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20-05-2013
Landed that long-term role? Here's a 10 item check list for your first week!
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Top 10 Things To Do In The First Week Of School
1. Learn the behaviour policy
Do yourself a favour and have a good understanding of the behaviour policy at your school from the get-go. If you are prepared, you are in for fewer surprises and you can also show your students that you have done your research.
2. Find out which exam board you are using
This is extremely important, however sometimes glazed over whilst getting organised in a new teaching role. Do your research on specifications such as course content and find out specifics about what the students need to know for the exam. This allows you to start teaching the most useful content from the start to ensure the greatest success.
3. Make the classroom yours/show your personality
This will put you, as well as your students, at ease. Get off on the right foot, show them a bit of yourself and ask them for some interesting facts. It will gain some trust and also make the classroom a more approachable and positive learning environment.
4. Talk to other teachers who have had the class before you
You’ll want to know which students to sit away from each other, who needs an extra push, who to be extra firm with, and what type of learners they are. Getting these extra bits of information going in (like what kind of rewards they respond to) gives you a leg up and one less thing to have to discover as you go along.
5. Identify students with needs
Read IEPs – they are a road map for students learning paths. Also meet with educational assistants and the Special Education department to ensure you know the essentials about the students in your class. Be ready for everything, including ESL students who know little to no English, students with physical disabilities, and hearing impaired students. Have your classroom set up appropriately to accommodate.
6. Make friends with the librarian
You are going to want to know who is in charge of booking library time or computers during lessons. Make nice with the librarian! On those days that your students just really need to get out of the classroom, or could use some extra revision time, this relationship will come in handy.
7. Find out where to get cheap stationary
Goodness knows you’re going to need it! Be prepared to give out plenty of pens and not get them all back. Poundland is your friend! Post-it’s come in handy for that typical teacher scatterbrain, and red pens are necessary for those piles of marking!
8. Time manage – be ready for meetings
Know that you are in for plenty of meetings in your first few weeks – briefings, new staff training, professional development sessions. You will have plenty to do but these meetings are essential in getting to know your school, fellow staff members and department policies. Be prepared for little sleep and a lot of work. Don’t stress - it will get easier.
9. If you come from somewhere without form time, learn the system
I had never been in a school where there was tutor time in the morning where all Year levels came together so it was a comp0leterly new experience for me. I had to learn the system very quickly, as well as several more names, to know exactly what my role was as a tutor – to mentor, support, and get to know my tutees.
10. For all of the foreigners out there (like me) - learn your words
Along with all of the education acronyms (GCSE, CPD, SEN, ESL, IEP), you need to ensure you know the correct words to use in class. An example: I told one of my students that he had to leave and go get into proper uniform pants. Well, if you’ve made that mistake, you won’t make it again. They are called trousers here! Get that all sorted before you go into the classroom to keep your students from LOLing.
Ivan is a Canadian trained Secondary teacher who is currently in a permanent postion through Protocol Education in a school in Milton Keynes.Read more from Ivan here
Tags: Ivan, Secondary Teacher, Long-Term Role, Overseas trained teacher, Tips, Protocol Education
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