I'm still here!

This term has been absolutely crazy, and this is the first chance I've really had to quickly catch my breath. A lot of what has happened has been hush hush, so not only has it been difficult to find time to write, but a lot has also been unwritable until now. So this is a quick post to catch you up.

Pre-service Teacher
I have had an excellent pre-service teacher with me, and she has been doing a lot of the teaching, particularly toward the end of her prac. The class did some really great work with her, and I had an opportunity to observe students and collect more data for report writing than I ordinarily could. As I have been doing less teaching, I have also been creating fewer classroom resources for TPT, but hopefully that will change a bit in the weeks to come.

NEW JOB!
This is the big one!
As you all know, I have been raving for years about the wonderful school that I am part of, and this year has been a particularly good one, with a great teaching partner/team and students. I couldn't be happier. But as I've explained to my students, sometimes you have to make a decision with your head, not just your heart. As someone who doesn't like change, particularly when things are going well, it's been very hard for me to make the jump.

Mobility is built into my school system such that teachers need to move to another school after a given amount of time, and this can be negotiated out to a maximum of ten years. I have already completed a number of years (and bits of years) at my current school, and thus wouldn't be able to see my son go through the school while I teach there. This is important to me as a matter of convenience and also connection to my son and his schooling. Given that, over the past couple of years I've been working towards a position in another school I'd love to work in, and it all came together for me this term. This new school is in the private sector, so I have had to resign from my current position, which is a really scary thought to me after 11 years!

The process took up a good part of the term with interviews and a demo lesson, and all the other bits that need to be pulled together. I've also been trying to familiarise myself with the new setting and have been using my "at home day" to visit the school and get to know the students/parents/staff. It's been an effort to juggle two work settings and home as well, but we've managed somehow.

It's not an ideal time of year for a class shift in Australia, but at the same time, everything has slipped into place for both class groups and both are having a successful transition/hand-over.
As I am now going full time, I have had to find additional care for my little guy, which has been a bit of a stress. As mum's know, it's hard to concentrate on doing a good job if you are worried about your child, and there are a lot of guilty feelings tied in with it. On the bright side, it is looking like my little guy may be able to join the preschool at my new school next year, thus making child care much easier.

So that's mainly what has been going on in the background this term, and what has eaten up any time I might ordinarily have had for blogging. The next couple of months will be hectic too, as I adapt to the new setting and write reports for these students, but hopefully I will have time to blog as well.