It's a new day...

Today I had my first maths lesson - finding the area of composite shapes.

It really wasn't that hard. Explaining it wasn't difficult and the assignment wasn't too difficult either.
Overall, it went well.

Then in the afternoon I had a Health lesson. This time it was on Spiritual and Emotional Health. Last night when I was doing the research for it, I was getting really excited about it.  I was really into the content involved.
I had a powerpoint presentation and used a lot of live/relatable examples for the students to comprehend the language.
I also made them write down, on a post-it note what they believed in, what made them happy and it was for them to take home. This was an idea for the students to reflect on it - so if they felt sad (emotions), they could remind themselves what they can do to improve (their spirits). This was cute. I enjoyed this.
Then I did role playing with the students - to demonstrate the levels of emotions (we're trying to open their eyes to NOT being dramatic about small things).
In the end, I might have ran out of time, as I could have liked to do more skits. But overall, I enjoyed the lesson.

My review was that it could have been more interactive. Note taken because the students were sitting on the carpet for a while but I did two things to break up the 30 minutes. Again, note taken.
This was actually the first lesson I didn't get "exceeds" on my observation form. Usually, with the previous 9 observation forms, I received exceeds in all 16 sections (the teacher marks our lesson), but this was the first one I received 'met' in three categories. Boo! But it's something to work up to. Perhaps she's just being a little harder on me because I've been in the classroom for three, going on four weeks.
Either way, I enjoyed the lesson.

Tomorrow is the Melbourne Cup. It's a big thing here in Australia. Everyone is 'going to the races'...except us Teachers. Actually, in other States, they close down schools, stores etc. so everyone can watch the races. But we have to teach. The sad thing, the pre-service teachers are going on yard-duty while the actual teachers are going to the library for a potluck/races watch.
How nice.

Halloween is today. The kids barely participate. They don't even go trick-or-treating here - unless the community comes together and agrees that they'll be participating. So weird!

Enjoy your week!

Bucket List ... so far

So, before I arrived in Australia I created a bucket list.
I also added more once I arrived - I received a "100 Must-See Things in Australia".

Here is the revised list, and what I've already accomplished.

1) Feed a Roo (USC is on a nature reserve so I see this being an easy task)  Haven't feed but definitely have seen a ton.
2) Pet a Roo
3) Go Snorkeling  - Perhaps in the Great Barrier Reef
4) Visit Surfer's Paradise
5) Take a picture in front of the Opera House in Sydney (because everyone has this - haha)
6) Try TimTams ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Tam ) Done and Done - thankfully they're pretty expensive here so I/we don't buy them often
7) Try Kangaroo Done and Done - tried BBQ kangaroo steak and kangaroo mince meat (burger) - one bite of each.
8) Drive a car (Here's the thing: you drive on the left side of the road in Australia, and the wheel is on the right side of the car).
9) Visit the Australian Zoo - Home of the Crocodile Hunter (http://www.australiazoo.com.au/) - I've gone to pick someone up, but didn't go inside - haha - doesn't count.
10) Attend Mass Done and done - went 23.10.11 with Niamh
11) Climb a (or many) Glass House Mountains - Done and done
12) Visit the Eumundi Markets - Done
13) Try surfing - Done and done (did this one whole weekend and a second time in 1770).
14) Visting the Great Beerier Reef / Whitsundays
15) Visit Ayers Rock - Uluru
16) Visit the Australian Outback
17) Watch the whales in the Ocean
18) Visit Melbourne




Of course, things aren't being checked off very quickly (damn you school), but here's hoping from December-February will be filled with adventures!

Half way done!!

My prac. is 6 weeks and I just finished my 3rd week :D :D :D

It isn't that I don't like it, I really do. But it's just exhausting and because it isn't my class (completely), it's a lot of watching and wanting to do things, but not being able to.
I think it's different (for me) because it's term 4 for the students and so there are a lot of assessment AND even when we do get to teach them something new, they aren't really motivated (knowing school is ending soon), and they have so much prior knowledge (the term and school year is finished in November), you just don't get that much gratification - you see their brains working and registering things but we're entering a classroom that has already been established.

I think I am also ready for a vacation (haha). I have 3 months off (summer vacation) from November 18th - with the exception of having a 2 hour class on Thursday the 24th (we have to present our portfolios to our teachers - everything we did and learned from prac.).

Today I had a lesson on Cognitive Health. I made them play a game, we watched a YouTube Clip and then we did poster boards to demonstrate what we learned (working in groups). Then each group presented their poster board to the class.
It went well but it was a little harder to teach them - Friday afternoon, the kids were in dress down clothes and getting birthday cake from a student in the class.
Their patience was running thin.

Have a good weekend!

Same thing....everyday

Nothing is really new here.

The weather in Australia sucks. It has been raining on and off for about 2 weeks.... which means I haven't been out in the sun for weeks! I didn't go out this past weekend - too exhausted and fighting a cold so I stayed in and watched tv shows all weekend (literally caught up with The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother - all 7 seasons but in my defensive, I have been watching this over the last month).

But getting back on track, the rain has to GO!

It's raining right now.  We're supposed to get this really big rain storm (or at least we were supposed to earlier today).  Ireland apparently received so much rain recently that they are flooding in some areas.

Speaking of Ireland - my friend Niamh and I decided to move in together for next semester. Because the transit system isn't reliable here in Australia (they strike all the time), we're thinking of living near campus, again. Even though it sucks getting to and from the grocery store, and even the beach, it'll be better for us in the long run when we're in school. The rent where Niamh is currently living is a lot cheaper than what I'm paying, plus hers includes internet and laundry = sold!

Speaking of transit. Today I used my gym bag (every Wednesday at school, from 1:40-3PM I run sport where the whole school is outside playing some kind of sport (arranged and mandatory from the Government of Queensland)), when I was unpacking, a TTC transfer fell out. It was dated October 4th 2010. One whole year later....and look where I am. Across the world. In school. Pretty neat.

Tomorrow I am teaching my first Math lesson - perimeter and area ... then doubling and halving. Seems simple enough but this is term 4 (end of the year) so they know the basics, this is extended. Eeks!

I should go to bed. The bus now picks us up 10 minutes earlier and we arrive home, 20 minutes later (go figure).

Life is good but extremely busy. I can see how most teachers quit within the first 3 years of starting out. It's a shit ton of work! It's physically draining and if you aren't dedicated, and don't (passionately) love what you do, you won't be able to do it day in and day out.

Sorry I've been distant from you all. I barely have time for anything.

Talk soon!

xoxoxo

2 weeks down...

Two weeks down... another four to go.

This week was good. I did 2 major lesson plans (full class), one was a science lesson (matter matters - teaching them about solids, liquids and gases. Then we did a worksheet and then four experiments - it was a handful. For my first whole class lesson, it went well. During the experiments was when I lost a little bit of classroom control - too many things for the students to become interested in, distracted by and creative/talkative about.  I received some good notes, and some constructive criticism that I applied in my next Sports lesson. Last week we taught Kickball and this week, we had different students, from grades 4-7 so we altered the kickball and did some skills with it too. There was one girl who was in grade 6 - a complete brat.
While I was giving instructions and rules about not talking when the teacher is speaking - she started chatting. Spoke to her about that. Then again shortly after that. Then she insisted on mocking me, behind my back about my instructions and demonstrations about how to play. Then I spoke to her one-on-one. Scolded her about being immature and wasting everyone's time, then gave her a choice - to be mature and listen, then play, or sit out in the sun and do nothing. She said sorry, and then was good.
The next day, I received a formal apology from her (in a letter and an in-person apology). I'll save that letter for the books ;)

Then on Friday I caught my students about me and my family. It was a powerpoint slide show with picture of my family and life in Canada. They loved hearing about the differences between Canada and Australia. Then they shared some stories with me about their understanding about Canada. I also showed pictures of Pixie, my cat and they also shared their stories of their cats. haha It was  good afternoon.

Next week I have 3 or 4 whole lessons, Math, two health classes and sports. Should make for a busy week. I also do one-on-one sessions with this one student. He is behind (probably 4 years behind), in reading and writing. So about 2 times a day we go outside the classroom for special reading/writing and comprehension classes.

Also, the most challenging is the fact that Queensland (the State I'm living in) is the ONLY state in Australia (I think, or maybe there is one more), that has its OWN CURSIVE (writing style). So the font I am writing in right now, WRONG. I had to download Queensland cursive and I basically have to learn how to write and spell all over again. It's pretty weird. Even the handwriting is different. If you can remember, you were taught to never lift your pen/cil off the paper until you're done the word. Well here, you have some letters that connect and some that don't. It's a learning curve.
(I tried to copy and paste their fonts but this blog would only convert it to it's font.... try this site: Handwriting: http://www.abcteach.com/samples/fonts/13.pdf
Printing: http://www.abcteach.com/samples/fonts/11.pdf ).

They also spell things differently - specialize (Canada), specialise (Australia). It's kind of like Canada vs. USA but somethings are completely different.

Everything else is going well. I barely have time for anything - I wake up at 6am, hop on the bus at 7am and then arrive back home at 4:30pm. Once we settle, it's 5:30 and we have to make dinner and prepare for the next day. And by prepare, it's lesson planning and either learning, or memorizing (memorising) what you're going to be teaching.

Outside of the classroom....
I went to the grocery store and saw these chips:

I went to the pub last Friday (for one drink to unwind) and wanted to show you all the classes of beer you could buy:  The glass on the right isn't even the size of a pint so you can imagine how tiny the glass is on the left.

Have a great week!!

xxoox

4 days in...

I've been going at prac. for about 4 days now....tomorrow is finally Friday!

I've had to teach two lessons (smaller groups), and tomorrow I'm doing a presentation on, Who is Miss Costa?

I have also been having one-on-one lesson sessions with one student, daily. These are mostly based upon reading and comprehension. I feel like he's progressing - so hopefully after my 6 weeks are up, I'll really see a difference with him.

Today we had art class (in a different room, and different teacher). While the students were working on their art projects, I was observing the classroom.  I overheard a group of girls talking.

Girl A: My dad has a bank account set up for me, for when I'm older.

Girl B: Me too!

Girl A: I have over 1 Million dollars in there!

Girl B: I don't.

Girl A: Well don't worry, once you get working, you can make that much IN A DAY.

... must be nice... I need to get a job there.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxox

Good Morning Miss Costa...

So this is what my desk looks like - this was on day 1. Today there were more items on it. :)

Today a student asked me if I'd rather be called "Mrs. Costa".  I then had to explain what the difference was between Miss and Mrs. They really enjoyed that.

Tomorrow I am teaching, 'Sport'. This is what all older students do on Wednesdays afternoon. They move around into different groups - so I will be teaching different students every Wednesday. I am teaching baseball... but it depends on if we get older students. If not, then I might have to do tee-ball (T-Ball).
Oh who knows!!
I'm exhausted - this is taking a huge toll on me. But today was better. More organized (as in I knew what was happening).

I do a lot of one-on-one work with one specific student. Special Olympics really helped me with this...

Off to do a lesson for Math.
And research how to play softball without equipment.. haha

Good Morning Miss Costa....

Today was my first day at practicum assisting with a Year 5 class (grade 5).

It was great.
The class consists of 28 students.
Once the students came into the classroom, the teacher took the roll (attendance). When she called the student's name, they had to say "Good morning Ms. Burr & Miss Costa, this weekend I did...." (something exciting they did on the weekend).
It was cute.

Being called Miss Costa is weird.

I only answered because they say, "Costa" and that is something I have always responded to (thank you recreational sports).
But they're cute. It's a good grade because they have manners, know how to spell, do math (in Australia they call it, maths) and know how to write their names.

They're really well behaved at this private school. If the principal walks into the classroom, the students stand up, and say "good morning Mrs. ______". It's really cute but so professional.

8:30 we had maths class.
Yikes.
But it wasn't that bad. We were doing division. And they work with a workbook so it's basically the teacher doing the lesson, and then the students work in their books.
When the students were working on their workbooks, I assisted some of them with their problems.

Then it was Literacy block. I worked with one student, improving on his reading skills. After reading through most of the book, we then used flash cards (also his cards to be used for homework).
The rest of the class was in the room, while we were out in the spare area.  The other students were being taught grammar and sentence structure. Afterwards, they were asked to write a paragraph using the proper punctuation, structure etc. Later in the day, I marked this. The sentence went something along the lines of:
A boy walked into a room carrying a pig under his arm.  Mr. Collins, the manager, asked "why are you carrying a pig?"
"It's a present for my brother," says the boy.

Then we had morning tea (this is recess). We were on duty. We had to wear our sun-safe hat while walking around the yard (biggest brimmed hat, ever). They have a rule, the students have to sit on the ground for the first 15 minutes, then we blow a whistle and they're allowed to start playing. This ensures that the students have a snack.

Once returning, the kids had PE (Physical Education) where they go outside with the gym teacher. At this point, the Pre-Service Teachers had a meeting with the Vice Principal.

Afterwards, lunch.

Then we had another Literacy block - the students listened to a how-to with the teacher. In end, she gave them a story, they had to read it and then summarize what the story was about.
Filling in the blanks:
In the beginning...
Then after....
next....
next....
in the end..

Afterwards the students got into groups and discussed their summary.
(At this task, I took the same student outside to work on his assignment. I read the story to him, and then he had to summarize it, while I wrote down his points).

Then we had health class and finally buddies with the grade 1 class.

I was exhausted by the end of it but mostly because my eye were destroyed. I was wearing new shoes and I don't think my heels will ever recover :(

Onto day 2!

Crazy Week = OVER

This week was awful.

Last weekend I was studying. I didn't do anything else.
Then on Monday I had my first day of orientation (see previous post). Then I had an exam Wednesday morning and an assignment due. Thankfully I finished that assignment last Friday.
The exam was done by 11 am. Then I started my math assignment.
That took a good day to finish - wasn't really motivated.

Then it was Thursday night and I was starting my other 2000 word essay due Friday - thankfully I had until 5PM today. But regardless, my undergrad is in English and History so you can imagine how many essays I had to write - especially last minute.
I got it done. With hours to spare.

I am tired.

This weekend I am relaxing because come Monday I am a professional - Miss. Costa.
I will be working full-time in a grade 5 classroom. So I am sure I will have much more to talk about in the coming weeks. If anything, I will be providing quotes from the students :)

Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving... and think of me when you're sitting at that table filled with food.

:)
xoxoox

Practicum Orientation = Done!!

Today was my first day at my placement school.
It's called Caloundra City Private School and I am assisting with a year 5 class (grade 5).

My mentor teacher, Nicky is the woman I am sharing the classroom with. She seems perfect. She's young and super nice and I feel she will be very supportive. She admits when she doesn't know something and will look things up online to be sure of things.

Each child at this school over the grade 4 is equipped with a laptop (crazy).  They use it throughout the day and then take it home with them at night to charge it, and to play interactive games. Also, I don't think this teacher supplies a lot of homework to the children (woohoo).

When we arrived at the school, I thought I was going to throw up. I was super nervous.
Then we found out that there weren't going to be any kids at the school today - perfect! So we were able to sit in on the staff meeting - held by the principal for 2 hours.
What was interesting about this was that the principal, Karon went to ONTARIO for some education courses. She was explaining what we do in Ontario and wanted to implement some of their skills into her school (awesome).
In her slide show she provided pictures of the CN Tower, Niagara Falls and downtown Toronto :)

And then had morning tea. 'Morning Tea' is huge here in Australia. It's like recess but they have a snack/tea. Today the snacks were amazing. Us pre-service teachers ate so much - it was REAL good food. They had eggs and bacon in muffin tins, bread, scones with butter and jam, a yogurt trifle, and fruit. We ate up so much. Then we resumed into another meeting where two teachers explained a new teaching method regarding Literacy. How to teach literacy block effectively in a group setting.

After this session we broke off into our classrooms where our mentor teachers spoke to us about our classrooms. We have a couple of low learners, and a few with special needs. The class is made up of 28 STUDENTS! So I am sure once (next) Monday finishes, I'll be exhausted.  I was tired after orientation today when there wasn't any students involved!

We then planned a unit of work - for Science. The unit plan is called Matter Matters and we're going to be talking about solids, liquids and gases. We planned some great experiments!

All and all, it wasn't as scary as I worked myself up to be.
(She also mentioned that she isn't strong in maths so hopefully we can help each other). Eks!

Congratulations: Andrea & Alec Sinclair

Today was the day Andrea and Alec got married - October 1, 2011.

This morning I woke up, checked my phone and had a couple of missed text messages from friends attending the wedding, asking to skype, chat or to send me photos - it was awesome.
Then I went to the library to study math (yuck) and the day continued with the conversations and emails with pictures from the wedding.

A special thank you to Sara for constantly updating me with GREAT pictures :)
Jenny and Marc - you both were great with those random fb uploads - awesome friends!!

Andrea, you looked stunning. I know I saw the dress on you when I went for a trip in Guelph but it looked great with the makeup, hair, fascinator!  :)
I'm so happy for you and Alec. What a special day you two had!
I hope you took the time to look around - to take it all in :)

I cannot wait to see everyone's photos !! And I hope someone video tapped the speeches - I heard there was some tears and special mentions ;)

xoxoxoxo

Attached are some photos I received throughout the day:
(Totally makes a girl miss home but she appreciates her friends & their efforts to keep her alive in events back home)
The Beautiful Bride, Andrea:

 Sara and Gosia... with me :)

Alec's dad giving a speech about people who travelled far and who couldn't make it... he's holding my face ;)

Andrea entering the dance floor with.... ME!   (From a camera phone - that's why the quality isn't that great)

On the dance floor:

At the end of the night. The caption for this picture was "Ashley at the end of the night... too much to drink".
Sara told me the straws that were holding my head up, broke. It was a rough night haha

Andrea and Alec (Sinclair), I hope you guys had a wonderful day and a night filled with family, friends, food and dancing :)

Thank you to everyone who included me in their special day
xoxoxooxox

Other topics:
Tomorrow I go into my school for orientation day. I get introduced to the class, teacher - my mentor, school etc.
It should be interesting. I  am very nervous.

A visit from home?!
A couple of nights ago I was having a good (and long) conversation with my momma. She mentioned that she'd like to come for a visit during my holidays!! There's something to look forward to - we'll be working out the kinks and seeing if it's feasible ... soo we'll see! Stay-tuned!

One more week of assignments, tests, etc. and then I'll be a full-time teacher for a month.
Crazy, crazy CRAZY!