August 1st

First session I think went pretty well for Beka and mine’s first time Co-Teaching. We needed to get the general sense of how we work together and teaching the Cha Cha was a good start to that. The students warmed up doing the two dances they learned last class and then Beka and I got into the cha cha. We tried to be as basic as we could but it took a bit longer for the students to get it than we anticipated. By the end, they did in fact get most of the steps and did it to music. One thing Beka and I spoke about after is how to get the students quiet and we just said that I would get their attention because I have a very loud voice and the kids don’t want to hear a teacher scream. There are always pros and cons to a lesson but it takes time for two teachers to get a feel for how the other one teaches. We are going to teach one more dance next class before the students split up into their assignment groups.

Second session I ran a GREAT basketball lesson. I got a white board to use so I can draw out the two different defenses, man and zone. I asked a lot of questions of why they would use each one and the advantages and disadvantages of each. I then did a big demonstration of each defense using a 5 v 5 and had the rest of the students sit on the base line. The students were really well behaved today and I tried to keep the lecture down to a minimum so they can play a lot today. I did each defense while the ball moved around with one group and then brought up 10 new students to do it again. We went right into continuous basketball and since we had the full court today, we were able to have 2 games at once with a team waiting to go on. I asked Mr.Finley (the male teacher that we combine classes with) to help me to make teams because I am still struggling with that. I divided up the 5 best players on different teams and then tried to divide the rest equally on those five teams. I will most definitely be able to get this task down with time and learning their abilities better.

Free for third session! Woohoo….I already planned my lessons for the week so I read and researched during this period.

Fourth session I had rugby again. Even if I am just sitting and chatting with the boys, its always an entertaining period.

July 31st

Another cruisy day…

First Free, Second weight room, 3^rd Rugby and 4^th was Binge drinking.

During second session there were two female fitness students running a circuit with the students and I actually learned a few things. These two girls challenged me and we chatted with each other about New York and their program.

The rugby boys are always entertaining. They are actually really nice boys but they LOVE playing pranks on each other. The most popular thing to do is turn other peoples backpacks inside out and put the stuff back in. This happens on a regular basis and it’s pretty funny but it got a little out of hand and I told them to stop. They are really respectful of what I say after getting to know each other. They also gave me a few ideas of what to do while I visit Sydney.

During session four we used the beer goggles to demonstrate the lack of control and coordination they have while intoxicated. We had them having a catch outside, walking on a straight line and pouring glasses of water. It was a lot of fun  and the students were having a good time as well.

July 30th

Mondays are relatively “cruisy” as Cameron would say. First session is supervising the weight room and second session is Cameron’s sociology class. They weren’t on their best behavior today so they stayed after the bell.

The certification fitness students run the third session, so we don’t do much during this session either.

Usually fourth session I would be teaching the sex ed class but today we had a special guest. The Nurse came in to talk about contraception and how to use condoms. The students have been asking about this lesson for the past two weeks and were very excited. Surprisingly, the students were really well behaved unlike every other class that they laugh through. Almost all the students volunteered to be part of the demonstrations. It was an interesting and entertaining class. Next lesson: Sexually Transmitted Infections!

July 27th

The morning started off a little rough. I taught a basketball lesson but we only did one drill for about 5 minutes because for the last day, we wanted to play as much as possible. Explaining the boxing out drill was harder than I thought and dividing the number of students into equal teams I kind of blanked on. Once they got going though, they did exactly what I asked them to do and they actually did it pretty well. We did continuous basketball again but we had the whole court. 2 games went on at once using half courts and one team stood in the middle waiting for a team to get a basket. It was a great way to have everyone moving. I blanked for a good 3 minutes and Kim pretty much took over making even teams, she also knows them a lot better and did it by ability.

Second session was free but I helped Tim (the head of P.E.) set up all the food for the faculty meeting. Once morning tea came, we had to take all the food over to the student center, where the entire faculty met up and the principal went over a few announcements.

I finally learned speedball during session 3. The students in this class have been talking about it since day one and since European handball is part of it, we decided it was good timing to start the game. It’s played on a soccer field and It has a combination of soccer, European handball, AFL, and Gallic football. If the ball is on the ground, it’s soccer rules. Someone can flick the ball up above the knees and if it is caught, that person can run with the ball. That person can get tagged with two hands and it would be a change over. To score, you have to kick it on the ground or out of your hands like a soft punt. With this class, the games always get really intense and since I was learning the game, I joined in. It was A LOT of running but it was tons on fun.

Cameron asked if I felt comfortable enough to teach this session since we were doing the same thing but I really didn’t feel confident enough in explaining the rules since I was very confused for a while. Session 4 was a bit more challenging. Last session we had maybe 20 students, now we had 45. They are also younger, more immature and more girls who just stand around and do nothing. We started with 3 stations of punting, dribbling and juggling the soccer balls. We split them up into three groups of 15 for the games. It took a lot longer for these students to understand the game and get into it. Hopefully next time we play, we can give another option to those who rather do something else because having so many people stand around ruins the game.

Sometimes I wish I could always just play the sports or activities with the students instead of reffing. While everyone was playing basketball first session, I really wanted to join and thankfully I got my chance in the afternoon and had an amazing time. It also makes my relationships stronger with the students when you join in.

July 26th

Today was a pretty awesome day but with the weekends coming tomorrow, students are getting a bit distracted.

Second session we played a big game of soccer with the 3 classes out on the ovals that are finally open. Half way through, I suggested giving the students who are just standing around the option to walk around the track. Once those students were out of the way and happy, a really good soccer game was going on. There was no real instruction part of this class and there are already 3 teachers there. I gather once all the ovals are open, we will split up and I will teach only my class.

During the third session, we had our final rounds of European Handball with my year 12 students that really love the game. With two games going on at one, no one was sitting out and everyone was having a good time. At times some of them got to rough or just silly and I would just give them a short break to get themselves together.

Fourth session I did another final lesson of European handball with my sex ed class. I told the deputy principal to come and observe me during this session and even though I knew exactly what I was doing, I also knew there were two students that could make things extremely difficult. I wasn’t nervous really but I went into the lesson trying to be proactive with those students and then it turned into being reactive once or twice giving them consequences. It was good for the principal to see me handle behavior problems though. During the warm up activity, I tried to add an addiction rule with 10 pass and make a number order but it didn’t go as well as I hoped for simply because the students weren’t moving around that much. I decided to switch over to playing real games. I put them on two teams 8v8 and the students actually got really into the game once they got the hang of it. It became competitive and more fun when everyone was putting more effort into it. Although something might not have worked or I had two kids fooling around the whole time, I think those are both important things for a supervisor to see how I deal with that. I think it is actually one of my strengths dealing with discipline and managing so I hope the principal agrees!

Great reports back from my principal! Makes me feel that much more certain that I chose the right path for myself!

July 25th

First session we started dance with three classes in the student center. Beka and I were really excited about this class because it has a lot of ballroom dancing and partner dancing. We also both had Mrs.Cahill and will be bringing our experience into this class of students. Mr.Boaza taught the tango and the boston-2-step, so I was learning as well. For each dance, he had a boy and girl demonstrate in the middle of the 2 circles. The inside circle is always boys and the outside was girls. The students were dreading this a bit but you can tell they were all having a great time once they started. They were also pretty good at the dances for learning them in a half hour.

Second session I had my basketball lesson and I was a little nervous because the last one did not go as well as I hoped for and was a little boring. This lesson went awesome though! I had three mini games going on at once and taught through playing instead of with drills. The numbers divided pretty well and I gave them very specific instructions step by step this time around. I talked to the students after these games about getting open but I lead the discussion with questions to get them thinking.  Once the students came up with the ideas of a pick or jab step, I brought students up to demonstrate each. I had to demonstrate a pick on and off ball a few different times with different students so that they really understood. After another round of small game using picks, we played continuous basketball. Regular game of half court basketball and once a basket went in, losers jumped off and a new team came on. It would go fast sometimes and slower other times depending on how hard they played but they all pretty much got into it. I was very happy with the two classes today but I did have one problem with a student. He simply doesn’t like participating in anything for any class and he decided to mouth off to me about the activity sucking and me sucking. I chose to bring this to the head teacher’s attention because I did not want to make him sit out, since he wanted that. My teacher decided to make him sit outside alone while he copied a random power point on paper and then he had to apologize to me at the end. He was nice about it and I said I accepted it but at the same time I told him my expectations for the class. I hope he will not be a problem anymore so I don’t need to write him up or anything.

Third session was a good planning session for tomorrows lesson that Donna will be observing.

Fourth session I watched the rugby boys practice and I got to talk with a few of them who were sitting out. They were just asking a bunch of questions about New York and the states. Good conversations and got to know each other better.

July 24th

During my free first session I planned a bit more for my decision making lesson and looked at some great lessons I can use for my sex ed class. I got a whole list of websites that I can use during class or for myself.

Second session was in the gym but this class really tries hard and they all get a pretty good work out. I learned a lot about the students while I went around talking to them. Found out what outside activities they do such as competition dancing and aerobics, and soccer. I also had a conversation about the uniforms with a few girls because all the girls where the boys uniform rugby shorts instead of the uniform girl shorts. Apparently the girl shorts are see through.

  We only had half of the third session for rugby class because the other half was assigned to ECP sign up. ECP is basically parent conferences when the parent and student come in to talk to a teacher. Students are assigned to a teacher even if they don’t have them. They will sign up for times between 1pm and 8 pm, which means I wont have to be in school till 12:30!

Last session I did a lesson on decision making in my binge drinking class. I found different scenarios that were a beginning to a story and the students had to finish the story. I let them do creative writing and make it as silly or serious as they want. I then read each scenario and would have 1 group member finish. Depending on the story, I would have the students think about what they would do if that happened to them or what could happen. Some of the stories they came up with happened to be really serious and we would get into a discussion about death after drinking and suffocating from your vomit or jumping off balconies into pools. When the students had to be serious, they were and asked great questions and had good answers. I really enjoyed teaching decision making through different stories that can happen because it makes everything more realistic. Sitting there telling year 12 to say no is really unrealistic especially since they have 2 weeks after graduating called “schoolies”. These 2 weeks the students go away somewhere and it’s equal to a college or high school spring break. I have to talk to them about decisions they make after they start drinking, dangerous situations and helping friends.

I feel comfortable taking over the binge drinking class but I don’t want to get too repetitive with what I teach. I also don’t want to sit and lecture, I need to continue making activities for them because that is when they pay attention more, they aren’t bored and we are all enjoying ourselves while learning.

July 23rd

Today was a pretty simple and quick day I suppose. Started off in the gym supervising the girls and boys on the machines and working out. During this time Cameron showed me how to work the attendance program on the computer so I can just take it every class now.

Second session Cameron has Sociology, which I don’t really do much in but sometimes chime in with a really heated debate. Cameron asked me to go get the 2 boxes of textbooks in the library and to meet him at the class. Of course I got lost, my luck. It’s the one classroom I haven’t really learned the route to yet because im so used to always being near the gym or student center (gymnasium). I wandered around with books on a trolley for about 15 minutes until I just decided to look at my schedule back in Bribie and ask where to go. Cameron laughed at me about 5 times through out the day about this.

Session 3 I had a class I haven’t really met and we did basketball in the student center. The cert 3 fitness students ran the session while we supervised. Cameron and I also planned a little bit of what well do next session with our sex ed class.

Today’s Topic: Male and Female organs and reproduction system. As a HUGE surprised, there was not much laughing during the lesson like usual. At some points there was a little but usually these students laugh through the entire lesson. I also think that I finally got through to the loud mouth last class because he was super good today. We printed out blank diagrams of the systems and organs for the students to fill out and sheets for them to explain what each part does. Majority of the students didn’t know much and then continued to not write down the information, so there are a lot of students doing homework now.

At the end of the day Cameron and I agreed I would take over the rest of the sex ed and binge drinking lectures and then I will continue running the team sports classes. There are about six to eight activity classes, so I will have my work cut out for me!

July 20th

My morning started off good with teaching my basketball lesson but I am being a bit hard on myself and wished I could have prepared some other things. The previous class we only used half court and I think that mislead me to believe that these students didn’t know basic basketball. While some of them really do need a lot of help, most of them are pretty decent once they have the space to move around. We combined with the same class but we had the entire court this time. We played dribble knock out as a warm-up and when the student’s ball got knocked out, I had them do a few laps and push ups to get back in. I made the area smaller and smaller to make it harder but also to force more students to put some effort into it.  I was really good at transitioning from the warm-up to getting their attention and sitting them down so I can teach a few basic skills. I had students come up and demonstrate with me and also showed what not to do based on what Ive been seeing. I had four stations involving dribbling, shooting and passing. One was dribbling with your left and then right hand weaving through cones, the next was passing with a partner using chest and bounce passes. The last two were shooting foul shots at one basket and shooting outside shots from another. I used cones to set up each one and when it was time to switch stations, the students listened very well. I noticed it getting a little boring for them, which is why I wish I had more game like activities planned and taught through those. My judgment of where their skills are was apparently wrong or mislead by the small court. I only kept them at each station for about 3 minutes so they didn’t get to bored and then we broke up into three teams to play full court games. It is so much better having the whole court, everyone is moving and there is more space to dribble and pass. All in all for my first real lesson, I think it went well but I will always come out of lessons wishing I did something different. I had Beka’s teacher there and the other classes’ teacher and they were both impressed by my ability to manage and control the students. They said I get their attention and I keep it because I will not speak over the students, I will wait there while the students waste their playing time. The students know this and will zip their mouths right away. The male teacher asked if this was my second placement because I handle the students very well, im confident and seem very comfortable. That made me feel great but not everything will go my way during a lesson. Kim mentioned keeping directions short, sweet and specific. To make sure students know exactly where to go and when. I saw a few lost students after I gave directions so I agree with that and I kind of beat myself up for not being specific. I will definitely work on those things though and also try to use the tactical approach by teaching through mini games so the students have more fun.

Session three there were about seven P.E. classes at once with limited space to use. We planned on playing European handball because it went amazing yesterday and we want to keep doing it for four or five weeks. Instead we combined with another class and played the ever so popular dodgeball. There was a class on the other side of the gym but when they left about half way through, we set up handball for just our class. I refereed the games again but because the court is much smaller inside, it was easier to shoot from further away. The games were not as good as the ones yesterday but the kids really enjoy playing. They actually wanted to play handball over dodgeball but we just didn’t have that option in the beginning.

During session 4 Cameron went to observe another teachers class because Mountain Creek has every teacher do an observation once a term I think.  So he basically handed me the class even though there was a sub and another class with their P.E. teacher. We agreed to do the same handball lesson as we did yesterday with the last session because there were two classes. While doing the 3 mini games of keep away and 10 pass, it was hard to get these year 8 and 9 classes motivated. They really wanted a scoring method such as a basket or goal. Eventually we did chair ball with the goalie sitting and it motivated everyone a lot more.  I managed these two classes just like I do with any other class, I wont sit there and scream at them and will not talk over them. They got the point of my rule and how I am going to teach the classes for the rest of my time here. Two of the courts did great but one court plus one other girl was giving me a really hard time. They had awful attitudes, wouldn’t follow directions and put no effort into anything. Since they said it was boring, I made them all sit on the curb in silence and if they talked they would get lunch detention. I really needed to make an impression on these kids and make sure they know that just because im new and a pre-service teacher, doesn’t make me anything less than an average teacher there. Eventually Cameron was back and came over asking what happened and he decided to make them all sprint to the front gate and back . He had a talk with them about respect, following directions and putting effort into class once they finished. During this situation, the other two courts were having a blast and the games got really intense. Even if I had to explain the last game a few times, I was happy with the results. During the last ten minutes the two teachers had a talk with everyone about positive attitudes towards new sports and effort. They also spoke about the tactical side of this sport because the other class is focusing on that. Since a few girls were talking during this, they got lunch detention. Lucky for them, no teacher wants to spend their lunch with students so they got the option to pick up 10 large pieces of rubbish instead. They got off easy but I don’t think that will be an option next time. I felt much better about this lesson compared to my basketball one even though I had some troublemakers. Walking back to Bribie Cameron and the other teacher Emma gave me a few tips about discipline and consequences. They even gave me a few ideas for consequences. The two of them were also impressed by my ability to gain control, manage and speak loud enough especially outdoors. These seem to be my strengths, which I kind of already knew but it never hurts to be reminded.

Today was a jammed pack day of teaching but I am happy with myself and will only get better with practice. I love getting feedback from the teachers because even though I am my biggest criticizer, they have been doing this longer and have some other methods/ideas on how to help my weaknesses and continue my strengths.

July 19th

I love having the first session off on Thursday because it’s a really good group of teachers who have off. We joke around a lot of talk about random things while doing some work. I look forward to these mornings because I know ill start off in a good mood.

Second session we finished the movie Honey that we started last week since we still cant use the ovals and all the inside areas are filled up during this session.

During our morning tea break Cameron had playground duty, which just means he has to go around making sure there are no fights and that kids are picking up their rubbish. Some of the kids make a huge mess and because they are just sitting on the concrete pathways and on stairs, there is trash everywhere. Times like these though Cameron and I get to talk about a bunch of different things and we get to know each other a lot more.

Session three I had my binge drinking class but for prac, not lecture. We took them to the empty parking lot, which they call a car park. Cameron told me that he is going to experiment teaching European Handball and I told him I used to play it during my P.E. classes, so he pretty much told me to teach it. I wasn’t prepared with anything but I was pretty confident that I could whip something up on the spot, especially with this class. I started off with a keep away drill playing 3v3  in coned off areas. We started off with just not moving while having the ball. To add a challenge I told them they can’t pass it back to the person they received from and then to make it harder we kept score with 10 consecutive passes equals one point. They had a pretty hard time with this but I was very happy about how much these 12^th graders were running around and really into the game. They’ve been begging to play speedball so I didn’t know how well this would go. After this exercise we pretty but did the same thing but split up into 2 teams and 4 quadrants. This time they can pass to a teammate in another quadrant but still couldn’t leave their own or move with the ball. Cameron jumped in on the game and I was the referee. I had my whistle and used it a lot because the boys like playing with contact, they are used to rugby but this is certainly not rugby. After this exercise we actually played full court games and I taught them about the 3-step rule and the shooting rules. We had 3 teams and each team played each other. I was very happy with everything we did and we actually ended up loosing track of time because the students were enjoying themselves so much and got really into the game. I was also the ref for all the games and it made me have more power in the class and be an authority figure. They 100% completely respected all my calls and I am used to being a ref since I did it at home for soccer. This session made me feel great about teaching and really gave me a glimpse into my future!

Lucky for me, we did the same thing for our next session! Not the exact same thing because this time we combined with another class and had about 40 students. We separated the lot into 3 sections and did the same exercise as the first one but these students just weren’t into it as much. They were year 8 and 9 and there were a lot more girls who didn’t have shorts and aren’t into getting sweaty. Instead of a real game at the end, we kept the 3 sections and played a modified version. Each team had their goalie sitting on the opposing teams curb and they would have to get 4 passes and then pass to their goalie to get a point. It worked well considering the space and amount of students. I split the teaching with Cameron and explained the first exercise while he explained the second because he just read about it. It was a little hard to get a few of them into the game but it worked out.

Today was the first day I started teaching outside and it was amazing! I was in my element and I knew exactly how to handle the class and what to say through out the session.

July 18th

This rain is getting a little out of control and causing a lot of crowded situations in the gymnasium for P.E. teachers. The first session we had four classes, about 70 students all in one area. All the teachers decided to set up fitness tests including sit-ups, sit and reach, push ups, agility, sprint, broad jump and the pacer test. It got everyone moving for majority of the time, which is the biggest concern when dealing with that many students in a small space.

I taught basketball the next class to Beka’s host teacher’s class and another class. I started with the 3 man weave just as a warm up because they are 12^th graders and I was told they would want to get into a game as soon as possible. They learned it pretty quick and I changed up the style of pass from bounce to chest. Once another class came in to use the other side of the gymnasium, I used the 3 hoops for 3 stations. I started with a big game of knock out and then if they got out, they moved to the station where you dribble and try to knock another persons ball out and once you’re out there, you move to a shooting exercise. The students didn’t know what knock out was so I had to teach them. It was easier once they started to play because knock out is actually a bit difficult to explain. After the stations we played mini games of basketball. I soon realized that these students really don’t know the basics of basketball and that I need to focus on skills next class. I went into the class assuming that 12^th graders would know the basics but I shouldn’t have made those assumptions. There were students double dribbling, traveling, and dribbling with both hands. I was very happy with the way I managed the class and got their attention through out everything. I used a lot of checking for understanding techniques and made sure the students didn’t have equipment in their hands to distract them. I know exactly what I will be doing next class based on what I saw today but it’s a shame that we are only doing each team sport for a week, which is only two classes.

During my free third session, Cameron and I talked about the rest of the week and some of next week. We decided that because this morning’s class will start doing dance with the 2 other classes, Beka and I are going to teach dance together to start. I also planned a skill-focused lesson for Friday’s basketball session.

It wasn’t raining out fourth session but we still couldn’t use the ovals so our rugby class and another teacher’s rugby class went to the empty parking lot and played a version of cricket. It was a bit confusing at first but after a little while I got the hang of it, but still think it is just as boring as baseball.

July 17th

July 17^th

Today was the first morning Beka and I took our bikes to school. We cut the time basically in half and get to wake up later! Woohoo! On day two I take first session off because Cameron has a lecture class with 6 rugby boys that don’t do much and I didn’t enjoy it the first time. I use this period to plan out any lessons ill be doing during the week, so today I finalized my lesson on binge drinking.

Session two is in the gym and like ive mentioned in past posts, im really just a supervisor in there. I did tend to more students today who were struggling with the machines and techniques. The students feel more comfortable asking me questions and unfortunately complaining to me. The girls wear really short shorts and don’t like to do squats or any exercise that might cause their shorts to ride up. A few of the girls complained but I told them it’s their own fault because we warned them not to wear those. I even know a couple of the girl’s names now because of how much they complained.

During morning tea I went to help Cameron and Madonna with the final discus throws from the rained out carnival. A few boys showed up and after measuring a few throws, we picked one that would go onto the all schools competition. Same type of carnival but against other schools in the area.

Another dodgeball game today. Usually this is Cameron’s rugby class that I don’t do much in because all the boys play on the team and they know “heaps” more than me. Since the ovals were closed today, we went into the gym and had year 10 vs. year 11 games. It did get a bit rough in my opinion and these boys are old enough to be able to really hurt someone with a throw. At one point a kid kicked the ball and it slammed into one kids stomach and knocked the wind out of him. From all the other P.E. teachers’ reactions, it seemed okay, but this would never fly in New York. At the end of this session a rugby player actually came up to the 2 teachers and I and said his shoulder dislocated. After talking to him, I found out that this is the 7^th or 8^th time it’s happened this year and that he is looking to get surgery on it but he’s not supposed to be playing anything. The procedures for an injury in school here is a bit different than at home. There is no school nurse to report to so the students just go to the main office and if its something that they can’t help, they call an ambulance. In the states I think most school nurses would call an ambulance for something they can’t do much for also but they generally help most students. There is no one certified here to help the students so if they feel sick or hurt themselves, they go to the main office to call their parents.

After checking up on that student at the office, it was time for my binge-drinking lesson. This class all of sudden had about 6 new international students so it happened to work out really well that I was reviewing a lot of what we learned already. Also, since I know many students didn’t take notes at all, today they had to take notes especially if they want to pass the final exam. I think my lesson actually went very well for my first ever lecture. I feel very comfortable in front of this group of students though and I know they will discuss the topic and actually ask good questions. I was surprised I wasn’t nervous and was ready to go. It was a bit of a dry lesson because it was really just review and note taking but next lesson I think I will plan an activity or game. Cameron did chime in a few times during the lesson just because he had something to add and I am not used to teaching this stuff. It’s a pretty casual atmosphere in the classroom also so whenever we both have something to add, we do. There are a few different terms used in this subject of drinking so I am learning as I research as well.

Yesterday afternoon I attended my first school rugby game. Apparently it was not such a good game and was very slow paced but I learned a lot and saw a few good tackles. At one point the kangaroos were on the field where they were playing which was very funny to me. A lot of the rugby boys thought my reaction was funny and continued to hold it against me as a joke. I was talking to a few of the players when they were on the bench and got o know them a little bit. I figure I should gain their respect and be able to converse with them since they are in my classes. It was really cold out by the middle of the game but it was a good time.

And the last comment for tonight even though this post is pretty long already, we had a staff meeting from 4-6:15 that was pretty fun actually. It was a professional development session that gave us more ways to teach and a lot of it we had already learned at Cortland but it’s new to the staff here. It was about checking for understanding and asking questions! Go figure! A few different activities to get the students involved more and we got to experience these. This wasn’t only a time to learn about teaching but to learn about my colleagues and to interact with them. Once again I felt like an equal and that I have been there for a while. They truly are the most welcoming group of teachers ive worked with so far.

July 16th

Really cold this morning but it turned into some beautiful sunny weather finally!

The first class in the weight room was a lot more active today than the last time we met. The guy Josh who owns the gym though usually runs this session but its pretty basic. A lot of rotating on machines with partners and trying out all the exercises they were taught last class. We all noticed that during the warm up though that the students really don’t know how to do squats, so josh had to re teach them. Josh had the clock running to beep when the students should switch partners and stations. I saw a few students struggling with machines and I would help them. I think that is my position during this session, to supervise and help.

We went to the health heroes’ exhibition during the second and third session at Maroochydore High School. Mine and Beka’s roommate Nate is placed there but we didn’t get to see him. There were about 15 booths set up with different health occupations with in hospitals, schools, or private practices. I took home a ton of brochures with loads of information for my sex ed and binge drinking classes.

Once we got back it was time for session 4, which is my sex ed class. We discussed the topic of teen pregnancy today and looked at a lot of stats comparing different countries. This class is one of those classes that you need to re-focus every so often. They get very talkative and giggly about certain topics but when I am stern with them, they get quiet. I know who the leaders of the group are, so I will be proactive before I teach instead of waiting for them to act out.

First week is over...

Friday! Fridays are always fun but a little more difficult because kids are just as ready for the weekend as the teachers are. It rained again so not everything went as planned…again.

First session I went with Beka’s host teacher Kim because they are doing team sports this term and Cameron is doing Aerobics. This switch is only on Friday’s but it works out well because Beka is already doing Aerobics with two of her other classes and she really enjoys that aspect of Physed. I much rather do different team sports and we will be doing a bunch of American sports this term. Since it was raining though, we played a form of dodgeball with another class that has P.E. also. The other teacher called it medics and it had all regular dodgeball rules, but when someone gets hit, they go to centerline and lay down on their stomach facing their team. There are designated medics that need to go and “save” them by picking them up to their feet. Medics also have a coned off safe zone. It is a good way to keep everyone active instead of students sitting out. When all 3 medics get hit, the game is over. This form of dodgeball has a lot of tactics in it and team planning because they need to protect the medics. Medics can’t touch any ball, throwing or catching, so their teammates need to help them get to the middle and back with out getting hit. I saw one team gain all 5 balls and then the medics had the freedom to save all the players who got out at once with out rushing and running away.

Second session today was free so Cameron gave me all the files on the computer for out lecture classes to put on my usb flash drive. I reviewed all the different work sheets and powerpoints they already have. The P.E. department has almost all their lectures planned out on their system and tells you what to teach each week. I will be going through those and planning some group work because I need to have it last 70 minutes. Right now that is my biggest concern, even though teaching sex ed to immature 14 year olds is pretty nerve racking, im more nervous about only having it last half the time. I will have to get used to this as I go along and Cameron said he is going to help the first few times.

We did another movie in class for third session but it was actually very educational. It’s a series developed by ABC called “Whatever” and each episode is about something else. We watched one on binge drinking and one on adolescent risky behavior. Each one followed 3 students and how they were an adrenaline junkie or alcoholic. It was very real and updated unlike the old boring things I used to watch in middle or high school.

Last session we played a regular game of jailbreak dodgeball, another round of the game Cortland professors hate. When you got out, you went behind the opposing team and had to catch a ball your teammate threw to you. Even though this class was 8^th graders, I noticed that their catching was very poor. I joked around to Cameron that we may have to do a unit on catching.

Beka and I ate lunch with everyone today in Bribie and even though we always do, I feel that today we were both talking a lot more and having regular conversation with a lot of the other teachers. Ive started to joke around with a few of them making fun of either sitting in the same chair all day or making gourmet meals for lunch. I don’t feel like a student teacher at all, It just seems as if I am one of them and it’s a great feeling.

One week down, eight more to go. Weird and a bit sad!    

Day 4- July 12th

First session was a prep session for Cameron and I. Since its been raining, we needed back up plans for inside classes. The library had a few movies related to binge drinking and other health related stuff. The librarian was super nice and welcomed me here mentioning if I ever need to take anything out that I can.

Being inside for physed is pretty bad here because there is only one gym. My class is combined with two other classes during today’s session two, so in total there are 50 students. We watched the movie Honey, not physed or health related. This movie also probably wouldn’t be appropriate in the states to watch during a class period.

Although my 3^rd class was supposed to be outside and starting team sports, we stayed in a continued talking about binge drinking. We did a little true/false quiz that the students were actually surprised by some answers. Got them thinking though about all the myths and false information.

Session four was also inside and the oh so mature sex ed class. Spoke more about relationships and I really feel that the students noticed me more today and were asking me a lot of questions. They do a lot of partner work in the class and ill walk around helping whoever needs help.

After tomorrow I will have met all my classes and students because I actually do have a class that only meets on Fridays. Tomorrow ill also be teaching touch rugby with Beka’s teacher.

I am also feeling a lot more open around the faculty in the sub school. I start off shy but after meeting everyone at the carnival, I feel more comfortable talking to them.

July 11th- Athletic Carnival

Today was the Athletic Carnival, just a massive track meet with all the students’ year 8 to year 12. They had the same events as we would have in New York such as triple jump, long jump, shot put, discus, and a bunch of dashes and relay races. One thing I never saw before was this little turbo javelin. I will try and find a picture and post one below. The carnival took place at the university nearby so Beka’s host teacher picked us up this morning to go. We all were praying for no rain on the ride over. Even though the field was really wet and muddy from the day before, it was a nice morning for the events. We got hit by bad weather trying to finish the senior events but ended up just cancelling and sending them home. The weather was on and off for a while so we tried to get the juniors in a few events. By 12:30 they cancelled everything and sent everyone back to the school. Lucky for Beka and I, we are only in school till 12:55 every day and didn’t have to go back to the school. I was a pretty cold and rainy day but I met and talked to so many people. Mostly everyone knows there are two American students at the school now till September. I also saw a lot of my students and had a few small talks with them. Although the women in charge, Madonna, told Beka and I that we would be helping…there were a lot of teachers there and a bunch of us didn’t have much to do. I helped with a few little things like handing out morning tea and handing out the ribbons to those who came in 1st to 3^rd.

It was a good experience to have with the school because I did become more comfortable around everyone. Tomorrow I think I am jumping in on the teaching and hopefully it will all go okay.

Javelin that was used during the event. I am sure we have these in the states but I have always seen the really long sharp ones.

Day 2- July 10th

This rainy day started off a bit slow with the usual 5:45 wake up and 40-mimute walk to school. We took a different route along the esplanade though and got to see the sun rise over the ocean.

The first class was the rugby lecture class. Not a lecture about rugby but the group of boys all spend a lot of time playing rugby and not exactly into school work so the school developed a program for them. There were six boys in the class and honestly, they didn’t do much. Cameron has had these boys since they were in 8^th grade so he knows them well enough to know they won’t do too much in a class session. Topic of the term: goal setting and figuring out what they might want to do after they graduate in four months.

The second class is in the gym again but with a much smaller class full of girls and three boys. I think this will be my favorite class, the students were very interested in New York and one of them has been there before. We did the same thing we did yesterday except with the wife, Cassie.

We had a real Rugby class for the third session with about 30 boys who play on the league team. Cameron will usually take lead in this class because it’s his team and his sport. I learned a lot about the game though and enjoyed watching.

The last class is probably going to be my favorite lecture class but it also has an activity portion, like a lab, but the two parts don’t relate. The lecture is all about binge drinking this term and the activities will be team sports such as speedball, netball, and basketball. There are only 11 students and I got to know all of them pretty well today while debating some topics. I told Cameron that I will jump in and teach a lesson to this class first probably because I am super comfortable around them.

Tomorrow is the Athletic Carnival and im looking forward to seeing the whole school in one place and all working together. I hope by Friday I will be pitching in on the teaching a bit more and know some more students. 

July 9th- First day at Mountain Creek State High School

            Today was my first day of student teaching down under! Beka and I are both teaching Physical Education and Health at Mountain Creek State High School, which is a 40-minute walk from our apartments. We practiced the walk yesterday and got lost, but that’s why we did it the day before. When I got to the school I was feeling good, not very nervous because I figured today I would be observing more and getting used to being here. I was pointed in the direction of the sign in book and then Beka and I were off to our sub school, Bribie. Mountain Creek has four sub schools that act as teams involving teachers and students. Each school has a building that houses the teachers work areas, basically a large room with desks and tables and some kitchen appliances. Beka and I each got our own desk, which I LOVE because I like having my own area to work in. The cool thing about these buildings is that its not just one subject area together, there are multiple teachers from math and science and business. You get to know other teachers outside your subject area which is completely opposite in New York. Beka and I met up with our host teachers Kim and Cameron in Bribie before we were off to our classes.

My schedule at Mountain Creek is four classes a day starting at 7:30 AM. Each class is for 70-minutes and I was a bit nervous about this but it seems to fly by while teaching.

The first class I had with Cameron was in the onsite Gym that is NOT ran by the school. There is a gym ran by a man Josh but it is his own business that you need a membership to in order to use it. The Physed department has set up with him to use it on certain days though for their weight lifting units. Beka and Kim’s class are also in this class, so we will be co-teaching year 10 weightlifting. Today Josh went over different equipment and technique, safety, behavior, dress code and a few other rules. The students paid attention and didn’t complain about working out at all, which I have experienced in New York a lot. I am expecting the next class to be a lot more active.

Second Class was a lecture class with about 24 year 12 students. The classroom is set up like an ordinary New York classroom with almost all the same technology. This class is very similar to my Sport and Society class at Cortland. A lot of the information that the students will be learning is about gender inequalities in sports and stereotypes specifically dealing with Aerobics. This class will be meeting two more times in the week but as an activity class doing Aerobics, so they are connecting the lecture to what the students will be doing. I think that is a great way to learn and I wish I had more classes like that when I was younger.

Morning tea break! 25 minutes woo hoo!

The third class is supposed to be another activity class with 8/9-year level students but today they had an assembly about the Carnival on Wednesday. The carnival seems like it is going to be a massive track meet between the sub schools and they just wanted to finalize the students in each event. By the end of the assembly we had about 20-minutes to spare, so the host teachers decided to do dodgeball. Beka and I automatically started to laugh since dodgeball is a huge debate topic at school and we were already seeing it on our first day. It is the same here as it is at home with the same debates but the kids love it.

The last class of the day is most definitely going to be the most entertaining and difficult class I have during my experience here. The lecture portion is Sex Ed but the activity portion will be team invasion sports. These students are all immature 14 and 15 year olds that can’t take anything seriously so far. It’s been only one day and I already know that they will be laughing through each and every class. Certain words and topics have them bursting out laughing for ten minutes at a time. To be honest, it was hard for me to not laugh at their reaction and certain things they said. This class will for sure be entertaining to say the least but it will be extremely new and probably difficult as well. At the same time, it gives me a piece of teaching health and maybe it will make my master program decision easier.

Now that I described my classes, here is a list of everything I noticed that was very eye opening and different through out my first day…

1)   A grade of a C is normal and grades of very public here. There is a rank order of Low Achievement to Very High Achievement and all the names in your class are listed in these categories. Students see other students grades but no one so far has gotten upset by a failing grade. Teachers talk to other students about other students grades as well.

2)   Students wait outside in the pathways and courtyards for their teacher to meet them

3)   Teachers wear backpacks around to each class

4)   All the teachers know each other from subject to subject

5)   Uniforms are VERY strict here. Teachers were checking student’s ties, shirts, socks and fingernails as they entered the assembly. One student got sent away to take off her make up.

6)   The entire term is one concept in physed. So since im doing team sports, I will be teaching a few different ones and Beka will be teaching Aerobics for the whole term.

All in all, it was a GREAT first day of meeting a lot of friendly people and everyone was very welcoming. I feel comfortable talking to people already and I cant wait to get more involved and start teaching the students.