Life in Yellow 1

In my endeavour to blog more often, I am truly failing! It has been over a year since I last posted, and I have to say it is in large part due to that fact that I let myself become consumed by school and planning. In some ways you could say it’s a good thing. In other ways… sometimes I need a reality check and to take some time for other things (other than Netflix binging).

This year has been amazing. At the end of last year my school leader kept dropping subtle hints that I was being considered for a full time contract in my own class. It wasn’t until the last week of school when I was “rostered” to take a year 1 class for our whole school transition lesson, in which each child goes to their class for the following year, that I realised how serious it actually was. On the second-to-last day of school a group of receptions came running up to me, “MISS SMART… you’re going to be our teacher next year!!!”… “hold on” I said, “I don’t have a class for next year”… they showed me their half-scrunched notes in their hands. Clear as day, each note read: Your child’s class teacher for 2017 will be Miss Milly Smart (pending). Two days later, I was contacted by head office staffing “Hi Milly, this is XXX from DECD, I’m sure you’re aware you are being considered for a full time contract in 2017 {side note: I wasn’t really aware, just reading the blatant signs}, I am glad to tell you that has been approved, I trust you will let your principal know, have a great day”. And there it was. Official.

So now it is the mid-year holidays of 2017 and I have spent the last 6 months with my beautiful, unique, crazy Year 1s. They are challenging, and sweet, and good souls, and cheeky, and difficult, and everything you could want from your first class. They send me home exhausted each and every day. They infuriate me. They make me laugh. They make me sigh in absolute exasperation. They make my heart feel full. This year has reminded me a million times over while I am doing this job. I have an incredible bond with my kids, especially the ones who really struggle and find things hard.And if there is one thing I hope my kids take away from this year (aside from the love of stories and reading because I am gung-ho on that) is that they are loved, and respected, and they belong!

So, thats the update! I desperately want to blog about what I have been doing in Daily 5 this year, and about how it has reframed my thinking about how the classroom works (particularly flexible learning spaces and mini-lessons vs long lessons). But, I am making no promises as the worst blogger ever!

 

Warmest regards,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *