internship: Prince Street School
I went back to Prince Street yesterday for a quick last visit. Mr Brown asked me to come at 10:00 - right when he was switching between the grade 5 and grade 4 classes. These are the groups I worked with the most, so it was awesome to get to see them both one last time. I dropped off a card to both Mr Brown and Mrs Gillis, a small gesture to show my huge thanks to them. I plan on going back to Prince Street - to visit, volunteer, and who knows - someday, I could be working there!
This experience has been nothing short of amazing. Thank you so much Vickie, for designing this course that allows us to really put our dreams into action. I have enjoyed every minute of it!
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The end of this internship is definitely bittersweet. I am happy to have completed my 30 hours, but definitely will miss seeing the kids and staff of Prince Street! Although our semester is over, I'm not technically done - my last day was a snow day! I'm planning on going back for an extra morning next week to say my goodbye's and thank-you's.
The two main goals I set for myself in my Action Plan B were to 1) become more comfortable and confident in a classroom setting, and 2) to make as many connections with the staff as I can. I can say with complete confidence that I have made great strides in both these areas. Stepping into a classroom does not intimidate me nearly as much as it did a month ago, as I feel much more at ease. The experience has worked wonders for my confidence! I have also introduced myself and worked alongside many different staff members - both the principal and vice-principal, along with many teachers - such as music, French, humanities, resource, library, and multiple homerooms! My internship provider, Philip Brown, always made sure that I was meeting as many people as I could. As a result of spending the past month in the field of teaching, I have seen personal changes in the sense that I am more confident, and professional development in the sense that this confidence transfers into my teaching abilities. It has also pointed me in the direction that I have already been going - but it reiterated the fact that this is the right direction! If I could do my internship again, I wouldn't change much. I would be so grateful for the experience to do it again, I would do anything to get more time in a school! Prince Street is one of the most welcoming places I have ever step foot inside. Everyone is friendly, smiling, and genuinely happy to see you. They treat each child as if they were their own. They even have a school "Elf on the Shelf" named Chip who appeared this past week for the students. It's the small things these teachers do that leave the greatest impression on me. I won't soon forget these precious moments! To this point (which is close to the end!) I have not faced any real problems with my internship. The only instances close to "problems" that I have encountered would be small things like refreshing myself on the grade 5 math curriculum, figuring out where the photocopier is, or remembering a student's name ! These are problems that I tackle with a smile on my face, because I am learning. Someday, this will (hopefully!) be my reality on a day-to-day basis. So, I may as well get used to it now!
I have obviously come to know Mr. Brown and Mrs. Gillis quite well over the past few weeks. I have also had the opportunity to work alongside a student teacher in Mrs. Gillis's class, Ms. Bowden. She is at the point of her practicum where she is mostly in charge of the class, so I take instruction from her as well for what to do with the students. Another meaningful connection I have made is with the principal, Mrs. Johnston - or "Miss J" as the kids call her. Each morning, she is standing at the top of the stairs greeting the kids as they come in. I arrive around the same time - so she always greets me with a smile. On my first day, I formally introduced myself to her as well. Making connections like this one will hopefully be very useful in the future when I am applying for teaching jobs, because who knows - I could end up at Prince Street someday! In general my internship is going very, very well. I am becoming more comfortable in the classroom, and cannot wait for the day that I get to really do this. These 30 hours are like a sneak peek at what is to come. Although I may only have 3 more visits left to Prince Street, I am going to make the most of them and enjoy every minute! So far in my internship, I have been learning every day. It may be a small thing like a new trick to get the student's attention, or something on a larger scale such as being present while a teacher disciplines a child, and the way they did so. In observing these day-to-day happenings in a classroom, I have learned some very important things about myself that very much align with my future career goal to be a teacher.
I think the biggest thing I have learned about myself to this point is that I am cut out for this job. I have been working with young kids since I was in high school, and I have also spent a lot of time in classrooms volunteering. Now that I am in a new classroom with more of a leadership role - now an intern instead of a volunteer, I feel more like I am able to put my skills to use. The crazy thing to me is that they are actually working! It almost catches me by surprise when a student listens to what I have to say, or answers a question that I ask them. For years I have struggled with self-confidence issues, especially when it comes to being in a position of leadership or power. I often cave to those around me. I am not very good at saying "no", but I am working on it! There are a few behavior issues in the classes that I am working in. For the first few days, I was hesitant and would let the classroom teacher do the disciplining. I felt out of place and did not want to overstep. Now, I will step in where I see necessary - with the small things. Telling a student to turn around and pay attention, to walk in the hallways, or to raise their hand are simple things that show the students that I am in a position of leadership, and they need to listen to me as well! It is a really different experience for me to be doing this in a classroom - but I love it. It has shown me that although students may act out and not do what you ask initially, I do have the ability to teach them and show them what is right. Something else that I have learned about myself is not necessarily something new - but something that has been reiterated for me over the past few weeks. That is that I know this is the career that I want! When I was 5 years old, you could have asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and the answer was a teacher. I stuck with that for the rest of my school years, and into University. It was around my second year where I started to have doubts. The market for teachers on PEI is slim - and I want to set myself up for success. That was the point where I switched my major to French, in hopes of improving the chances of getting a job. I started volunteering more to see if it was really what I wanted to do. Now, in this internship, it is again clear to me that I made the right choice. Seeing the kids faces every morning, watching their progress even over the past few weeks, and believing in their success has shown me that this career is so rewarding. I leave Prince Street each time with a huge smile on my face, excited to go back the next day. I cannot express how fortunate I feel to have this opportunity through this course. It has provided me with more learning than a lecture or textbook ever could! A major highlight from my internship thus far was probably the morning that I worked with a grade 5 girl in math class. I shared this in my blog last week - but I will share again for my classmates! After working very hard with her, because English is not her first language, we finished her difficult math sheet. She looked at me with the biggest smile on her face, and said "Thank you, Miss Courtney!". She warmed my heart with her smile, as she was so appreciative of my help and proud of the work she did. This is only a small example of what happens every day in my internship - these kids are so great to work with. I have found this entire experience to be both valuable and rewarding on so many levels. From working with the kids to getting to know the staff at Prince Street, it has been an experience I won't soon forget. It is crazy (and sad!) to think that I only have 2 weeks left, so I try not to think about that part. Although, I have been asked by their Vice-Principal to come back to the school in the New Year and help her lead the after school gymnastics program. I am very excited for that, as it will be so much fun - and more experience in a school setting! I honestly can't say enough good things about this placement. I am in love with teaching, and it makes me so excited for my future! There are so many fantastic things to say about my internship already. I have not encountered many challenges, so I will leave those until the end to talk about. I'll begin with all the great things that have been happening. Honestly, the most rewarding part so far has been connecting with the students. Working in small groups or one-on-one allows me to really get to know these kids. Although it may only be a short time, it is enough to finish a math sheet together, or read a book that has a funny story line, or figure out a French word together.
Just yesterday, I was working in Mrs. Gillis's room during math time. I was sitting with a little girl whose first language is not English. Mrs. Gillis told me beforehand that she is a very hard worker, but she just doesn't always understand. After working with her for probably 30 minutes, we had completed the sheet and fixed her mistakes. When math class ended, she looked at me with the biggest smile, and said "Thank you, Miss Courtney!". At that moment, I remembered exactly why I want to be a teacher - for times like this. Her gratitude for helping her with that one math sheet was enough to make my morning! Another amazing experience I had was last week, when I was at the school during their Remembrance Day Assembly. It was put on by the music teacher, and all the participants were students. A few came to school in their Cadets uniforms, the choir sang, and multiple students read poems and reports they had written. What was the most memorable for me was when the music teacher started playing the song "Highway of Heroes" by The Trews. As soon as the words came up on the screen, the whole school started singing. They knew the words by memory, and sang their hearts out. It was a priceless moment to see over a hundred young kids singing this song, standing with poppies over their hearts. Earlier that day, I had a young boy ask me "Miss Courtney, what is a poppy?". He and his family recently immigrated from Syria, and this was his first November in Canada. This was a very humbling experience for me as I explained Remembrance Day to this 9-year-old boy who has just fled his war-stricken country. Afterwards, I thought about the fact that he now, he probably appreciates this day more than many of the Canadian students at Prince Street and all over our country. Later that day, he also pinned a poppy to his shirt, and sang along with his classmates. There have been countless moments like this one that have made me so appreciative that I am taking part in this internship. They definitely outweigh the challenges that I have encountered! These challenges are mostly issues with students who don't behave, or don't listen to me because they don't see me as "the teacher". I remember being their age, and when someone new came in, there was always someone in the class who wanted to make the day difficult for the new teacher. All in all, this experience has been such a fantastic one to date. I have already learned so much from the teachers I am working with, and I love going to my internship each day. It makes getting up early well worth it! It is very reassuring to know that I have chosen a career path that I know already, I am in love with! For my internship placement, I will be working with Philip Brown at Prince Street Elementary. Mr. Brown is the Core French & Humanities teacher for grades 4, 5 and 6. While he is on prep time and does not have a class, I will be working with Vice-Principal and grade 5 classroom teacher Kelly Gillis. This is a very special opportunity for me because I have known Mrs. Gillis since I was about 5 years old. I spend approximately 30 minutes to one hour a day with her, and the rest of my time with Mr. Brown.
When I am with Mr. Brown, my main tasks are working with small groups, and helping him out wherever necessary. Often, I will take a small group out of the class and we will work on their French by playing games on a few iPads that the school has. When I am with Mrs. Gillis, she prefers to have me work one-on-one with a student. I will often take one student to the hall and they will read with me. During times where the students are working independently at their desks, Mrs. Gillis will give me a student or two to go sit beside and work with. This placement is ideal for me, because my career goal is to be a French Immersion teacher at the primary or elementary level. I get to have the exposure to French when I am in Mr. Brown's classroom, and also be a part of everyday classroom activities in Mrs. Gillis' room. I am excited to be in a school I have never been in before, as it provides the opportunity to make connections with their staff - which may someday be very beneficial in obtaining a job. I have been at Prince Street for a little over a week now, and I love it! |
Prince Street School is an elementary school for grades K-6 in downtown Charlottetown. The inner-city school puts a focus on community, friendships, and student's success.
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