I don't know if it's being older now, perhaps that this is my second teacher exchange, or whether Australia and Canada culture are more parallel than we think, but the transition into my new school has been remarkably smooth. There are surprisingly many similar aspects between the education system in Alberta and Victoria. At the school level, there's a lot of commonalities between RJ and APPS. As a result, the shift into my new school and overall life adventure has been exceptionally 'comfortable'.

From what I gathered in our quick orientation to the Australian curriculum and Victorian curriculum, schools are to support all students in becoming successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens. They even use the term '21st century learner'. It's happening in Alberta. It's happening in Australia. Is that what 'global education' truly means?!?

My first interschool Professional Learning day, the selected topic related to one of their goals on their 4 year School Education plan - increasing writing skills. Schools have committed to using Aimee Buckner's 'Writer's Notebook' / Writing Workshop approach as well as 6 Traits of Writing model. While I have briefly skimmed the components of the 6 Traits of Writing in Canada, I am quite excited to explore that and the Writing Workshop in greater detail.

As for Reading, I grinned at the familiar pictures up on the walls. Read to Self. Word Work. Comprehension. Accuracy. Fluency. Exploring Vocabulary. LOL - the very same little Daily 5 and CAFÉ characters that I had pinned on my own Pinterest boards! YES! This is going to make planning in my Reading program pretty easy!

In Numeracy /Maths (with a 's'), I have an hour a week with a Numeracy Lead teacher to discuss strategies. This will be great since I have no idea what's on the Grade 3 and 4 curriculum. In the next 2 weeks, my Grade 3 students will be completing an online Numeracy assessment to give me an idea where to place them. I can then organize individual maths goals on Mathletics - the same program that I used at RJ!

My weekly timetable has one solid hour of Reading, one hour of Writing, and one hour of Maths each day! That's hard core basics. LOVE IT! But unfortunately, I have only one hour of PE and Art along with 40 minutes of Music and Japanese A WEEK … and I don't teach those classes. They hired specialists so we can have over 2 hours of prep every week. (But don't be jealous. I have staff meetings every Tuesday afterschools until 5pm). Slot in an ICT and a Quest (inquiry project) block, and the rest is up to me. ANYTHING! Students don't study Social Studies or Science in this school! Well, I couldn't have that so my class will collaborate with another Grade 3 / 4 class for a Science hour. YEAH!

That leaves Friday afternoon to plan. Teachers in our building have agreed that students can have free time every Friday afternoon as a reward / motivation for home reading. What?!? (I have actually written the words "FREE TIME" on my official timetable!) It was a little confusing and challenging for me yesterday on my first Friday, when every Grade 3 to 5 student wandered between classrooms, hung out in the common area, played games on laptops, and generally just chilled out. This will take some getting used to because I had unknown kids in my classroom taking out laptops, drawing on the board, lying on the floor, etc.

Recesses will also take some getting used to here. It happens at 11am for 30 minutes. I'm starving by then! (Lunch is at 1.30pm.) They can play and eat snacks anywhere during this time throughout the school grounds. Since it's been extremely hot this week (over 44'C), many students just find a patch of shade to hide under. But some are exploring in the trees, hanging out by the parking lot, or running around school buildings. It's a large school complex area to monitor when I'm on Yard duty. Every student and staff must wear a floppy brim hat if they are outside. Cute! When I'm not on duty, I'm enjoying the 30 minutes of Morning Tea in the staff room. Everyone have welcomed me with open arms!

I love that this transition has been so smooth so far. There's just enough familiar routines to offset the New. I feel I am coping and adjusting well. We'll see what happens in a few weeks time though! LOL.