Week 1 at Somerset

What a quick first week complete! Early reflection has already distinguished the differences in the classroom environment, schedules and overall ethos for the schools I have been to in Scotland prior to this placement. Australia’s IB perspective on schooling has showed me that one thing which is vital to the success in the classroom is through trusting the children. The relaxing atmosphere in the classroom is completely opposite to the stresses which I have witnessed back in Scotland. Anyway, week 1 in a nutshell…

             

Somerset has just completed its yearly ‘Celebration of Literature’, a 3 day event which celebrates the reading and writing which surrounds us by involving all of the community, and inviting over 30 authors to come and hold interactive workshops for the children and adults. This festival is giving the children opportunities to meet the authors of some of their favourite books, discover new books and also gain an insight into the imaginative ways in which the authors plan their books. The children loved the excitement of meeting these authors, getting the opportunity to get their books signed and also enjoy the experience with their peers. Overall, the event was important for my class in particular as they are currently required to create different creations in class for the unit of inquiries – the structure of imagination from literature can be used here, and the enthusiasm which the event gives the children to then circulate back into the class is invaluable.

     

Friday was a different day for both Lauren and myself – we were asked to come along and supervise on the Year 5 trip to Saint Helena’s Island – an island off the coast of Brisbane, which was home to a high maximum security for Aboriginal and English prisoners during the 19th century. This was a fascinating opportunity to learn about the Australian history, but also to meet other staff and children who were on the trip from Somerset. It was certainly a different school trip in which I have been used to, and we learned all about the difficulties which prisoners faced whilst on the island – the duties which they were assigned, the struggles of having to work through the Australian heat and also the heartbreak that wardens had to face when their child died and was buried on the island.

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