Earlier in the year the principal at my school asked me how things were going. I gave him a description and he said, "Three steps forward and two steps back, hun?" That about summed it up.... and still does.
My Year 7 and 8 classes are fantastic. Is it because I normally teach those grades in Seward? I"m not sure. Is it because I see them about 15 times over the course of two weeks. Maybe. We have gotten to know each other. We've spent a lot of time together. My Year 10s are a class with tough (in a street smart kind of way) personalities but I really enjoy them. When all the tech is working right and all of them are in good moods then things go great. We have fun. I have one boy from that class (who has a really rough background) that always pokes his head into my other classes when he passes them on his way to the toilet and says 'hi.' Today he came and found me in the library (he saw me through the windows and came in) to tell me all about his day and the casual teacher he had in his math class. Those moments really make my day. My Year 10 class doesn't run as smoothly as my 7s and 8s but I think it is mostly because I don't see them everyday. My Year 9 class is another story. I thought I had them. For the last two weeks we've been working on their Assessment task in class and everything was going well. Yesterday and today I had tech issues (turns out the C9 projector is mounted, but isn't plugged in or working, and you can't use the iPad mini's in the Connected Classroom) and the kids were totally checked out. I found myself saying quietly to myself as I stood in front of a class that just wouldn't stop talking "Just let me teach." I think I need to ask for help. I haven't had to have the Head teacher come into the class yet, but I'm about at that point. I'm going to give it another period this week and see if things get better. I see them three times a week and sometimes a big break (I won't see them until Thursday and Friday next week) reboots them. On another note, I helped coach Olin's soccer team tonight. He is on the U10D team and Alta is on the U8D team. Olin's first official practice was today. Alta's will be tomorrow. I help out on Alta's team too but am not an official coach. I'm the assistant coach for Olin's team. It was a good night. They turned the lights on so we played in the dark under the big field lights. They call the fields we practice on here "ovals." and I didn't really figure out why until today. I think it is because cricket pitches are oval and we practice on cricket pitches. The kids participated in a school carnival today. They each competed for their house and seemed to have a really good time. They are in the Laver House (Aussie pronunciation: Leva) and came home chanting all kinds of cheers that they learned at the carnival. It was a cross country carnival so all the students at the primary school participated in track and field events. Olin came in 3rd in the 100 meter finals for 10 year olds and 3rd in discus for 10 year olds. He was pretty proud of himself. Alta did a hula hoop relay, a been bag hopping activity, discus, and shotput. To end my post I'll mention a small thing we have experienced since living in Australia - stubbed toes. Growing up in suburban neighborhoods in the states, Tom and I were quite familiar with toes stubbed on cement sidewalks and streets. We both spent a lot of time outside and barefoot. In Alaska, our kids can't stub their toes because our neighborhood doesn't have paved roads. Now that our kids are playing with the neighbor kids everyday out in the street we have experienced every kind of stubbed toe possible - and skinned knees. We have gone through a couple boxes of bandaids - and that doesn't count the bandaids the neighbor parents apply to our kids' owees. We all doctor up each other's kids! Oh... and another kiddo has come out of the woodwork so now there 7 kids total (including Olin and Alta) biking, scootering, and running between all the houses: Four boys ages 9,9,9, and 5, and three girls ages 8, 7, and 6. Walk-to-Work Tally: 264 miles (425km)
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AuthorThe Liljemark's enjoy exploring the world. This blog chronicles our adventures. Archives
December 2017
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