Full Control June 14, 2008

GRR. I meant to post this so long ago.. well. about 4 weeks actually when I was ACTUALLY doing my full control. The last leg of this trip has flown by and now here it is 7 days until I fly out… My last day at Frimley was on Friday so I have the week to get myself organized (or ‘organised’ as they spell it here) with laundry and job applications…. but also of course blog updates. I just wanted to give you a little taste of what my time as teacher in Room 8 was like- way back when.

The kids were great and my host teacher Adrienne was super supportive so it was overall really fun. It was almost like team teaching. I also would use her methods of classroom management already in place- like marbles in the jar for good behaviors and her “Apple Tree” where each children has their own apple and have to  move themself down if they don’t follow the classroom rules after warnings.

(Once at the bottom of the tree, they had to write/draw a problem solving “what did I do” and “what should I have done” sheet…. but the whole thing reminded me a little bit of saying that kid is a “rotten apple” or “bad seed….” I don’t know… Anyways.)

The kids would start the day with story writing, which could be about thier weekend, something we’d done in class recently, etc. At this age we were just hoping to get them writing, and we’d go around monitoring

and providing more support to those who need it.

After the brain break we’d get into our reading groups,  but with Adrienne and I splitting them it was seamless to rotate through them al in the 45 minutes and hear them all read. Here, Adrienne tries to hear each of her reading groups read everyday, which seems overwhelming for me as a new teacher. I would be happy if I heard them twice/three times a week.

After reading was morning tea. I’m glad to say there was never a photograph taken of me in the lovely duty outfit, which consists of a neon yellow vest (and in Term 1/4 a floppy bucket hat!)

We went on to maths-  again with Adrienne splitting the math groups with me so we’d get to work with all levels. Blake is trying to decide if he really needs to learn how to tell time. I’m doing my best to convince him.

The neat part was that I got to plan and teach the whole math unit on time and temperature. The kids loved the clocks we’d made and would frequently interrupt our lessons or activities to tell me what time it was. “Look Miss H! It’s 11:00!” (Maybe not quite grasping that it was something that happened everyday?)

Handwriting was something very new to me having to teach, but I got the hang of it.

After they do their date and goal (size or shape or ligatures, etc) and whatever letter we’re working on, the teacher goes around marks their best one with gold highlighters (yellow) and ones they need to improve with pink. (it’s pink to “think about it”) It’s a system theh whole school is using for formative assessment and it works well. I think it especially works well with the young ones, who can’t read any real comments you’d write anyways but know if something’s pink they have room to improve. Of course, conversley, the “pink for think” marking I’d sometimes see has the same connotation as getting a paper back with red pen all over it, and instead of being looked at as a growing tool or something is now a dreaded form of assessment by some kids.

After lunch, I’d initiated a read-aloud of a chapter of a novel every day and had choose Charlotte’s Web- mainly because Heidi already had it.

On certain days the kids would be antsy and restless but overall they enjoyed the readings, and it was something I continued to do even after my full control was up. It was also great because when we’d go to the library for them to check out books, some would start choosing short novels, and said they wanted their parent to read a chapter to them everynight. (Caleb was raising his hand at that point to tell me what day is was in England. We’re still working on ‘relevant connections.’)

Another new thing for me to teach was phys ed, as I was used to schools that have their own pe teacher. The unit for the term is decided by the team, and ours was ball skills. At this age, the kids are only taught the skills to play certain games later, so I was for bounce passing and kicking. We’d go out to the cement basketball courts to use the lines already in place, and I’d have my whistle around my neck.

PE time could also be very hectic if you didn’t have it strictly organized— which I’d learned the hard way a few times with children and balls going in everywhich way. From then on, I was strict.

Finally, I’d had blast planning and teaching the Sir Edmund Hillary unit that whole school happened to be doing during my time in control.

I promise we had the last column completley filled out at the end, and I never knew so much about Sir Ed as I do now, but the kids really enjoyed the unit and what they would remember and take away from simple stories was really interesting to see. Also, the facts that are just assumed were also interesting- when we learned that Sir Ed put three flags in the snow, it was assumed that one was a New Zealand flag. Of course, being a commonwealth for Great Britian at the time, there wasn’t. The neat thing that I enjoyed was that this one topic could be dealt with at deeper levels all across the school.

Then, we also had Sir Ed Day Challenge, where each class would do something of thier own decision- we had children do relay races with a backpack about half the weight of what he carried, and some other classses had thier children drag tires, try and breathe through straws, etc. It was a really fun day to be a a part of.

Overall I had a great time in Room 8! It’s funny if you think that my presence in that class probably won’t be as memorable as their presence will be to mine, but it was still worth it. We had an amazing experience together

and some fun along the way!

A Day in Room 8 April 10, 2008

So.. I thought I would give you a day in the life of room 8, the first grade equivalent class where I work. While all of these pictures aren’t from the same day, they come together to give you an idea. And, of course, I had to throw in some ‘blog worthy’ material as well.

8:10 Teachers are supposed to arrive around now. But of course, some are here much earlier (and leave earlier) and some roll in closer to school starting.

8:30 “Backpack bell” tells students when they can go into the classroom and hang up their backpacks and do thier jobs to get ready for school. Before then they are supposed to play outside but many teachers let them in before- especially as the days get colder.

8:50 School begins

Role call. In case you can’t tell, the students all have uniforms so it’s that much harder to identify them— and even harder when they have their bucket hats on. I’m always lifting up the brim to see who I’m talking to.

After taking role and doing announcements, etc., there is about an hour of instructional time before we stop for “Brain break.”

8:50-9:50 In room 8 we use this hour for phonics and writing- flashcards, white board writing of what sound you here, shared writing (where the teacher models whatever they’re working on in their writing) and then writing groups. Most children are writing in their writing journals at this time, and some groups have guidance from a teacher, or another activity once they’re finished.

Students in room 8 writing furiously (Get back to work, Caleb.):

 

It’s interesting how much the teachers are focusing on classroom noise level now, after just coming back from a workshop were they were told that New Zealand classrooms are the noisiest ones in the world. Sometimes it feels like noise can also be a sign of productivity and learning, so when it’s dead quiet I have to resist the urge to make silly noises or something….

9:50-9:55 til 10:00- 10:05 Brain break (Teacher can decide at a natural break but around the ten oclock hour and never more than ten minutes.)

This is where children are instructed to bring fruit or water for this time of day to have outside as a morning snack. Any other type of food isn’t allowed- only fruits. This is sometimes the only fruit the child will have in a day, and since Frimely, just went from a 4 to a 3 on the economic scale, it was implemented school wide this year. (Prior to that, some teachers where doing it at their own decision.) Schools that are a level 1 are provided fruit daily for all the students- although they never know what it is until they go get it that morning.

Room 8 students enjoying their brain food.

10:00-10:05 until 11:00: After brain break, there’s about another hour until morning tea (ie recess). This is the time we focus on our reading. They read ‘big books’ everyday for a week, where the teacher reads and then the students learn to read/follow along. This is the first thing that I’ve taken over in the class and it’s helped to have me build rapport with the children and ease into instruction. Although it’s hard to keep up the enthuasism by Friday. Afterward, the children might do an activity or something to journal about relating to the book, while the teacher or I calls up and works with the groups we haven’t heard read yet in guided reading. Right now, I just take the same group every day for a week to give me some consistancy in planning. If students finish the journal activity then there is a ‘reading board’ that tells them literacy related activities they can work on (writing a letter, practice spelling words with a white board, word games, etc)

The week I started reading, the Big Book was Going on a Bear Hunt and the children worked on a book review. The frist day they were told to illustrate the cover of the book.

The next page they were supposed to draw the characters, and as I was going through correcting them, imagine my surprise when I saw a character that I didn’t quite remember from the story!

11:00-11:25 Morning Tea All the kids go out for recess and another snack, and if a staff member doesn’t have duty they report to the staff room. While I’ve never seen all the staff there for lunch time, all the staff come out for morning tea. There is coffee, tea, milk, and ‘biscuits.’ (ie. cookies…) Everyone is especially excited when it’s “cheese and cracker day” and I’ve already heard rumors of the games staff members see trying to see who can take the most without getting caught and then a reprimand in the announcements the next day. (ie. “Let’s remember to try and share and leave enough for everyone, etc.”) Apparently the standing record is 13. Regardless, it’s a pretty nice thing to have every day. At the end of morning tea is when the staff bulletin is read, or announcements simply made by the principal, or if he’s off site, then the most senior staff member.

11:25-12:30: Another hour block before lunch. Here is when room 8 does our math and handwriting. The math groups are similar to the reading where some groups might work directly with the teacher and others on a activity, and then once completed get activities out of their specific groups bin- which is leveled appropriately but labeled like ‘pyramids,’ ‘cubes,’ etc. Currently we’re working on a measuring unit, focused on capacity. Direct teaching of handwriting is something new to me, and in fact they from some of thier letters completley different, like lowercase k’s! (Too hard to explain.) This next week, I’ll be taking on teaching all the handwriting as well.

12:30-1:20 Lunch time! Lunch late in the day breaks up the day so nicely, so that it feels like it flies by! The duty for lunch time is split into two shifts so that teachers can still grab a bite. On sunny days, the staff room on the second floor opens it’s veranda doors and I can look out on Te Mata peak while eating on a picnic table. Often, I’m the only one out there, but I’m not going to let any of the rays pass me by.

1:20-2:50 Back to the classroom for the last hour and a half. This is usually split up into two 40 minute sections or so. Often we use this time for catch up, art projects, physical ed (which the teacher is responsible for teaching.)

Here is Johann showing off some art we did after the Redwood trip:

His bare feet is a common trait of New Zealand school kids, who come to school with shoes, but take them off within minutes and go without for the remaining of the day- including tea and lunch time.

2:50 Home time— well for students, anyway.

Again, there is no busing, so when school is over children wait for parent pickup, get taken to day care or walk or bike home. Teachers are supposed to stay until 3:30 at the least, with most leaving around 4 until 4:30…. I work with my host teacher planning as much as possible, preparing for the next day or week. Heidi is also my ride home, so I try and let her do as much as she needs and we’re usually some of the last to leave and home by five pm.

So that’s a day in room 8! I’m sure I left things out, but with ten more weeks, I can only imagine the stories to come.

My New Job March 27, 2008

K… warning: I don’t have any of my own pictures yet for this blog, as I haven’t taken my camera to school yet. But it’s still interesting to read, I swear.

So today was my second day as Miss H in room 8. (Although, the my host teacher keeps forgetting and calls me Miss Hubacker- which doesn’t feel like it fits me.) I work at Frimley Primary School- the same as Heidi, but kids a year older. www.frimely.school.nz can be checked out if you’re interested in more information, but it’s one of the most amazing facilities! The staff room is larger than most classrooms, with an outside deck on the second floor that overlooks the playground, field, etc. It’s beautiful. My favorite part is the classrooms that have amazing coverings on the walls from ceiling to floor that’s like carpet/tag/bulliten board, which they call Front Runner, in order so things can be pinned, Velcro-ed, etc directly to the wall at all levels. It allows space to be used so much more efficiently.

There’s a staff of about 40 (with about 25 certified teachers) and a student population of about 500. Apparently they have a high certified male staff ratio with about 5/25 being males. Although this is a picture of my principal!

The kids are having fun adjusting to my presence, and I’m having fun adjusting to their accents. I feel so bad when I have to have them repeat their thought or idea! (One little boy was trying to tell me about a local fruit called feijoas- think kiwis- and I kept thinking he was saying Fritos!) I’ve already been allowed to work with small math and writing groups, as well as monitor the class while Adrienne is working with her group. As I’m doing more and more with the class, the kids are coming across more things that I do slightly differently than her and they try to call me on it. My response is always been “Oh, that’s just how we do it in America.” They accept the answer with no questions, but now I’m apparently talking for how a whole nation writes their twos.
The school system in Frimley has an interesting categorizing method for the economic status of the schools. Rather than percent of free/reduced lunch or other contributing factors, each school is given a number. One number. It’s on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest economic surroundings and ten being the the most affluent neighborhoods. They put in the numbers from the census (how many renting households, single parent homes, incomes, etc) into a formula and apparently out pops the number,. The economic number is really only one variable of a school here, but it’s interesting how much more upfront they are about that sort of stuff. Frimely is about a 3, and they get extra government funds as a result. Schools with 9s ands 10s is responsible for their own fund raising etc.

Frimely is huge on professional development, and there’s an amazing program for new teachers where the first year you get a day out of your classroom a week, to catch up on assessments, go visit other schools, take workshops, etc. As a second year teacher you get half a day out of the class! Sounds great!

The school goes year round in New Zealand, starting in February and ending in December. So instead of a 2007-2008 school year, it’s just one year. There are four terms, ten weeks each with a two week holiday in between. In fact, the end of the first term is coming up April 18, and then I get two weeks off. Then a big holiday around Christmas through January and the beginning of February. Of the four terms, each student has to wear a sun hat in Term 1 and Term 4 when the sun is the strongest.

I’m sure I’ll have many more blogs regarding school and Frimley and room 8. For now just wish me luck. Tomorrow is Friday, so not too hard of a week and who knows. Maybe a little wine tasting this weekend??