It is only the 2nd work day of the week and it is already the weekend. The end of Ramadan brings a feast and many days off. So, the school shuts down and the teachers get a break to refuel prior to school beginning. The last week has been jam packed with meetings and preparations, making bulletin boards, developing lesson plans...and oh yeah, switching courses makes things more complicated.
My courses were coming along great, my room was awesome and I was feeling great about the new year. BUT, for those of you in the teaching field, things can change in an instant and all the sudden I am teaching math for grade 7, 8 and 9. Math and I are becoming reacquainted again, but it is has been a long time since I have even looked at math. So, needless to say my preparation plan has changed drastically. Hopefully this is just a temporary change. There is no one to teach these subjects so they shifted staff. It happens everywhere, but I am just glad that the person taking over my original load is Hubby because then he can just take my outlines and plans.
The first room I created will become Hubby's for the first couple weeks, and possibly months. It is so bright and colorful! The one that I will be teaching in is very different. I only had one afternoon to put it together and I could not stay late, so hopefully the room will look better in a couple weeks as I spend more time there. My hope is that I can keep up with the re-teaching myself the math. The funniest part is that my co-teacher for one of the grade 8 math classes is the Principal, so I should get some good experience out of that! He is being super supportive in this switch and being very reaffirming that this is a temporary change.
I cannot help but think that this is good experience for me. Teaching math will be challenging but my hope is that I will find some success in it and that I could possibly find other work in the future because I have taught math. The ironic thing is that I avoided math at all costs in University so that I would never have to teach it and here I am in my first teaching assignment with 3 grades of math. I cannot help but laugh at that irony.
Many people head to the Red Sea or the North Shore for the 5 day weekend. The Bishop's however will stay very close to home because of all the upheaval in our school schedules. We have so much more to plan and cannot afford to head out for a vacation right now. We will see how the week goes!
Currently we are supposed to be waiting for an electrician to come and fix the water tank. We have to turn the water tank on to get hot water, but when the tank is turned on, I get electric shocks shooting through the water and hitting my hands. These are just small jolts, but enough to be slightly painful after a couple shocks. The electrician was supposed to be here at 3:30. It is now 5:00 so we are heading out to load up on groceries because with Eid happening over the next 5 days finding taxis that will drive us and stores that will be open may prove to be a challenge.
I know that I have mentioned the crazy driving conditions here once or twice, but I have to say that the cab that drove us the other day I am thrilled to announce that we got out alive. Once or twice I thought for sure we would jump a curb and when we were speeding down the one way playing chicken with another car I felt like I was in a game of Grand Theft Auto. Although we arrived in record time to the store, I would opt for a less adventurous journey, especially since the kids are not in car seats in the backseat.
So, here is to the 5 day weekend. Although we do plan to get some work done, we also plan to hang out by the pool on occasion. The kids need a break from all the work at school and have been doing so well there that they deserve to have fun at the pool. I know that they are looking forward to it. Plus, when we head to the pool it is like we are at a resort in Mexico and for a moment it seems like we have no worries at all.
After the weekend comes to a close, Princess will start nursery school. It is hard to believe that our little girl is heading off to school already. The schooling is far more stringent here and although it is just nursery school, they have full day schedules with teachers...and for us it is free because we are on staff which is glorious. I will be sure to post a picture or two of her with her back pack.
My courses were coming along great, my room was awesome and I was feeling great about the new year. BUT, for those of you in the teaching field, things can change in an instant and all the sudden I am teaching math for grade 7, 8 and 9. Math and I are becoming reacquainted again, but it is has been a long time since I have even looked at math. So, needless to say my preparation plan has changed drastically. Hopefully this is just a temporary change. There is no one to teach these subjects so they shifted staff. It happens everywhere, but I am just glad that the person taking over my original load is Hubby because then he can just take my outlines and plans.
The first room I created will become Hubby's for the first couple weeks, and possibly months. It is so bright and colorful! The one that I will be teaching in is very different. I only had one afternoon to put it together and I could not stay late, so hopefully the room will look better in a couple weeks as I spend more time there. My hope is that I can keep up with the re-teaching myself the math. The funniest part is that my co-teacher for one of the grade 8 math classes is the Principal, so I should get some good experience out of that! He is being super supportive in this switch and being very reaffirming that this is a temporary change.
I cannot help but think that this is good experience for me. Teaching math will be challenging but my hope is that I will find some success in it and that I could possibly find other work in the future because I have taught math. The ironic thing is that I avoided math at all costs in University so that I would never have to teach it and here I am in my first teaching assignment with 3 grades of math. I cannot help but laugh at that irony.
Many people head to the Red Sea or the North Shore for the 5 day weekend. The Bishop's however will stay very close to home because of all the upheaval in our school schedules. We have so much more to plan and cannot afford to head out for a vacation right now. We will see how the week goes!
Currently we are supposed to be waiting for an electrician to come and fix the water tank. We have to turn the water tank on to get hot water, but when the tank is turned on, I get electric shocks shooting through the water and hitting my hands. These are just small jolts, but enough to be slightly painful after a couple shocks. The electrician was supposed to be here at 3:30. It is now 5:00 so we are heading out to load up on groceries because with Eid happening over the next 5 days finding taxis that will drive us and stores that will be open may prove to be a challenge.
I know that I have mentioned the crazy driving conditions here once or twice, but I have to say that the cab that drove us the other day I am thrilled to announce that we got out alive. Once or twice I thought for sure we would jump a curb and when we were speeding down the one way playing chicken with another car I felt like I was in a game of Grand Theft Auto. Although we arrived in record time to the store, I would opt for a less adventurous journey, especially since the kids are not in car seats in the backseat.
So, here is to the 5 day weekend. Although we do plan to get some work done, we also plan to hang out by the pool on occasion. The kids need a break from all the work at school and have been doing so well there that they deserve to have fun at the pool. I know that they are looking forward to it. Plus, when we head to the pool it is like we are at a resort in Mexico and for a moment it seems like we have no worries at all.
After the weekend comes to a close, Princess will start nursery school. It is hard to believe that our little girl is heading off to school already. The schooling is far more stringent here and although it is just nursery school, they have full day schedules with teachers...and for us it is free because we are on staff which is glorious. I will be sure to post a picture or two of her with her back pack.
hey bishops!
ReplyDeletei've been reading your blogs & am just amazed over and over that you guys are in EGYPT with 2 little kids! good for you. it sounds like it already has been and will continue to be an amazing & rewarding experience for you all. we're thinking and praying for you guys.
love lots,
veronika & steve