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Samantha.Perrin Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Using Release Time….

In my last blog post ‘ The Power of Partnership’, I discussed the powerful impact that partnering with a grade team member/mentor has had on my teaching.  I related that my mentor and I have been using common planning time and regular check-ins  to align what is going on in both our classrooms and share our resources and reflections.

Mentorship and co-planning  has been wonderful for me, however  for some teachers, establishing a common planning time with a colleague can be challenging for many reasons such as differences in scheduling or teachers’ responsibilities. There can also be school or board-wide initiatives that might require more of a teacher than time that they set aside for classroom planning.   Fortunately the New Teacher Induction Program enables Ontario school boards to provide beginning teachers (and their mentor teachers) release time that allows for such planning.   The school board that I teach in has a Job Embedded Learning Initiative that allows beginning teachers and newly hired Long Term Occasional teachers release time for activities such as attending workshops,  visiting  a model classroom or working with a mentor, and I have found it to be helpful in the past and intend to use it again this year.

In my case, our school is adopting some new initiatives that are intended to improve upon the  way we have been typically teaching in the past. My mentor and I feel that we could use some time for long-range planning and to effectively wrap our heads around what these initiatives look like in our classrooms ( with respect to the materials that we already have and the curriculum). We are going to utilize my board allocated release time for planning and we  plan to find ways to combine the resources and materials that we already have with the school’s learning goals.  We hope to try out our new ideas and then share our successes and strategies with the other teachers in our division.

For beginning  teachers that don’t have a close mentoring relationship or someone to take planning time with, there are options to visit other classrooms in the board or attend workshops.  In the past, I have found that using release time has really allowed me to spend a block of focused time on classroom planning. It has also been beneficial to visit other schools and look at the best practices of other teachers.    I am thankful that my school board recognizes the huge learning curve that beginning teachers face and provides opportunities and choice for how teachers can best use their time for learning.

So, if you haven’t thought of it already, mentors and beginning teachers, consider looking into what kind of support your board is able to provide you with, and consider the many options that will enhance your teaching!

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Tina.Ginglo Wellness

Sleep

Like Roz, since September,  I have been up really late most nights planning, organizing, assessing, and trying to keep up with board and school initiatives.   Most nights, I go to bed t feeling good about the engaging activities I have planned for my students.  Then the alarm rings 5 – 6 hours later…

I find myself driving to school feeling beat.  What a terrible way to start a day.  I have come to realize that my great lessons turn out to be “not so great” when I can’t get myself out of second gear all day long.  I have decided to pack it in earlier most nights.  I may go to bed a little less planned, but I am getting 8 hours sleep.  Now, more often than not, my lessons turn out the way they were planned because I have more energy to move and think…and most importantly, I enjoy my students and their abundant energy so much more!

 

 

Photo of Sangeeta McCauley
Sangeeta.McAuley Building Inclusion, Diverse Learning Needs, Learning About Your Students, Wellness

One student at a time…

Sometimes when I look at my students, I wonder: how can I meet the needs of everyone?

Will I be able to support the student who is feeling bullied or the student who struggles to grip a pencil? Will I figure out the best way to explain to a parent that we are focusing on inclusion and gender equality when that may be contrary to how she was educated?

And the answer that comes to mind is definite: not every minute of every day.

But…I can start with one student at a time.

Take “Matthew”. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and takes medication daily to help him manage impulse control and the challenges he has with filtering his thoughts. Matthew’s medication is time-released and so the first few hours of the morning are very difficult for him until things start to ‘kick in’, as he calls it.

So, I tried a few things. I gave him time to do something hands-on when he first came in, but he became frustrated. I used my gym time first thing in the morning to help him work through some of his excess energy, but it seemed to distract him more.

Then last week, I decided to make a morning message for him. I recorded a personal greeting that gave him information about what we would be doing that morning and how he might be successful in those tasks. As he listens, it helps him to access an inner voice he knows he has, but he just can’t hear yet.

Of course, there is no magic answer for Matthew or for any of my kids for that matter. Like us, they will have up and down days and sometimes things won’t work. But maybe if I take on one student at a time, I can start to meet their needs…and mine.

 

 

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Samantha.Perrin Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

The Power of Partnership

Like Roz and Sangeeta, I too am figuring out ways to strike a balance between work and life amidst the organized chaos of teaching.  Teaching a different grade each year is a challenge.   Every day, the joy of teaching is a juggling act: IEP’s, managing behaviour, integrating lessons, preparing materials and assessments, chasing down assignments, reporting, communicating with parents…     It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child, and I believe  us teachers are doing our students and ourselves a disservice if we try to do it in the  isolation of a single classroom.

Being new to a school can be a little isolating at first because one hasn’t had the time to develop the strong collegial relations that an established staff already has.   Though every school I have  taught at has welcomed me warmly,  I have found that it takes some time to learn who your ‘go to people’ can be which can be complicated further if you’re using your lunch hour for work and others are busy making the most out of their time as well.  Over time, I have learned that to start building collegiality and partnership is to start by asking.  I ask questions.  I  ask if teachers are interested in collaborating.  I ask if they can share.  I ask if we can meet.  And I offer too. I offer what I have and the skills that I bring. After all, partnership is give and take. Through the power of collaboration I am learning that I  able to be more attuned to the things that need to be done,  while feeling less fragmented by all of the balls that are flying  in the air.

This year, I have been collaborating closely with one of my colleagues who has inadvertently become my mentor.  We meet on a common prep time once a week and map out what our week looks like, share materials and resources and brainstorm ideas together. We build on each other’s ideas, pull out books to read, make to do lists, refer each other to helpful information sites,  pull what needs to be photocopied, divide the labour and regroup halfway through the following week to reflect on how the students are doing, what we found challenging and share with each other what we would do differently.  It is a wonderful partnership.

I can’t even begin to share what a relief it is to be able to collaborate so closely with an experienced teacher on such a regular basis.  For one, my thoughts aren’t going into overdrive figuring out ways to organize the multitude of information that I come across daily. Because we approach the teaching of our respective classrooms as a shared responsibility, I can worry a little less that I may not have certain materials in the classroom to do an art lesson, or that I am missing information that needs to be communicated in a newsletter or calendar to parents (which is likely to happen if you’re new to a school or a newly hired LTO).  I have a ‘go-to-person’ that can come to my aid or fill in the blanks, and this has been so good for my peace of mind.  I am sleeping better and have the energy to accomplish all of the things that I set out to do with my students , and I think it is making me a better teacher.

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Sangeeta.McAuley Before School Starts, Mentorship, Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Go-to-People

Thinking about Roz’s commitment to taking care of herself, I realize that one way I have been taking care of myself is by making a mental list of “go-to-people”.

In my classroom, my students have “go-to people” they can approach when they need some help: it may be someone who draws comics well or someone who likes to incorporate humour into their writing. But this concept isn’t limited to just kids…

There are a variety of colleagues I am learning from who I can go to when I need to talk about curriculum planning or when I have a student that I’m trying to reach. That’s the beauty of teaching: we are not alone working in our little cubicles, there are doors open to us and we need to take advantage of that, for our own peace of mind and wellness.

The relationships we nurture with our students is just as important as the relationships we nurture with our colleagues.

So, when you look around, who are your “go-to-people”???

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Roz.Geridis Professional Learning and Growth, Wellness

Taking Care of Me

IEPs, religious holidays, released professional learning, extra curricular, occasional teacher plans, parent meetings, and report cards in two weeks. I forgot to mention all the family obligations. Where do I find time for myself? Right about now is where heads are spinning and tension starts building. The school year has barely begun and I have to write report cards.

I have to remember to take care of myself and so do you. In my school, the cold bug has been going around the school the last three weeks. As much as I am fighting one off, I know it is coming and probably will hit me after report cards. I have seen the signs and realize it is time I begin to take care of myself. Since the school year began, I haven’t seen much of my friends. I also haven’t been able to get to the gym more than once  during the school week — if I make it that many times.

In the past, I had a set routine which I need to think about again. My lunches, can be made and frozen on the weekend. Even dinners can be partially made on the weekend. This weekend, I took the time to cut up the vegetables to add to my salads and dinners. Some vegetables are not good to be pre-cut but many are great. I also made a soup which I have jarred to take to school for lunch. Making a little more of your weekend dinners can either be your weekday lunches or dinners.

I am also looking to make more personal commitments to stick to. Picking a time to leave the school and stick to it. At this point, I am going to aim to leave the school 30 minutes earlier. I am also going to commit to doing something for me twice a week; whether it is going to the gym, reading non educational book, meeting friends for dinner, or having a bath.

Teaching is a very demanding job, both physically and mentally. Whatever your goals are find some time for your interests and wants. We all need to take care of ourselves as our students (and families) will only benefit from it.