Going into my first teaching position I was excited/terrified about what to expect in the first week. Everyday I spent in my classroom I was gaining more confidence as meeting with staff and my Kauri team made this easier. Talking to teachers I realised that they were also nervous about the first day, meeting their students and how even as experienced teachers they sometimes felt as if they didn't know what they were doing. Obviously they have more experience figuring it out as they go, but this helped me to realise that all my feelings were completely normal.
I thought a lot about the first day, how it would go, meeting the students, and what I would say on the first morning I met them, but when it came to sitting down at the front of the class with all of them staring up at me I really had not prepared myself enough. If I was to do it again I would have prepared a few notes about what to say and how to say it however, not knowing my students gave me enough to talk about from the get go.
It took me most of the week (even now) to get the timetable in my head including when to do the roll, the 10:00 news, morning tea and lunch, pack up, team talks and general transitioning between lessons/activities. I have made a point of taking the time to check my planner before I sit down with the class so I can be confident with what to say and where the session needs to lead.
I have learnt quickly how fast the day really goes and how it is so easy to run over time. In week 1 it was easier to get away with running over time however, in week 2 this started to worry me as I was shuffling my plan around quite a lot or skipping things all together. This made me realise how important it is to keep things moving and time each activity so we all know when to move on.
Over weeks 1 and 2 to time with Waitangi day we discussed the treaty of Waitangi and, establishing our own class treaty. JO came in and read ‘The Tree Hut Treaty’ to room 10 in relation to creating our own class treaty next week. This was my first observation which reminded me how valuable the right picture books are when beginning a new topic. The students went away and made an X model which identified what our class treaty should look like, sound like, feel like, and what thinking it would involve. This model not only helped the students to unpack the treaty but also helped my learning in terms of learning more about the Hamilton East School toolkit, and how high the expectations are that my students set.
I thought a lot about the first day, how it would go, meeting the students, and what I would say on the first morning I met them, but when it came to sitting down at the front of the class with all of them staring up at me I really had not prepared myself enough. If I was to do it again I would have prepared a few notes about what to say and how to say it however, not knowing my students gave me enough to talk about from the get go.
It took me most of the week (even now) to get the timetable in my head including when to do the roll, the 10:00 news, morning tea and lunch, pack up, team talks and general transitioning between lessons/activities. I have made a point of taking the time to check my planner before I sit down with the class so I can be confident with what to say and where the session needs to lead.
I have learnt quickly how fast the day really goes and how it is so easy to run over time. In week 1 it was easier to get away with running over time however, in week 2 this started to worry me as I was shuffling my plan around quite a lot or skipping things all together. This made me realise how important it is to keep things moving and time each activity so we all know when to move on.
Over weeks 1 and 2 to time with Waitangi day we discussed the treaty of Waitangi and, establishing our own class treaty. JO came in and read ‘The Tree Hut Treaty’ to room 10 in relation to creating our own class treaty next week. This was my first observation which reminded me how valuable the right picture books are when beginning a new topic. The students went away and made an X model which identified what our class treaty should look like, sound like, feel like, and what thinking it would involve. This model not only helped the students to unpack the treaty but also helped my learning in terms of learning more about the Hamilton East School toolkit, and how high the expectations are that my students set.
By week two we had established our class treaty after many sessions of breaking down what it meant to be a part of a safe and happy environment. We thought of a place that we regularly share with others. We learnt that these shared spaces have rules and directly relate to the wellbeing and safety of everyone who enters. By the end of week 2 we signed our treaty! ready for the new week. 
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