THURSDAY

We had a “slow” day of teaching.  Judy is getting a better feel for her students and how to plan.  My class goes well (rhythm performances), and I was also being observed for “assessment”.

The arrangement I’ve been working on for the orchestra worked well.  My biggest problem is the wide diversity of abilities.  Several of the students “read it down”, and others were struggling with fingerings.  I’ve got to find a way to challenge everyone and still include everyone in something.  I may have to organize several smaller ensembles that match individual student levels better.

FRIDAY

Judy’s Friday is always a big day.  All the classes meet, and it’s really busy.  At the end of the day, the musical “Annie” rehearses, and Judy is the musical director.  She’s working with 3 other faculty members to pull it all together.  They perform in February, but with only one rehearsal a week, they needed an early start.

Annie Rehearsal

After my classes, I meet with my principal for my “post-observation” interview.  It goes well, and she had some fun watching the students perform for the class.  The “guitar club”, meets Thursday and Friday during lunch, and I’ve mostly been watching them make decisions on what they wanted to work on.  They settled on “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, by Green Day.  I used “GarageBand” to put together a drum track they could take home and practice with.  I also broke down the phrases of the tune to make their rehearsals and home practice a little more efficient.

We finish the day at the pub with the BISS Friday “wind down”.  It’s always fun to catch up on the gossip.  International Schools begin their hiring process in November, especially smaller schools like BISS.  Teachers have already had to turn in their preliminary commitment statements, and several teachers and administrators are moving to other schools next year.  There is much discussion about possible replacements, and all the possible staff adjustments created by the vacancies.