Teaching Trials and Tribulations 1

Friday: The chat with Paul O Connell worked so at last I can talk about my renewed teaching career. I am still not well enough to write a long article so it will be a series, and a long one at that, of snippets.

Today I took the Prep/One class for about fifteen minutes at the end of the school day. Teacher had an appointment but all I had to do was get them ready for home. They were all sitting nicely when teacher left and I was feeling strong. I forgot that I was taking the class and did not have anything prepared but I would think of something. I was just about to think of that something when a woman I had never seen before walked into the room. When I enquired she said that she was Josh's mom. I thought that she was going to take him home and was pleased to have one less, but no she told me that she would like to sit down and observe! (Nobody told me that at the induction!) At that stage I was not thinking of the niceties of curriculum objectives or pupil progress, just get through ten minutes. Why didn't I prepare something? So she sat down, while I was still trying to think of something to do with them. Eureka: 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' should last a few minutes. They already knew it but when I asked them to sing it was a different version. One which I did not know! So I taught them my version, said a big long prayer (very slowly to get the full meaning and feeling) and brought them to the door with their bags. Then the fun really started. I had parents that I had never seen before collecting children that I did not know and it seemed that they were crawling all over me. I felt like King Canute and he could not hold back the tide either. The parents kept distracting me asking me silly questions like how was I settling in and did I like it here! Each time another little ant disappeared out of the corner of my eye. Yet everyone was smiling and happy, so I gave in and was also smiling and happy. I walked out of the class and stood between the road and the playground. I was sure that no one went out on the road and was able to gather three 'leftovers' from the playground afterwards.

No matter, it was Friday and we all went to Mickey Bourkes after school. I am really enjoying that little routine, followed by the drive home in the sunshine and the visit to Kermond's for the 'eight best burger in the world.' Life is good.

P.S. She never said that it was a brilliant lesson!

Long Day

Thursday 18th: Fourteen hours to catch up on all the paperwork, want to be able to go to Mickey Bourkes tomorrow 'night' (they call it noyyght here once it is after school). The induction earlier this week was great but the catch-up is a pain in the number twelve.
I haven't forgotten about Paul O Connell-next week.

Avalanche.

Wednesday 17th: Back to school and had a hundred and one things backed up. Also had to take two classes and do the prep for that as well as make up for duties missed while I was away. Everyone seemed happy to see me, they really have made me feel very welcome. New principal and new teacher all at once. Got to school at 7.50 and there were already two there before me. Left at six and there were four there behind me. They work hard here.

She knows Aine

Tuesday 16th: More induction. I had forgotten what it felt like to be a new principal. T M I. All necessary though. As I was leaving I discovered that one of my bosses worked with Aine Beggy in Essendon many years ago. Aine now works with us in Trim. Is it a small world or is it a small world?
Rick and Evan, husband and son of 'fellow' Karin stayed for the night and it was nice to have a bit of company.

Induction Day One

Monday 15th: What a day. Visited two schools in the morning with Di Westbrook the consultant/adviser for the Southern Zone. One was Emmaus which is a newly established school where they have open areas and co-operative/shared teaching. The principal, Brendan Maher was appointed in 2007 and spent the first year planning the school and forming his vision. He was now getting to put it into practice and it was inspiring to see the way the staff and children took to the concept of the 'Learning Street' with areas off it where the pupils were all gainfully and interchangeably employed. Then we visited St. Alyphonsus School where there were 180 pupils in a low socio-econimic area. Here there was more emphasis on literacy and numeracy and the principal Maree Roche had the place running in tip top shape. She finally explained to me what EMU was (Maths Recovery) and I hope to learn more about this in St Patricks where I work. Never knew that that was what it was! Both schools had new buildings and the second one had a total refurbishment, under the BER scheme, whereby the Australian Gov. has invested 40 billion dollars in school buildings to revive the economy. It is working. Everywhere I go I see buildings and extensions. Some schools have the luxury of knocking doen structures that were built in the Seventies just to replace them with more modern structures.
Our induction took place in CEO Ballarat. The diocese caters for around sixty schools including both Primary and Secondary and employs over sixty people. That is on average one person employed per school! The support that Catholic Schools get is nothing short of phonominal. I must phone Eileen Flynn. The induction has helped me understand the system even more and I was amused to hear that 'one day Professional development' (P.D.) does not work and how they are moving to three and four day and also coaching coaches from within the schools to go back and coach their peers. I am in awe.

Snorkelling

Sunday 14: Finally got into the sea in Inverlough but only with an instructor and three others from our group. It had been years since I snorkelled but it came back to me fairly quickly. Enjoyed it but in about an hour only saw seven fish. The Red Sea it ain't. There they were in their hundreds and every colour you could imagine. When the rest had finished their surfing lesson, we all went for a meal together before heading back to Melbourne.
In Melbourne I had arranged to meet up with Deborah Patterson, Principal of Mill Park Heights P.S. a school of 1,100 pupils. Gerry and I had visited her school in '07and she had addressed the Meath IPPN on performance management in '08. It was great catching up and she was amazed that I was back.
As I had two principal induction days in Ballarat, the headquarters of our Diocese, I stayed there instead of going all the way back to Warrnambool. The CEO had booked me into a lovely four star motel, so it still feel like I am on holidays.

South Gippsland.

Saturday 13th: Exhausted but had a great day. Our hosts were wonderful. Visited Inverloch Environment Centre, followed by a drive along Bunurong Coast where we had a scavenger hunt at Eagles' Nest Beach, then on to the Koala Park Conservation Centre on Phillip Island. Here we got a guided tour and saw Koala bears in their natural habitat (we also got to see many other animals including the Kookaburra and Wallaby). Lunch in San Remo where we saw not one but two stingrays in the shallow waters near the jetty. After lunch it was the Bass Coastal Walking Tour. This was very similar to the walk from Bray to Greystones except you swop the rain for the sunshine and the green grass for yellow. Oh and you add a few snakes for good measure. We ended up in the Kilcunda Pub-now that must be Irish. Back to Inverlough for a barbie and home to bed. In my case home belongs to Peter Mc Laughan and his son Patrick. Peter was our guide for the day but there were about another ten ex-fellows there who had gone on exchanges in the past.