Still lovin' it

So many random happenings, where to begin?

Work Life

I still absolutely love my school and the people I work with. It is so strange to be part of a team that is so positive and supportive. Going from Goldrick to BLIS has been quite a shock in many respects, but none moreso than the shock of the overwhelming encouraging and warm environment generated by the entire staff. When I walk into the building it's just a constant barrage of, "Good morning, Kim! How are you?" and this doesn't just necessitate a "good" but always a mini-conversation because everyone WANTS to speak and be friends, not just go through the motions of being polite. 

I had an unscheduled observation on Thursday. This means that Michael, the Elementary Principal, dropped by my class unannounced to watch me teach and evaluate me. When I saw him sitting there I was SO NERVOUS. Here's his evaluation:

"BLIS Elementary     

Informal observation, Kimberly Jones, October 23, 10:40 – 10:55  Writing Lesson (English) 

18 Students   (Co –teacher in room, planning)

Objectives: Review of writing self-narrative.  Emphasis given to word choice and vocabulary development.  Other skills addressed were conventions and voice.

Indicators of Effective Instruction: 

Kim, your students are kept informed. Daily plan on the board.  Lots of student generated work, posters, words and rules.   You are clear in your delivery and ask students to restate in their own words.  You do not rush and you ask for frequent feedback.  Your students had texts and support materials at the ready. You reviewed the expectations for the activity, and the expectations for the written assignment.  Most students were engaged , on task, and participating in the activity.  You enjoy language and use it well.

For your consideration:

Students will always write better for a real audience.  Clearly identify the audience before each writing assignment or activity, even if : “OK, our intended audience are the fifth grade teachers who know nothing about you.”  You, as their teacher, already know them, if they assume you are the audience, and they won’t give you as much detail.  Read a sample from an interesting autobiography.  This will act as a “hook”, or a motivator.  Find samples of autobiographies to read and analyze.  Use the Six Traits rubrics, and have them keep a copy right on their desk as they write.  Identify a goal for writing proficiency on the rubric.  Have a sample of fourth grade papers of varying quality (if you have them) and analyze them using the rubric.  In this way the students can not only be writers, but critics of writing.  You will see the students’ finished products much improved by taking these steps."

How great is that? Positive feedback (thank god he observed me during a good one! whew!) with helpful advice and ideas. And you know what? I can't wait to take his advice. Because when your principal is so encouraging and awesome, you want to do your best work for him in addition to your students. I think his input is fabulous, and I'm glad he's there to help me develop as a teacher.    

My actual fourth grade team is composed of 3 other English teachers (2 from the USA, 1 from Jamaica) and 4 Turkish teachers (my co-teacher is Aysegul). They are all fun spirited and I honestly enjoy the meetings we have to plan because it's full of laughter and sharing ideas. My ideas are actually heard and validated- it's kind of insane, you guys. This is after getting the brush off at Goldrick where I was seen as a lowly novice who knew nothing about the teaching profession. Goldrick made me feel so small and awful and BLIS makes me feel, well, blissful. 

My students are also wonderful people. I look forward to seeing them on Monday and they are always full of smiles, even if I make them write a 5 paragraph essay. Here in Turkey they call teachers by their first names, so I am "Ms. Kimberly." It's kind of a hybrid of my other teacher names, Ms. Jones (USA) and Kimberly Teacher (South Korea).

Some students admiring Ela's Rainbow Dash My Little Pony sweatshirt. 

I can even smile when grading tests!

Joseph asked me if I knew how to make a meme so I made him this. 

On Friday we had 2 celebrations and it was a CRAZY day. In the morning, we had our Republic Day celebration. Republic Day is on the 29th of October and commemorates the day in 1923 when Ataturk declared Turkey to be a republic and was soon after elected as the first President of the Republic of Turkey. The people of Turkey LOVE Ataturk. He's on their money, sides of buildings, and his picture is in every classroom. They almost worship him as a God. To celebrate, the fourth grade students practiced a play and some songs all week and performed for the other elementary grades on Friday. They did a great job and I learned more about Republic Day thanks to them.

Reading a short bio on Republic Day and Ataturk.

Part of the play about Ataturk getting elected. 

Singing a Turkish song probably about Ataturk. 

The second half of Friday was UN Day. Each classroom in all the schools (elementary, middle, and high school) except for 4th grade chose a country and researched the culture to turn their classroom into a little representation of that country and made posters, brought food, and worked on games and other projects to show what they learned. The 4th grade was a little different, because the unit of inquiry we are on (this is an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program term) required the students to have a summative assessment on culture. This means that in the 4th grade each of our classrooms had 9 countries and the students were put in pairs and picked a country to create a presentation  showing what they learned. 

Didem and Nehir doing Panama proud! Sure the English grammar isn't perfect but look pretty dresses!

We had a third grade classroom sit in our class and the fourth graders presented to them. These kids are surprisingly great at Power Point, but their presentation skills need a lot of work. But they really did a wonderful job and I was proud of them. After the third graders left, the kids ate a ton of international foods they brought to school (my favorite were the Norwegian waffle cookies *drool*) and we all headed down to the third grade classrooms to check out their countries and rooms. All the students got fake passports and when they entered a new classroom they got a sticker of the flag of the country. The whole experience was really fun and crazy, and the students enjoyed the hell out of it. Friday was exciting but also exhausting!

This week our school has some professional development days. For you non-teachers, all schools (to my knowledge) have these days to continue to think together about how to get to those darn kiddos! Tomorrow (Monday) the students have no school but all the teachers from all the schools (elementary, middle, high school) have a full day of meeting and doing various readings and activities. We also have a half day of PD on Tuesday, and Wednesday is Republic Day and we have it off. Everyone goes back to school on Thursday and Friday. It's going to be an interesting week!

Outside of Work Life

Spot the Mosque!

Where do I live again? Oh yeah that's right. 

It's not all workworkwork of course. I am still having a blast in Ankara. The city might not be as bustling and interesting as Istanbul, but I really like this city so far. Because all the Embassies are here, there are a ton of receptions and parties to attend that are always engaging and fun. I've gone out a few times (it's just been a few dates everyone just calm down) with a Turkish dude named Can (pronounced John) that I met at an international gathering (the community is called Internations). I bring him up because on Thursday he took me to a Hungarian reception celebrating Hungary's National Day. It was in a swanky Marriot hotel and involved lots of shaking hands of Ambassadors. Also there was free booze and Hungarian dancing!

We fancy. 

It's pretty fantastic to have my own little Turkish guide. He's taken me out places that don't have English menus ("muy autentica" as my Dad would say), and generally helps me get around here and get to know the place a bit better. Besides he's fun and cute and that's a plus.  

I go out with some fellow international teacher buddies every weekend. My core group of favorite people consist of Kristen (from Denver), Carlos (Spain), and Cody (Canada). We range in age from 26 to 40 and we like to party, laugh, and talk about crazy Turkey together. This weekend brought back a lot of memories for some reason:

Carlos taking his punishment at Beer Pong!

Yep, they are playing beer pong at a bar. UNH memories flooding my brain!

Kristen and Carlos- love these guys!

There's always a million things to do. Between the social committee at school, international and facebook groups for foreigner meetups, and my friends whom I adore, there is never a dull moment. Even during the week some of us have been meeting at my apartment for what I have started calling "Wine Wednesday." 

This is a very long post so I will leave it here. I hope everyone reading this is as happy with their life as I am with mine. :)