July 2011
2 posts
Today a student called me “mom.”
And not by accident. I asked her to do something and she said, “Geesh okay maahhm-uh.”
Offended? Not in the least. It actually made me crack up.
Back to (summer) school
Hellllllo. Today marked the end of my two week vacation from everything school, even this blog. :X
But now I am back at it, in the summer school mode, which - after the first day - seems to be 100 times more laid back than the school year. I am not sure if it is because the excitement of summer has worn off or that the mood of the students is brought instantly lower with the words “summer...
June 2011
9 posts
"Graduating" when you are twelve? →
Also, this article discusses a lot of the things teachers and parents have been saying here about this “moving up ceremony.”
I like the point that says:
“Marking the end of the starter years can be as important as a high school or even college ceremony to families that don’t have a tradition of academic progress, said Aara Davis-Jones, principal of Silver Spring’s Georgian...
Last night I watched my seventh graders at their moving up ceremony. I have only known these kids since January, but I feel like I have never been so proud.
I can only imagine what it will be like when I am lucky enough to have my own classroom.
Half day today, half day tomorrow.
End of school.
Kind of sad! I wish I could move up with these kids as a teacher!
Survived Field Day
Only got dunked in the teacher dunk tank about… five times. It was a lot of fun!
Tonight is our student’s moving up ceremony (high school starts at 8th grade here, so it is the end of middle school for these kids) and then tomorrow and Thursday are half days. Thursday is the last day of school!! (Also my birthday!)
One thing is for sure.. every single child is off the wall, bonkers,...
When students move thier lips while they read silently, it makes it really easy to call them out about texting during class.
A "Rap" Made by My Student
“Her name is Ms. Sava,
She’s hotter than lava,
and everyone knows her name,
guess thats the price you pay for fame.”
……thats as far as he got.
word.
Field Trip Tomorrow
(and Tuesday!)
The whole grade is being spilt into two different days, but I’m actually going to the same place both days - a local park / garden where the kids will have a (science) assignment to take pictures of nature that they can connect to what they learned in class this year.
Should be interesting to have a group of 8 or 9 seventh graders at this point in the year… they are...
Releasing and rolling
Today I got to go visit some of my original student teaching kids in their science class while I was on my lunch break. We went outside to relase butterflies that they had raised from larva. It was a beautiful day and the kids were excited and restless, to say the least. So restless that some really just could not handle a gentle butterfly or the smell of a beautiful spring day without the want,...
2 tags
Job Status: Employed
Got a job as a paraprofessional in the school where I student taught and am currently subbing at!!!!!!!!!
So freaking excited / thankful / relieved / happy.
The job is just for summer school, but I feel like this is the foot in the door I need. If anything, it will calm my crazy nerves and give me a good chunk of time to fully focus on my plans for the fall.
:D
May 2011
9 posts
2 tags
Subsitute teaching three out of four of the days this week. Hopefully, this will keep my crazy mind occupied and ease the worry just a little bit.
Seriously trying to figure out a summer school teaching job right now. I am not sure if I want to be a nanny for much longer..
Oh and ps. Happy 100th post on Tumblr to me!
3 tags
Uhhhh
Job searching makes me feel a whole bunch of different emotions. And quite honestly its exhausting.
First, you get really motivated and ready to tackle every thing on your to do list and email everyone you can and fill out every application that crosses your path.
Then, you get excited with the possibility that you are actually that much closer to getting a real live job! Ooh, if this job...
Just sent out a bunch of cover letters and resumes to principals… I am nervous to check my email now until I have a job, haha.
“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the...”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was going to rant, but this just exhausts me..
Budget cuts in the schools, sex offender teachers and students less prepared for college than ten years ago? (these were all headlines in today’s Washington Post)
Sick of the negativity and bad press - I even hear it from teachers in the school! If students see that you’re negative, then they will surely follow suit. Teachers need some real support, and we need it now before the best...
"Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher" →
Okay, so I’ve applied to every surrounding county.
Now, I bother the principals directly.
Apply, Apply, Apply
and something will come through.
Tonight is my graduation rehersal… weird!
April 2011
13 posts
Back for a Visit!
No, not to New Zealand (yet). Tomorrow I am going back to my first placement here in the states to visit my little 7th graders! I am so excited that I get to share my pictures and stories with them. I am putting together a little slide show right now : )
Now, lets see if I’m able to wake up at 5:45 tomorrow morning…. uhhh.
A Full Week in America...
Well, after a busy week of battling jet-lag, readjusting to driving on the right side of the road, and lots of story telling with friends and family, I am finally able to come to terms with the fact that I am home from New Zealand.
Now I am dealing with my “real life,” like a job to have or a place to live. For a good 24 hours, I was in full freak out mode, stressing out and loosing...
Sorry..
…to those of you who are looking for a wrap-up of my trip to New Zealand.
I’ve been home for two full days now and I still feel like I am in a semi-dream state, and I am finding it hard to completly accept the fact that I am home.
Also, coming home to the end of your senior year of college is like being in a semi-dream state as well. It’s just so hard to believe that four...
Conversation with a year nine
“Awww Ms. Sava, are you really leaving this week?”
“Yep, sadly I am.”
“Why don’t you just stay here if you don’t want to leave?”
“Well, I need to go home and find a place to live and get a job and everything,”
“Why don’t you just get a job here?”
“I wish I could get a job at Mcleans! Then I’d surely...
Last week blues.
This week at school is pretty much putting together all of the loose ends: my year 12s have handed in their Fairy Tale projects, which I was very pleased with. I opened the project by reading “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” to the class, which is a kid’s book but also a great way to show how point of view can change a story. So, my students were assigned to make a...
I don't want to go back to real life.
Please, don’t make me.
The past few days, I have found myself walking home from school without shoes on. I get half way home and my feet are just dying to be free. So, I walk down the main road, shoes hanging from my hands at my side, teacher slacks barely hitting the ground and cardigan sleeves rolled up to my elbows. The weather is starting to turn here, and fall is slowly creeping in. But after a long day at school...
Weekend in Rotorua
This weekend seven of us American teachers piled once again into the rented mini van and drove about three hours south to the town of Rotorua, famous for its geothermal activity (including hot pools) and its distinct smell of sulfur mixed with rotten eggs.
Saturday morning we went to the Polynesian spas, which were so amazingly relaxing. Because five of us were doing it, we ended up spending all...
“You ask what is the most important thing in this world? I will tell you: it is people, it is people, it is people.”
Maori Proverb
March 2011
23 posts
uhmmmm
I just got an email from the travel agency confirming my flight home on the 16th of April. What?! I don’t want to think about that, let alone make anything offical through email confirmation. It seems that just as I get comfortable in a placement, it ends up being time for me to leave!
Trying to not be overwhelemed by real life, but its hard. Graduation is a little more than a month away....
From a NZ teenager's point of view...
Once a week, at the end of each period, I have been giving my kids a chance to ask any (appropriate) questions they have about America. The things they have come up with are pretty entertaining.
Here are a few examples / some of my favorites:
Do White Castle restaurants really exist?
Have you ever been to Hooters?
(This question was asked with an alarming amount of enthusiasm) Have you ever...
Weekend Update
Well, this weekend was amazing. I was traveling with 5 other girls that are here through the same Junior Class Learning program and I just met them when I got here a few weeks ago. Nothing like a few hours in a rental van and some really cool experiences to learn about each other and ultimatly make new friends.
Friday night we rushed over on the ferry to get the rental car (which we almost did...
Also,
I have been here a full month!
Mixed emotions about that one.
At the end of each class period...
as the students leave the classroom, they all say “thank you” to me. This might be a part of their school policies or expectations, but it really is a nice thing to have as a teacher.
Positive Note
Oh yes, I forgot to mention…
Today I got observed during my year 10 lesson. The man that came used to be a teacher here in New Zealand and is also an author of kids books. The lesson went well and he seemed pleased. Afterwards, when we were reviewing his observations he said something along the lines of this:
“You do a really impressive job of combining humor with focus, and are...
Descriptive Writing
Each day at school grows exponentially better and better as I continue to find my comfort zone. I am taking over three full classes: year 9, 10, and 12. (the age group is pretty close to the U.S. Kids usually graduate around age 18. However, school here goes up to year 13, meaning that, in American terms, high school for kiwis starts at 8th grade. Therefore, my year 9s are around 13 years old.) I...
Back at it.
So glad to be back in front of the classroom. I had a good first day with the students, and know from my last experience that by the end of the first week, I will surely find my groove. I didn’t do any amazing lesson or anything, being it the first day and all, but I got to say and do all of the things I have been wanting to with the kids from day one. For example, one senior class is so...
This Weekend I...
Whenever I start these posts I feel like I’m starting a writing prompt for my third grade teacher. But, I will recap nonetheless :D
Friday, I was exhausted yet again and had no plans but to read and chill out in front of the television. I had no idea that I would spend the night watching the horrible news in Japan unfold. So amazingly devastating, I can’t even begin to describe. Not...
Almost the end of week two and...
I’ve just realized that I’m living here. Not just visiting. For five more weeks. Not that I’m homesick by any means, but its just weird to think. I am part tourist, but also part resident. Such a cool way to learn about a new place. I love the thought and I think about how much I have enjoyed exploring when I moved down to the Dc area for college. I mean, I am obviously going to...
