Educators engage in professional learning.
I was a part of the districts NI Day on February 5 and I felt the importance of having to connect with staff in such trying times as we have had this last year. Many conversations focused on Health and Safety as we all had concerns of staff and student safety. We worked as a community throughout the day as best we could as we all set up our Zoom Links in each of our classrooms. We discussed COVID regulations that needed to be more strictly implimented, FSA testing that was going to be coming up and how that would look, P.E. restrictions of different games and P.E. equipment due to COVID and much more.
Being able to see the different ideas, concerns and some thoughts throughout the day made it feel like you are a part of something much bigger. When you are teaching in a classroom and its only you and the students, it was nice to be able to see a much larger picture of what goes on within the school. Different committees, groups, and leaders that carry on in the background throughout the school shows how working together and building a successful school creates a successful environment for staff as well as students. It was a great sense of community and everyone shared their different thoughts about this wonderful school.
As well as the staff meetings and the NI Day/Pro-D Days, there was a fair amount of professional learning right in my own classroom. This included going through resources best suited for our students, brainstorming different ideas, creating assessment tools, learning how technology works in a classroom, proper classroom etiquette when it comes to adressing students…and this list seems to keep going. I will cherish practicum days where we worked side by side with another teacher that helped guide me through layers upon layers of information. I will forever be grateful!!
