Hello blog readers,
The school year has now officially kicked off. For the first time ever, I don't feel like I'm in damage control mode after the first day of school. The first week did crawl along, as they usual do, while the students and their teachers get used to the many firsts of a new school year. Now that things are starting to settle into a routine after all of the introductory and the bulk of the diagnostics have been taken care of.
As you probably already know, I've already taught this group before, so some of the first day nervousness was abated because I've already made a first impression with them. They are much the same as from what I remembered when I last saw them, albeit considerably more mature. Especially the boys; typically grade 7 boys still behave like kids that reside in a teenager's body. A lot of them tell me that they are starting to take their education more seriously now that high school and post-secondary starts to become more like a reality with each passing year. Thus far, many of them really have made significant improvements in their class work and generally self-regulate themselves (both behaviourally and emotionally) better. I really think that this will be a good year and I'm glad that things don't seem to be zipping along because as I've said before, being able to teach this same group a 2nd and probably final time is a real treat and I want to savour all the experiences of being with them another year.
Outside the classroom, things have gotten off to a quick start. With the start of the year, youth kicked off with most of the old bodies returning. We may have a few new faces as we progress through the year and I hope that we can build from the fellowship from the year before. With someone to help me out once a month, I'm no longer completely swamped, just mostly swamped. This year, I've already been approached 3 times to tutor kids. I've taken on 2 and had to turn down the 3rd because there literally is no more time after school to tutor these kids. Both my kids from tutoring are students from last year that I've build a good rapport with them and their parents. The extra income definitely doesn't hurt. If tutoring wasn't enough, the volleyball season is set to kick off next week. Unofficially I've already started running "fitness mini-camp" for the returnees, as some of the girls are super enthusiastic to get back on the court. Sadly for them, none of them have done any significant amounts of physical exercise during the summer, and fitness mini-camp has already become a much loathed aspect of the start of the season. I have an assistant coach, my whistle's been dusted off, and registration listed has been collected, now it's time to start the on court practices with all the players.
The upcoming weeks should be interesting, we have essentially 2 back-to-back long weekends coming up shortly (Mid-Autumn Festival & National Holiday). In the mix is also an overnight camp & team-building activity for the grade 9s in 2 weeks time in Coloane. I heard it was a very good and enjoyable experience for students in previous years. I'm just excited to already be having a break from the classroom routine not that the classes are getting boring or anything.
You'll here back from me shortly, hopefully with some pictures next time of that team building trip to Coloane.
A Slice of Home:
So with 2 of the 3 middle school math/science teachers being new, and 4 new homeroom teachers, there would be a lot of changes in middle school. Despite being an Alberta curriculum school, TIS must have dug deep into the Teaching Overseas Recruiting Fair (TORF) because there are a lot of Queen's and Ontario B.Ed graduates in this year's batch of new teachers. Those 2 new math/science teachers? Both from Toronto. One of which taught as one of the PRAC schools I was at as a student teacher 3 years ago. There are just as many teachers from Toronto as there are from all of Alberta in middle school now. Naturally, some friendly Leafs vs. Oilers (next to nobody here is a Flames fan, sorry Calgary) trash talking has already come up during the year, surely with lots more to follow.
