A typical day in the life looks like….well honestly there isn’t one way to describe my day in a nutshell. I can have anywhere from 2 classes to 5 classes in a day. Some evenings we play tennis, others I coach the Junior Football team. So I’ll describe my day today as a start:
This morning I woke up at 7:15, got ready for school and walked the short 8 minute walk to Northcote. We live just off a main road that leads to the motorway and is always congested with rush hour traffic. The j walking rules are blurred and non existent (?) according to Fred and so I can usually squeeze through the stagnant traffic to cut off a minute of my walking commute (don’t tell mom!!) . I usually get to school around 8:15 and am the 2nd or third in the office out of 6. I finish up any lesson plans, would work on the edTPA, talk over content with the teachers I’ll be working with etc. This morning I had a free first period so I had extra time to make sure my worksheets were all sorted and look over my notes.
Second period starts at 10am. Instead of a passing period in which the bell rings at both the end of one lesson and the start of the next lesson, there is just one bell and the students are expected to get from one class to the next class efficiently. This does cause some issues when students are coming from different parts of campus and tend to trickle in. Sometimes it feels like we don’t start the lesson until 10 minutes have already gone by. Anywho…
Today in Year 11 PE we were focusing on preparing for the anatomy assessment on Monday. The students are expected to know major bones and muscles in the body, joints and how muscles work with the bones to pull and create movement. We started with a quiz (as we have with every class period for this unit) and then completed a worksheet about joint movement and muscles (agonist and antagonist). We ended with an overview of the assessment for Monday and answering any remaining questions.
The bell rung signifying the start of Morning Tea (or interval-a 30 minute break for students and staff).
After interval the students go to Form Time for 15 minutes and then third period starts at 11:45. Today in my Year 13 PE class, students had a practical lesson about the different methods of training (continuous, interval, and fartlek) to follow up their last few theory lessons that discussed energy systems and the principles of training. Before the holiday break, the students will be writing a training program for their duathalon that will take place the beginning of term three. For the time being, we are focusing on learning how to train for the 5.4k route that they will have to run. Today I set up two stations, one a continuous 10 minute run in which they had to determine their target heart rate for 65% intensity and then try to train at that intensity. Station 2 was focused on interval training in which they ran 50 meters at 95% speed, rest for 30 seconds and repeat. The goal of this station was to think about how their body feels and at what point in the run their muscles started to burn (lactic acid) and to identify the energy systems that correspond to the body’s reactions. They also completed a worksheet I created with questions about each method of training.
Lunch is from 12:45-1:30 and as the weather is nice, most of the students eat outside on the big grass field or in the courtyards. I eat in the PE office with the other teachers.
Year 12 PE today was a work lesson for the students to write a lesson plan and develop leadership/communication strategies they can use on Monday when they teach a group of junior students a sport or skill. The unit they are in right now is Leadership and they discuss communication and motivation.
Today was a nice day because I also had 5th period off. This gives me a chance to reflect on the day, think about future lessons, wrap up anything in the office and discuss with my CT’s future planning. After every lesson, the teachers give me feedback and we talk about strategies they use related to both classroom management and content explanation. It’s also beneficial for me to hear more about the greater schedule for the class and the other assessments they have throughout the next term and also the NCEA requirements which is the achievement standard the assessments are marked to and moderated by the ministry of education.
This is my Timetable for the term. There are a couple LSC (learning support center) classes that are highlighted that I don’t attend because it would amount to being over full time.
Other things:
On Monday mornings (8:30) and Thursday mornings (8:45) we have staff briefings in which the SLT (senior leadership team including the principle, vice principal and deputy principals) go over their announcements and other staff give updates on things happening in their classes, sporting events coming up etc.
Wednesday morning is late arrival which allows the staff to have meetings such as PLG (professional learning group meetings) to discuss projects their working on and the goals they’ve set within the department.
Class starts at 9:30 and the first two classes are only 45 minutes long. Third period is then replaced by Pastoral Care in which the year 9 classes are paired up with the peer support leader, a year 13 individual who works with them on team building, confidence activities etc. Year 10,11,12 have presentations, activities and guest speakers focused around well-being, goal setting etc. The time table is on a rotating schedule so that third period lands on a different day of the timetable every week so to ensure that the same class isn’t constantly missing out on their contact time.
Monday and Wednesday after school I coach my year 9 football team. They are the best. None of them have ever played football before but they come out every day excited to try and learn new things. We’ve started with the very basics such as how to pass, juggle, dribble and shoot but the main goal is to maximize enjoyment so that they want to keep coming to practice. I’ll be bummed to say goodbye to them on Wednesday at our last practice.
Tuesday Nights I play tennis with Fred, Jake, Mark (their friend) and Pete (the school’s groundskeeper). We play on the astroturf courts at the school for about an hour and a half, rotating teams and subs. Although my technique isn’t great, I can keep up okay with the others and it’s been very fun! I’m hoping to get friends together over the summer at home to play once a week because I’ve enjoyed the routine and challenge of playing every Tuesday!
Weekend activities vary from low key days at home, afternoons spent in town along the waterfront, trips with the fam, the tongariro hike and this weekend I’m planning on going wine tasting!
A bit long winded but that is my day (and extra) in a nutshell!