Educators contribute to the profession.
In my final practicum, I was often praised for my positive contributions to the school environment. I developed a strong working relationship with my colleagues, my admin team, and my custodians!
Although COVID-19 made meeting with other teachers difficult (staffroom was closed, cohort systems keep classes apart from one another), I made an effort to greet each teacher as I walked through the halls in the morning, and I was not afraid to ask my colleagues for resources and ideas. In building these working relationships, my colleagues began to come to me as well, for my fresh takes on lesson ideas and knowledge of current best practice. As my relationships grew, they turned to friendships.
It was important to me that I develop a strong working relationship with my admin. I ensured that I established open lines of communication, and I shared my wins and struggles with my principal and vice-principal. I invited them both to come and go freely in my classroom, and when doing exciting lessons, always ensured my admin knew they were both welcome. I am very proud of the relationship I have established with my principal, and look forward to having him on my team as my career progresses.
I wanted my students to know and respect the custodial staff of the school, so I ensured that the kids knew their names, and that they treated the classroom with care, to show kindness to “Mr. P” and “Mr. S.” Every day when we did our classroom tidy, my students knew that it was to show respect to the custodians. I found lots of success in this approach, as my students demonstrated a growing sense of accountability for the cleanliness of their classroom, and would go out of their way to make things clean and tidy for Mr. P and Mr. S. I was so proud of them!
On Valentine’s Day, each of my students made Valentines for all of the adults in the school that they interacted with on a regular basis: The admin, the secretary, the custodians, the Educational Assistants, and the prep teachers. I wanted my students to be a positive influence in the school, and my work paid off! Many staff commented on my students kindness, and my role in their positivity around the school.
My proudest moment in improving the school culture, was when my students decided they wanted to perform a concert. My students were passionate and invested in this concert, so we scrapped the day plan, and began preparing the concert. Some of my students were the performers, and they chose 5 songs to perform and practiced them over and over. Some students built the venue – including a stage, bleachers, and a “socially distanced check-in desks” using logs that they sacrificed from their many forts throughout the forest. Some students were on tech duty, and worked with the music teacher to make the sound work for the music, and finally, other students were on invitations, creating invites for classes throughout the school to come at different times to view the concert. When we finally performed the concert, the rest of the school loved it! We had four classes come to view, plus admin, custodial staff, and support staff. It was a smashing success and the talk of the school for days.
I am very proud of my contribution to the school environment at my final practicum school. I can only hope to continue this work in all my upcoming positions at varying schools!
