my kids did a great job though.
doodles:
"peace is when everything is simple, and everyone understands and appreciates its simplicity" - my friend alanna.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
what did yOU do for international peace day? (sept. 21)
i devoted my classes to doodling peace doodles, and philosophizing (is that a word?) about peace and what it really means... trying to come up with a comprehensive definition although that seems near impossible.
my kids did a great job though.
doodles:
"peace is when everything is simple, and everyone understands and appreciates its simplicity" - my friend alanna.
my kids did a great job though.
doodles:
"peace is when everything is simple, and everyone understands and appreciates its simplicity" - my friend alanna.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
more photos.
love and friendship day
some of my students and their macmol projects.
that's me. really high up.
brett in the mountains
my friend isa, aka boo from monsters inc.
the view from my bedroom - nighttime.
the view from my bedroom - daytime.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
i talked to my beautiful delegation on skype today.
they were having a meeting at stephan's house.
oh they are so cute.
oh i miss them.
el dia de amor y amistad.
sept 16th. love and friendship day (ie, colombian valentine's day)
sept 15th. biggest 'valentine's' day celebration i have ever witnessed. granadino style.
colombians love love. honestly. and the nice thing about 'amor y amistad' is that it also celebrates how much you love your friends. as many of you know, valentine's day is not on my list of favourite holidays (it's just so cheesy, barf) but having the day be celebrated about love and friendship somehow makes it less barfy and more fun.
the grade 11s at granadino usually coordinate the day, which means they have the day off to organize the trillions of flowers, cookies, treats and things that are ordered into the school that people all give each other. they also have time to dress up like cupids and come around to classes, singing love and friendship telegrams for specific students and/or teachers. so hilarious. and to salsa dance around the hallways.
needless to say i was not expecting this kind of craziness! i got flowers from other teachers and from some of my students, presents and cookies, chocolate from my grade 9s, and lots of nice messages. even though i hate cheesy things, celebrating 'valentine's' day in highschool has to be one of the most fun places to do it. the students are just so adorable.
i also found out that i have a secret admirer! oooooooh.
i wonder who it is.
;)
sept 15th. biggest 'valentine's' day celebration i have ever witnessed. granadino style.
colombians love love. honestly. and the nice thing about 'amor y amistad' is that it also celebrates how much you love your friends. as many of you know, valentine's day is not on my list of favourite holidays (it's just so cheesy, barf) but having the day be celebrated about love and friendship somehow makes it less barfy and more fun.
the grade 11s at granadino usually coordinate the day, which means they have the day off to organize the trillions of flowers, cookies, treats and things that are ordered into the school that people all give each other. they also have time to dress up like cupids and come around to classes, singing love and friendship telegrams for specific students and/or teachers. so hilarious. and to salsa dance around the hallways.
needless to say i was not expecting this kind of craziness! i got flowers from other teachers and from some of my students, presents and cookies, chocolate from my grade 9s, and lots of nice messages. even though i hate cheesy things, celebrating 'valentine's' day in highschool has to be one of the most fun places to do it. the students are just so adorable.
i also found out that i have a secret admirer! oooooooh.
i wonder who it is.
;)
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
some things i love and some things i don't. part 3.
love:
playing team sports. it's super to run around with friends and have a funny time. especially when no one is any good. the teachers have a soccer team, and it's pretty hilarious when we have practice and games.
don't love:
everyone here thinks i'm really good at sports, just because i'm tall. seriously, that's the only reason. teachers can play on student's teams in colombia, and i have been asked to play volleyball, basketball, soccer, etc on the highschool girls teams. ya right! as soon as i go to one practice, they will kick me off the team.
for sure.
playing team sports. it's super to run around with friends and have a funny time. especially when no one is any good. the teachers have a soccer team, and it's pretty hilarious when we have practice and games.
don't love:
everyone here thinks i'm really good at sports, just because i'm tall. seriously, that's the only reason. teachers can play on student's teams in colombia, and i have been asked to play volleyball, basketball, soccer, etc on the highschool girls teams. ya right! as soon as i go to one practice, they will kick me off the team.
for sure.
some things i love and some things i don't. part 2.
love:
day 3! we have a 6 day rotation at school, and on day three i only teach three out of six hours. and i have HS lunch duty, which is also hilarious.
it means i have three glorious hours to myself in my classroom - planning, cleaning up, marking, etc. i always feel real good after day three. completely prepared. until the end of the next day. hah.
don't love:
day 1. it's today. and it's rainy and cold. i am still wearing my raincoat in my classroom. i have first period prep (which is quite nice really) but then i have 5 straight hours of teaching. ugh. i feel like i am putting on a show all day long. also, i have to teach the grade 12s on day one, which is fun because they are funny, but is also very hard because i see them only once per cycle and have to review with them two courses that i haven't taught yet... right. oh granadino.
day 3! we have a 6 day rotation at school, and on day three i only teach three out of six hours. and i have HS lunch duty, which is also hilarious.
it means i have three glorious hours to myself in my classroom - planning, cleaning up, marking, etc. i always feel real good after day three. completely prepared. until the end of the next day. hah.
don't love:
day 1. it's today. and it's rainy and cold. i am still wearing my raincoat in my classroom. i have first period prep (which is quite nice really) but then i have 5 straight hours of teaching. ugh. i feel like i am putting on a show all day long. also, i have to teach the grade 12s on day one, which is fun because they are funny, but is also very hard because i see them only once per cycle and have to review with them two courses that i haven't taught yet... right. oh granadino.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
a day in the life.
you may be wondering, at this point, if i've possibly embarked on some party of a lifetime adventure.. which in one way i definitely have. however, there is another aspect that i think has been missing in this blog - perhaps what i do everyday? cool. i'll tell you about it.
6:00 am. band plays (bang bang BOM BOM BOM, see previous post). i know i have to wake up in 15 minutes.
6:15 am. roll out of bed, get ready, pack for school, make some coffee and head out the door. sometimes some last minute preps for the day.
7:00 am. wait for the bus out front of my apartment building. with kathleen and grant. usually we talk about the army base band and how they sounded this morning.
between 7:05-7:20. board the staff bus that picks us up. it is sometimes, however not usually, punctual. we pick up a bunch of teachers on the way, and wind our way down the mountain, back up the mountain, through the nighttime rain puddles, and up to school. usually this time of day is the best for seeing the snowcaps. they are pretty breathtaking in the morning, and by early afternoon they are hidden in the clouds. It is wild to be amongst tropical plants and gazing up at snowcaps... i sometimes have to kick myself a few times. YES! you are really here.
between 7:25 -7:45. arrive at school. try not to fall down the slippery stairs, usually i'm carrying way too much stuff (today, for example, a cake i baked in our new oven!) say hi to students, open my room, get ready, the usual.
7:55. school starts.
kids pile in. usually i have 9B first period (every day in the cycle except for one) they sit down to some writing and reflection on what we learned yesterday, we listen to music.. and then start class about ten minutes into the period.
today was a review day since tomorrow they have a test. i can't believe i got throught my first unit. i mean, it was easy content but still - great success. now i just have to get through, i don't know... 7 more?
8:55. end of period 1. kids pile out. they are always so quick to leave, but also so slow to arrive... oh highschool students.
8:58. period 2. usually prep. sigh. photocopying, cleaning up, doing lifeskills evaluations (i do them EVERYDAY for ALL my students. it's a lot), getting ready for the next class.
10:01. period 3. 9A piles in. i can't wait until i get my camera cable, i have some pictures of my 9s and their macromolecule projects. they are so hilarious.
11:01-11:24. break time. today it was cake-break with a few kids from student council. yummm.
11:24-12:24. period 4. sometime prep, sometimes 10A, depending on the day. the tenth graders are awesome. there are WAY less of them, and they are much more responsible/mature. on friday, for example, we were all feeling a bit jittery. so i took them outside, and they sat around me on the grass, and we read a few (INTERESTINg, i promise) parts of the origin of species. I think they liked it. well, maybe just the outside and storytime part.
12:27-1:27. period 5. Usually 10B. this group is trying to fundraise to buy a class pet. they have told everyone to bring in 1000 pesos so we can buy one. they want a snake. i say that's ok, as long as THEY (not me) are willing to feed it (rats i think... gross). i would rather just get a fish. but hey, that's too simple, right? gosh.
1:27-2:20. lunchtime! by this time we are all pretty hungry and restless, so lunch is a welcomed break. it's nice to chat with my colleagues rather than 13-16 year olds.. and we get fed delicious hot colombian food. (well, some days more delicious than others). and it is enough food for me for the entire day (soup, rice, beans, meat, arepa, platanos, yuca, potatos ... some funny fruit usually). when i get home, i'm usually craving either a)vegetables or b)cheesecake.
2:20-3:20. period 6. usually prep or 10A. more photocopying/getting ready for the next day/cleaning up from my classes.
3:20. school's out. visitors drop by, some for extra marks, others to say hi, others to tell me about the manizales jazz festival coming up next week, others to find out what i'm doing this evening/weekend. they are nosy kids.
3:30. try to take off from school. only works on monday and friday though. usually we stay for meetings, prep, etc.. and sometimes we have yoga/ultimate/soccer practice.
4:30. take the bus home.
i usually crash pretty quickly after that. it's a long and lovely day.
and then it all starts again the next day...
6:00 am. band plays (bang bang BOM BOM BOM, see previous post). i know i have to wake up in 15 minutes.
6:15 am. roll out of bed, get ready, pack for school, make some coffee and head out the door. sometimes some last minute preps for the day.
7:00 am. wait for the bus out front of my apartment building. with kathleen and grant. usually we talk about the army base band and how they sounded this morning.
between 7:05-7:20. board the staff bus that picks us up. it is sometimes, however not usually, punctual. we pick up a bunch of teachers on the way, and wind our way down the mountain, back up the mountain, through the nighttime rain puddles, and up to school. usually this time of day is the best for seeing the snowcaps. they are pretty breathtaking in the morning, and by early afternoon they are hidden in the clouds. It is wild to be amongst tropical plants and gazing up at snowcaps... i sometimes have to kick myself a few times. YES! you are really here.
between 7:25 -7:45. arrive at school. try not to fall down the slippery stairs, usually i'm carrying way too much stuff (today, for example, a cake i baked in our new oven!) say hi to students, open my room, get ready, the usual.
7:55. school starts.
kids pile in. usually i have 9B first period (every day in the cycle except for one) they sit down to some writing and reflection on what we learned yesterday, we listen to music.. and then start class about ten minutes into the period.
today was a review day since tomorrow they have a test. i can't believe i got throught my first unit. i mean, it was easy content but still - great success. now i just have to get through, i don't know... 7 more?
8:55. end of period 1. kids pile out. they are always so quick to leave, but also so slow to arrive... oh highschool students.
8:58. period 2. usually prep. sigh. photocopying, cleaning up, doing lifeskills evaluations (i do them EVERYDAY for ALL my students. it's a lot), getting ready for the next class.
10:01. period 3. 9A piles in. i can't wait until i get my camera cable, i have some pictures of my 9s and their macromolecule projects. they are so hilarious.
11:01-11:24. break time. today it was cake-break with a few kids from student council. yummm.
11:24-12:24. period 4. sometime prep, sometimes 10A, depending on the day. the tenth graders are awesome. there are WAY less of them, and they are much more responsible/mature. on friday, for example, we were all feeling a bit jittery. so i took them outside, and they sat around me on the grass, and we read a few (INTERESTINg, i promise) parts of the origin of species. I think they liked it. well, maybe just the outside and storytime part.
12:27-1:27. period 5. Usually 10B. this group is trying to fundraise to buy a class pet. they have told everyone to bring in 1000 pesos so we can buy one. they want a snake. i say that's ok, as long as THEY (not me) are willing to feed it (rats i think... gross). i would rather just get a fish. but hey, that's too simple, right? gosh.
1:27-2:20. lunchtime! by this time we are all pretty hungry and restless, so lunch is a welcomed break. it's nice to chat with my colleagues rather than 13-16 year olds.. and we get fed delicious hot colombian food. (well, some days more delicious than others). and it is enough food for me for the entire day (soup, rice, beans, meat, arepa, platanos, yuca, potatos ... some funny fruit usually). when i get home, i'm usually craving either a)vegetables or b)cheesecake.
2:20-3:20. period 6. usually prep or 10A. more photocopying/getting ready for the next day/cleaning up from my classes.
3:20. school's out. visitors drop by, some for extra marks, others to say hi, others to tell me about the manizales jazz festival coming up next week, others to find out what i'm doing this evening/weekend. they are nosy kids.
3:30. try to take off from school. only works on monday and friday though. usually we stay for meetings, prep, etc.. and sometimes we have yoga/ultimate/soccer practice.
4:30. take the bus home.
i usually crash pretty quickly after that. it's a long and lovely day.
and then it all starts again the next day...
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