Did you read the instructions?

I'm sure any of my teacher friends will be able to relate to this post. I've been teaching for 9 years now, and I'm sure this would have to be the question I ask most frequently. Why am I writing about it? Just reflecting.

Today we were learning about time-lines in mathematics, and students had to create a time-line of a day in another class, using information provided in their book. I started the lesson with a demonstration, using our own timetable, of the various skills required. The biggest one was how do I make all that space show the correct amounts of time. After I'd demonstrated a couple, I had students continue the process on the whiteboard. Frustration abounded when the computer went into sleep mode (I've frozen the display) and I couldn't get it to come back again in exactly the same place. We worked around that, and it seemed like students were getting it, so I moved to the next step which was having students work independently in their maths journal.

Here's the link to where I got these

Before we got started I introduced our new Check for Comprehension Cards, and showed the student page using the projector. We talked about some of the more tricky parts, and then I sent to off to get started. Unfortunately, I forget to actually read the instructions at the top of the page with the students. Ooops!

As I wandered around the room, most students had either green or yellow cards displayed, which was a good start. After giving them time to get started, I took another walk around the room, and discovered that none of them had actually read the instructions, or if they did they weren't following them. I called the whole class back to the mat, and asked who had read the instructions. About 3 hands went up. I asked one of those students why they hadn't used any coloured pencils, which is what the instruction indicated. Her reply shouldn't really have surprised me, given the cultural context. She said, "No-one else was using colour so I didn't either."

We then reviewed the two sentence instruction at the top of the page together, highlighting the one word some might not have known, and then I sent them back to work. Alas, I still had students using a single colour for the whole time-line, and others who didn't put anything on it at all. Looks like I'll need to review the activity tomorrow. I'll see how many actually get it right, and I might have to get some new copies of that page and do a full demo on the board!

Ah, the joys of teaching! My favourite question: "Did you read the instructions?" Thankfully this was a learning activity and not formal assessment!

Happy New Year

Another year has come and gone. I can distinctly remember all the work that went in to computer programs to ensure that Y2K (Year 2000) didn't create massive disruptions in the health system (and more particularly the BreastScreening program that I worked in at the time. At that time I had no idea what God had in store for me. In fact that was the year I embarked on a Graduate Certificate in Management (Queensland Health). I wasn't really sure where I was heading, but I guarantee that I wouldn't have even dreamed of being an elementary classroom teacher in an International School in Phnom Penh, let alone having been doing it for 9 years! Yes, I'm about to start my tenth year of teaching! Doing what I always wanted to do, back as far as primary school, and certainly for most of my high school year. God took me on a journey, eventually leading me to East-West International School, Phnom Penh. It's my sixth year at EWIS, and I still love it.

Tomorrow is the start of second semester for me. I've enjoyed the two week break from teaching (not completely from the classroom). Now I'm looking forward to seeing the children again tomorrow and getting them back into learning mode. Some of them have been busy over the break using RAZ-Kids and Xtra Math, which is good. Others have hopefully read the books they borrowed from the classroom library and school library. Some will have done both. My lessons for this week are planned and most of the preparation is complete.

Tomorrow we start work on daily number fact practice for multiplication. After we finish 40 days of multiplication we'll move on to division. Some of the students know their facts quite well so will be working on speed, others know them or can work them out very slowly, and they'll be working on speed as well, while others will be working on both speed and accuracy.

I'm not completely caught up on my marking, but there's not a huge amount to do. I'm hoping I can be completely up-to-date by the end of the week. I've still got after school program on Mondays for 3 more weeks, and then I'll do a term on Tuesdays, since uni has scheduled Collaborate lecture sessions on Monday afternoons.

My non-school goal for January is to read and take notes on my text book for the coming semester. The unit I'm about to embark on is called Inclusive Education: Theory, Policy and Practice. While the primary focus of the textbook is on the Australian and New Zealand context, I'm looking forward to exploring it in relation to the context of International Schools, especially in Asia, and particularly in Cambodia. Semester doesn't officially start until 22nd February, and actually teaching dates are 29th February to 3rd June, with a break from 26th March to 3rd April (I've got no doubt I'll be busy working on assignments during that break!). There will be plenty of extra reading to be done once the semester starts as well as lectures to listen to and assignments to write!

After a very early start this morning (4.30am wake-up to catch the flight back to Phnom Penh), I'm planning an early night tonight. I hope that plan works and I'm bright-eyed and well rested by 6am tomorrow for the coming school week. I hope that your 2016 has begun well, and is a good year. Soursedey Chnam Thmei. Happy New Year.

Construction progress continues

While students, teachers, and cleaners enjoy their Winter Break, progress on the construction site between the two buildings has continued. The hallways are filthy and the cleaners are going to have a big job to do to get them clean before school resumes, however at least work is progressing, albeit slowly (or that's how it appears). Here are a few photos to bring you up to date.

First is shot of our new PE area, taken on 22nd December 2015. Framing for the roof was going up.

The roof is on the new PE area. Looking north west.

Looking South East at the PE area.
The roof has some sections of green poly-sheeting to let additional light in.
They are green, rather than clear, so hence the green cast on these photos.

Looking up at the roof of the PE area.
Definitely room for balls to go high in Volleyball and Basketball games.

Some of the area outside my classroom with with framing removed - 20th December 2015.
There had actually been some effort made to tidy things up.

Looking out the window from the "walkway" area towards my classroom - 26th December 2015
The white rendering definitely makes things lighter and brighter in the classroom.

This is what's going on at my end of the building. 26th December 2015.

And this is taken from my classroom looking the other way.
They're working on both ends at the same time.
26th December 2015.

I'm not sure, but from the noise going on outside my room this afternoon, they are probably also working on railings along each end of the building at the moment. I keep on shutting the doors that lead to the work area to remind the children that these areas are off limits. As you can see, cleanliness of the work site is not a priority, and we can't wait for construction to be completed, since all that cement dust gets routinely tramped inside the building all day every day. Poor cleaners. It has to be discouraging for them that 5 minutes after they mop the hallways there are dirty, dusty footprints all down them. Life's like that.

The last three photos were taken back on 22nd November, 2015 and show the progress that has been made with the new hall. We're hanging out for this space to be finished so we can be more comfortable for assemblies and other whole school events.

That's it for now. I wonder how much more will get done between now and when we resume school. I'll try and remember to take some more photos on the first day back!

Winter Break Begins

Last time I wrote was after a crazy weekend. The week that followed was a good one, with two teaching days followed by an inter-school sports day at the International School of Phnom Penh. I think there were students from eight schools involved, all from Phnom Penh. It was a great day. The emphasis was on participation rather than formal competition, but there was opportunity for that as well. Our students had opportunity to try a variety of activities that they don't get to do at East-West, including an 800m run, long jump, high jump, hurdles, sprints, and shot put, as well as fun activities like "rocket throw" and "fish throw" (kid friendly versions of javelin and discus), sack races, three legged races, water relay races, and standing long jump. At the end of the day there were 4 x 100m relay races for each grade level with one team from each school in each race. It was a hot day, but my lovely head umbrella helped keep me cool. Generous lathering on of sunscreen was also necessary. Frozen water bottles, topped up as I emptied what had defrosted, kept me hydrated during the day.
One highlight for me was seeing a young man who I had known as a teenager during my first years in Cambodia, working as a responsible teaching assistant at that school.

We returned to school after lunch, and retreated to the classroom where I turned on fans and air-conditioning, and settled the students with a movie. We watched Treasures of the Snow, a story I have loved since childhood, and finished it off the next afternoon after the Grade 3-5 assembly. 

It was good to have a day off the next day, and then one more teaching day before the weekend.

This week we had a full week, but since it was leading up to holidays I decided to get most of the real work done by Thursday, and make Friday a fun day. I took it one step further, and decided to show a movie on Thursday afternoon. It's a fun movie, but the setting is Egyptian and it involves archaeologists hunting for lost treasure in a pyramid, so it fits in with our current Social Studies unit on Ancient Egypt and pyramids. Friday morning we played math games (practising multiplication facts), did a little grammar, and then either played a word game or listened to a Raz-Kids story on internet safety. 

Report cards were handed out on Thursday, along with school calendars for the coming year, and returned work folders. My students amazed me by ALL remembering to return their blue returned work folders to me, empty on Friday.

Today, I enjoyed a relaxed pace and worked on producing a news/prayer letter. There are quite a few hours work involved, but it's done now, and sent. Mission accomplished. I slipped out for dinner, and ended up sharing a table with our elementary principal who was on a similar mission. It was nice to have company after spending the day alone. Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to meeting up with one of my students from my first two years at East-West. Her family were in Cambodia for two years with Australian Volunteers Abroad, and I had the pleasure of teaching her and her friends for both 3rd and 4th grades. Her family is visiting Cambodia, and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

A busy weekend

This weekend was fairly busy for me, but in a fun kind of way.

Saturday had three events, and Sunday had one. In between I managed to put a few Christmas decorations up at home, do a little bit of school preparation and grading, and get some sleep. Thankfully we get a public holiday on Thursday this week, and Wednesday is our Grade 3-5 Inter-School Field Day. The forecast for Wednesday is mostly sunny, and 33 degrees Celsius! Lots of sunscreen and water, along with my crazy head umbrella should help me stay cool. I've already got water bottles and peanut butter sandwiches in the fridge in preparation for that day.

Saturday morning was the grand celebration of East-West International School's 10th Anniversary year. The school opened in August 2006, just 5 months before I moved to Cambodia, and I joined the team at East-West in August 2010. There were a number of fun activities going on, but the one I enjoyed most was playing volleyball. It's not something I do often, but when I get the chance and feel inclined to do so I enjoy it (even if I'm not great at it). I did manage to get quite a few serves in, and a few other good/lucky shots. My right arm is only slightly bruised, although it was pretty sore for a while on the day. The day was complete with speeches, cake, and a presentation to our principal, who will be leaving us in the not-too-far-distant future. She has been there since school started, and is much loved by those who have worked with her.

One of the features of the celebration was an art display, put together by both the elementary and high school art classes. I was totally impressed with the work on display, and couldn't resist taking some photos to share.

This is work by students in my current class, who have been studying Egyptian art.

This work is by students from previous years now in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

Three of these are also by previous students in 6th and 7th grade.
The bottom one of the puppy, is by one of our 11th grade students, and it was so beautiful I just couldn't resist snapping it.

Following the morning's activities (from 9 - 11.30am) the staff were invited to lunch by the owner of the school, which was held at a local buffet style restaurant. The food was good, time with colleagues away from school was good, and this was the chance to present Sandra with a very special card, created by our elementary art teacher.

From there I headed across town to a Christmas Fair, where I caught up with a few friends, and enjoyed wandering around and looking at what was on offer by various NGOs, and making a few purchases.

 By the time I got home I was ready for a quiet evening.

Sunday afternoon brought the final choir practice for this season, followed by our performance. This year's Bella Voce Community Choir Christmas Charity Concert was to a packed house with 700 tickets sold. We've worked hard, and had some fun and laughs along the way. The obvious enjoyment of the audience made it worth all the effort. There are two more private performances to go, only one of which I am involved with, but I'm looking forward to that on Friday.

Meanwhile here are a few snaps from the evening.

Quick updates

Several weeks ago, I posted about the puppet theatre I'd created out of poly pipe, along with some photos. At the time I didn't have any of the finished product, so here's one taken during our assembly rehearsal.

The assembly went well, and the audience seemed to enjoy our presentation.

The next photo is one of nature's little gifts to me. I spotted this beauty on the way upstairs one morning. I love the symmetry in these creatures, and what was particularly amazing to me was the way the colour in this moth's wings was a perfect match for the wall it had landed on.

The last couple of days at school have been somewhat painful, as construction workers set about dismantling the scaffolding outside my classroom. Here's what it looked like by Friday afternoon. They're not finished yet, but hopefully it won't be too much longer, and I'll be able to open the blinds and windows and let some daylight and fresh air into the room.

Finally, my students have been busy on their culminating project for our Map Skills unit. In the past I've had them complete a poster about their country as well as the map, but this year I've chosen just to have them complete the map. Here's what they've come up with.

Next week each group will have to present their country to their classmates, and try to convince them why it would be good to move to their country. Later I'll display them in the hallway, with a written piece for each group, and the option for students from the grade 3 to 5 classes to vote which country they would like most.

Reflecting on passing time.

This week it has been a privilege to see parents posting photos on Facebook of their children's high school graduations and formals. These are children that I once knew quite well, having watched them grow from babies, through toddlerhood, and into primary school, and taught them in Sunday School and Kids' Club. They are now young men and women, on the verge of exploring life beyond high school. It is delightful to see their growth and evidence of their growing maturity. In May 2016, I hope to have the privilege of seeing some of my first students (3rd & 4th graders) graduate from high school. It is exciting to know that many of those students I had in my first class have gone on to become young men and women of faith and integrity.

At the same time, it makes me increasingly aware of the passing of time. It's now nearly ten years since my first visit to Cambodia, and in January it will be nine years since I came to take up my first teaching post on a six month contract. While I was prepared for it to be longer than six months, I don't think I had any idea that it would be this long. I have grown so much over those nine years. I've learnt so much about teaching, and about working with people, and about living in a country that is not my passport country. It hasn't all been easy. In fact there have been times which were extremely difficult for me. Times of pain. Times of uncertainty. Times of anger. Times of grief. There have also been many great times. Times when I've seen the lights go on for a child - the "Ah, now I get it!" moments. Times when I've seen children discover the joy of reading. Times when I experienced God's grace and forgiveness. New friends. Fun times with old friends. I've learnt that it's not necessary to be totally in control of what's going on in my life. I've learnt that I'm not really a very adventurous person at all.

People sometimes ask me how long I will stay here in Cambodia. My answer to that is "As long as God leads me to stay."  How will I know when it's time to move on? I'm not sure. I just know that God will make it clear to me. Meanwhile, I have a desire to see continued growth in the education of Cambodian children, and to do all I can to help the young people of Cambodia grow, learn, and make a difference in the future.

This school year has already proven challenging, but it has mostly been good. I have been challenged to think about the ways that I teach my students, and how effective that might be. After four years teaching the same grade level, it is possible to be stuck in a rut, so that's a good thing. It doesn't mean it's easy, but it is good. I will be a better teacher because of the challenges I've experienced this year. I've also been challenged again in the way I interact with colleagues, and that's a good thing too. So thankful that God is slowly changing me. He is so patient.

It was good to take the break from study this semester. I wouldn't have chosen to do it, knowing that I'm proceeding slowly anyway, but it was necessary. Now I'm looking forward to getting back into the study routine again. Time passes. It's good to "stop and smell the roses".