... was the last week of school!
There wasn't a whole lot to do this last week of school. I would have had my students present their debate topics in the process of an actual debate but they were doing very little in all their other classes it just wasn't working out for them to get much accomplished in ELA. We did do a couple of them informally though.
I went for many walks to the local 711 with my students. When one girl walked out with an extra large slurpee announcing that her mom doesn't even let her get a medium I told her that if her mom happened to find out about the size of slurpee she decided to purchase that she should just tell her mom "but mom, you don't let me get mediums"
I even found time to squeeze in a half day personal day in this last week.
I helped teachers stuff report card envelopes.
I helped a new teacher start the process of setting up her classroom.
And on Friday I got appreciated at a staff lunch because I won't be there next year.
For those of you wondering... as it stands currently I don't have anywhere to be next year. Hopefully a lovely grade 4-6 position opens up in a lovely school that I manage to snag soon... hopefully it's also permanent because then the classroom is actually mine. Boy would it feel great to have my very own classroom where all my teaching stuff can just stay for forever instead of always having to come home with me at the end of every school year.
But anywho, I hope all the teachers reading this have a lovely and well deserved break... and remember... I'm available to sub for you!
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
How I Get Teaching Jobs
I'm not sure how it is where you reside but where I do it's not too easy to land yourself a teaching job. I blame the fact that we have 3 universities here with education programs which means we get way too many graduates looking for jobs than there are jobs available.
Anyways, I have now held terms in 3 different school divisions and 1 private school. In total I've had 6 terms... and nothing permanent. So how did I get those 6 terms?
2 of them I interviewed for and was the best candidate for the job in the principals mind... those would be my position as a grade 4 teacher and my short term as a phys-ed teacher.
1 of the jobs I got because I was finishing up a term in the school and was available to start a new term. The principal knew I had applied for the position and gave it to me.. this was the year I taught grades 5/6.
The other 3 terms that I got simply by being in the right place at the right time.
The first of these was a term I did teaching kindergarten. The teacher was sick and just kept booking me for another full week every Friday... eventually it went so long that the division had to offer me a term contract.
The second time was last year when I taught basic French. I had been subbing in the school frequently and one day the vice principal just asked me if I had any experience teaching French. Luckily for me I had taken a teaching French program at a local university a couple of summers (and had previously taught grade 5 French) and so I had enough experience for the job.
Finally, this term I got by answering my phone and accepting a subbing job that was supposed to last just 9 days. It was pure luck that the subfinder system had called me as I had never been at this particular school before and that no one else had accepted the job prior to me.
I have no idea what the likelihood of getting a teaching job in other provinces/states/countries are but where I live it's fairly difficult. There are probably a lot of us that are fairly "seasoned" subs... my advice to you... do your very best as a substitute because there are people watching and you never know when your next term will come from.
Anyways, I have now held terms in 3 different school divisions and 1 private school. In total I've had 6 terms... and nothing permanent. So how did I get those 6 terms?
2 of them I interviewed for and was the best candidate for the job in the principals mind... those would be my position as a grade 4 teacher and my short term as a phys-ed teacher.
1 of the jobs I got because I was finishing up a term in the school and was available to start a new term. The principal knew I had applied for the position and gave it to me.. this was the year I taught grades 5/6.
The other 3 terms that I got simply by being in the right place at the right time.
The first of these was a term I did teaching kindergarten. The teacher was sick and just kept booking me for another full week every Friday... eventually it went so long that the division had to offer me a term contract.
The second time was last year when I taught basic French. I had been subbing in the school frequently and one day the vice principal just asked me if I had any experience teaching French. Luckily for me I had taken a teaching French program at a local university a couple of summers (and had previously taught grade 5 French) and so I had enough experience for the job.
Finally, this term I got by answering my phone and accepting a subbing job that was supposed to last just 9 days. It was pure luck that the subfinder system had called me as I had never been at this particular school before and that no one else had accepted the job prior to me.
I have no idea what the likelihood of getting a teaching job in other provinces/states/countries are but where I live it's fairly difficult. There are probably a lot of us that are fairly "seasoned" subs... my advice to you... do your very best as a substitute because there are people watching and you never know when your next term will come from.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Fortnite
Last week I mentioned the oh so popular "flossing" dance move and how I can't stand it but you know what else is popular (and unfortunately will likely still be popular in September unlike my prediction with flossing)... Fortnight.
Apparently you can play it on your cell phone which is why I suspect it's so popular.... if you don't NEED a gaming console then that means all these kids can play it at school... and boy do they ever!
Every morning when I walk down the halls (before school starts) they are playing it, at lunch playing it, during class... talking about it, and after school.. still playing it.
Luckily for me my students are so concerned with me getting in on this awesome new game that they've offered to help me when I start playing it. I can join their troops and they'll give me stuff... or something along those lines.. I have no intention of playing it so it's not all that important what they are giving me.
Apparently you can play it on your cell phone which is why I suspect it's so popular.... if you don't NEED a gaming console then that means all these kids can play it at school... and boy do they ever!
Every morning when I walk down the halls (before school starts) they are playing it, at lunch playing it, during class... talking about it, and after school.. still playing it.
Luckily for me my students are so concerned with me getting in on this awesome new game that they've offered to help me when I start playing it. I can join their troops and they'll give me stuff... or something along those lines.. I have no intention of playing it so it's not all that important what they are giving me.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
This Week At School
Before I tell you about this week at school can we just take a moment to appreciate that we are officially down to our last week of school here! 4 more days with students and one inservice day and then I'm officially on summer break! So... if I happen to not post anything at all that first week of July it's because I'm taking some time to enjoy my first week off (plus, it's my birthday that week) but the posts will continue after that!
Anywho... this week at school
I put the kids into groups and we started practicing debates. We've been using this book and the short "articles" in it are perfect for my class... especially since the iPads at the school have been super unreliable so this way they all have a bit of research sitting in front of them ready to go. The plan is to present out debates next week BUT.... I'm getting the morning off from school on Monday which leaves only a couple of other days as possibilities... so we'll probably just play games in ELA instead.
I took my students to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. If you've never been you really should go. I'm not sure I would ever arrange a field trip there again though... only because it's a lot of walking and reading (although also very interactive)... you just need to have a class of students that is all interested in that sort of stuff otherwise you'll have a handful that spend the day complaining and I am just not all about that on a field trip! Anyways, if you are planning on visiting here (or live here) the museum is actually free to get into the first Wednesday of every month after 5pm. 4 hours will not be enough to get through the whole museum but you'll certainly learn a lot!
I played some Settlers of Catan one day with some grade 8 students. I was supposed to be helping out on a walk to Tim Horten's but this class needed some coverage so I may not have gotten my ice cap but the trade off wasn't too bad.
Friday we had some awards in the morning and then spent the entire afternoon outside. Luckily the rain held off until I made a mad dash to my car after school but the heat certainly did not. It was likely sitting around +35 all afternoon. But the kids were troopers and at the end of the afternoon the schools Rock Band put on an outdoor performance for us which was kind of cool (fun fact: my classroom was right beside the room where the rock band practiced so I could often hear them practicing through the walls... and I didn't mind it).
We had our final TUSC meeting. It was actually the first couple of periods before we left on our field trip and about 10 or so students didn't make it to school that day because they weren't going on the field trip. So the meeting ran relatively smoothly. One of my students had been requesting I do one of the speeches so I came with some banana cookies to tell them about and to share with the class. On Friday one of the boys who wasn't there the day of the meeting insisted on doing his which was making protein shakes. He said they were good for muscle repair after a hard workout so he made everyone that wanted one do a single push up.
All in all it was not too shabby of a second to last week of school.
BUT... I'm REALLY looking forward to my summer break!
Anywho... this week at school
I put the kids into groups and we started practicing debates. We've been using this book and the short "articles" in it are perfect for my class... especially since the iPads at the school have been super unreliable so this way they all have a bit of research sitting in front of them ready to go. The plan is to present out debates next week BUT.... I'm getting the morning off from school on Monday which leaves only a couple of other days as possibilities... so we'll probably just play games in ELA instead.
I took my students to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. If you've never been you really should go. I'm not sure I would ever arrange a field trip there again though... only because it's a lot of walking and reading (although also very interactive)... you just need to have a class of students that is all interested in that sort of stuff otherwise you'll have a handful that spend the day complaining and I am just not all about that on a field trip! Anyways, if you are planning on visiting here (or live here) the museum is actually free to get into the first Wednesday of every month after 5pm. 4 hours will not be enough to get through the whole museum but you'll certainly learn a lot!
I played some Settlers of Catan one day with some grade 8 students. I was supposed to be helping out on a walk to Tim Horten's but this class needed some coverage so I may not have gotten my ice cap but the trade off wasn't too bad.
Friday we had some awards in the morning and then spent the entire afternoon outside. Luckily the rain held off until I made a mad dash to my car after school but the heat certainly did not. It was likely sitting around +35 all afternoon. But the kids were troopers and at the end of the afternoon the schools Rock Band put on an outdoor performance for us which was kind of cool (fun fact: my classroom was right beside the room where the rock band practiced so I could often hear them practicing through the walls... and I didn't mind it).
We had our final TUSC meeting. It was actually the first couple of periods before we left on our field trip and about 10 or so students didn't make it to school that day because they weren't going on the field trip. So the meeting ran relatively smoothly. One of my students had been requesting I do one of the speeches so I came with some banana cookies to tell them about and to share with the class. On Friday one of the boys who wasn't there the day of the meeting insisted on doing his which was making protein shakes. He said they were good for muscle repair after a hard workout so he made everyone that wanted one do a single push up.
All in all it was not too shabby of a second to last week of school.
BUT... I'm REALLY looking forward to my summer break!
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Rappers
There are 2 "rappers" at my school.
I don't recall what both of their names are but I do know that one goes by the name "Lil' Clorox" (I know the other one goes by another cleaning supply... I want to say it's either Borax or Bleach.
At any rate when they asked me if they knew who was who I managed to guess correctly and boy were they excited claiming "everybody knows" (who they are that is).
They then rapped... not for me as they assumed I was no longer listening but who could resist a good rap (am I right?) and part of it went...
"I'm not much of a rapper but I am a big crapper"
To which I responded..."I'm sorry, you're a big what?"
Needless to say the student turned red and the rap was over.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Flossing
There's always got to be some kind of fad that I just can't get behind.
Flossing has officially made it's way to Canada... and no I don't mean of the teeth (I mean, yes, we floss our teeth here... or at least some of us do) I mean the lovely little "dance" move that everyone in middle school is doing.
I say it's made it's way to Canada because I often find things take an extra couple of months to make it here... I have cousins in the states that are around my students age and so when they come up to Canada in the summer I always ask them about the latest fads and if they are already over and done with. Last year it was fidget spinners and slime that were causing havoc in my classroom. In July they were already no longer "in" in the states so I knew they would be out of style in Canada when school started up again in September. Turns out I was right.
So here's hopping I only have to put up with "flossing" for another month and no one will remember what it was come September.
Flossing has officially made it's way to Canada... and no I don't mean of the teeth (I mean, yes, we floss our teeth here... or at least some of us do) I mean the lovely little "dance" move that everyone in middle school is doing.
I say it's made it's way to Canada because I often find things take an extra couple of months to make it here... I have cousins in the states that are around my students age and so when they come up to Canada in the summer I always ask them about the latest fads and if they are already over and done with. Last year it was fidget spinners and slime that were causing havoc in my classroom. In July they were already no longer "in" in the states so I knew they would be out of style in Canada when school started up again in September. Turns out I was right.
So here's hopping I only have to put up with "flossing" for another month and no one will remember what it was come September.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
This Week At School
Okay, I've been falling behind on these (but in my defence I warned you all this might happen now that I have a full time job).
So let me fill you in on what's been happening at school for like the last 3 weeks.
1) I went to camp with the grade 7 students. It was REALLY humid. Luckily, the station I was running was indoors for the most part and luckily it was more of a camping resort we stayed at... air conditioning, running water, there was even a hot tub. It went well... the only middle of the night emergency was because one of the girls had lost her cell phone in the middle of the night in her room... so in other words... there were no middle of the night emergencies.
2) We got our persuasive essays written and handed in and I've already marked them.
3) Speaking of things being marked I've also already written my report cards (and if you don't know... this can be a HUGE task and it feels great to be done!)
4) I used up my first 1.5 sick days. At that point I had pretty well run out of them (which never happens). Where I live teachers get 2 sick days a month AND if you aren't on a term you can stock pile them and carry them over year after year (because really, you likely won't need 20 sick days a year). Since I got hired so late in the year I hadn't really had time to build up those sick days yet but I'm really thankful I had at least 2 of them to use. I know 2 sick days a month seems like a lot but you have to understand... we work with kids... many of whom come to school when they are sick and sneeze and cough all over you.
5) Just 2 weeks left of school! Huzzah! I know many places in the states have likely been out of school for almost a month already but where I live we go right to the end of June so our last day is the 28th.
So let me fill you in on what's been happening at school for like the last 3 weeks.
1) I went to camp with the grade 7 students. It was REALLY humid. Luckily, the station I was running was indoors for the most part and luckily it was more of a camping resort we stayed at... air conditioning, running water, there was even a hot tub. It went well... the only middle of the night emergency was because one of the girls had lost her cell phone in the middle of the night in her room... so in other words... there were no middle of the night emergencies.
2) We got our persuasive essays written and handed in and I've already marked them.
3) Speaking of things being marked I've also already written my report cards (and if you don't know... this can be a HUGE task and it feels great to be done!)
4) I used up my first 1.5 sick days. At that point I had pretty well run out of them (which never happens). Where I live teachers get 2 sick days a month AND if you aren't on a term you can stock pile them and carry them over year after year (because really, you likely won't need 20 sick days a year). Since I got hired so late in the year I hadn't really had time to build up those sick days yet but I'm really thankful I had at least 2 of them to use. I know 2 sick days a month seems like a lot but you have to understand... we work with kids... many of whom come to school when they are sick and sneeze and cough all over you.
5) Just 2 weeks left of school! Huzzah! I know many places in the states have likely been out of school for almost a month already but where I live we go right to the end of June so our last day is the 28th.
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Summer is Almost Here!
You may remember last week when I mentioned that one of the grade 6 classes at my school were doing music and poetry to learn about figurative language.
Well today I'm partnering with Education.com to offer a lovely summer themed crossword puzzle that will also have your students learning about figurative language.
For more figurative language worksheets like this visit education.com
Monday, June 11, 2018
Writing Around the Room
There's one teacher at my school that is so creative with how she gets her students to show and do work... she has them writing around the room.
To be honest I never even thought about how many surfaces in a classroom a whiteboard marker could be used on.
She has them using whiteboard markers on their desk tops, any window you could find in the room, and then today she had these white clingy "papers" stuck to the wall for students to write on (after very little research it looks like they are likely something like this).
Not only does she have them using every surface possible that a whiteboard marker could be used on but she also has a closet door painted with chalkboard paint that they use and a smart board is for another group of students to use.
Somehow they all know exactly where they need to be and what they need to do once they get there. It gets them up and moving out of their desks and working with others in the room.
In my opinion it's a pretty fantastic idea.
To be honest I never even thought about how many surfaces in a classroom a whiteboard marker could be used on.
She has them using whiteboard markers on their desk tops, any window you could find in the room, and then today she had these white clingy "papers" stuck to the wall for students to write on (after very little research it looks like they are likely something like this).
Not only does she have them using every surface possible that a whiteboard marker could be used on but she also has a closet door painted with chalkboard paint that they use and a smart board is for another group of students to use.
Somehow they all know exactly where they need to be and what they need to do once they get there. It gets them up and moving out of their desks and working with others in the room.
In my opinion it's a pretty fantastic idea.
Thursday, June 07, 2018
Music and Poetry
One of the grade 6 classes that I help out in has been doing a figurative language project for the last couple of weeks and they are loving it.
For the project they have to look up songs (current ones, old ones, rap music, country music... it really doesn't matter what kind... as long as they are appropriate) and find different forms of figurative language in them.
They are looking for
- Similies
- Metaphors
- Personification
- Onomotapia
- Hyperbole
There might be one other that I'm forgetting but if you decide to do this you can really do whatever ones you want!
I can't really get into much specifics of the assignment other than that because they are doing it on iPads with certain programs that I'm not well versed in at all (their teacher has been teaching them how to use these programs during class times when I'm not in the room). But basically they are creating different slides explaining why the different lyrics are these different types of figurative language and then they are inserting short clips of the music videos into the project.
Why do I think they are loving it?
1) They get to use the iPads
2) They get to listen to music
3) They get to create something
They really are having quite a bit of fun with it. Let me tell you, it's going over much better than my grade 8 poetry unit.
Monday, June 04, 2018
Substitute Teacher Blog Spotlight
Welcome to the month of June folks!
I don't know if you're still in school or not but up here the month of June means we are in the final month of school!
Huzzah!
We've [almost] made it!
I found Miss E Subs Too! a while ago
and to be honest I was REALLY hoping she was going to keep the blog going.
So far she has a grand total of 2 posts but lets not count this girl out quite yet.
It could be summer where she is and her stories just fizzled out.
She could have gotten her very first teaching assignment and quickly got overwhelmed and had to put a pause on something.
I don't really know because I don't know Miss E but I do hope she comes back to her blog!
Why?
This post reminded me of something I had written. In it she mentions a few tips to help out that beginner substitute that maybe hasn't gotten it quite figured out yet.
If you are looking for some of my posts about different tips such as why you should bring a ball, book, or wear something sparkly you can click on the "tip" link on the right hand side.
In case you missed it I post one of these spotlights every month. Last month I did it a little different and posted a link to maintain your sanity as a substitute teacher.
And Miss E. if you are reading this... you should really start posting again soon!
Want a shout out to your lovely blog on here? Contact me! I only do one a month but would love to acknowledge your blog one month soon!
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