LeafLeavers

Week 10 and term 1 is nearly done. Why haven’t schools in Canada adopted 10 week terms? People ask me how long our terms are at home and I didn’t have an answer. I’ve never really counted, but my exchange partner just told me after March Break there are 15 weeks until summer holidays. I hope 15 weeks go by smoothly and fast for her.

I know I am counting down to my first holiday. We are booked to visit Sydney and drive up Gold Coast to Brisbane. My mother-in-law is going to meet us in Sydney. She will embark on the 22 hr flight from Canada. Our flight from Perth to Sydney is 5 hours. From Sydney to Brisbane is about 11 hours drive. We have destinations and stops in mind for our road trip. Then we all fly back to Perth at the end of 2 weeks. 

Term 1 has been a bit of an uphill battle. At times it feels like I have never taught before and I am overwhelmed by the demands of teaching. I work through my breaks, I take work home and have forgotten that I need to keep a work-life balance. So I decided in term 2, I will eat lunch with my colleagues and I will try to keep work out of my home. 

My students are great! They love every game I have introduced. Anything kinaesthetic and involving technology is always a big hit.  Together we are learning from each other. When writing they use full stops instead of periods, speech marks instead of quotation marks.  Lined books and paper don’t have the red margin, they have to ruler up with a red pen. Texters instead of markers, rubbers instead of erasers and there’s no dramas (meaning no worries). My colleagues continue to support me by either passing on work or giving me pep talks.

The highlight of term 1 has been Faction Carnival Week. Since week 1 classes have been training for games and running for this event. Individuals and factions all participate from pre-primary to year 6. It was a great day for everyone! And to top it off, the day ended with drinks in the staff room. 

Most of my colleagues work only 4 days a week, some 2 and even 1. Overall there are less teachers working 5 days a week at my school. Atticus even has a Monday teacher and another teacher for Tues-Fri. I believe this is common practice and it supports a healthy work-life balance. I don’t think it’s as easy to work part-time back home and makes me wonder how employers support their employees to achieve the work-life balance and mental health. 

Another perk for teachers here is that they have long service leaves. I’m not quite sure how much they get but teachers do have to use them or they will lose them, and they can attach those days to a holiday if they wanted to. I know they can also bank their sick days which we once were able to do. 

I believe I might be plateauing for a bit as I start term 2 until report cards. Stay tuned…