Day 2 in Pictures

Since I have concluded that my exciting new experiences in ISM are way too much for my writing skills, I have decided to make my account of day 2 and maybe even for the rest of the days in pictures and captions :)

All TA's were given a 4GB Kingston USB, a steno notebook and another big blue corona notebook. The Lindt chocolates and this charming little notebook with a little welcome note inside was written and given by Anisa, the preschool program leader during our morning meeting. :)

The preschool playground, where mayhem is expected to take place once the kids come in!

The bulletin board outside with all our pictures on it! :)

Meet the Preschool Team!

What a fun and lively (also good looking *wink wink*) bunch! :)

Tina, Nat and Resh. Our team mates! Our classes share a room. :)

Tina and Resh are both fun and sassy ladies, who are super efficient at what they do!

Nat is the funniest, most charming person ever!

Karen, Matt and Me (I apologize for the messy hair)! :)

Karen is the most lovely person, so nice and helpful and super super efficient as well!

Matt is quite nice guy too! :)

The Pelkey and Ayling Classroom! Much much cleaner compared to the first day!

Those are the labels and nametags and what not that I slaved over for the greater part of the day. I can't wait to meet the cute little owners of the names on those nametags! Charlie, Olga, Heshma, Leila, Aaryan, Simon, Jayden and the 13 others! Tomorrow is their first day! I'm so nervous and excited to meet them! :)

Today was my 3rd day, basically a continuation of the whole set-up process! All the labels have been put up, the learning areas set for tomorrow... the big day! We get to meet the kids and their parents, finally! Since its a staggered schedule, we'll be meeting for only an hour, so we have plenty of time afterwards to continue whatever it is we still have to finish for classroom set-up! But nevermind that, all attention is now focused on meeting the kids! This is going to be sooo exciting! Wish me luck!

Love, Oli :)

Today, I fell in love with ISM (Part 2)

Let me just pick up from where I left off. So we listened to David Toze's witty take on an inspirational first day speech over at the Fine Arts Theater. It was followed by some yummy snacks outside. They had all kinds of pastries and this yummy lumpia looking thing with green stuff inside. I regret not getting more, actually! But everything was good and it was all free, which makes it even more yummy! Afterwards, we headed to the Little Theater where we had a smaller gathering for the Elementary School Faculty c/o the Principal Simon Gillespie and the Asst. Principal Michael Rourke. All the new faculty members and teaching assistants were introduced, so I had my name called out loud by Mr. Simon at one point, and I had to stand up to be recognized and all that shiz. By the way, I am known as Carol in ISM. I wanted to make Oli happen, but they just kinda took to calling me Carol because that's what it said on my nametag and that's how Michael knows me already. Oh well. What a great way to separate my work life from my personal life, huh? Haha!

Anyway, they just basically discussed how David Toze's goals for the school year applied to the Elementary School. They started it by first emphasizing the importance of getting to know your students as best as you possibly can. We were actually given a reading about it. I surprisingly did not find this a drag at all because the nerd in me actually missed getting readings! I read as far as the different perceptions on childhood and I must say, you can really see these varying perceptions manifested in the educational philosophies of different schools. The reading also tackles other important aspects of getting to know our students, like knowing their biological traits, societal influences, socio-economic background, academic achievement and learning preferences. These are all very important in an educational system that seeks to be more individualized, putting emphasis on the unique qualities of every child so that they may better reach out and truly educate them. It seems that ISM is really moving towards a more progressive educational philosophy (which I must say is something the preschool department has always done), and that is definitely something I believe in.

It felt really good to know that I was working for a school that valued the individual just as much as I did and is really taking concrete steps into making their education system more attuned to the child's strengths as a learner.

After that talk, we all had lunch, sponsored by the school! So yes, it's free! It was all quite yummy and, well... foreign? There was humis, or humus, or homace, or basta... something orange and gooey and you put it on pita bread or something. So exotic. Afterwards, we kinda just went to work in the classroom. It was fun! I dont exactly remember what I did... it was mostly sorting out supplies, fixing up the classroom and what not. Since I'm new, I really just followed Karen around and did what she did or told me to do. I'm hoping to learn all of these things soon so I can start moving on my own and be more self-directed. I'm afraid I might get too annoying by asking "what can I do?" all the time! Haha! Of course, at this point, I am also referring to my second day, which wrapped up a few hours ago.

My second day is already done and was equally fun and interesting enough to write about but my writing skills can't seem to catch up with my daily experiences! Of course, as of now, the novelty of it all still astounds me and makes me all giddy with excitement that I feel like giving a detailed play by play of what happened during my first few days, at least. But, like I said, my writing skills can't catch up. I don't want this blog to become one of those "Today, I went shopping..." kinda blogs anyway. So this might be the last play by play entry I'll be writing in a while. Why? Well, in general, it is my blogging rule that there has be something fundamentally significant about everything I write... or at least, I try to make it so. This account of my first day at ISM is quite significant because it is a form of affirmation and reminder of the difficult choices that I made which have lead me to this happy point. I am glad that so far, it seems that I am going down the right path... the right one being the one that I am passionate about. I mean, I've woken up twice at 5 o' clock in the morning, without much effort or difficulty just simply excited about the day ahead. And now, I am gearing up to sleep with much anticipation for a new day at my happy work place.

I hope I never stop sleeping and waking up with that feeling!

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To be continued...

You know... since this is only the beginning.

Love, Oli :)

Today, I fell in love with ISM (Part1)

As cliche as this may sound (in reference not just to the succeeding statement but also to the "as cliche as it may sound" phrase since its so often said that it's becoming a cliche in itself), I knew from the very moment that I woke up that this day was going to be special. You see, I have been anticipating the great 5am wake up call all week. I thought it was going to be the struggle of a lifetime to get out of bed since I have been religiously waking up no earlier than 12nn for 4 whole months now! But no! By some work of divine providence, I woke up without the help of an alarm clock at 5am on the dot! It was as if my body had timed itself perfectly for my big first day at work! I got up, took a bath, jumped into my impressive first day work clothes (purple blouse, black slacks and studded belt to add some youthfulness and funk). I even had time to dry my hair and eat breakfast leisurely! I was backing out of the garage by 6:05am!

When I got there at around 6:40, I didn't know at all what to expect! I went to the security office to get my ID but they couldn't find it so I logged in using a temporary log-in form. Saw some old familiar faces from the orientation of the new hires, as well as a bunch of other security personnel putting on their cool chest gear... or whatever those black pouch thingies they strap onto their chests are! then I went off to look for the Elementary School department... which was quite a challenge, because the place was HUGE. add to that the fact that every hallway looks patently the same! white walls with green trimmings. I actually ran into some newbies twice as I brisk walked in and out of the ISM hallways... until at last, I found it: The Elementary School Faculty Room.

The scene that I walked into was quite a thrill. Instead of the quiet boring hallway that I first encountered it to be during my orientation and interviews, the place was filled with an electrified buzzing, composed of well-delivered jokes, some fun vacation stories, the sounds of hugs and kisses, cheers of excitment over seeing familiar faces again... all from the animated bunch of teaching assistants... it was literally, a first day high!

And to my surprise, as the foreign bosses come in (aka the Teachers, Principals, Program Heads and the like), they are greeted by a warm hug and beso on the cheek from the Filipino TA's AND vice versa! It seemed like such a happy tight-knit group. We newcomers sat on the round table, observing with obvious fondness and fascination for the scene happening before our eyes! I was so preoccupied with my excited thoughts that I didn't realize the room had suddenly gotten considerably quiet and almost empty, save for the Learning Support crew I was hanging out with! So, I ran out of the faculty room and immediately made my way to the PRESCHOOL DEPARTMENT, where I was luckily reassigned to (was supposed to be in Kinder) by the very nice, intuitive and somewhat soft-spoken Michael Rourke (ES Asst. Principal). More about him soon, I expect! :)

As I walk into the fairly simple glass doors of the charming Preschool classrooms, I was immediately welcomed with waves, smiles and excited "Hello Carol!"s from my co-teaching assistants, Karen (from UP), Resh (from UA&P) and Tina (from Beda)! It was such a relief! I have always prayed for warm and welcoming colleagues who could make the whole socialization process easier for me. And I must say, Karen is getting the much celebrated "GOLD STAR!" But if you think the warm welcomes end there, you're wrong! When the teachers came in and saw me, they looked like a bunch of excited 5 year olds meeting a new friend! Teacher Nat ran to me and hugged me! So did Teacher Katherine! Matt (the teacher Karen and I were assigned to) of course, simply shook my hand and gave me a big charming smile and an equally warm welcome! We made a little small talk and I told them, with utmost sincerity, how so very happy and excited I was to be there!

After some more small talk with the other TA's, we headed to the Fine Arts Theater (FAT) to listen to David Toze, the ISM Superintendent (sort of like the President). I must say, he is also quite an interesting character to talk about. His speech was filled with wittiest of humors and the most charming description of the school's accomplishments thus far and goals for the year. He introduced all the new faculty members, each and everyone coupled with some fascinating or comical description of sorts! It even included an update on the recent marital status of several of the faculty members, including our very own Matt, who apparently got married just last July to another teacher from the middle school (So cute! He was actually arranging a day for the TA's to see his wedding pictures!). The most touching part of his speech was probably his emphasis on accepting students of all contexts, races, and physical or cognitive capabilities and really making the classroom a place where they could thrive and grow as persons. According to him, though the move will cost a lot of money, it was money that he was very willing to spend. And I must say, integration is quite an amazing and noble endeavor and I am all for it. He ended his speech with a reminder for each one to always look for something to love about what he/she is doing. Never live to work, because work is simply a means to an end. Live doing something that you love to do every single day. He, and I'm sure, most of the people in the room with me at that time, would agree. Apparently, he'd already said the exact same parting words the previous year. I didn't care. As long as I got to hear it!

Needless to say, I was excited and inspired. And we weren't even halfway through the day yet!

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To be continued...

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I shall end here for now. It's already past 11pm. I'm afraid if I break my sleeping pattern, my early bird goals might not come into fruition! So off to bed I go! Will talk more first day highs soon!

Love, Oli :)