Winter Recess Duty

Having recess duty generally doesn't deter me from booking a job... I just ensure to come prepared so that I'm not freezing outside.  I think where I live kids will still have outside recess until it hits about -27 or so (but there are factors like windchill and actual temperature that play into this as well).  What this means is that... we could still be going outside when it's quite cold out!  Being a well seasoned substitute I've come up with a few tips for those of us that want to come prepared for the possibly of outdoor duty.

1)  If I go to a school often enough eventually I'll snap a picture of their recess schedule (assuming it stays the same and teachers are just on a rotation).  Here, most divisions operate on a 6 day school cycle so once I book a job at a school I frequent I'll look for that teachers name on the duty schedule before even going in to work... I'll usually also have to look up what school day it is too.

2)  I'm often dressed warm enough for a not so cold recess duty in winter... a good coat and decent shoes but if I want to wear some shoes that are not so decent I'll wear my boots and bring a change of shoes (for example, I often want to wear flats but those are not very practical in winter time here).

3)  Finally, if it's a really cold day and there is a chance I might have outdoor duty I have a bag already packed that I just need to grab on my way out the door.  I'll usually leave it in my car once I get to the school and if I happen to see that I have duty I'll run back to my car to grab it.

Outdoor Duty Bag

Inside the bag you'll find:

warm mitts

warm toque

neck warmer

ski pants

But you know what I most appreciate when booking a sub day on a cold day?  When the teacher adds it to the online notes that I have outdoor duty that day.