Miss Art of Teaching

Year 7 will start their first day tomorrow. I still remember my first day of high school. I was standing alone in my roll call line waiting for instructions on where to go. The only other person I knew, was standing very far away. My six years of high school life was like a roller coaster ride. There were many ups and downs. However, my 'memories' remind me of how high school was not just about the academic side but about making life long friends. Every day I speak to my high school friends via sms and I meet them regularly for food feasts and hiking trips. Since I am the Year 7 Adviser, I want students to see the value of making memories. It has become the focus of my speech. I want students to make memories together. I want them to also understand that we all take part in someone's memories, so we need to remember to be kind to one another. Kindness is also the theme for my classroom this year.  I will be taking a lot of photos as I love recording down memories and I...

Work started yesterday for teachers. It was also my first time presenting during staff development day. I have never been so busy on the first day back. I was so busy that I didn't have time to be nervous which was a bonus! The presentation on 'Classroom Management' went smoothly and I am thankful for my coworker who joined me in presenting. We covered areas such as: 1. Minimise crowding and distraction. 2. Maximise structure and stability. 3. Positively stated expectations. 4. Give frequent acknowledgment. 5. Provide multiple opportunities to respond. 6. Actively engage students. 7. Actively supervise. 9. Encourage appropriate behaviours. 10. Discourage inappropriate behaviours. Making the presentation encouraged me to reflect on my own classroom management skills and look at new strategies to employ for 2017. I hope the rest of the staff took something away.  During the day I tried to fit in a photocopy run, catch up with people, speak to coworkers in regard...