over think them :)
I should leave my computer for a while, and look at something other than the venetian blinds in my room :)
I hope you are all having a spectacular week!
I should leave my computer for a while, and look at something other than the venetian blinds in my room :)
I hope you are all having a spectacular week!
Peace out! (I never say that in real life, but in a blog, I can pretend to be able to pull a farewell such as this off) :P
Sunday, 8 July 2012
The Fortnight That Was...
Man, it's been a while!
I have had a busy (kind of) couple of weeks!
School finished for the term on the 22nd of June. We did have our movie/fun day, I even provided snack bags! On the Thursday I went to the video shop to hire some movies for the kids to choose from. I picked 2 movies: 'Hop' and 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'. I thought they were both winners and thought the kids would be stoked. Little did I know. The next day, 3 of my kids also brought movies for the class to choose from, including my 2, we had a total of 20 movies (or something ridiculous like that). We wrote the names of all of them on the board, and through a few rounds of 'blind voting' they decided on 'Chipwrecked'. Just in case you were wondering, both my movies were voted out by the second round. What a waste of $7. The kids did enjoy 'Chipwrecked', even if they didn't get to finish watching it cause I made them pause it to clean the classroom and sort out their tidy trays. 'Tidy trays' are the little trays in each of their desks where they keep everything from books and worksheets, to dead fruit and rocks. How they managed to avoid sticking their fingers through the semi-rotted fruit each time they opened their tidy tray is a mystery. In fact, I think I might have to think of another name, 'tidy' tray is entirely misleading.
Anyway, once school was finished, and I had tidied up my desk, I headed back to Brissie. On the Saturday, I went to Movieworld with (most of) my small group (Bible study, growth group...whatever you like to call it). I absolutely LOVE theme parks!
When I first moved to Brisbane, I bought a 'world pass' to Dreamworld (and White Water World, but who would visit there over Dreamworld??). I drive past 'the worlds' on my way to and from Lismore, so I would often drop in to Dreamworld on my way past, go on a ride, and then continue my journey. It was the best! Especially if I happened to pass by in the last half hour or so before the park closed, cause I could squeeze in 2 rides then (usually) cause the lines were heaps shorter.
So, 2 of my friends that came to Movieworld the day after school finished were 'not rides people'. In fact, I went to dinner with one of the aforementioned friends a week before we went, and just showing her a picture of one of the rides made her palms clammy. Well, fast forward to a week later and I was so incredibly proud of her, and my other friend too, cause they both went on all the 'scary' rides! What champions! It was a really fun day!
After Movieworld, I headed down to Byron, to meet my friend Amanda for dinner. We had a fantastic dinner! Then we went to watch a band (Amanda knew the drummer) and I sat on the couch, as far away as I could get from the stage, and listened from there. Amanda went to dance for a bit (with a few other friends we knew that had come to watch the band too), and I sat on the couch. I did recross my legs a few times. The rest of the time I spent commenting on how loud the band was. When did I become so old??
For the next few days, I hung out with one of my old Lismore housemates, and her husband, and their 7 week old baby girl. I had not met her before, but I had seen lots of pictures. Talk about a cute baby! She is even cuter in real life! I got lots and lots of cuddles, and we got to have lots of 'chats' too...her little gurgles, goos, and smiles just melted my heart! I caught up with a few other friends too.
Then, I was off to Tamvegas! I made the stupid decision to leave at 10:30pm, not sure what I was thinking! I didn't get to Tamworth til 8:30 the next morning, it's usually a 5.5 hour trip! I had to make lots of stops to sleep cause I was so tired. Learnt my lesson on that one.
I spent just over a week there, it was so nice to relax and just be with my family. One of my sisters lives with my mum, and two of my sisters and my little brother visited while I was there too.
I caught up with my friend Bec while I was there, which was really fun! She came over to watch the end of the state of origin with my sister, nephew and me. Yep. That is definitely why she came over. To watch the state of origin....Anyway, when it was over, we played 'Monopoly Deal' (I won, hands down), and then we slept. In the morning, we went to breakfast at 'The Bell Tower'. I highly recommend that place! I loved it! Heaps of cool antique-y stuff, and the Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and baby spinach was amazing!
Now, I am back in Lismore, to get some more school work done, before heading back to Brissie on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on how long it takes me to finish my planning).
I guess I had better get some planning done tonight, so I should stop rambling on here! :)
See ya!
PS Just purchased 'Speak Now (Extended Version)' on iTunes. The love of her music still remains. I wish I was 10 years younger, then this 'love' wouldn't be so misplaced...
I have had a busy (kind of) couple of weeks!
School finished for the term on the 22nd of June. We did have our movie/fun day, I even provided snack bags! On the Thursday I went to the video shop to hire some movies for the kids to choose from. I picked 2 movies: 'Hop' and 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'. I thought they were both winners and thought the kids would be stoked. Little did I know. The next day, 3 of my kids also brought movies for the class to choose from, including my 2, we had a total of 20 movies (or something ridiculous like that). We wrote the names of all of them on the board, and through a few rounds of 'blind voting' they decided on 'Chipwrecked'. Just in case you were wondering, both my movies were voted out by the second round. What a waste of $7. The kids did enjoy 'Chipwrecked', even if they didn't get to finish watching it cause I made them pause it to clean the classroom and sort out their tidy trays. 'Tidy trays' are the little trays in each of their desks where they keep everything from books and worksheets, to dead fruit and rocks. How they managed to avoid sticking their fingers through the semi-rotted fruit each time they opened their tidy tray is a mystery. In fact, I think I might have to think of another name, 'tidy' tray is entirely misleading.
Anyway, once school was finished, and I had tidied up my desk, I headed back to Brissie. On the Saturday, I went to Movieworld with (most of) my small group (Bible study, growth group...whatever you like to call it). I absolutely LOVE theme parks!
When I first moved to Brisbane, I bought a 'world pass' to Dreamworld (and White Water World, but who would visit there over Dreamworld??). I drive past 'the worlds' on my way to and from Lismore, so I would often drop in to Dreamworld on my way past, go on a ride, and then continue my journey. It was the best! Especially if I happened to pass by in the last half hour or so before the park closed, cause I could squeeze in 2 rides then (usually) cause the lines were heaps shorter.
So, 2 of my friends that came to Movieworld the day after school finished were 'not rides people'. In fact, I went to dinner with one of the aforementioned friends a week before we went, and just showing her a picture of one of the rides made her palms clammy. Well, fast forward to a week later and I was so incredibly proud of her, and my other friend too, cause they both went on all the 'scary' rides! What champions! It was a really fun day!
After Movieworld, I headed down to Byron, to meet my friend Amanda for dinner. We had a fantastic dinner! Then we went to watch a band (Amanda knew the drummer) and I sat on the couch, as far away as I could get from the stage, and listened from there. Amanda went to dance for a bit (with a few other friends we knew that had come to watch the band too), and I sat on the couch. I did recross my legs a few times. The rest of the time I spent commenting on how loud the band was. When did I become so old??
For the next few days, I hung out with one of my old Lismore housemates, and her husband, and their 7 week old baby girl. I had not met her before, but I had seen lots of pictures. Talk about a cute baby! She is even cuter in real life! I got lots and lots of cuddles, and we got to have lots of 'chats' too...her little gurgles, goos, and smiles just melted my heart! I caught up with a few other friends too.
 |
| Such a sweet little girl! I just love her so much! |
Then, I was off to Tamvegas! I made the stupid decision to leave at 10:30pm, not sure what I was thinking! I didn't get to Tamworth til 8:30 the next morning, it's usually a 5.5 hour trip! I had to make lots of stops to sleep cause I was so tired. Learnt my lesson on that one.
I spent just over a week there, it was so nice to relax and just be with my family. One of my sisters lives with my mum, and two of my sisters and my little brother visited while I was there too.
I caught up with my friend Bec while I was there, which was really fun! She came over to watch the end of the state of origin with my sister, nephew and me. Yep. That is definitely why she came over. To watch the state of origin....Anyway, when it was over, we played 'Monopoly Deal' (I won, hands down), and then we slept. In the morning, we went to breakfast at 'The Bell Tower'. I highly recommend that place! I loved it! Heaps of cool antique-y stuff, and the Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and baby spinach was amazing!
Now, I am back in Lismore, to get some more school work done, before heading back to Brissie on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on how long it takes me to finish my planning).
I guess I had better get some planning done tonight, so I should stop rambling on here! :)
See ya!
PS Just purchased 'Speak Now (Extended Version)' on iTunes. The love of her music still remains. I wish I was 10 years younger, then this 'love' wouldn't be so misplaced...
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Kicks!
Today I introduced two new games to my class. One of them was the following game, called 'Add it', it proved to be a hit, and we played four 3-minute rounds (one minute was far too quick!).
The Play:
-
The teacher announces any number and an addend. For
example: 7 and 4.
-
The students write and add the two numbers and continue
to add the same addend to the new sum until the teacher
calls stop at the end of one minute.
-
Class stands and a volunteer begins reading problems
and answers aloud, slowly.
-
As students no longer have the answers, they are
seated.
-
The student left standing is the winner.
I played this game with my class. I got a kick out of winning. Who let me be a teacher?? What kind of teacher loves to beat their kids at games? Probably most teachers, and to be fair to myself, I only made it known to the kids 25% of the time...that makes me a better teacher, right?? :)
One more school day til the holidays. Tomorrow we are having a movie & fun day! This day also includes giving the classroom a really good sort/clean...not that I've told the kids that yet. Lure them in with the promise of movies and fun, and when they arrive, tell them that we're all going to be cleaning the classroom first. Many hands make light work though, so it'll save me having to do it during the holidays. I'll put music on while they clean, it'll be 'fun' cleaning...*cough*...
Anyway, I'm off to the scary showers. If I ever wanted to make a scary movie, I could use the showers for at least one scene. There are only 3 showers in there, but they're in a row, and in a building that noone else is ever in...or so it seems..trust me, they're kinda creepy (I'll have to post a photo sometime). In fact, I could use a lot of my accommodation for scary movie scenes, and don't even get me started on the primary campus where my classroom is! Let's just say I wouldn't want to be there alone at night (I have been, a couple of times, but never for too long).
Have a great last day of the week!
Monday, 18 June 2012
One week in and still alive!
I have officially survived my first week (and a bit) of teaching! WOOHOO!
I love my class, they are beautiful (not that they would appreciate me telling anyone that).
I have 18 kids, some are quiet, some are loud, and they are all pretty hilarious :)
The staff at my school are really lovely. They are all really helpful and more than willing to listen to me ask questions about everything from bell times to program writing.
Some highlights of the week:
I let the office admin know about the mouse, and she said that they probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it until the holidays. I was fine with that! If they can deal with it, it means I don't have to be the one to set the trap or leave ratsac around...both 'solutions' make me sad, so it's better if I just come back and the mouse has 'gone to live on a farm'.
My kids have chosen the topic of 'mythical creatures' to work on for the rest of the term, so I should go and get some stuff organised for tomorrow. This week is the last week of term, then I have 3 weeks of holidays! Can't wait!
Hope you all had a lovely weekend!
I love my class, they are beautiful (not that they would appreciate me telling anyone that).
I have 18 kids, some are quiet, some are loud, and they are all pretty hilarious :)The staff at my school are really lovely. They are all really helpful and more than willing to listen to me ask questions about everything from bell times to program writing.
Some highlights of the week:
- Introducing my class to our class mascot, a very cute stuffed wombat. The kids got to name him, and 'Speedy' is very loved by my kids, despite the initial reaction from a few of the kids about them being 'too old for stuffed toys'. Speedy has won them over with his good looks and charm :)
- Creating 'WomBucks', our own class currency. The kids get WomBucks for good behaviour and can use them to 'buy' things from the prize box. So far, it's working pretty well as a management strategy.
- Witnessing a kids version of 'Days of Our Lives', in my very own classroom! 2 of the girls were fighting over a boy, gold!
- Getting locked out of my accommodation on my first night here and having to sleep in a spare room, and then not being able to have a shower/brush my teeth/etc for work the next day cause all my toiletries were locked in my bedroom!
- Waking up 2 nights in a row to hear a rustling in a shopping back on my shelves. Then, getting home from being away for the weekend to find mouse poo all over my desk, shelves and bed...including my pillow! (that was probably my least favourite highlight).
I let the office admin know about the mouse, and she said that they probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it until the holidays. I was fine with that! If they can deal with it, it means I don't have to be the one to set the trap or leave ratsac around...both 'solutions' make me sad, so it's better if I just come back and the mouse has 'gone to live on a farm'.
My kids have chosen the topic of 'mythical creatures' to work on for the rest of the term, so I should go and get some stuff organised for tomorrow. This week is the last week of term, then I have 3 weeks of holidays! Can't wait!
Hope you all had a lovely weekend!
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