Back to School

Working in a classroom that has 2 teachers and 14 children certainly has it's advantages, but I was too exhausted to notice that during the first couple of days as I was being moved around 3 different classrooms to help in the first instance with readers.
My first day during the last period I was supervising a class, with Maggie (as qualified teacher) also in attendance. Anyways, I was in the corner of the room answering a question, and she on the other side of the room asked a boy to get his reader. Instead of going round the desk in the middle of the classroom he climbed on top of it, and proceeded to swing on it before bringing the table down on his hand. I was exceptionally glad that I wasn’t supervising solo! Maggie took charge and sent him off to the ‘infirmary’ and he came back to school that afternoon with a greenstick fracture. I was a little apprehensive as to what was to follow!
On my second day I was inside during lunch with my mobile phone (alarm set) beside me, and I took a cat nap I was so tired out. For starters, I'd had no specific work routine in my life since June 2007 and for seconds, we’d been away every weekend in January.
After a couple of days instead of moving round classes, my position is now set as filling the maternity leave position in Ethan Jenner’s class. 5-6 year olds. They are very cute. Although it’s an international school, we really only have children with English or Indian speaking backgrounds in our class. I have filled in for a class since then that had 4 American, 2 Serbian, 3 Malaysian, 1 Australian, 2 Indian children, and it’s so much more fun to watch them interact with each other.
In the mornings I leave the compound with Maggie, her Aunt Esther, & Ethan, and generally in the afternoon Ethan and I come back by Auto as Maggie only works a half day. She works with the 3 year olds who leave at lunch which is nice for her. It’s so cute, because it’s usually quite warm in the afternoon Ethan goes to sleep on my shoulder, and I have to wake him up when we get to the compound gate and I need to pay the auto driver.
In the last week at school we’ve just started working on the ‘Wizard of Oz’ drama. Maggie and the Vice-Principal are co-directing. My little kids get to be the munchkins and sing the song ‘Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead’. SUCH a catchy tune. I sing it now everywhere I go. We have to teach them a dance, and it’s going to be so sweet. The music teacher is Russian. So the song goes ‘Ding Dong, the Vitch is dead... Vhich old Vitch... the Vicked Vitch’. Keeps me constantly entertained.
The ISH have just started afterschool activities, which I’m meant to stay for and it’s easier if I stay for, cause then Susie doesn’t have to drive to the school to pick Ethan up. Which is fine when it’s Indian Folk Dancing, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do when it’s Junior Gymnastics, or American Culture. I have to start preparing the lessons for the next day and do the office photocopying. Typical teacher stuff. Thankfully the teacher does all the planning, and handballs to me whatever she needs help with. It would be a massive job to do it all yourself...I’m starting to understand the workload, you teachers have who are reading this!!
Oh, and I should say that I’m quite pleased with the setup we have with the break times with the class I have. My teacher gives them all an extra 20 mins to eat their food before the break starts, so I sit down and eat with them and then when they go out to play and I’m not on playground duty, I can go to the library and catchup on reading, emails, etc. The teachers are all lovely and it’s amusing to sit in the staffroom and listen to their chitchat, but I feel it’s time used better elsewhere.
There is a tabletennis table downstairs, but I still need to find someone to play with, ... maybe the Irish PE teacher? And a piano upstairs, so I might take some music along one time. Hannah Ogden came last week on Tuesday, and we spent recess with her playing and me listening to the tones of REAL music.
Something else that I can’t leave this topic without mentioning is the canteen. Normal canteens sell loads and loads of junk food, so does this one. But it’s a little different with the same food prepared for all the children every day. A set fatty standard each day. For recess, for 22 rups, I can get choc milk and some sort of pastry with vege’s inside, or vege pizza, or something like that, and if it’s not hot choc milk, it’s orange / mango juice. For lunch, there is a full buffet everyday with vege and non-veg options. 3 of each. I had Spaghetti Bolognaise, and a pasta one day, and there is usually salad and a cake... eat as much as you can. After the first week of being consciencious, I lapsed, but now i’m trying harder again, because I could put on so much weight if I ate canteen food consistantly. It’s such incredible food. From now on, I have my cheese and tomato in the fridge and unless there is pasta, i stick to it. Not to mention getting up at 6am to go for a 45 min walk with Sarah Aunty.