This first week or so...

Talofa lava, or Hello in Samoan!

Many of my students have begun the morning greeting in various languages that they have learned either in school or from outside influences. I am finding this to be quite an educational experience for myself, as I find that most often, they know more languages that I do. We have quite a few Samoan students at Banks Ave, many of which belong to the ESOL (English as a Second Language) program.

At Banks Ave there are two language and special needs teachers here who focus on making sure that all students are able to excel to their full potential while working in a language or setting that they find difficult. I will be working with both these teachers as my professional development project gets underway—a project designed with these students needs in mind. The goal of this project is to study various places throughout the world with the students of Banks Ave in order for us to gain a better global understanding of the world. This lunchtime club will also provide the opportunity for these students to eat from and actively participate in activities that are unique to these specific cultures that are under study. Also, the club will offer it’s members a chance to benefit the school by creating culture boxes that highlight countries from which their learners come. Needless to say, I am very excited to get this project underway!

My life within the classroom has been one of sheer delight as I learn new things abut the children, New Zealand culture, and the overall learning process everyday! At the school I am a member of Team Pohutakawa (a group involving all grade five and six teachers). Within this team, a six-concept standard has been developed entitled “A-1 Quality Standards”. The students are expected to practice and exhibit the following both in work that is handed in, and in their overall contribution to the classroom and the school:

1. Attitude: Have a positive attitude towards my learning to do the best I can
2. Behavior: Make the right choices at all times for myself and with others
3. Content: Demonstrate and show quality content by using a range of thinking strategies
4. Completion: Stay on task and be responsible for my earning to ensure I complete my work
5. Presentation: Do my best presentation when completing all learning activities
6. Tools: Be prepared and responsible for my tools needed for learning

I really believe that these tools help in assisting the student to continuously make the right choices throughout the day. It also serves as a way to refer back to the student’s behavior and work with a reference point for improvement. Students that achieve A-1 Quality Standards on their work are then given a signature on a chart. For every three signatures that the students collect, they earn one star. For every three stars, they earn a level of achievement, gradually trying to work their way up to double gold. This method helps to keep the students focused and ensures that they are always working to their best potential.

I have been very fortunate to be positioned with a TA who has supplied me with some great teaching ideas for the future. Pauline has a great attitude towards the learning process for her students, and I am continually exposed to new ideas that I think will really benefit the students that I am working with.

Today we began the very first of our MENU DAYS in which the students pick and choose what activities they will be working on for the remainder of the day. The students are aware of what they have to do, but the order and they time frame in which they do it is all flexible. This is a great way for the students to practice time management, and also a great way to move away from “filler activities” that usually do not benefit the advanced students in the classroom. For example. Today the students had to complete the following assignments: -Handwriting cards -Diary writing -“Future Me” letters -New Zealand Alphabet -Art Mosaic -Portfolio Title Pages -RICH Table activity We ensured that the students were made aware of how menu days would work, explaining that our classroom is like a fancy restaurant, where you have appetizers, entrées, and dessert. We explained to the students that at the Room 24 restaurant, we never serve dessert or the entrée before the appetizers have been eaten (not at all like how things work in Thailand!). For the day, the students had two appetizers that they must have completed before they would be allowed to move on to an entrée. Those appetizers were the handwriting cards, and the diary writing. The order in which the students completed the activities in the appetizers section was up to them, but both must be completed before they could move on to their main meal. Then, in the entrée section the students had an assortment of activities that needed to be completed. The students were to work on their “Future Me” letters, their NZ Alphabet, and their art mosaic. Once again, they could choose the order in which they worked on each activity, but those had to be finished before they could begin their dessert, which in this case were portfolio title pages and the rest of the RICH table activities. For classroom purposes, dessert is always activities that aren’t necessary to have done immediately. The student may have the whole two weeks to finish a RICH table activity, and therefore, it falls in the category of dessert. This is a great way to get the students motivated about their own planning and time management (they must lay out their daily timetable and when they will work on each activity in their student planner before they can begin), but also ensures that they are always working productively.

The classroom and school also have a great way of dealing with discipline as the students work to create their own classroom behavior manual. This manual features a picture of all the students in the class as well as rules that they have decided upon at the beginning of the year. A copy of this manual hangs in the classroom, and as visitors and new students join us, they are briefed about the manual from one of the members of the class. The school also operates on a four steps program for the senior module students (year four through six) in which the students are given the following for behavior problems:

-Step One: A verbal warning

-Step Two: A time out in the classroom for 15 minutes

-Step Three: A time out in another classroom for the remaining block plus an hour and a green letter sent home

-Step Four: A day with the principal or Vice Principal

In our classroom the students are to write their own warnings up on the board in order to take ownership over their actions and the consequences that they have. If I was to give a student a warning, I would let them know, and it would be their responsibility to write that warning up on the board. I have found that for most students this method works relatively well, and we have not had to deal with a great amount of behavior problems within our classroom (fingers crossed that this does not change).

Like I had mentioned in one of my earlier blog entries, I have been in charge of the RICH Ideas table for the past two weeks. This time the table has focused on Canada and the students are frequently making comparisons between Canada and their own country. As of tomorrow, all students will have completed a NZ Dictionary in which they have represented important contributions to NZ’s history through all letters of the alphabet. I am really looking forward to getting these assignments back as I know that the students have been working very hard on them, and it will also be a great way for me to learn a bit more about the country as well! I have also been taking charge of the student’s daily fitness routine, which has been loads of fun as well. I really have been able to play some amazing games with the class as part of their daily fitness, and am excited for their physical education to begin as well so that I have another opportunity to get more active with them outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Tonight will be a very busy one as well, as there is a “Meet My Classroom” night with all the grade five/six classrooms as well as a parent meeting for camp information. That’s right…I will be attending camp with the children!! I am super excited for this opportunity because it means three things: 1, that I will have a chance to go to Hamner Springs while in NZ, 2, that I will get to go on an amazing school trip with my classroom, and 3, that I don’t miss out on the camp experience this year. In the past four years I have worked my way up to becoming the Director for the summer camp that I work at, Camp Mackinicholea. This was going to be the first year that I wouldn’t be going back, for a number of reasons, mainly that I will be out of the country, but luckily enough for me, I will still get to indulge in songs, campfire, and smores (I really hope that they have those over here) for one last summer!

I think that is all for now, and perhaps this was too much of an information overload. However, the last week or so has really had a lot to offer, and I am really enthused about the experience that I have been so fortunate to have halfway around the world!