Hello Summer

 I see that I never finished writing about our week at the Muskoka Soul cottage. Life got busy when school started up again. Hard to believe that was the Covid summer. In November (about 6 weeks after the last post), I ran into the VP at a school I was working at for the day. She had been a teacher/SERT at the kids' school when we were trying to get Megan's IEP started. She saw my name on the board and said if I'm willing to come there often, she'll request me when possible. I was skeptical. This was my 4th time there, it wasn't my favourite, it was all French Immersion except kindergarten. I had been told I'd be requested a lot at my kids' schools....and that ended up with nothing. But I told her sure, however, I was having ankle surgery in mid-December so I had only a couple more weeks to work before taking off at least the first 6 weeks back. 

She kept her promise though, and in February I started going to the school quite often, for all different teachers (previously it had been just music). Then in March, I landed a 0.2 LTO which was 2 afternoons a week at a school that started their afternoons at about the time MPS started their lunch--so there was no way to do both in one day. However, in only 3 weeks, schools shut down again and things went virtual. I managed to get in 8 half days there before virtual. Then I started doing virtual supply which was pretty cool but also challenging. When school started back up in September 2021, I started going there a lot. About 95% of my jobs ended up being there! 

In October 2022 I got Covid (thanks, Megan) and as I was recovering, got asked to fill in for the music teacher who also was recovering from Covid. I was able to do a couple days. Then she (the music teacher, lets call her Christie) had a death in the family and needed to take off a week. It was sudden and I couldn't do the entire week (had a few other commitments), but then there was a second week. Then it was two more weeks. Now it becomes an LTO automatically. It was music and science, and a bit of art. I had kindergarten (just a SK class of 13 due to kindie being phased out at FI schools), 8 periods a week. Some of that was for music and some was for centres (which I didn't have to plan). I had a 5/6 class from hell for 3 periods of music and a double of art (which followed a period of their music, but with recess in between). I had a grade 6 class for 3 periods of music but it was a single and a double. Then I had 3 7/8 classes, each had a single and a double of music and each had 5 periods of science.

It was a lot for me. Megan was in grade 12 and there were her work and skating commitments which meant me driving her. I hadn't worked fulltime before. It was so stressful. It kept getting extended (sometimes with a week's notice, sometimes two days) until May, when it was declared she wasn't coming back that year. It's hard to plan when you think at anytime the original teacher was going to come back. 

By the end of June (we get out at the very end), it was announced Christie wasn't coming back the next year. She was supposed to have 0.5 English and 0.5 Music. I did NOT want the English, but there was another supply teacher who had been doing LTOs there who was fine with that. So we each got a 0.5. This time I had a grade 4 for one double, a 4/5 for a single and a double, two 5/6s for 3 singles (and one of them, I had a period of art where I went in to release the teacher doing the first period), and 3 7/8 classes for 1 single and 1 double each. The terrible grade 6 students were now in grade 7. They were still terrible and brought out the worse in the previous year's grade 7s who had been pretty good that year because the grade 8s were awesome. There was one class in particular who were terrible. I'm pretty easy going but every teacher struggled with them. 

In winter break, one of the full time intermediate teachers went on maternity leave. She was teaching math and science. I would have loved to have just science, but they couldn't re-work the entire schedule. The English teacher started covering the mornings (and keeping her afternoon English), and I covered the afternoons (keeping my morning music). It was horrible. I'm not a math teacher. The kids were suffering from all the changes. Finally, a new English teacher was hired at the start of Feb, and the original one switched to full time math/science (she had been adamant in the beginning of the year she didn't want full time!). I was back to half days. 

In late February, I was told Christie was coming back as the music teacher. The insurance plan had said she didn't need to be on long term disability anymore. She would start with coming in a couple mornings a week but not being in the classroom. Then she'd start shadowing me, and then at the end of March, be back completely and I'd be out of a job. I was really upset. When Christie started coming in, she didn't seem committed. The Principal wasn't sure if it was going to work. The insurance agreed to pay me to be at the school for 2 weeks after she totally took over, "just in case." Of course, those two weeks were both 4 day weeks. I filled in primarily for the primary gym teacher, which was not good for my ankle. It was awkward being there. The kids kept asking me to come back. I went back to being the supply teacher. 

And then, in May, I find out Christie is moving to another school for September. Can you imagine my anger? She hadn't continued the plans I had made for the classes (one was supposed to get ukuleles, one was supposed to get recorders, etc). She went back to her way, which was a lot of reading and handouts. The kids hated it. 

There's been a lot of changes at the school with teachers. Half day sick leaves, maternity leaves, a year off leave...the English turned Math/Science teacher got a permanent position at another school for September. The art (and a few other classes) teacher who was 0.6 is  going on leave but is being replaced with a 1.0 LTO. One other teacher is coming back from a long sick leave due to cancer. A grade 6 teacher, new to the board, was surplussed but got recalled and is moving to intermediate. Several teachers said there'll be a 0.5 permanent music position available. However, the principal went on partial leave in May and wasn't around much to ask about it. It hasn't been posted yet. 

And...we have a 2.5 week trip planned for Oct/Nov! She asked me if I had plans to apply to permanent jobs and I said I wasn't sure because I liked the flexibility and I had this trip. She said not to worry about the trip if it was booked before being offered a permanent job, it shouldn't factor in. Was that a hint?

The terrible grade 7s are going to be grade 8s, but the incoming grade 7s are an interesting mix with some awesome students. However, the incoming grade 4s are a terror.....

Okay, I hadn't planned to write this much! It was pretty hard to give a short synopsis of why I haven't written! Oh, and I opened a Teachers Pay Teachers store, so I'm spending a lot of time creating resources! Fun! With that also came a blog. It's summer again, I'm not on chaperone duty for the kids anymore, so maybe I'll try writing here once in awhile!

Back to High School

It took over a week to get another job. I see in my records I had some days, and part days, blocked off; not sure why. The call came in for secondary music at Lucy's school. Lucy was taking music but this was for the other music teacher, who Lucy had had back in grade 9. Lucy thought she did special ed as well, and knew she had a dance class this semester. I emailed the teacher to let her know I'd be in, in case she wanted to change her lesson plans.

This teacher had been off since the start of the semester. She received her 3rd concussion the day before the start of the semester and was having a hard time recovering. I would be covering grade 9 music, drama, and 10/11 dance. Oh my.

I got to the school--my first time at this school, finally! The desk was a little chaotic, with lesson plans, handouts, attendance sheets, notes from other supplies. Music would be fine, the dance class was already working on things, but grade 9 drama? Oh boy. Luckily that period was the drama teacher's prep, so she came to help. This class looked like they had checked out already. Students must get one arts credit--music, drama, or art--and the options vary at each school (ie--some schools have gr 9 guitar).  A lot of students take drama because no prior skill or talent is required so they assume it's going to be easy. It's not seen as an actual subject, I think. I don't even know anything about the academic side of drama!

The dance class was to meet on the stage. I got attendance done, and was to show a video. How? There's no projector or screen on the stage. You have to access the sound booth above the cafeteria. Luckily the students have Chromebooks and Google Classroom and the links were in there. Most of the girls went to other locations to work on their assignments. I felt bad not knowing exactly where everyone was but know from my own kids that this freedom in high school is totally normal.

The grade 9 music class was good. They had some experience already. I got to help one girl with flute fingerings for a note she just couldn't get. She said she didn't get much instruction at her elementary school. She told me which one and I was surprised. I had been there and it looked like they had a good music program!

High school days are weird. The prep always feels so long, classes can either feel long or just the right length and lunch is way too short. When I was in high school, our lunch was used as another slot for classes--so there were five equal periods through the day. Now, lunch is half that length. It's not enough, especially since this school is not located near any businesses and it takes a solid 10 minutes just to walk to the closest houses!

No one knew how long this teacher would be off for, the rumour was at least to March Break. I let the booking secretary know I was available! Though I didn't really want a full time position right now, I could handle a couple weeks....

It's a Job

I didn't work much early Feb so I was happy to get an afternoon instrumental. Yes, it was aaaallll the way across the next city. But I knew a teacher at the school who had told me it was an awesome school. I messaged her to say I'd be coming. She had JUST started her maternity leave!!

I get signed in and told the room number. It's clearly a music room. However, on and around the desk is mainly French things (it's a FI school). No day plans for me. There's another area that was like a student desk turned into a teacher desk. Nothing there either. A lunch supervisor (or staff doing lunch supervision) came in the room (which was a bit rowdy) and I asked her if she had seen the teacher. She directed me to the VP (I think) who was across the hall. The VP didn't know where she was, but knew that her desk was in a little workroom/office area. We go in there....the ukulele club is having a practice. Little kids. Charming.

There's nothing on the desk. The VP is phoning around, I find a "sub tub" as they call them in the States. But no instructions. I can see her daily schedule, which does indicate the first period after lunch is a prep. So that's good.

Finally, the teacher comes flying in 5 minutes before the end of lunch. With her son. She needs to leave for a funeral. Her plans are on her computer. It was a hot mess of trying to get the laptop to work, and the USB stick and rapid fire "you can do this or this and this or this". Basically, for some of the classes, there was a 90 minute video, a bingo game and a worksheet. For a 30 minute class.

The first class up was a 7/8 class that needed to work on their theory booklets. Some insisted they were done and were rough housing, generally being pests. Then I was out in the portables.

I think it was grades 5-6. The kids were rowdy, wild, etc etc etc. One of those days that makes me feel like a glorified babysitter.

As the last few kids were getting ready to go home, I heard someone say "cancer" and "this is how you die" (or something) and there was laughter. I kind of lost it on them. My father was dying of cancer. It's not humourous. They finished getting ready silently and said good bye.

I went back upstairs to the office where my stuff was.

My key didn't work the lock. Luckily someone was walking by who noticed my plight and the custodian was close by, so I got let in.

It wasn't worth the drive and $90. But it's a job to add to my total days.

Science?!

I got a call for a grade 8 morning job at a school just 5 minutes up the street. I was so excited. Except that it has a 8:05 start time LOL (which means being there at 7:35). The secretary was awesome (I told her how much I wanted to come to the school since it was so close), every teacher I met was great. I got to the room and find out it's science.

Argh! No! Not science! The plans indicated that everything was in Google Classroom and I wouldn't actually be teaching anything. Which can make for a very boring morning.

The kids were pretty typical. Some working, some not working, some goofing off, etc. I'm pretty much just the adult in the room to maintain the required ratio.

One class was working on a solutions and mixtures assignment. They had to pretend to be in a store and look at certain items and determine if they were pure, a solution, or a mixture. I had a few kids ask about "drink crystals". I explained to two boys, it was a powder you add to water, like Kool Aid or Crystal Lite.

"Or crystal meth?"

Umm. No. "Do not mix crystal meth into water, kids".

"Why?"

Does it matter why?! LOL.

Triple Prep Again!

I got another call for the school to the north, where I had three preps. I checked the calendar, and indeed, it was the same day on the 5 day cycle! It was a bad weather day, so I left early. And got there super early. And then had an hour prep. I'm surprised I wasn't asked to cover for another teacher. The teacher in the room when I had my prep got there just as the bell rang.

The day went better because this time they were actually working on the assignments they were supposed to last time but hadn't been put in their Google Classroom yet. My morning recess duty was so cold.

Sometimes I feel a little guilty being able to leave right after the day ends. But with a last period prep, everything is done by the time the bell rings.

The interesting thing...I was recently in a high school for instrumental music and had a grade 9 class. One girl mentioned that she hadn't learned much the year before. I asked her the school, and it was this one. I was surprised, because they seemed to have a full instrumental program and band. Looks can be deceiving, I guess.

Another Day at the Banana School

I got a call for a full day, grade 1, at the Banana School.  I was willing to give it another try. Primary kids are usually good no matter where you go (though I have written about days where that's not the case...but truly, those are the odd ones out).

I got there and the secretary was so nice and friendly! I had no idea if it was the same secretary as before. I had also heard from others that the secretary is not very welcoming. So maybe a different one? I headed to the class, which was being used by the before school care. The first thing I see on the desk is a note, to leave everything the way it is now. Yikes. I took a picture of the desk just to make sure I could remember.

The plans looked good, but I couldn't find a few little things. Then, a woman showed up. Apparently she recently started volunteering full time in this class (as well as being a lunch supervisor, and having two kids at the school). She was very, very helpful finding things and going to photocopy some things. Most of the time she was a great benefit to the class.

There were three or four students listed as needing close attention and extra help. Luckily, only one showed up (it was an extreme cold day). This student had behavioural needs and reward charts, etc. Apparently he could be difficult with supply teachers. I really had no problem with him, but I was shocked at how strict the volunteer was with him, and that she took it upon herself to move his clip on his behaviour chart. To me, his behaviour was actually normal (not desired, but it was within the normal range for his age and the activity). She said you have to be strict with him or he takes advantage of you. Well, his behaviour went downhill after she moved his clip and gave him a time out.

We had indoor recess and indoor lunch. I went to the staff room at lunch, and was a little surprised to hear teachers putting down parents because of income and disabilities. The area is known to have a high level of unemployment, due to lack of jobs and especially disabilities. One teacher was talking about using a Water Pik and how gum health is important to overall health and another teacher joked that there were a lot of parents there that should hear that message. Another teacher commented that since these parents didn't work, everyday was the weekend, so they could at least get out of pajamas by the time they come pick up the kids.

I went back to the classroom and found that a kindergarten class had joined mine. It was chaos. So noisy.

The other issue I had...the volunteer sat down in the teacher's chair at her desk. And didn't move when I had my prep. So I had to sit on a little chair at the guided table to do some marking. Like, hello? She was on her phone, I could see Facebook open. She never thought to offer the teacher's chair to the supply teacher? Not trying to put my nose up in the air, but c'mon. I had marking to do. She had FB memes to read. Who should get the comfy chair?

I'll still try this school again. It's quite a bit of distance for me though, and right now, I'm in a half day job that could keep getting extended, so any half days I take will need to be closer to home.

I Did This Job?

According to my calendar, my next day of work was the very next morning at a school to the west. My mind was drawing a blank. I couldn't even visualize the school. Music? Friday morning? Really....

It's coming back. I guess it was another day I've pushed from my memory LOL.

I got there early. Watched two cars go in the one way entrance the wrong way.

The school was small, and the music room was actually quite large! No tables! Only for music! The teacher came in after a few minutes. I had been staring at the dayplan scribbles and was getting nervous because the materials that it said needed photocopying weren't there. She brought them in and went over the plan. No problem! Seems do-able.

First period comes and no students come. Mmmm.

Oh, the announcements say it's not Day 1. It's Day 5. According to the schedule on her desk, she has a first period prep. And the other classes are not the ones she told me.

I went to the office and had them call her out of her "New Teacher in Training" mentor meeting. Sorry, I'm not going to "wing it" when the teacher is IN the building.

She came rushing in, all apologetic. She came up with some other plans, one class would be kindies. Fun!

Well, it was interesting. A couple kids were a challenge! Oh boy.

There was a junior/intermediate class working on a project. It was noisey but whatever. It's Friday.

Then there was a grade 4 or 5 class. I had to go get them and one kid wouldn't get off their computer and come. I had to get a little demanding, though the other kids are like "He's always like that". Once in the class, he went straight to the electric piano and started playing. There's a sign on it that says "Unless you're Mozart, please ask before playing. And I know you're not Mozart because he's been dead for 200 years). I turned it off and asked him to not play, and join us. He turned it on. I turned it off. About three times. Then I unplugged it. And again. I asked him not to play, in a firm voice. He snarled at me and said to not talk to him. I said that's fine, but don't play it.

He started wondering around, pushing things off the desk, throwing papers, ripping stuff off the walls. There was an EA with him. I think it was an EA. She didn't really do anything though! She stood at the door and let him walk around the hall but once in my room, he was set free. I just tried to keep up. Finally they headed back to their class.

The music teacher came back and asked how it was. I said it was pretty good except for this last class. This teacher was new but she knew this kid was supposed to have an EA. If I had known right from the start that he needed extra support and had an IEP, I wouldn't have tried to push him at all!!

Not being told about IEPs is a huge concern for supply teachers. Though what good is getting the IEPs when we really don't have time to learn about them, and often we don't even know who the student is--flexible seating, rotary classes, no student photos...Some classes can have 6 students with IEPs of varying natures. It's a LOT.

Kindies, by Myself

Another call for the school in Brooklin that I had just been at. This time for a kindie class, just the afternoon. When I looked on the website to confirm it's a kindie class (because, yo. Gr 1s with special needs was not a kindie), I discover that there's no ECE in the class. Which means there is 15 or less kids.

15 4-6 year olds.

Oh boy.

I get there, and indeed, it is an ECE-less kindie class. However, there is a high school co-op student who's on her last day! Lucky me! She was very helpful! It was a great afternoon. The kids seemed a bit more mature. I don't know if they were selected for this class based on their personalities and abilities. The two main drawbacks was there was no washroom in the classroom, and no direct outside access (it was a primary classroom).

I miss the days of <20 15="" 1="" 20-24="" 2="" 30="" a="" adult.="" adults="" an="" and="" as="" at="" built="" class.="" day="" ece="" enough="" for="" full="" in="" is="" it="" kids.="" kids="" kindie="" little="" lovely--but="" need="" not.="" not="" p="" really="" room="" s="" same="" space.="" teacher="" that="" the="" to="" was="" washrooms="" with="">



Added:
I'm not sure what I was writing. I was scrolling through my blog and the bottom of this post was bizarre html stuff.

Music?

My next day was for the great teacher at the school I don't like, and I already wrote about it in the last post about being in for her. So, skip ahead to this next school.

South end of a neighbouring town. Not the town where I had the F-bomb kid; the other direction. I looked up the school and discovered the last VP from our school was the principal there. That might be good, might not.

I heard before I left that there was an accident on the road I was going to take. I tried a different route but got stuck behind a bus and then a working garbage truck. It seemed to take me forever to get all the way over to this school! I walked into the office, and the principal was actually right there!

And recognized me! And said she loved my hair! (My kids didn't!). It'd been over 2 1/2 years since I'd seen her! She was excited for me to be there. Awesome!

I was in for the librarian/music teacher. She had someone take me to the library and that's where the dayplans were. First up, getting the library computer up and running. I couldn't get the passwords/log in to work; I kept trying different things based on the words she left. Finally, it worked. It wasn't set up exactly like her scribbles. This often happens. Teachers get so used to using something that they forget exactly what it takes for someone who's never seen it, to use it.

Someone (the VP, I think) came in to tell me the fire department was coming in for presentations so instead of having one gr 3 class in, it would be a different gr 3 class, then second period would be the first period gr 3...then the period 2 teacher I was supposed to cover his prep with music, came in and said the kids were having their gr 9 course selection then, so I couldn't do music, but come by and check on them near the end in case they're done. "We're right across the hall".  Okay.

The fire department presentation was neat! Hard to keep grade 3s focused and not asking totally irrelevant questions. Halfway through the second period I popped out to check on the gr 8 class. Ummm. Right across the hall from the library was the backside of the gym. I found their room on the map and they were down the hall, around the corner, down the hall.

I peeked in and they were actively doing stuff. I went back to the library. About 8 minutes before the end of the class I thought "I should go back and check on the other class". They were all standing in the hall. I heard someone say "There's someone!". I guess that was me. Turns out the music/librarian has a music room....directly across the hall from this class's room. Duh. This was not clear on the day plan at all.

They were working on Soundtrap and it was a typical class. Thankfully, short.

I don't remember the next bit. I did get asked to cover a lunch supervision because they were short. Could that be because the principal knew I was a "professional" lunch supervisor? LOL. I was actually a few minutes late to that cause I had the wrong time stuck in my head.

One class after lunch was a behavioural class. The plan said they were coming to the library to use a website..something about Tinker. They didn't come. I went to the classroom it said they were in, and it wasn't their room. I did find them, and joined them in their room. No idea why they didn't come down; they were already working on the website and some kids were working on something else. Only a few kids in the room and they were all fine, but again, I felt like a bump on a log. I was really of no use to them. I did get to talk to one boy, who was going to be away the next week. He would be at his family farm a little to the north-east of me. They have something like 80 horses and he would be working on the farm! He was really excited.

And then. Wait a minute. I have to go get coffee before I get into the next class.

According to the plan, I was supposed to go upstairs to room 201 for a grade 6 class. As I started down the hall, a group of grade 6 looking kids came towards me. I asked them what class they were going to. Music. What? We were almost at the music room so we went in there.

They had worksheets to do. Argh. Don't teachers realize? Boredom is the friend of bad behaviour.

Once again...the kids did not have pencils. Why does this keep happening?!

The kids knew there was little real value in the worksheets, despite them being music related. The behaviour was really lousy. Recess was next and they were supposed to have snack, so once most people were done, I decided to take them back to their classroom. Which was not Room 201.

What a mess! Not just "this teacher has been here a long time and has accumulated a lot of stuff", but "we have no respect for our teacher, school, or anything" type of mess. Apparently their teacher was also away. I definitely wrote about this in the letter for the teacher I was in for.

Finally, the kids got out for recess. I had about 7 minutes to go to the bathroom, re-group, and get ready for the next class. Which was a grade 2 or 3 class. They were to come to the library to work on a social studies project on the computers. Gah. The kids are great with tech, but not always when there's something specific they need to do.

I went to their class, and they had to have their snack first. Fine. I'm all for watching kids eat their snack LOL. I trucked them down to the library and they got seated at the computers and started logging in.

Some of the computers suck. Logging in takes forever, and sometimes it just doesn't work. Yet there was only one or two extra computers, due to kids being away, and other kids didn't want to use those computers because they were the other student's seats. The students that weren't there. Yeah.

Some of the kids knew what to do, but I couldn't quite figure out from the dayplan what the kids who had been away were supposed to do. I did have some great helpers, but there were a few kids that just were not interested in using tech and creating a timeline of their life. One was so adamant he couldn't remember any of his info because he didn't have his rough draft. And he couldn't just think of other things. Meltdowns all around. It was impossible for me--one person--to help 23 kids with tech issues, or "how to spell" questions. I was totally exhausted after this double period class. And, I sort of had the time wrong that it ended and we had to rush out to get ready to go. Then I find out there are no buses at this school, so really, did it matter that we rush?

Would I go back here? The drive was on the longer side (I know I'm being petty---a 20-25 minute drive is nothing compared to what others do!), and I wasn't wowed by the kids or the school. I was initially thinking if I could get a couple good days here, the principal would most likely be a reference for me. But is it worth it? Hard to say. I think it'd all come down to what grade it is, what day of the week (Wednesdays are a challenge) and what the rest of my week looks like.

It's a Job

The next day, in the morning, I got a call for the afternoon. Pretty close by--the school I did the glockenspiels at, grade 7/8. I got there, and it was definitely not music LOL.

The teacher had a man cave office at the back LOL. He seemed to have everything. One student came in and was commenting on it and we got joking that he could live there if he needed to. The hammock could attach to the ceiling if you took down a couple ceiling tiles...

There wasn't going to be really any "teaching". It was mainly babysitting while the kids worked on a couple different assignments.

And babysitting it was. A pretty typical bunch of grade 7/8. Some worked well, some looked like they weren't working but still got work done, and some really got very little done. It got loud at times. The teacher was even in and out of the room and told them to get quieter. Didn't matter.

Some days are like this. You're just the adult body in the room to make sure ratios are met. I'm okay with that as long as the kids aren't violent or rude. But I do really enjoy when I get to do an actual lesson. Provided I know what the subject is LOL

A Full Day of Music!

I started off the next week with a call to a school to the north. I was excited because it was a full day, and Megan's skating coach's kids go to the school. It's also laid out like Megan's school.

I got there and found out I have three preps--starting the morning with a double prep! Also had recess duty and one class in a portable (before recess).

Kids were a bit disappointed they weren't going to play instruments. I never know if the kids will behave and I trust the classroom teacher's judgement. They worked on compositions using www.soundtrap.com.

But then. There was a class that had an assignment that was supposed to be in their Google Classroom. One by one they started telling me they couldn't find it. At first, I thought it was just that student's issue, but it quickly turned into the whole class was missing it. Okay. I had no copy of the actual assignment, just that it was about music's influence on culture. About 15 minutes into the 30 minute class, I emailed the teacher. She quickly responded but it took until 5 minutes before the end of class for the assignment to get posted. The next period was also doing the same assignment and luckily they did have it in their Classroom.

Second to last period was a grade 7/8 class. They were working on a Language assignment. From across the room, I heard the words "Mrs Nutt...kindergarten...Palmerston". Crazy! Megan went to Palmerston and had Mrs Nutt! I approached the girl, who apparently was in JK when Megan was in SK and they were in the same class! She says she didn't remember Megan, she didn't remember much except when the ice cream truck came to the school.

My last period was a prep and I had to leave the room. I spent the prep time going through my Google Photos archive on my phone to find when Megan had a friend over for her birthday and they decorated gingerbread houses. Megan had two friends in the class and I couldn't tell which girl this was (there was only about 9 kids in the entire class). I knew the other girl's last name and that she lived in Brooklin and that her mom was a teacher. I coudn't remember though which girl came for the "party".

 Megan and her cake

 Lucy and her house. I'm not showing a photo of the girl because I don't have her permission.

I went back up just before the bell and showed the girl the photos, and it was her! What a small world! Her friends all thought she was cute LOL.

It was nice to have a day without big issues, even grades 5-7 were decent! I added the school to my "I'd go back there" list.

More Music!

I got another for the music teacher at the school with the ineffective secretary.  This time I made it to the school, and signed in without any issues (going at lunch also means that the secretary is not there). The music teacher was actually there because she was having an in-school mentoring session with a new teacher. Although it's been hit or miss with this school, this music teacher has her stuff together and I don't need to worry about anything! This day, she even went up stairs with me before the afternoon started to make sure I knew how the technology worked in one classroom! Then when I went to that class later, she actually popped in to make sure it was still set up!

I ended up getting called in for her again a week later. It was one of her half days at the school, but apparently she was really sick. Oh boy. Would that mean I'd get sick? I didn't! Yay!

The two days somewhat blend together. Actually, a lot of days are blending together now! So I'll just talk generally now.

One of the classes I had to go to was the gr 3 class I had my first morning at this school. I was nervous because I knew there was the kid with a safety plan. Again, he wasn't there, and the other boy that had a lot of issues wasn't there either. After a couple minutes, the kids did remember me, LOL. Once I raised my voice they all remembered.

One of the music placements I did, I had to read a kids' book about different types of music. During my prep, I had looked up different YouTube videos I could play as audio examples. That was fun! It disrupted the flow of the book, but I think it added a lot of meaning to it. I also read a book written by John Lithgow. It was pretty good too. About a young child that learns instruments so quickly he gets bored and has a tantrum, and tries another instrument. At the end, the boy discovers he actually really likes being the conductor instead.

I really enjoy these types of classes, where I get to teach a lesson. Although this teacher plans her lessons so that a non-music teacher can do them, it's easy to deepen them. So much better than "Here's a worksheet, they know what to do". Now, I did have that for two of the classes at this school.  They had been working on recorders and being in the junior division, it's a challenge to let them actually have playing time with a substitute teacher. The first class, was to name the lines and spaces. Many of them copied the example on the board and instead of writing a music note in the line or space, they wrote the note name. The other class was working on short compositions and music goals. I did allow them to play their recorders to help with the composition. I also taught them "Baby Shark" but I didn't realize it needed F#.

I haven't been back since these two times in January, but funny how after the first day I said I probably wouldn't go back here, and then I ended up there 3 more times!

Music!

I was excited for the next morning's job. A school not too far, not too early, half day. Music. Lucy has friends that went to this school, and they seem normal LOL. Lucy has good friends though.

Got there, signed in, my shared office was directly off the main front hall and I could hear lots of conversations between teachers getting caught up after the break. It sounded like a nice community!

My first period, I was heading to a gr 1 class. I recognized the name as the younger sister of a boy and girl I knew fairly well in high school. Her brother was the best man, I think, at my brother's wedding. I didn't really know her--just knew of her. And of course, I have a different name now. Do I tell her?

But I got stopped just short of the classroom by a woman who spoke my name. She asked me why I was there, explained why she was there (director of the day care, they have an office attached to this classroom), it's been a long time, how are you...etc.

And I was standing there with my mouth open, thinking...who ARE you? I was pretty certain (before she explained it) that she wasn't the classroom teacher. She looked to be a bit older than me, but perhaps my age. She reminded me of someone! A girl from my grade in high school? A girl that had been in the flute section when I first joined the local band?

I went in the class, and continued my morning. I'm not sure when I remembered--was I still at the school or had I left? Even if I was at the school, could I go back and find her and say, "Now I remember who you are!".

She was the older sister of my ex-boyfriend/almost fiance.

We dated for 3.5 years, though she got married shortly after we started dating. I felt do dumb. LOL. I had seen her at a distance during a concert, a few years ago. Wonder what she's going to tell her family?

I don't really remember much of the morning. I didn't feel worn out when I left, so I guess it was good.

That evening, I got a message from a friend who's also a OT here. He asked if I had been at that school. Why?! When he went to sign out at the end of the day, he saw my name on the line below his! I hadn't even noticed!! And he had even told me a week before or so, that he was going to be at that school. I must have been really out of it that morning!!

First Day Back in January

Happy Birthday to me...my first day back to work after Christmas break was the afternoon of my birthday. I was back in for the jazz band director. I checked my notes to see if it would be the same day of the five day cycle that I had been in before. Nope! That made me feel better...but also made me wonder what else I would come across.

I got there and headed to his room. A man came out of the room just before I got there and said "Hi". I didn't know who he was. I went in and found the plans. The teacher had a 3 prep afternoon. Jackpot. However, there were some notes scribbled down about going to see the VP about covering other classes for the preps. I headed back down the hall.

That man that I past was the VP. He was super nice. We talked a bit about the school (340 students! That's tiny here), and the teacher and I said how I knew him from the jazz bands and how lucky the school is to have such a dedicated teacher and sure, I'll cover 2 other classes during my preps because I really don't need three preps, not a problem, I've been in PLP classes before and I'm glad to help out any way I can and by the way, can I kiss your butt anymore?

First up, a PLP class. This is a class for kids usually with autism and Down Syndrome. The more 'severe' kids are usually in this class full time and other kids might get some integrated subjects. First up, I knew two of the kids with Down Syndrome because they had been at my school last year. Whenever I'm in a PLP class, I always feel like an outsider. I don't know the kids, what their limits are, etc. Usually the EAs run the class but I can't just sit in the corner either. Especially not after the butt-kissing. I don't feel like I helped anything except maintaining their mandated ratios.

Then I had 2 classes of music. Again, worksheets. Again, poor engagement. He didn't leave clear instructions. Many kids said they had already done them. Was I to teach a lesson? Who knows.

Again I had recess duty in the cold and damp. Bleh.  At least some kids here talked to me. One even noticed I had coloured my hair!

Last period I had to cover for a teacher upstairs. Went there...no one in the room. Saw an adult, asked...they didn't know. Back down to the VP who realized he had made the mistake, sent me to the right room, about 10 minutes into the class. It was "just" an art class. Grade 7 or 8. They were using liquid tempera paints. You could tell they didn't have to buy it themselves. You could also tell they aren't very skilled in cleaning up after themselves.

Back down to the music room to write my note and collect my things. There were a couple girls waiting around, they said, for their vocal coach/teacher. Finally she came. I gathered that these two girls were stars in the school music (They are doing Shrek). One of the kids sat at the piano and just started playing/singing Happy Birthday randomly. I said "Thank you!" They thought I was joking. I was like...no...it really is my birthday! That was a nice way to end the day!

Again, no pictures. What's up with that, Blogger?

Music Teacher?

I got a call for another afternoon at the high school far to the east. Why do they keep sending me there? There's 4 high schools right in my town! The job said Instrumental Music, but the special notes said Period 3 in P1, Civics and Careers; P4 is prep.

I get there, and sure enough, I get assigned an "on call". The details weren't great. There was a folder with attendance and what the two different classes were to do. There was also a folder saying "Study Hall" and pictures of all the kids, but no instructions on what to do.

The Civics/Careers class was fine. They were working on a simple poem about who they are. Then back inside to go babysit kids in the cafeteria. A boys fitness (phys ed) class and a math class. None of the boys worked on the assignment. One kid said he just won't do it, it doesn't care about the 5% it affects his final mark. One other kid says he'll use the same project he turned in last year for the course.

Throughout the last half of the period boys were asking to go to their locker or washroom. I noticed after awhile they didn't seem to be coming back. By 30 minutes before the bell, there was only a couple of the boys left. Whatever. It was almost Christmas break.

Another day of feeling like my degree was a waste! But still, pretty easy money for a 1/2 day work.

Music Teacher

I was pretty tired after two days in a row of full day kindie jobs. How do the kids do it? How do the teachers do it? But I grabbed a primary music job for the next morning because 1) it's music 2) it's primary and 3) it was nearby at a school I really enjoyed earlier in the year.

I got there, and my "classroom" is essentially the back part of the stage. I'd read about this sort of thing in the elementary music teacher group on Facebook. The plans said everything was in the cupboard. The cupboard was locked. There was evidence (and I checked their website) that they had their primary concert the night before.

I went back to the office and there was a teacher there---Megan's kindie teacher! I knew she was at this school. I mention the connection but I doubt she remembers Megan, she's been a teacher a very long time. She led me back and unlocked the cupboard with all the materials. MusicPlay CDs and we'd be singing along, basically. More kindie classes! I'm going to forget how to talk to older students LOL.

I had to do the first class in their room because the stage doors panels hadn't been closed yet. It was fun learning the songs with them, and it was a good class for it. The next few classes I had to go and get them and take them to the stage. Most of the classes were great! There was one class...many kids were absent (I think it was 9!) but the ones that were left were quite a handful! Not too interested in following instructions! We got through it though.

One of the kindie teachers looked very, very pregnant. This was almost the middle of December. A month later her maternity leave LTO was posted in the jobs. I don't understand why they leave posting a maternity leaver LTO until the last minute. It'll post on a Monday, close on Wed, and start on Friday. I was once told that they can't hire the replacement until the leave has started, so that's why there's a delay. But can't they have the replacement lined up before then? They could be coming in and getting to know everyone...

Second Chance Kindies

As mentioned yesterday, I pre-arranged to come in for a kindie class that I covered earlier in the school year. A full day. I was pretty worried. The one afternoon had been very draining, how would a whole day go?

The regular ECE was there. That helped immensely. So much so, that I think they shouldn't be allowed to have both out on the same time. And that every class in a school should have another adult in the class. This time, the day went pretty smoothly. I got to know the kids a bit better and get back stories on some of them. There were still some challenges typical to kindergarten but I didn't come home feeling like I'd survived a tornado. I felt maybe things were getting good again, and perhaps primary is where I belonged. People are often amazed that I do primary and high school (and intermediate, which was 7-8 when I took the program but now seems to include 7-9 or even 7-10). I rarely have had a good day with grades 5-6 and even 7-8 can be hit or miss. I was planning to do my Junior ABQ this summer (4-6) but I don't ever want to made to teach 5-6 just because I have the qualification. Right now, I can hit "Not Qualified" on the job calls and I'm not permanent so a principal can't assign me a junior class (if I were permanent---the principal can shuffle teachers around to keep them fresh, provide continuity, or just cause they want you to deep clean your room by moving to another room....okay, maybe that's not a valid reason but I've seen cases where that's what it seemed like!).

Kindies!!

I went on my road trip, but just prior to going, I was messaged by the kindie teacher from the class I had for the afternoon, with the supply ECE. She had asked if I'd like to come back on a regular basis, she had 3 days in December that needed someone. I said I wasn't sure about the first day because I thought I was getting home on the 11th and knew it could be late. I ended up booking the 13th for her. One day instead of three, but oh well. I really didn't even want to go back after the first time there!

But, the day before that I got another kindie job. Full day, fairly close. Early start school though! I got to watch the sunrise from the classroom. 

 I have to be there 30 minutes before the start time, so don't worry, the kids weren't coming in the dark.

 I love this display on levels. Although, how often do they use this in kindie?

The ECE was nice, I encountered a lot of nice students in the halls too. I was told the school was a square, but it didn't seem like it when I was walking around. A teacher from my kids' school had moved here a couple years ago and I thought I might find him, but he wasn't on the same floor and I was hesitant to go to the lower floor since I kept getting "lost".

I had to work with a small group of kids focusing on initial letter sounds, using these flash cards. The others were simple. N for nest, B for ball. But what was this one?! Rob says "Intelligence". Someone suggested "e-e-e-e-e-" sound that the dolphin makes. Someone suggested "injured Ian" (cause the diver seems to be missing a foot).  If anyone knows, let me know please!!

I love these days that nothing really stands out!

And This is Why I Avoid This Area.

I do like to give schools the benefit of the doubt, especially if offered a primary job. The next half day job was a school in an area I try to avoid. Being in moms groups and just watching the news, I know there are issues. Usually though primary grades are okay. I hadn't worked much in the week prior, and I was leaving the next night for a road trip, so I really wanted the job (actually, I wanted the money from the job LOL). I did turn down a couple calls first. One or two of them were for Phys Ed. No thanks. I know there is often a co-op, student, or co- teacher but I'm not risking it.

I head over to the school. It's a windy day and because I'm not fond of the 401, this took me awhile to get there.  I followed another OT into the school, commenting on how we're doing the Supply Teacher Shuffle--looking down at our phones to remind ourselves of the teacher we're in for.  I am very familiar with the school layout from other schools, but it's still so weird seeing it with different people, things, culture. The kids in the office seemed nice. I asked them how they liked the school and they replied that they like it a lot better this year because of a new VP/P staff that actually lets them do events instead of automatically saying no.

I got to the class and it's a 3/4 split but the 4's were only a few kids, maybe four or 6. They would be going off to do French with another class and I'd have the grade 3s for a few periods. I read the plans and they said to read the IEPs for a couple students and there were things noted to pay attention. One of the students seemed like they had a lot of issues and I started getting worried. The class came in, I did attendance...and that one student had been suspended! In grade 3! With Restorative Justice in schools, it takes a lot to actually get suspended. I can't imagine what happened in grade 3 to get him suspended.

First up was to be a "Number Talk" about 3x5=15. I didn't really know what a number talk was. The plans said to show 4 (I think) ways to show it. The allotted time (including attendance) was 25 minutes. How do you spend 25 minutes talking about 3x5? There didn't seem to be any actual work to go along with it. I think I fluffed about 10 minutes then encouraged them to do some other multiplication questions. I don't think anyone did. There was some talk about math and a few kids tried to stump me.

The other kids came back and they were working then on health posters. Cut and paste. It got a little messy but work was happening. There was another staff member present, but I don't know who they were. I'm thinking an EA.

And then the kicker. After recess was an hour of Phys Ed. No co-teacher, student teacher, or co-op student. And not much left in the plans. Luckily it takes time to get back inside from recess, and I made them clean up their messes from snack time, so that killed some time. I've been in some schools, especially ones with a full time phys ed teacher, that run a very structured program. There didn't seem to be that here. I looked up the game suggestions and we played them. I noticed two boys were having a difference of opinions on whether one was "out". That other staff member was there, and a woman appeared, who also seemed to be an EA. I thought we got it worked out but right before leaving the gym to get back upstairs, one of those two students started having a meltdown. The woman was talking with him so I stepped back and focused on the class dismissal.

By the time the class was getting their things together, this kid was off the wall. I could hear him above all the dismissal noise in the hall. Then he came in the classroom, swearing "F*$k this" and F that, shoving chairs across the room, throwing a few things off the desks. The EA was shadowing him and not saying much, but letting her presence be known. I continued with my end of day duties.

As I was leaving the school I came across her in the hall. She thanked me, and I thanked her! I told her I mentioned it in the note for the teacher, but I wasn't sure what it had been about. She filled me in a little and I felt better that the school was on top of it (as far as I could tell). No one got hurt, and I get to go home and not think about it anymore.

Kindies

I've mentioned before that I love being in kindie classes, especially when the regular ECE is there. I got an afternoon call for a nearby school so I jumped on it. When I got there, the kids were inside watching probably, Paw Patrol because it was raining. There was a lunch supervisor and one or two older student monitors. The class was incredibly quiet. The monitors kept them in line and didn't allow  any talking or other behaviours. Incredible!

I don't remember having to do much this afternoon. Two jobs in a row that went pretty smoothly? I did jump the gun a little on that, stay tuned for the next post. The worst thing that happened this day was the bulb in the projector was replaced and it got really smelly. I started to feel nauseous and so did some of the kids. No one threw up though, so that's good. I think the most interesting part of the day was that one student was named "Pharaoh". Haven't had that one yet!