A New Adventure at Tai Tapu School

I (Morgan) officially start full time on Monday! (Prayers are appreciated 🙂 Evan and I went in a few hours on Saturday to get things ready for the kids. My class schedule is a little different than what I am used to in the States-filled with yoga, weekly assembly, Maori (the native language of NZ), and police visits for personal safety lessons! But, the kids are learning Numeracy, Literacy, and Sciences as well of course!

My daily schedule (roughly) is as follows:

9:00-9:30 Fitness
9:30-9:40 Roll/Fruit Break/News (sometimes Printing and/or Poetry)
9:40-10:35 Maths
10:35-11:00 Morning Tea Break
11:00-11:45 Reading/Literacy
11:45-12:30 Writing
12:30-1:25 Lunch
1:25-3:00 Topic (Term 3’s topic is the Olympics)… or sometimes Assembly/Singing/Library & Computers in the afternoon

At our school, we have a main building which includes the front office and admin offices, staffroom, copy/work room, staff toilets, and sick bay. Recently adjoined (still finishing the construction) is the Assembly Hall. The school has two playgrounds, basketball courts, a garden (in which students work to grow fruits and veggies), a BIG field, and a SWIMMING POOL (that’s right, we teach the kids how to swim!). The classrooms have many windows, looking onto a beautiful view of the Port Hills. I was very blessed to have many resources already at my disposal in the class (even a piano which I can hardly play)-and a wonderful teacher who left me great notes and did all the assessments and parent teacher conferences that would have had to be completed in September and October (what an all-star!). She left on maternity leave until the end of the year. I will have 21 lovely kiddos starting Monday. Most are about 6 or 7 years old.

Here are some pictures and a video to enjoy:

First a few “big picture” views of the room…

Looking at the room from my desk (at the opposite end of the room)

And now the particulars…

So excited to have a Smart Board (and an easel!)

Not easily seen behind the stacked chairs, but there is a piano and a sink.

Math and Literacy Games, and Puzzles for rainy days...as well as student lap tops

Student Cubbies (they also have a cloak room to store their belongings).

Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for the art work and displays…that was all done by Mel (who was the teacher in the room before me). Even though I have a little bit of a commute (about 25 mins in the morning & about 35-45 mins in afternoon traffic), the drive is really pretty, especially on sunny days. Because the school is in a rural area, I pass by many farms and fields-surrounded by the Port Hills of course 🙂

You can check out the drive and the rest of the school grounds in the video below: