October already ....Oct 23rd, 2014

I haven't really come up for air yet this school year but I stumbled across my Blog that I was so meticulous about keeping up on a daily basis for the last few years and felt I should provide an update. I hope everyone had a great summer and the sunny extension of it which lasted longer than usual - batten down the hatches now though becuase it sure has got ugly very suddenly!

I am teaching a grade three/four split class at Squamish Elementary which is a strange hybird of primary and intemediate students. Grade fours will receive report cards with grades for the first time ever and will have to face the infamous FSA assessments in January 2015 and the grade threes are sweet but the range of skills is incredible. It is a new teaching venture for me and I must give a shout out to my colleagues who are both encouraging and generous with advice and resources but also having a bit of a laugh at my expense!
In my opinion, these 'combined' classes are not in the best learning interests of our children but that being said the ability to be able to separate and focus on a few heavy duty learning needs in each class instead of having them all together is a bonus.
I will neded to update the information on the Blog and address a whole new teaching experience in the near future.

The teacher's strike in BC lasted from mid June to mid September, 2014. We returned to school and our classrooms on September 22nd. I am grateful to be back to work and while there were certain small things that we could be said to have 'gained' in the standoff with this anti-education government, the deal was not a good one and being back to work now for the last six weeks things are worse than they have been the past few years for funding and adequate resources and personnel for our growing school. It is very sad and a battle to provide the students what they need to be as successful as they can be in this system.

I am headed to the BC Math teacher's conference tomorrow and truthfully I am not looking forward to driving out to Surrey but I know once I get there it will be fine. I do hope the weather is a bit better for travelling.

I also hope all my grade six and seven students from the last school year are enjoying the experience of being at Middle School. I am thinking of them and wishing them well but I do not regret the decison to stay at elementary school.

Look for a new Blog as this one can no longer be called Johnstonsevens any more. I will ask my current students what they might like to call it before I start again in earnest. Not even really sure if it is something that will be helpful to parents- maybe that is another poll I have to consider.
Lots of changes - be patient and I will get back in the Blog zone one way or another!!