Congratumalations?!

I received news earlier today. No, it's not salary increase. And no, it's not about getting fired (whew). It's about me, being a class adviser for the following year. It's should be no big deal by now because I have been an assistant class adviser for the past two years BUT - people somehow think that it is, so all day long I have been getting congratulatory smiles and greetings over it. Not sure though whether it's heartfelt or sarcastic haha.

I'd really, really, REALLY rather be an assistant class adviser. I don't think I can deal with the girls' petty quarrels and issues along with checking attendance and just making sure each one is okay and at least, breathing!I have no idea what happened and they decided to put me as a class adviser. Maybe they made a mistake or something? HOW I WISH! They said that nothing's final yet, so here's to hoping!!

Anong section ka?

It's the start of a new school year once again, and just like any old traditions, we tackled the most debate-worthy task ever - Resectioning.

What is resectioning? It's a process wherein all teachers in the grade level would sit down and jumble up the students to create new sections. Sounds simple right? Well, not exactly.

There are many things to consider when resectioning. First, we had to distribute the achievers evenly among the three sections. Then we have to equally divide the low performers in the batch. Also, we have to break up cliques, hypothesize who will blend well with whom, identify the students with strong leadership qualities, ensure that each section will have an active group, we even have to look into the dancing and singing talents of the girls! The hard part about this whole thing is we have to sit and wait for months and months just to know if we are actually successful or not.

So how to go about resectioning? Easy. All you need is a whiteboard, class lists, and pairs of keen eyes. You will also need a lot of time for this process cannot be hurried, for this requires a lot of double-triple-quadruple checking, as well as many debatable issues.

I'm so happy we only did 3 sections. Some schools could even go up to 9 sections per level. @_@

PS.
I just found out now that resectioning  is not even a word. The red broken line kept on appearing throughout this post. You're probably laughing at me right now :)

Today I am back to work

Today is back to work day! I'm trying to be as enthusiastic as possible, since of my co-teachers here are not as cheery as a summer day. Hence, the effort on my part.

Today I found out that I will still be teaching the same subject, on the same grade level which makes me very happy. I am not surprised though. I am confident like that. They actually have a new name for me - The Untouchable haha. Because I haven't changed levels and subjects for the past 3 years.

Today I found out that I am (still) not a class adviser (woohooo!).

Today I met my fellow grade 4 teachers. There are quite a few new faces on the level.

Today I met our new Science teacher.

Today I will attend 2 meetings. This makes me sad because my meeting limit in a day is ONE.

Tomorrow will be team building day. I have no idea what's gonna happen, which makes me jittery 'cos I hate surprises.

Mental Prep

In three days, I will be back to work. No more lounging around at home, no more taking mid-day naps, and hello whole-year lesson plan making! WOOOHOOO. (Insert sarcastic stare here).

Just before I started my vacation, the higher ups in the level broke the news - one week to make one year's worth of lesson plan when we return to school. And I don't know how to start. Being a novice teacher and all, this task is so daunting that it has been on my mind throughout the break. It haunted me during the moments I least expected it. Like when I  was on the beach, or when I met Snow White in Disneyland, or when I was enjoying a good laugh over something funny. Laugh now, because when you make your year's worth of lesson plans, you wouldn't even know how to spell laugh. HAHAHA.


So, during my many hours of free time, in between beating my brother's top score in Temple Run, or doing laps on the stepper machine, I have been mentally preparing myself all summer long. Yes, I know the task is difficult. And yes, I know it will probably drive me insane. That why I have called some reinforcements. Here comes--The Teaching Blog Addict!

Oh my, I love this website.You could lock me up in a room with nothing but a laptop and an internet connection and I am all set. I love browsing through the website, and clicking them URLs that link to the bloggers' main site. And more clicking, and more reading. Haay, I could go on forever.

But since I am such a scatterbrain, I cannot simply rely on my good ol' faulty memory. So here enters PearlTrees and Pinterest. More teaching ideas. More creative ways of doing so-and-so. And I can simply use them whenever I needed them. Ah, the joys of modern day technology.

Wish me luck my dear imaginary readers because as early as now, I can hear Gangsta Paradise in my head.

As I walk to the valley of the shadow of death...


PS.
Just 'cos I don't want to end my post on such a morbid note.

Here's something that I saw on Pinterest a couple of days back

I loved the whole idea of it and I would like to do this as well, but the only problem is, my handwriting sucks. Oh well, there's always my ever-reliable skill set on Microsoft Paint.

I gotta (Temple) run now! Byez.

It's vay-cay time!

When I was still a student, I  often wonder what my teachers do when we don't have classes. Do they still go to school? And if they do, who do they teach?

Now that I am a teacher, I can say that teachers definitely could use some summer vacation too, just to keep us sane for the next ten months of grueling work ahead. Whether it's traveling, going to different beaches, or simply bumming at home, we truly savor each moment of our precious vacation.

My vacation has been great so far! This is the first summer break wherein I traveled so much. Okay not really like a jet setter or anything like that. But I traveled both within the country and outside the country, with the people I love the most.

I still have exactly 2 weeks before I report back to work. That means more bumming around at home haha!

Here's to summer 2012!