Its around 6pm here today and I am in Mitimiti, which is beautiful. The weeks are flying by and I am really enjoying teaching here in NZ. Six of my students were out today doing their film project, but I should have all 19 of them tomorrow. Today all 13 students visited the health caravan, which is run by a lovely woman named Bridget and is a traveling semi-truck completely decked out inside with carpet, video, sound and cool lights. She uses that space to educate kids about their bodies, healthy social behavior, not to smoke, etc. That ate up nearly 2 hours of the day and the other part of the day we worked on reading and writing poetry. Sweet!
I also started using Kari Miharo’s with the students. (Kari Miharo is a Maori phrase that is used like ‘caught being good’ in other classrooms). This motivated the students to focus on their work and be quiet while doing so. Choice! At the end of the day, I drew 3 names out of the box and gave those students a lollie each, (lolli-pop). I will continue doing this cause it is a constant way to remind kids how they are behaving during class. As the week progresses, maybe on Friday, I have stickers to put in the prize bag so kids can get more than just a sucker. Even though I may be aiding in their tooth decay, it’s better than solely giving out detentions. ☺
After work, around 4, I walked down to the beach and spent nearly an hour down there walking against the harsh wind. Whew! (I’m getting stoked about it though cause I don’t have to squeeze into my pants when I put them on!) ☺ When I arrived back at my sweet little house, I showered and took my homebrews out of the freezer. Whoops, slushy beer! Oh well.
This week, I will have 4 days here in Mitimiti and will figure out tomorrow if I will drive back to say hey to Dave and chill at home for a night, or just stay here for 3 nights. Either way it will be good. I can get some work done here and have quiet after being with kids all day, or I can go home and be with my sweet man. Not bad if you ask me.
Oh, and the Ministry of Education adjusted my pay out here, I got a 50% raise and tomorrow will be paid the nearly $3,000 in back-pay they owe me. So nice! That will pay off one of my small student loans I have and makes me sooooooo HAPPY!!!
I’m off to prep for the morning reading activities. G’nite.
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