Miss Art of Teaching

I truly believe that decorating my room has made an impact to my students' learning. This year is my first year investing the time to decorate. They can tell that I care about my classroom and as a result respect the place more. It also helps with my classroom management and has made me a more organised teacher. Students don't often get to see high school rooms decorated so I think it is good for them to see a classroom that has been decorated for them and for myself. I have been squeezing in time during the morning to decorate my room. I have covered my ugly pin boards with blue tissue paper to match the teacher's desk. My classroom is really old, and all the pin boards have been tagged with a black whiteboard marker.  After work today, I popped into Kmart, Dollar stores and Daiso in hope to find something nice to decorate my classroom. Kmart seems to be the place to go and I purchased all my decorations from the one destination. I plan to have the decor...

I had a terrific day meeting new students. There were a lot of new names to learn but it helped by repeating their names and assigning them with a 'number' for the iHelp chart (classroom job distributor). I also encouraged class discussions by pulling out their names, which I had written on paddle pop sticks.  I am so glad to have made some very positive relationships with a number of students last year. Today, I asked two year 12 students to help me put up the 'Happy Notes' backdrop. They are students who I have always stop to have a chat but don't actually teach them for any subjects. Sometimes moments like these make it even more special. I appreciate the time that I get (if I do get it) to speak to students in the morning. A simple wave and hello helps to brighten up their morning. Bribing them with Vivos (School virtual rewards system) also work! Above: Happy notes wall. Need to fill up the back wall with more Art related posters. I didn't actu...