Hurry for the Workshop!

The Race is on!

RSVP ASAP to ensure that the workshop goes ahead. I have minimum numbers to cover costs and I'm almost across the finish line with them- but I need a few more.

Surviving and Thriving as a Supply Teacher

Sunday 11 March 
at the Raven Street Reserve meeting rooms

12 midday to 5pm
It covers just about everything a beginning Supply Teacher could want to know- from how to get work to what to do when you do get it!

• making a good impression
• behaviour management strategies
• how to plan on the spot for each KLA
• using flexible resources (which you get to take home)
• what the C2C means for Supply Teachers
• record keeping
• reflective practices.

We begin with a networking lunch and break for afternoon tea, and there are some great hands-on activities to share too.

$55 with refreshments, lunch, afternoon tea and take-home resources included

 email thepinksupplyteacher@gmail.com to reserve your place now

Tell me what you really thought...

I was very brave and asked my participants what they really thought of the Surviving and Thriving workshop last year...

I really enjoyed the session and learned a lot, can't wait to hear when you have more sessions. I'd really like to involved in any further planning days in the future.

~~***~~

Enjoyed the opportunity to share with other supply teachers both ideas and experiences.

Most valued the positive light you threw on the world of supply teachers and the reminder of how essential our job is!

LOVE the pink sheets with ideas for structuring lessons and relating it back to the classroom teacher.

Also games- not my strong point so very helpful

Thank-you

~~***~~

The workshop was really very informative. I could identify familiar ethics and techniques which I have applied with my many supply teaching days. I have gained a lot of new management strategies as far as behaviour is concerned and more interesting lessons which aim to make learning in the KLA more interesting and manageable.

Thanks Amber

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More Questions

How do you know what to teach when no planning is left?

How long is a piece of string? It really varies from school to school, and from class to class. It’s really what the workshop is all about- the practicalities of providing a day of educational activities plucked from thin air. I have the “cheat sheets” based on thinking strategies like higher order thinking, the six thinking hats and blooms taxonomy that can get you through those days- making a day of lesson plans appear from thin air.

What do you take to school with you each day?

A whistle, a smile and a (baby) laptop.  Everything else is optional. Actually everything apart from the smile is optional in a pinch.

I use a whistle (inside the classroom when necessary- talk about creating maximum impact!) to save my voice, the smile isn’t negotiable, and the laptop makes my day so much easier. The laptop plugs into any breed of smartboard, and depending on the school works as anything from a data projector only (open a word doc, or display a PDF of a worksheet and off you go) through to a fully functional smartboard. In some classrooms the smartboard may be the only whiteboard space available- and in some classrooms (actually most) you can’t write on it with conventional whiteboard markers. So no laptop = nowhere to write. Actually, as I pointed out in my presentation- it is possible to write on windows with whiteboard markers in a pinch. Just make sure you rub it off before you go home.

I’ve found as my confidence has grown, my “bag of tricks” has shrunk. I used to carry a huge array of whiteboard markers, coloured paper, notebooks, “cheat sheets” (you will get them at the workshop), a few favourite books (OK-now I carry all my favourite books with me- I love my kindle)… the list was endless. Now it’s a pen/pencil combo, the kindle and baby laptop, a few bits of pink paper and the whistle.

Let the Questions Begin...

So many questions...

How does doing Supply Teaching help you to become a Fulltime Teacher?

In lots and lots of ways! It helps you to build confidence and skills. It helps you to stay in teaching by paying the bills while you search for contracts. And lastly, and perhaps most importantly it allows schools to see how wonderful you are so that when that job vacancy does come up, they can employ you with confidence.

Don’t you miss having your own class?

I don’t get the chance to. I don’t have one class that I’ve built a special relationship with, I don’t have a school that I’ve built a special relationship with. I have children, lots and lots of children that I’ve had the chance to build special relationships with regardless of their class or school. I have children who I get to support across a number of schools as they are bounced from school to school. I have kids who manage to visit me when I am at their school no matter what classroom I’m in. I get to meet older brothers and little sisters. I see the kids at the shops and at the movies. I have kids who present me with their “Today I was awesome” slips from two schools ago. So no, I don’t miss having my own class, but I do relish the chance to build relationships with so many different kids (and teachers).

Kelvin Grove QUT

Maybe I should have worn the gumboots- the rain is still pouring down here, but a few dedicated souls still made their way to QUT Kelvin Grove for the employment information session. The lecture theatre was a little too large to play my pirate game (Caboolture students will know what I mean there), but I think everyone still appreciated the information that I shared.

It was lovely to look out across the lecture theatre and see all those eager faces, and I’m hoping that they will all enjoy their teaching career as much as I am. For many, their journey will begin in Supply Teaching- and I’m sure they will take the opportunity to build and confident in the wonderful world of supply teaching. I have so many email questions to answer, expect lots of Q&A posts over the next few days for those of you not brave enough to email. Keep the questions coming and I'll do my best to help you out however I can!

Surviving and Thriving as a Supply Teacher

For anyone out there who is still settling into the wonderful world of Supply Teaching... we have a workshop.

Surviving and Thriving as a Supply Teacher

Sunday 11 March 
at the Raven Street Reserve meeting rooms

12 midday to 5pm

$55 with refreshments, lunch, afternoon tea and take-home resources included

 email thepinksupplyteacher@gmail.com to reserve your place now 

Find out what others are saying about the workshop here.

Caboolture QUT Careers Day

Many thanks to a lovely audience today at Caboolture QUT. It was a pleasure to share "The Wonderful World of Supply Teaching"with such an eager bunch. Students in attendance received their very own treasure to take home... and and promised... find the rules to the Pirate Game below...

Captain's coming... salute
Scrub the decks.. pretend to scrub the floor with a scrubbing brush
Climb the rigging... mime climbing a rope ladder with your arms
Cannonballs... gasp, put hands to mouth, then duck
Walk the plank... With arms out to the side for balance, wobble a little
Captain's wife... bow/courtsey
Captain's son... flex biceps and grunt
Captain's daughter... point pointer finger to ceiling, wave it in a circle and say "woot wooo"
Captain is grumpy... make a fist, bring it across your body and say "aargh"
Port... point, jump in the direction of, or run to the left of the students
Starboard. ... point, jump in the direction of, or run to the right of the students
Bow... point, jump in the direction of, or run to the front of the students
Stern... point, jump in the direction of, or run to the back of the students
Sharks... put hands on head to make a shark fin and say "da da" (from jaws) three times 
Giant squid... wave arms about and make "blub blub blub" noises 
Crocodiles... these crocodiles are fast- three quick claps for the three quick bites to eat you all up!

I hope the final year sudents have as much fun with the pirate game as I do. I can't wait to try it out with the Kelvin Grove crowd tomorrow. 

Back to Uni

No, I'm not signing up to study again... but I will be back to talk to final year students at QUT this year... and the good (!) news is that the lecture theatre is bigger and better than the one we used last year. Gulp. Details to come.

Pretty Please- With a Cherry on Top!

I promise the days are full already!

This is a plea to anyone working right now to follow any planning left for them.

I’ve had a very, very brief peek through the window of C2C planning in the first week of school- and to be blunt I’m begging you (on behalf of all the Classroom Teachers I’ve spoken to) to please, please do you best to complete any planning left for you.

There just isn’t time to do those “extra” activities that we love so much. If a lesson has been left for you it’s something that has to be done- either by you in the allotted time you have, or somehow squeezed into an already busy day by an incredibly hard-working Classroom Teacher upon their return. Really the only fair way of doing our job is to follow their planning where at all possible. I hope everyone out there is nicely settled into their work for the year- I'll have some more posts to follow after a very busy week.