Working overtime

Teachers in Southville are always given special responsibilities when it comes to preparing for different student activities. During my first year, my tasks usually include creating the backdrop for student presentations. This year, however, they assigned me to less stressful activities such as invitation making, at least for this year's Reader's Theater and Sportsfest and Family Day.


E-invite for Reader's Theater:



E-invite for Sportsfest and Family Day:



I enjoy conceptualizing and actually making these backdrops for Reader's Theater and Recognition Day even if it means getting dirty and working overtime. In the end, I feel good to contribute something significant for an important event. These opportunities also foster camaraderie and harmony between the Grades 1 and 2 teachers which makes each workday something that I always look forward to.


How it once looked like:



The finished product with a thinner me somewhere in the middle:

Being involved

Everyone in the Grades 1 and 2 division is expected to take part in school activities. My colleagues would tell me to refrain from making it good because if the bosses get to like my work, they will expect me to do similar tasks again with higher expectations. And how true it was... :D

Around July, we had to prepare for Breakfast with Parents. I don't remember if I volunteered or was assigned to make the backdrop with T.Jei. We did come up with one, and in retrospect, I should have taken a photo of it when we put it up. Everybody loved the curlicues of smoke that came from giant cups of coffee made from brown cartolina, and they got hungry looking at the basket of bread in front, complete with a checkered napkin. And so it was that for the next events, it was understood that the backdrop duties fell on our shoulders.

Fast forward a little bit to October for the Reader's Theater. Putting together several characters proved to be a challenge in terms of layout. It wasn't much of a chore really, because I enjoyed doing it with my colleagues. It took several days to complete, and it eventually came to look like this:



Just a few days ago was our Recognition Day, and of course you already know what my task was. We decided to use an old tarp which we thought we'd never be able to fill up. But we did. This was the ultimate backdrop to date:



It is always a refreshing change to do other things aside from making lesson plans and preparing for class. Not only does one get to pursue their interests, it also provides opportunities to get to know people you work with. It has been a blast working with my colleagues. I may still not consider them very close, but we're comfortable enough sharing each other's secrets. Through pizza and pasta moments, videoke sessions, it just affirms a teacher's need for a conducive working environment. It is indeed a blessing to have people listen to your rants or laugh with you when you share an anecdote about your students. They are one of the reasons why I chose to stay for a while longer.