Goodmorning Mrs. M!

I'm a new person in many ways as I write this blog tonight. On Thursday, I had a haircut (short and chic, not too shabby!), last month I got married (Mrs. M now!) and two months ago I rerouted my career path and now teach Grade 3 at a local Primary School (a very dynamic one, though I'd rather not mention their name, for many obvious reasons). I have not blogged in such a long time and I directly relate this to my happiness (no blogs required when al things are going well) and my busy-ness. I've found that primary teaching is very similar to secondary teaching. Other than havin to adapt to a change of school (and all the site specific ways they do things at different schools) I have found the teaching side of things very similar. I still need to familiarise myself with the level students are at, especially in maths. I also need to orient myself to the science curriculum as I really want to ensure I am covering the VELS standards for Level 3. Being the only teacher this class have, as opposed to secondary teaching, I really feel a responsibility to ensure I teach them well. To prepare them for the next stage of their learning. At my new school, I am finding that my buddy teacher frsutrates me and I feel drawn down by her. My predecessor, now on family leave, worked closely with her, however, I am trying to move away from that because I feel I can do so much better without her. She was a great guide when i first started and answered many questions, but now I feel that I want to run with my enthusiasm and share it with the children. Slowly, slowly, I am making changes to implement this. I am still willing to team teach for numeracy and spelling groups as I can see a benefit for the children in this, but for other areas where her negativity drags me down, I can work better by myself.
It was great catching up with my team teacher from my other school. I was happy that she saw I was going well and that i was happy. I still feel sad that i had to leave her, but have no regrets about having left the school. I tense up when I think about the environment there.
There is so much I want to do at the primary school. I have had a great response from the parents and look forward to starting next year with my own class (not an inherited one) and I can implement my own systems and procedures. I want to take the students' learning beyond the boundaries of the classroom. I want our team to be seen positively in the school as forward thinkers and innovators. My buddy just seems to want to complain about the Principal... Grrr!
Tomorrow I will...
Make my situation better
Take charge
Manage my class, and let her manage hers
Be confident...I don't need her, want her, respond to her criticism
I will not be lured in to negative conversations
I am not sure that i can trust her
I will do what is best for the children
I am a great teacher who knows what she is doing
I'm still on a contract and need to prove that I am worth keeping (whereas she is not)
Just tell her she sucks! (jokes!)

I really like this new job... MMx