My life as a teacher

I have labeled this post "My life as a teacher" because I feel like it's a totally different life. It's crazy to say it but I have discovered so much of me that I never knew.... I've learned more in my one month as a teacher than I think I did in the 14 years I've been a student. =0)

Things I've learned in my first month as a teacher:
-Teachers use inky pens because it makes your sheets look professional after they've been through the copy machine- not because they are cool.
-White out can be seen on the original but not on a copied paper.
-Teachers use white out because they love their students. The test paper looks too confusing with the little mistake lines underneath the actual writing and we want the students to do as well as possible so we put in the extra effort to white out those lines.
-The teacher likes the stickers just as much as the students.
-Teachers have more homework than students.
-Teachers are just as tired as their students.
-Teachers are told to pretend they know what they are doing even if they have no clue why the kids trust them to know what today's date is.
-Teachers really see everything.
-Doing this as a job is way more difficult but way more motivating than doing it for a grade.
-It's not good enough anymore as a teacher to say, "Don't mind me- I'm terrible at spelling."
-Never be too cocky in taking on projects- always assume you can do less than you thought you could.
-There is always more to learn.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on this. The last thing i wanted to share was a really inspirational song I just discovered today. It really moved me and I wanted to pass it on because its not easy for me to find Jewish songs I like. Enjoy.
'Tell it to the one' by blesofsky

Edmonton

Hi guys... its been a while.

    For anyone who does not yet know, I am currently in edmonton, AB.

    I am teaching 5th grade limudei kodesh lessons (jewish studies). I also teach a davening period in the morning to second grade. I also do tutoring and remedial work with different children in between that... Every day I come to school at 8:oo am and sign in. I need to be in the gym by 8:10 to wait with my second grade class during line up. At 8:20 I walk my class to the classroom and the first thing I do there is pull out my raffle box. Said raffle box is really a disguised pringles can which I had such mesiras nefesh to empty out by eating all the pringles and then brilliantly disguising the container with colorful construction paper. We begin the day by singing a davening song and then I have them pull out their siddurim. They daven for 10 minutes, and  then read from a story book on the power of words and shmiras halashon, and then I need to have something to teach them every day for the next ten or twenty minutes. The school wants me to teach them about brachos. Lucky for me that is a topic i have been extremely interested in myself. I bought them cute notebooks and we will hopefully be filling it over the course of the year. I also work on their hebrew reading skills with them.
     After that I will be having private tutoring sessions with different students. So far I only have one daily meeting scheduled so the rest of the time I have been using to prepare my afternoon lessons. And I use up all the time because it takes me HOURS to prepare.
     At 12:10 I go on recess duty and at 12:30 I monitor lunch time with the middle and high school age girls. Mostly I use that to chat with the high school girls. At 12:50 I walk with my class to our classroom and begin the day with homework planners on my desk and check the daily schedule. I teach 7 subjects split into the week. I am with my 5th grade until 4:00  which never seems to be enough time. I go on curb duty at dismissal until 4:15. Once all the kids have left I often return to my classroom to prepare for the next day.... for a few hours.

     Just in case your wondering, I have a car. It's a maroon mini van that's not too old and not too new. I don't drive too often because I don't really trust myself at the wheel with all the new roads and rules. Mostly I leave the driving to the British girl who has never driven an automatic before :)

     As far as food, we buy our own breakfast, we have hot lunch in school, and we have dinner rotation at different families.

     I live on Wellington Crescent, which is Germasian property and its really cute here. It's nothing like i expected. It's really normal. The houses are not ginormous... just regular big. And the Germasian families are the most generous people ever. Every shabbos they prepare meals for between 20 and 50 extra people just because random Jews know they can come without invitation.

     We just moved to our permanent house and its really nice. It was hard choosing which room I wanted but I finally just settled on one and I'm happy with it. It has two twin beds, a nice bedside stand, a dresser with a vanity mirror and lamps, a full length mirror, and a nice closet. It's small but cozy. I'm not fully unpacked yet but I hope to be by the time I come back to Detroit so that I can figure out what i need and what I don't.

     There is this amazing family here in Edmonton who me and Donna spend most of our time with. We spent Rosh Hashana with them and then the rest of the week after because it was right in the middle of the move. I really don't know what I would do without them here. Baruch Hashem that we have them!

      The most expensive thing here is gas for the car, we spend like 60 dollars in 2 weeks.... its crazy. Other than that there is just basic things like cereal, coffee stuff, milk....

     Things I can't wait to do is ice skating at the mall, get a guitar, and get ahead in my preparing. :)

     Things I have already done is go to the largest indoor waterpark in the world [which is in the mall] when it was closed off by the Germazians for only women in the community. I have also sat by the ice rink for hours drooling, watching the professionals skate during their practice times.

     I have to admit that teaching is far harder than i ever imagined it would be but i'm hoping it and I will only keep getting better and better with each day.

     It's close to Yom Kippur and Sukkos and so the crescent is beginning to fill up with family. It should get pretty fun around here. It's too bad I'll be missing it but I'm much more excited to be coming home!

     I can't wait to get home on Friday. I hope to see you all then! I miss you so much!
Love,
Shayne

and the Megilla.... ;)

Hi, sorry its been so long. Life has a way of living you sometimes and catching up takes being in shape... and so since i've been in seminary for 2 yrs almost you can imagine how well that's working out ;) pun intended

Either way i didn't have much to write about but lately things have gotten more interesting so here is the latest.....

I started a job about a month and a half ago where i wake up at 6:30 in the morning and get to work at 7:00. I get kids ready for Gan (playgroup or nursery school) and drop them off. A double stroller with a 2 yr old and a baby and also 2 kids holding on to the sides. Speaking of being in shape- i'm sure i'll be by the time i'm done with this gig. lol

I took the job b/c i doesn't interfere with my college or sem schedule and helps me keep focused on a schedule. Also, if i don't leave the dorm in the morning... i just will never get out that day. Which is fine by me but in truth ones skin starts turning bluish when they haven't been outside in a few weeks (cough... not that i would know such a thing personally) and besides, it doesn't seem to healthy. :D

I also started 2 new online courses and for those of you who heard about my burn out session in Jan-Feb.... well that's OVER. We're back in business, thank G-d. I'm just trying to snowball and after not doing any solid work for 2 months, i need all the divine help i can get. I'm now taking Physiological Psychology and History and Systems of Psychology. They are actually really interesting. So interesting, in fact, that i'm sitting here writing on my blog rather than opening my text book- lol.

Pesach break came at a great time. I also did a small data entry job for a few days at an international company called Oramed which created an orally administered insulin medication for diabetes. cool right??

I went to froyo the other day with a friend and got the most amazing frozen ever! [lol, no i'm not kidding they call frozen yogurts 'frozen' here.] I put in strawberries, mango, halva, sugar coated peanuts, white mekupelet and it was YUM! for all of you who are not farmiliar with what a froyo is b/c its a native to israel thing- its a frozen yogurt place that you pick what gets blended... like all types of fruits, chocolates, candies... etc. And then they blend it with the frozen yogurt/ice cream stuff and its really really yummy :) So that was my 3rd that i ever got... 2nd that i bought for myself. It was also really nice b/c i had good company.

My friend finished her psychometry last month (SAT equivelent only way harder... she was in class from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm with a 2 hr break in the middle 5 days a week for 5 months for it.) and we made a book burning party for her. I made the fire and it was very impressive. Thanx tatty for teaching me how to make a tepee b/c it impresses ppl and it works rlly well! :}

Another friend who didn't come back to P'ninim was in Israel for Pesach and i saw her a few times. It's really nice to be with ppl who know who you used to be... u know what i'm saying? I feel really comfortable with her... more than with most ppl i think. Either way it makes me happy.

Chedvas had a bondfire and we FROZE.... i brought like 10 sweatshirts and just handed them out and it still wasn't enough. ppl were turning colors so we didn't end up playing frizbee. A different night all the girls who stayed in Israel [who live in America] went out to pizza and it was also really nice. We went to a packed place in shefa mall. 


O- and i drove for my first time in Israel too! Rabbi Meisels needed s/o to do errands and there was no one else besides for me and a friend who's name is also shayna but neither of us were comfortable driving here in Israel so we decided to do it together for emotional support... it ended up being more like emotional abuse b/c we were both nervous and we're both terrible back seat drivers. :) We went to Har Nof, and Givat Shaul, and Kiryat Moshe, and Geula, and Shefa Mall and back again. It was so much fun!

It's like, this whole year i feel like a little girl in a little seminary with my little roommates and e/t is rosy and college is grand and i'm in my little bubble... and then i got behind the wheel, put my shades up, and its like reality changed. I felt suddenly so much older... idk why but it was cool. Either way it was sooo much better than walking or busing. I think i have to get an international license this summer before i make aliyah though b/c once ur a citizen you can't drive with a foreign license anymore.


After pesach i restarted my walking kids to Gan job and started taking some serious tests. I Since pesach i have been to Ramat Gan and taken 2 other big tests, one by Shmuel HaNavi and one in my school building. Hopefully it will keep going. Chedvas has also started again and i'm super happy to get back into a schedule. Unfortunately though, its not the most ideal schedule.... dorm is usually noisy until late at night but i wake up sometimes hours earlier than most of the girls so it gets annoying when i can't sleep all night and then have to wake up and either take a test or go to work. Besides for that though, i'm totally managing to accomplish and that's really all that matters. 


O- MAZAL TOV YOCHEVED AND MINDY!!! in case you didn't know these are 2 of my 4 best friends in the whole world and they are both engaged! lol- i feel soo blessed that i'll be able to go to both of their weddings imy"H!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooo excited! 
Can't wait for the summer!!!
can't wait to come home and see everyone! Can't wait for Rivky's graduation! can't wait to spend the summer with family and friends. 
Love you all!
shayne :) 

'O Chanukah- O' Chanukah Come Light the Menorah...

Okay, December is almost over and so is Chanukah! AAAAHHHH!!!!! How time flies when your eating doughnuts... lol

So this month i'm changing up the format and those of you who generally read these will notice...

College is going great! I'm in a race against time this semester b/c i'm trying to finish my BA as fast as i can!! to the tune of "Under pressure...." But really- experimental psych is the worst!

For the past 2 tests i've had to go to Ramat Gan to take them. The test takes me less than an hour but the travel time is almost 4 ... so basically i have to get up at 7:00 in the morning to get to the bus station on time to catch the bus at 9:50 to get to the testing place by 11:30 to take the test at 12:00 and then i don't get home until 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. So basically test days are just that- test DAYS.... even my afternoon is only spent recovering :|

So for all of you who are interested this is the way it goes at Pearson Professional Testing Center-

When you reach the office you are already 4 and a half hours into your day. You have: taken a shower, gotten dressed, put on makeup, Davened, Eaten breakfast, taken your vitamins, packed a lunch, Taken precautions against rain, walked to the central bus station of Jerusalem, and spent 2 hours on a nauseating bus ride with a maniac driver.

In the Pearson Professional Testing Center's office:

Step 1 to receiving your test)

An elderly South-African lady shows you to a seat in the waiting room and tells you to take a rule pamphlet and read it over. The pamphlet is only as long as one of those cartoon scrolls that just keeps going and going in the Disney movies. and it all says "bla, bla, bla"... or at least that's all i can remember of it.

Step 2 to receiving your test) you raise your hand to signal that you are finished reading it.

Step 3 to receiving your test) The old lady gives you a key and tells you to put everything you have with you in a locker... although the rule book says that they are not responsible if things get stolen from it. lol

Step 4 to receiving your test) The lady sends you back to the locker to put in all your jewelry and hair clips which she has just instructed you to remove and put away. Lest you are a rich computer genious who can access information off a computer chip strategically placed into the metal holding piece in your earring. :)

don't worry it gets better.

Step 5 to receiving your test) The lady sends you back to the locker to get your passport which she conveniently forgot [memory is going or s/t] to tell you to leave out.

Step 6 to receiving your test) The lady cannot identify you by your passport picture since it's a mugshot and doesn't look like you. So she sends you back to your locker to get an alternate form of picture ID

Step 7 to receiving your test) You return with your medical insurance card, driving license, student ID, and Bus Card- b/c your confident that you don't look like yourself in any of them.

Of course she looks skeptically at each one of them, and when you explain that you're just not photogenic she just peers at you suspiciously over her granny glasses. Luckily, she believes you. "Whew... now i can cheat and take someone else's test!" big sarcastic smile :D

Step 8 to receiving your test) "WHEN AM I GOING TO TAKE THE TEST ALREADY?!" don't worry though b/c they only have to palm print you for safety 5 times on each hand.

Step 9 to receiving your test) They ask you to sit down so they can take a picture of you for identification- so that if you walk off after cheating they can hunt you down.

Step 10 to receiving your test) On the 10th try the camera still doesn't accept the picture as valid... "I told you- i'm just not photogenic"- unlike the old lady, the computer doesn't accept this answer.

Step 11 to receiving your test) The lady then grudgingly explains to you that they are actually secretly pupil printing you [what the heck does that mean?] and so this time, when you look at the camera, go really close and open your eyes really wide.

Step 12 to receiving your test) You do it and your picture looks like a fish... speaking of not being photogenic. At this point you are ready to just submit to the handcuffs and let them take you away... jail seems so much easier.

Step 13 to receiving your test) You are given your passport and other Identification cards back and asked to proceed to the testing area.

Step 14 to receiving your test) The new elderly South-African lady at the next desk takes your passport and asks you to palm print... just in case you switched with someone in the four feet between the two desks.

Step 15 to receiving your test) lady #2 checks your picture and stifles a laugh. "thank you... i'm sure that's very funny isn't it- can i please just take my test now?"

Step 16 to receiving your test) Lady #2 now graciously reexplains all the rules to you again. She's probably afraid that all you saw in the pamphlet was 'bla, bla, bla' :}

Step 17 to receiving your test) You are shown into the testing room and set up by a computer with the picture of yourself as a fish on the screen.

Breathe in breathe out.... and you take your test. But don't worry you can't leave when you are finished without being *escorted* out. You take your things out of the locker and palm print one last time to receive your grade. B"H! you passed!!!! whew... now i can go home and take a shower and go to sleep!!

College is a depressing topic... lets to to more pleasant things :)

Shabbos! first shabbos of the month i stayed in the dorm with P'ninim which is my preferred way to spend it.

The second shabbos I stayed in and ate at a friend and my teacher for a dif meal.

The third shabbos I made a girl shabbos with a friend who's parents are in America. They left her and her sister for a month so we made food and invited friends. I made shnitzel and bought doughnuts for dessert. :)

Shabbos Chanukah I went to RBS to a roommate b/c originally we planed to have a roommate shabbos with all 6 of us, but it fell through. So i went anyways with another girl in chedvas.

All of these shabbosim were really nice and beautiful. :)

A special thank you to Esti who i see almost every shabbos :}

This month I really went all out and had fun- wel... its chanukah month! I went to Katzefet with Esti and out to dinner with Mitch, and to the Aish Cumzitz with my roommate, and treated myself to lunch on the way back from my tests in Maffe Ne'eman, and ate like one hundred doughnuts in all [i'm probably exaggerating... but not by much :}] We also had a pre-chanukah cumzitz in class with two very talented musicians who came with 2 guitars and a flute. We cut the lights and lit candles all around the room. They led songs and we sang while they wove the story of Chanukah and its lessons into the music... It was a really an inspiring and powerful experience.

On the Friday that i made shnitzels i also met Adam in the Shuk... I got to show him a bit of Yafo and we walked around the shuk for about an hour. It was really nice seeing someone from the family- it reminds me of home. The birthright tour was playing a game that each kid was assigned another kid to buy things for and "admire", so we found a toystore so Adam could buy his assignee a present. So here's a shout out to Adam- Thanx for visiting!

last but not least, cause it just happened- dadada da! CHANUKAH!

The first night of chanukah we had our school chagiga. We had an elaborate meal followed by a chanukah video spoof that some really talented chedvasers made. I was in it as one of the maccabeats. lol- they asked me to be in a video a few weeks before and i just said yes, i didn't really know what they were going to do with it. They gave me and 2 other girls a twist on the maccabeats story and asked us to act it out while they filmed. So we all put on big purple sweatshirts, baseball caps, and sunglasses (outside in the dark).... We took metal ladels and serving trays as our swords and sheilds and acted it out.

The outcome was quite different than we had imagined. lol- the video was a half hour long drama with special effects. :) It ended off with a spoof song by a different group of chedvas girls about doughnuts. The girls liked it so much that they played it 3 times in a row! I have to admit that i was also crying from laughing so hard.

I'll try to figure out a way to send it home so e/o can see it. bl"n

We also had an auction and a chocolate fountain. :) that was the really yummy part. Almost better than doughnuts.

The third night I went out to dinner with Michal G, as mentioned above. We got pizza and it was cool. Then that night i went to the Aish Cumzitz with 2 friends and we bought ice cream and shivered together by the light of the old city golden menorah... well- it wasn't literally lit, but we certainly shivered.

The 7th night of Chanukah I went to the Neve Hachnosos Kalla Chanukah Chagiga, where all the Neve schools perform choirs and dances and some really talented individuals did solo acts. Some of the acts were really really good. Like the Midreshet Tehilla Dance and 2 songs were performed solo by the girls who wrote them. Also the Bnos Chava girls did a great job on their dances and Neve did a really nice ballet.

8th day of chanukah i took my second test at the Pearson Professional Center... which was today. :/ and so this is what i'm doing with my recovery time. :P

Hopefully tonight i'll be able to skype the family during lighting time. Looking forward!

Love you all!!!!

email me!! xoxo

Hello everyone. It's hailing outside.

Last few shabbosim I stayed in the dorm, exclusively :) as you may have all seen pictures of my shabbos table (taken on Motzei shabbos silly!)

Today I took my second Psychology clep and I passed!!!! Hashem loves me!

anyways, the big question i want to ask everyone is:

Can you see the writing on this page?

i'm looking at it and i've noticed that i can't read parts of it b/c the white blends in with the background colors.... Its driving me crazy for 2 reasons

1. I don't think it has always been like that

2. I can't figure out how to fix it!!!

how frustrating?!?

okay, anyways. I miss everyone!

Keep me and my college tests in mind in your prayers!

xoxoxo

Rain rain- come today... for now we have begun to pray :)

Well, we started praying for rain people... did you know that during the first maariv saying V'Sen Tal in Israel it started raining? Now that's a bracha!

Nothing interesting happened last week other than me studying like a maniac. Oh- and i started getting over my cold.

Shabbos I stayed in the dorm and ate meals by a classmates cousins with her and 3 other girls. I did try to hold onto the ideals of our previous shabbos so i did make a shabbos table even with a real tablecloth this time! I also cleaned the whole dira and it felt great! Unfortunately we had Shalosh seudos plans. We walked into Har Nof in guess what? The pouring rain!

We made it there soaking wet but in high spirits!! The meal was nice. We got a ride back after shabbos and did Melava Malke in the dorm. It wasn't quite so uplifting... I did do some guitar practicing though and i think i'm doing pretty good for not having played since 2 summers ago. :)

Sunday i studied. Monday i took my psych test... and directly afterward i collected the 400 page college textbooks to begin studying for the next psych test :D {big sarcastic smile}

Anyways- at least its a subject that interests me.

Today I have contracted a new "sick" in the dorm. Its even more lovely because i haven't completely gotten over the last 2. I think i'm going to get some onions and garlic and start a bacteria catcher.... i'll let you know if it works :)

And now for the joke of the day:

What do an Elephant and a plum have in common?

They are both purple except for the elephant.... lol :)

[i actually thought that was hysterical]

alright people- don't give up on me! keep emailing and trying to keep in touch with me... it really makes a difference!

Love, shayne

The Cold's 'Acomin... sniffle

So 2 weeks ago, there is nothing interesting to write about other than the fact that I begun studying for a psychology clep which was really interesting. I love random things like the fact that infants are correctly termed "neonates". And seeing silly and obvious truths like children in the age between 5 and 10 years of age are in the "Identity vs Inferiority" stage according to the great psychosocial theorist Erik Erikson. :)

Anyways, I also had a bad cold and besides for that it was cooooold outside! Brrrrrr!!!!! lol- we have the funniest situation actually... so the heat hasn't been turned on yet in the school (as we were told 'we are waiting for people to start complaining') But our room in particular seemed to be so very much colder than anywhere else in the dorm and it was driving us crazy. And particularly one roommate of mine simply could not sleep for how cold she was! Anyways, one fine morning we were all sitting around talking and one of the roommates was sitting on this girls top bunk bed when she suddenly calls "Shaaaayne" I came hurrying over to find out what she could be looking at... turns out she could see Angels bakery through the wall over this girls head. :)

I'm not joking about this one. There is a palm sized hole from the drywall all the way through the jerusalem stone of the outer building structure which had been plugged up with tissues and tape. I guess it was lucky the tissues began to disintegrate when they did, and that someone saw it- otherwise we might have freezed our tushes off all winter!

No wonder our room couldn't get over our sick!

shabbos [Oct. 29]

Here is the beautiful, and inspiring thing that will probably stay with me throughout the rest of my life...

Friday the girls and I propped 2 bed boards across garbage cans and covered them with a white sheet before shabbos. Then we put a vase of flowers [donated by a friends family in honor of her birthday] in the center and lit our candles there. I also donated my new shabbos Challa cover to the mix... It looked stunning. We really felt like we were getting ready for our own shabbos! we ran around all friday cleaning and making the place sparkle with a Taam of home. We cut toilet paper and taped lights, ripped wrappers and tried to be ready in time to take shabbos 40 minutes before shkiah as per the minhag yerushalym.

Friday night meal I had the seuda in Givat Shaul with my P'ninis.... and Shabbos day i went with the seminar crowd to a classmate in Har Nof.

But Shalosh Seudos was something to be witnessed... A bunch of groups of girls had bought little amounts of food to eat at shalosh seudos without realizing that anybody else would be doing the same thing. But by shalosh seudos time we all found ourselves around our beautifully set shabbos table... the one made out of garbage cans, bedboards, and bedsheets... Our humble little shabbos table. Combining our food we found that there was more than enough to go around- and how! Really it was a feast. We brought up song books and sang and sang, and I said a dvar torah since I was the shabbos tatty :) We also realized that we could do a Mizumenet.

And as we were told- Al Pi Halacha, its a machlokes whether or not its obligated, but its certainly a nice thing to do. And that's how i found myself leading the Mezumenet- "Chavroti N'varech!"

By the time we were ready to let shabbos out we discovered that it was past Rabeinu tam! We did havdala but were on such a shabbos high that we decided to go straight into Melave Malke. Someone ran to put on Melava Malka music on her laptop and I got a Chanukia and 4 candles. We lit candles, rewashed, ate a czais of bread, and sang some more.

And that was probably the most meaningful shabbos of my life.