It is only the second month of th term, but things have changed spo drastically that I need to write about it to make sense of it all.
At the end of last year, the principal decided to divide each grade into ability groups and each teacher would have an ability group. We all agreed that we would trial run it this year and implement it permanently if it worked. I was then given one of the 2 middle group classes for Gr.1 as there are 4 Gr.1 classes and only 3 of every other grade.
When the Gr. 1 teachers met up to start planning our baseline assessment at the beginning of the year, we realised that dividing the learners according to ability groups would be unfair towards the teacher who had the weakest class, therefore we consulted with the principal and it was decided that the classes would be split from Gr. 2 onwards.
We then went about our planning for baseline assessment to make ability groups in the class and to see what learners were capable of. I will be the first to admit that it took me the entire time that we were assessing to bond with my children. I found that I missed the children from last year, I think mainly because they could work happily and quietly by the end of the year and did not need my guidance on every issue or assignment.
Baseline assessment ended on 4 February and Monday I was excited to start formal teaching with my class. I had divided everybody into their groups and had prepared their activities accordingly. I even managed to have all 4 groups on the mat for group teaching.
.......
Then on Monday afternoon I was thrown for a loop - they had decided to put all the intervention* learners in one class. And that would be my class.
*(learners with learning disabilities and that needed extra attention and would probably need more time in Gr. 1)
I only realised the next day when all the new learners arrived in my class how attached I had become to the ones that left. I still miss having them, but find little quirks in the new learners to love everyday.
I am starting to adjust to the slower pace of the intervention class and I do enjoy not having to drill my children to have to learn a certain amount of work in a certain amount of time. they will get there eventually, but I will have an adventure with them along the way to get them on that road.
=)
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Unexpected difficulties
This week was the first week of school and I am finding myself feeling very unmotivated and uninspired with this group of young minds that I have. And not just with them, their parents are also unappreciative and don't fully comprehend the demands a class of 44 puts on a person.
I do love my job and there are those rare jewels in my class that I have identified already and I think they will be my saving grace this year. I get the feeling that I need to mourn the leaving of my children of last year in order for me to be more attached to these ones. And another reason that I feel very unattached to these ones would be because we were going to split them after baseline assessment into ability levels and each teacher would have had one ability group in the class, so now I have trained myself not to get too attached to them because otherwise we will find all sorts of excuses for them to stay which would be to their detriment in the end. But we have since found that it would be impossible to split the grade 1 classes into ability groups and I haven't had time to adjust my state of mind to be able to think of them as mine and therefore I find I'm not handling them the same as my 2010 class. And if i dare say it, I don't love them as I love the 2010 class. Jayden says I should just give it time, I will love them as I loved the others last year.
But what if I don't? Will that make me a bad teacher? Or was I just more attached last year, because it was my first year?
All of these questions will hopefully be answered within the next 10 months or so, and when they are answered or other issues arise, so too will a new blog post.
=)
I do love my job and there are those rare jewels in my class that I have identified already and I think they will be my saving grace this year. I get the feeling that I need to mourn the leaving of my children of last year in order for me to be more attached to these ones. And another reason that I feel very unattached to these ones would be because we were going to split them after baseline assessment into ability levels and each teacher would have had one ability group in the class, so now I have trained myself not to get too attached to them because otherwise we will find all sorts of excuses for them to stay which would be to their detriment in the end. But we have since found that it would be impossible to split the grade 1 classes into ability groups and I haven't had time to adjust my state of mind to be able to think of them as mine and therefore I find I'm not handling them the same as my 2010 class. And if i dare say it, I don't love them as I love the 2010 class. Jayden says I should just give it time, I will love them as I loved the others last year.
But what if I don't? Will that make me a bad teacher? Or was I just more attached last year, because it was my first year?
All of these questions will hopefully be answered within the next 10 months or so, and when they are answered or other issues arise, so too will a new blog post.
=)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Looking back on 2010
In the past year there hasn't been much time for blogging. Some days there was hardly time for a facebook status updates. LOL.
There have been many changes that have happened in the past year. And those in no particular order are operations, Jayden leaving, getting a new car, getting my licence and of course starting my teaching career and of course my trip to London.
Jayden leaving:
Jayden left on 29th Dec 2009 to start his 2year internship in Pietermaritzburg. Because I teach it is very easy to see him fairly often because of the 4 holidays. Although I have only spent 3 holidays with him in 2010. He gets 2 holidays of 2 weeks each and for one holiday he went to his family and for one he came to visit me. This next year I will probably visit him for all holidays, which might put a bit of a damper on my financial status in certain months ((;-)) but its a small price to pay to be able to spend anything from between one week and one month with him.
Starting my teaching career:
I started teaching Gr1 @ Irista primary this year and it has been a very challenging and rewarding first year and I am looking forward to starting the new year on 13 January 2011.
Getting my licence:
On 5 March 2010, I had an appointment at the Goodwood Traffic Department to try for my driver's licence for the fourth time and the first time on the new learners after the previous one expired with three tries under its belt. And lo and behold, I managed to scrape by to get my licence. And 2 weeks later was seen test driving new polo vivo and going on the highway for first time in vivo.
Operations:
At the end of April I had an arthroscope operation. Because there was something wrong with my knee and no-one could figure out what it was. The operation didn't reveal much and I have mow decided that it is my new way of showing stress. Must say I do prefer it over migraines.=)
Getting my car:
I have known I wanted a polo for as long as I've been learning to drive probably. They are good looking, easy to drive, have radio n aircon. What more could a girl want? LOL. The first one I was interested in was not for me, because by the time I came back from PMB it had already been sold and the one that was available at the time was out of my price range.
A few weeks later I learnt that there was a black one available and that the person who was going to buy it couldn't get the deposit together in the appropriate amount of time and that if the bank approved financing for me, I could have it. And so I got my 2008 black polo on 14 May 2010.
London 2010:
On 23 September 2010 I flew to London, England with my aunt Alana to meet up with her sister and my other aunt Charlene. We arrived in London on the morning of 24 September and immediately went in search of our accomodation to dump the luggage so that the adventure could start. On the first day we did the red topless bus tour of London and when we returned from that we showered and got ready for Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's theatre, aka Haymarket theatre. Our cab driver was as unfamiliar with London it seemed as we were, and after he dropped us off we had to ask directions from passersby. Phantom was spectacular and at the next chance I got I bought the movie on dvd. I had seen the movie before and knew the music, but it was spectacular to see it performed in theatre.
The next day we got up early-ish to queue for Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum. It was quite a wait, but well worth it. I posed for pictures with Audrey Hepburn, Drew Barrymore, Robert Pattinson and Johnny Depp and also took pictures of Lou and Andy (Little Britain), Indiana Jones, Nelson Mandela, Drew Barrymore n Steven Spielberg. After Madame Toussaud's we started making our way towards the
London Eye where we were treated to a 4D show before queuing. In my opinion the 4D show is a 3D show where they blow bubbles in your face. LOL. After the Eye we attempted to get home via the Underground, but the routes that we needed to take were being worked on and after somebody stole our cab, we managed to secure the next available one and made it back to our hotel. After getting ready we waited outside for our cab and when he arrived, we started to travel towards the Lyceum Theatre to watch The Lion King. Because of the 2012 Olympics taking place in London, there were lots of roadworks on the way and there was also an accident. We ended up being 20 minutes late. They let us into the show and there were still people arriving after us as well. Lion King was also spectacular.
On the Sunday we decided to take on Harrods. Even with the map of the place we got horribly lost and after a few hours and some present shopping we decided to go outside of Harrods and find our lunch elsewhere. It is extremely busy in there and its like a maze when you are inside, but was still great to experience. We decided to lie low the evening and watched a DVD @ our hotel.
On the Monday morning after a trip through the Twilight Zone we eventually made our way to Westminster Abbey and after that headed to Paddington station where I found my London Bag and we returned to Glouchester to start making our way back to Liverpool. Here we spent the rest of the week with Charlene, James and on occasion Suzanne. We returned to London on the Saturday and on Saturday night we boarded a plane for Cape Town.
Christmas and New Years 2010:
This was my first Christmas away from my parents and faced with the prospect of having to make Christmas lunch, I was a little bit nervous. But it turns out 5 years of studying Hospitality Studies has actually paid off. It turned out very good and to quote Jayden "I outdid myself".
The theme for the intern New Year's party was 60's and after researching tie-dye on the internet, we decided to make our own shirts. Paired with jeans and slops these made up our outfits for the party. We met some of the new first years and said goodbye to old 2nd years. All in all it was a very good New Years and a great party.
This just about sums up my 2010. Hopefully 2011 will hold other equally exciting and challenging events.
=)
There have been many changes that have happened in the past year. And those in no particular order are operations, Jayden leaving, getting a new car, getting my licence and of course starting my teaching career and of course my trip to London.
Jayden leaving:
Jayden left on 29th Dec 2009 to start his 2year internship in Pietermaritzburg. Because I teach it is very easy to see him fairly often because of the 4 holidays. Although I have only spent 3 holidays with him in 2010. He gets 2 holidays of 2 weeks each and for one holiday he went to his family and for one he came to visit me. This next year I will probably visit him for all holidays, which might put a bit of a damper on my financial status in certain months ((;-)) but its a small price to pay to be able to spend anything from between one week and one month with him.
Starting my teaching career:
I started teaching Gr1 @ Irista primary this year and it has been a very challenging and rewarding first year and I am looking forward to starting the new year on 13 January 2011.
Getting my licence:
On 5 March 2010, I had an appointment at the Goodwood Traffic Department to try for my driver's licence for the fourth time and the first time on the new learners after the previous one expired with three tries under its belt. And lo and behold, I managed to scrape by to get my licence. And 2 weeks later was seen test driving new polo vivo and going on the highway for first time in vivo.
Operations:
At the end of April I had an arthroscope operation. Because there was something wrong with my knee and no-one could figure out what it was. The operation didn't reveal much and I have mow decided that it is my new way of showing stress. Must say I do prefer it over migraines.=)
Getting my car:
I have known I wanted a polo for as long as I've been learning to drive probably. They are good looking, easy to drive, have radio n aircon. What more could a girl want? LOL. The first one I was interested in was not for me, because by the time I came back from PMB it had already been sold and the one that was available at the time was out of my price range.
A few weeks later I learnt that there was a black one available and that the person who was going to buy it couldn't get the deposit together in the appropriate amount of time and that if the bank approved financing for me, I could have it. And so I got my 2008 black polo on 14 May 2010.
London 2010:
On 23 September 2010 I flew to London, England with my aunt Alana to meet up with her sister and my other aunt Charlene. We arrived in London on the morning of 24 September and immediately went in search of our accomodation to dump the luggage so that the adventure could start. On the first day we did the red topless bus tour of London and when we returned from that we showered and got ready for Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's theatre, aka Haymarket theatre. Our cab driver was as unfamiliar with London it seemed as we were, and after he dropped us off we had to ask directions from passersby. Phantom was spectacular and at the next chance I got I bought the movie on dvd. I had seen the movie before and knew the music, but it was spectacular to see it performed in theatre.
The next day we got up early-ish to queue for Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum. It was quite a wait, but well worth it. I posed for pictures with Audrey Hepburn, Drew Barrymore, Robert Pattinson and Johnny Depp and also took pictures of Lou and Andy (Little Britain), Indiana Jones, Nelson Mandela, Drew Barrymore n Steven Spielberg. After Madame Toussaud's we started making our way towards the
London Eye where we were treated to a 4D show before queuing. In my opinion the 4D show is a 3D show where they blow bubbles in your face. LOL. After the Eye we attempted to get home via the Underground, but the routes that we needed to take were being worked on and after somebody stole our cab, we managed to secure the next available one and made it back to our hotel. After getting ready we waited outside for our cab and when he arrived, we started to travel towards the Lyceum Theatre to watch The Lion King. Because of the 2012 Olympics taking place in London, there were lots of roadworks on the way and there was also an accident. We ended up being 20 minutes late. They let us into the show and there were still people arriving after us as well. Lion King was also spectacular.
On the Sunday we decided to take on Harrods. Even with the map of the place we got horribly lost and after a few hours and some present shopping we decided to go outside of Harrods and find our lunch elsewhere. It is extremely busy in there and its like a maze when you are inside, but was still great to experience. We decided to lie low the evening and watched a DVD @ our hotel.
On the Monday morning after a trip through the Twilight Zone we eventually made our way to Westminster Abbey and after that headed to Paddington station where I found my London Bag and we returned to Glouchester to start making our way back to Liverpool. Here we spent the rest of the week with Charlene, James and on occasion Suzanne. We returned to London on the Saturday and on Saturday night we boarded a plane for Cape Town.
Christmas and New Years 2010:
This was my first Christmas away from my parents and faced with the prospect of having to make Christmas lunch, I was a little bit nervous. But it turns out 5 years of studying Hospitality Studies has actually paid off. It turned out very good and to quote Jayden "I outdid myself".
The theme for the intern New Year's party was 60's and after researching tie-dye on the internet, we decided to make our own shirts. Paired with jeans and slops these made up our outfits for the party. We met some of the new first years and said goodbye to old 2nd years. All in all it was a very good New Years and a great party.
This just about sums up my 2010. Hopefully 2011 will hold other equally exciting and challenging events.
=)
Friday, January 29, 2010
New Year, New Challenges
I said in my last post that I felt it was time to leave Keurboom, and I have done that. I miss my colleagues and friends that I have made there every dat, but feel that this was a good choice as I was offered two posts after I resigned.
The first post was a grade 3 governing body post for the year at Koeberg primary in Woodstock. I was going to take this post, but after I had already agreed to take the job, I was offered a permanent departmental post which offers a bigger salary and other long term benefits that weighed in its favour. I chose to accept the departmental post and therefore I am now a grade 1 teacher at Irista Primary School in Kuilsriver.
I also have an appointment to try for my drivers again in the beginning of March and think this will make my life a lot easier, especially when I've saved up enough money to buy a car.
At the moment my biggest challenge is to get my class to listen and carry out their tasks correctly ... which would be a possibility if they listened ... lol,
Now I will be in for a weekend of marking books, making sentence strips and flashcards and hopefully start organising photos for a new scrapbook ...
=)
The first post was a grade 3 governing body post for the year at Koeberg primary in Woodstock. I was going to take this post, but after I had already agreed to take the job, I was offered a permanent departmental post which offers a bigger salary and other long term benefits that weighed in its favour. I chose to accept the departmental post and therefore I am now a grade 1 teacher at Irista Primary School in Kuilsriver.
I also have an appointment to try for my drivers again in the beginning of March and think this will make my life a lot easier, especially when I've saved up enough money to buy a car.
At the moment my biggest challenge is to get my class to listen and carry out their tasks correctly ... which would be a possibility if they listened ... lol,
Now I will be in for a weekend of marking books, making sentence strips and flashcards and hopefully start organising photos for a new scrapbook ...
=)
Friday, October 16, 2009
It's Time
It seems that just when I thought that they have given up on me, the schools start to phone for interviews. But saying that, it's not like the calls are streaming in. LOL, have two intervies next week for schools in the Southern Suburbs, but even if I don't get either of those posts, I will apply for other teaching posts and admin posts, because it is time for me to move on from where I am at the moment.
I love the school, but I need to grow in my profession, and in order to do that I have to move away there and find somewhere else that will allow me to grow and test my skills on a daily basis. Never thought I would be one to volunteer for a challenge and I might regret doing so later on, but I feel that I need one at this stage of my life. . . So maybe next year will be the year that I dare myself to a challenge . . . LOL
Enough for now, enjoy the weekend and the rest of the month (if I'm not on again).
=)
I love the school, but I need to grow in my profession, and in order to do that I have to move away there and find somewhere else that will allow me to grow and test my skills on a daily basis. Never thought I would be one to volunteer for a challenge and I might regret doing so later on, but I feel that I need one at this stage of my life. . . So maybe next year will be the year that I dare myself to a challenge . . . LOL
Enough for now, enjoy the weekend and the rest of the month (if I'm not on again).
=)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Parents and Facebook
Just had to create an account for my dad on Facebook.
What a mission ... He has so many questions and I have done everything on his account so far ...
And that made me wonder ... Were we like that when Facebook came out, or are we just less technologically challenged than some of our parents?
And more worrying ... Are we going to be like that when we are grown up? And not know what our children are up to? Or will we be able to keep up with the times and know what is going on in 15 - 20 years?
On that scary note, it's time for you to ponder the answer to those questions and get back to me
...
=)
What a mission ... He has so many questions and I have done everything on his account so far ...
And that made me wonder ... Were we like that when Facebook came out, or are we just less technologically challenged than some of our parents?
And more worrying ... Are we going to be like that when we are grown up? And not know what our children are up to? Or will we be able to keep up with the times and know what is going on in 15 - 20 years?
On that scary note, it's time for you to ponder the answer to those questions and get back to me
...
=)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
HOLIDAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad that it is finally holidays. It feels like this term has been extremely long, even though it has only been two months long.
And I am taking up a new hobby after I have written my learners. So hopefully will be buying supplies for that durng the holidays. I also think that I should buy the final Twilight book that I don't have yet. And strangely enough, it is the first one that I don't have ... LOL
Anywho, nothing else to say for now, except that I am looking forward to the weekend. And will have to study hard for my learners that is in exactly two weeks.
=)
And I am taking up a new hobby after I have written my learners. So hopefully will be buying supplies for that durng the holidays. I also think that I should buy the final Twilight book that I don't have yet. And strangely enough, it is the first one that I don't have ... LOL
Anywho, nothing else to say for now, except that I am looking forward to the weekend. And will have to study hard for my learners that is in exactly two weeks.
=)
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