In the Classroom

The past week has been full of meetings to clear up questions and talk about the Nord Anglia: The British School of Beijing formalities. Finally this week we are in our classroom setting up. I have created my first bulletin board, which is a must at BSB. They strive on presenting the students work throughout the semester and there are 5 bulletin boards for that in my classroom. I also created a mural out of tag board which is of a silhouetted tree. On the first day of class, students will each color a pelican to be perched on the tree. (Our classroom mascot is the pelican) The classroom is shaping up and I am learning the ropes of Year 5 along with my cooperating teacher, Miss Dawn Burnette, who is teaching this level for the first time. She is Scottish and has a different way to say many terms. A jotter, a notebook, a lolly is a sucker, and color is spelled with a ou. The BSB works on a reward system and has many certificates of achievement for the students to work toward throughout the term. The most important individual reward is a House Point. One is awarded for good academic work. There are tiers to work up to from Bronze, silver, gold, to platinum. The important class reward system is the marble rewards, which are given to well behaved students. Good behavior is only rewarded and marbles cannot be taken away for bad behavior. There are many other reward systems used by the school like Pen License (for outstanding penmanship) and Star Citizen (awarded to students who show common courtesy to others), and Table Manners (those who eat properly). British schools are known for their strict and regimented style and the head teacher, Mrs. Janet Brock, says the school is to follow through with that expectation. That is why the parents are paying the good money for their children to attend this school she says.
After school today, Alex and I went to the subway station to pick up our Oyster Cards which are used to ride the buses. Before today we have relied on the taxis to bring as to and fro which cost us 14 RMB ($2.20 USD) one direction. Now taking the bus we only spend $0.40 USD each time. Talk about cheap! We have ridden every form of transportation: taxi, bus, subway, but not the bicycle or rickshaw yet. Before I leave I will have tried them all. I have to say the bus is pleasant compared to the #58 bus I rode in Thessaloniki to school.
By this Friday I will have planned the first week of my student teaching and be ready to meet the students on Friday.