A wonderful friend and I gave her grade 3/4 room a much needed cleanout. It took us about 5 hours together and worth every minute for seeing the end result. We began by emptying all the cupboards and working out what could stay and what could go. This gave us more cupboard space for other stuff just laying around the room that wasn’t currently being used by the kids. Her classroom library was a higgledy piggledy (don’t use that term much!) collection of containers, so I went to Kmart and got a whole heap of very cheap white baskets. Some of her students had done a great job of alphabetizing all the books by title. Not my favourite way to sort books (I prefer genre) but this was how they wanted to organize them so we’ve got them all set up in baskets and I put alphabet stickers on the shelfs in front of each basket. All the books face forward in their baskets so it’s easy for kids to browse and flick through. The top shelf of the library was cleared and now has some very cute soft toys (previously stored in a wooden trunk). The stuffed Cookie Monster toy wouldn’t stand up by itself so he’s now displaying a book which in turn is holding him up! There’s now room on the shelves for a nice little prayer centre – just a bible, cross and candles on a white tray (we’re a Catholic school). We cleared all the walls, all ‘finished with’ display, cleaned all the benches and set up the tables and chairs in the new configuration Fran wanted to try. We cleared away things that had been in the classroom a while that related to previous integrated units. Lots and lots of glass jars were put into the cupboard. A campfire and a pirate’s treasure chest got stored high in the cupboards, a large wooden trunk is now storing equipment in the sports shed. Fran decided a lot of her art equipment could probably be stored in the art room which is very close to her room. Old Christmas decorations, old unused storage drawers and a palm tree umbrella were tossed out along with copious amounts of ‘stuff’ that you find in classrooms. The room has so much more space now, it’s amazing. This teacher doesn’t have a desk, but uses one of the student tables, so we’ve set her up with a shelf behind her for all the teacher reference, stationery and all the rest teachers collect on their tables. A vertical file is set up ready to collect all the paperwork, and a few empty tubs for the collection of student work etc. Fran has told me she feels like a weight’s been lifted and she’s excited to begin the new term. We had the music blaring while we worked and had lots of talk about the writing program she’s been working on and is hoping to introduce. Lots of trivia and gossip too! It was a great day for both of us and the sense of satisfaction was immense.
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To the Hoppers Crossing person asking about writer's notebook - as I'm not a classroom teacher this year, but have moved to junior support, your proposal isn't possible but, if you email me [email protected] I can answer any questions you have and even give you a ring - seeing as you're just down the road! I taught in Werribee for 3 years and have great memories of the place and the people.
I work with such great teachers. My new job has me in and out of Prep, One and Two, so I get to see these great women at work, creating such brilliant learning environments for their kids. The teachers are all diverse in the way they create these rooms, but they are all so talented and dedicated and ever looking to improve.
I used to find that really hard, working with great teachers, 'cause everything that they were doing that I wasn't, was a sign of my own failure, but that's such a wrong way to look at things. Every teacher has their strengths and it's our diversity that makes us so valuable to our kids Two weeks holiday - whoo hoo. Caught up with a lot of rellies. And a chance to do some site updating...
I wish I could remember the source of this, but I heard it at an inservice a couple of years ago:
Do we value too highly what we can measure, because we don't know how to measure what we truly value? In a world gone crazy with the use and abuse of statistics and data, I like to remember this - and keep my calm! Just returned from a wonderful presentation. Paul Spence is an old friend that I'd lost contact with over the years and I really regret that - I'd forgotten what an amazing spirit he has. The way he spoke tonight - I won't try to comment because my words wouldn't do it justice. I just gave him a little arm hold at the end as a thanks. The night was for sacramental preparation and highly spiritual in content so I won't go into it here but it's given me plenty of food for thought as a person and lots of implications for my life as a teacher. One of the many things that's 'stuck' so far was that maybe we shouldn't be so worried about building children's self esteem and more concerned with building children's self respect. That brief sentence doesn't do the idea justice but it's what I want to write so I don't forget the idea and can think more about it later.
So the holidays have come to an end again. School starts officially for teachers on Tuesday 'though I've noticed that every teacher in our school has already set up their room!
After 5 years in 5/6 I'm getting a change again and I'm really excited about it. I won't have a class of my own but be working as a support teacher for the Preps, Ones and Twos. A new challenge - just what I needed. The kids return on Thursday which I think is smart because they get 2 full days then a weekend to recover before they have to face a full week. We've made the junior area look fantastic upstairs and I can't wait for the kids and their parents to see it. Will put up some photos when we've gotten rid of the piles of rubbish we've made setting things up! Jenny, I can send you editable versions so you can fix the s/z problem. Email me which files you need [email protected]
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Marg: TeacherTime to Re-ignite the Site!! Archives
March 2024
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