Week One at Greenhills

It has almost been a week with the students at Greenhills and I am very excited for this term.  I am in 5/6L with Miss Richardson and have twenty-eight students. The first two weeks in this grade are a bit unusual because the students participate in a swimming intensive program. This means that everyday from 11:15-1:00 my grade goes to Eltham Pool for swimming lessons. The students also had the opportunity on the second day of school to spend the entire day at Doncaster Outdoor Pool participating in swimming trials and then a free swim in the afternoon.  While I have yet to experience a first day of school in America besides my own childhood experiences, I doubt that this would happen in the states.  I think this whole program is great for the students and I am positive that by the end of the two weeks there will be great improvements in their swimming abilities.

I have also been fortunate enough to participate and complete three days of professional development before the school year started.  The staff started on the 28th of January and we spent three days learning about various topics and situations we would encounter throughout my term with the students.  Each session was very valuable and I think a lot of the ideas and information presented are things that I can see myself applying in my own classroom in the future.  I think the most helpful and interesting session for me was Bounce Back and Student Well Being.  We completed a lot of work in teams and were introduced to children's book that present situations that students will experience in their lives.  One of my favorites was How to Heal a Broken Wing.  It discusses helping others and how to look to others who may need help. The idea of rewarding and also giving ourselves time to heal were other focuses in the story.  I believe all of the books that were shared can really hit home to students if you use the right activities and allow for rich discussions in the classroom.

For the most part, I think I am adjusting to life in Australia.  I have found it very similar to America, but am also slowly finding that there are differences.  Speaking to the students has shown me that I will have to be aware of what I am saying at all times, and I must remember that not all the words we use in America have the same meaning here.  For our swim day, the students asked what I would be eating for lunch and I told them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  I received many strange looks and was not sure why until I went home and found out that jelly here is our jello at home.  They use the word jam for what we would call either jam or jelly in America.  No wonder they were looking at me so funny. 

The kids have been very curious since day one and I am looking forward to week two at Greenhills.  I am planning to do work in small groups with students on some reading comprehension and also do several activities with my teacher on the Greenhills Gets Going Program.  It is a start of the school year program that all grades follow.  Most of it focuses on the five values of Greenhills; generosity, respect, enthusiasm, acceptance, and teamwork.  The first week has gone by very fast and I am excited to get to know the students on a more individual basis this week.