Back at Work!

First time this year I got a phone call asking if I was available for work! Phone scared the living daylights out of me – agh back to 6am phone calls waking me up! It was for a prep/one class at a school I have had a lot of relief and contract work before. Plus I had seen all the grade one photos in the paper and recognized most of them from prep last year. Anyway once I got there the school asked if I could work the whole week, I agreed thinking it would be good money until they said I would have to go on contract! I hate contract money! You only get paid half of what relief payments are even though I am doing the same work.

And on top of that I got a letter from my insurance company saying I had to pay a large sum of money ($100 more than I was actually making this week!) for a car ‘accident’ I had back in November. Not sure if I have wrote about this or not but at another school a mother was taking off infront of me around a bend and I went to go after her, she slammed her brakes on and so did I but I didn’t stop quick enough and slightly bumped her car. There was no damage because we both looked at the cars. I took mine to be checked out and all it needed was a wheel alignment, no paint even came off! But her husband starting ringing me saying I had to personally pay them, he wasn’t even there! The insurance company ‘took care of it’. I called the insurance company asking why it took almost four months for me to get a bill and they said it was because they didn’t get the car checked until December and then didn’t get it fixed until January but it had a bit of damage (but not enough to stop driving it or fix it straight away!?) I demanded to have a copy of the report sent to me and am waiting for that before I make the payment but since the insurance company has already paid them I have to pay no matter what.

Anyway back to teaching! I thought it would be a nice way to get me back into the swing of teaching and I like having continuity in teaching especially when it is with a nice class and I get to know the children. The first day wasn’t too bad, they were a little bit chatty and took a while to follow instructions but yesterday and today they have settled down so much. I think they realize I am there all week so they need to behave which is so nice! They are a lovely class though. The preps (there are only a few of them) go off to play with the other prep classes during first and second session so I really only get to see them for an hour in the afternoon.

The teacher I am replacing had to take leave suddenly because a family member fell sick and she had to look after them. She left a timetable for Monday which was helpful but nothing for the rest of the week. I went to the office and all they had was a general one for the week. Literacy first session, maths second session and theme work in the afternoon – doesn’t say what to actually do for any of it though! But it hasn’t been too bad; I have been able to work out what they have been doing and made my own work for them that seem similar to where they were headed.

I also discovered a girl I went to high school with and who only graduated last year from uni has landed herself a full time job there. Lucky her. Also the teacher that took my job from me (she only got the job because she was friends with the lady I was replacing and I was meant to get the full time job before she came along) told me her son is in my class and wanted me to watch him because he doesn’t play with anyone at lunch. What does she expect me to do, stand out there every lunch watching him!? I am here for (as far as I know) one week- she works there, she can do it!

Well I am half way through my week and except for the lack of pay I am having a really nice time, couldn’t ask for a better way to start my teaching year.

Ohh! And I got my uni information this week, now all I need to do is pick and enroll in my classes. Not as excited about going back to uni now I have started working. I feel so tired at the end of the day so am not sure how I will go with writing assignments again and I have to try and remember how to reference and all that ‘uni stuff’ again. Hmmm not sure what I have got myself in for.

Miss Snix.