One Week gone!

Well Cathy and I have officially been here over a week! And it has been a busy week! Last week was the first week at Swanson Primary. It is great! Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly! Just like everyone in New Zealand! I actually have been able to do a lot of teaching! I have taken over fitness, role, and diary writing. I love having fitness in the morning. Kids need a time to run around and get their blood flowing. I really hope in my future classroom I can incorporate this everyday. On Thursday I got to take over the first two hours! Which was exciting! I learned a lot about kids this age. First thing, they remember EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. I did not line them up the correct way and they made sure to tell me that it was the wrong way. So I better make sure I do things the way they know! So now I will be taking over subjects more and more. It is going much quicker than I anticipated but that is because the term is only 7 weeks. And I am quick to do whatever I can. I want to get every experience I possibly can so I am happy to jump in whenever possible! There are so many different things I have learned in just the first week that I know I want to incorporate in my future classroom. On Friday they had a team assembly and at this time they sang songs, passed out certificates and read a story. I love how the team is so connected and work so well together. It shows off to their students.

This past weekend Cathy and I took a trip to the Bay of Islands. That was beautiful. I can’t even put it into words how pretty it was. It was the most amazing place I have ever seen in my life! We got to see the beauty of New Zealand on the bus ride up. So many hills and beauty around every corner (and tons of sheep). New Zealand is amazing!!

Hello New Zealand!

Hello New Zealand! Today was my 4th day in New Zealand and I am feeling a little more relaxed now! Cathy and I arrived on Saturday at about 6am. The flight was absolutely wonderful, minus sleeping sitting up! But can’t help that. Air New Zealand is fabulous! Saturday felt like the longest day of my life! I stayed up for most of the day until 5, then, I just crashed! But the jetlag is gone now, so that’s good! I will be staying with Rachel, a teacher at Swanson, and her partner Ken. They are very nice and so welcoming! It has been an exciting time to be in New Zealand, with their win of the World Cup! Cathy and I took a trip into Auckland on Monday to watch the parade. It was very exciting to see the pride the country has for Rugby. I had never watched a Rugby game so that was very exciting and different to watch! Such a rough and scary game! Today was our first day of school at Swanson Primary. My cooperating teacher is Ms. Debra Logan. She is wonderful! I love her classroom management skills. And after just one day, I feel like I have learned SO much. The students clearly respect her and she respects them. We had a Powhiri today. It is a traditional Maori welcoming for visitors. There is a new Deputy principal and a new teacher so we were welcomed a long with them. This was a very interesting experience! It is to welcome the visitors but then to make the visitors or the manuhiri into the Tangata whenua, which is like a part of the community. I love the Maori language! It is fascinating. Too bad I butcher the words horribly! Oh well I better practice! The school day seems much different than home. There is fitness every morning (which I will be in charge of tomorrow!) Which is wonderful because at home the kids are lucky if they get gym twice a week for 30 minutes. The day is also broken up much differently. 9-11 first block 11-11:40 Morning tea (Students eat part of their lunches) 11:40-1:10 second block 1:10-1:55 Lunch 1:55-3:00 Third block I think I am going to really like this schedule. I am really excited for this experience; I know I will learn so much from Debra! For this weekend, Cathy and I planned a trip to the Bay of Islands! We are both very excited for this!