What's your job about?
St Mary Star of the Sea College aims to provide an education that considers the intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of our students in a supportive, enthusiastic, and caring environment. My responsibility at the college is to effectively deliver the Year One Curriculum in a way that considers the whole child.
My role as a Year One Teacher involves educating my students using different materials and teaching strategies. I plan, guide, manage behaviour, communicate, manage conflict, and develop relationships with my students and their families. I make sure my classroom is organised, tidy, engaging, displays student work and is a safe space for my students. When I am not teaching and organising my classroom, my responsibilities include; playground duty, parent-teacher conversations, staff meetings, marking and feedback, and engaging in professional development.
A typical day in my classroom
Before School: I arrive at 7.30 am each day to set up the classroom and organise the resources for the lessons I will be teaching.
Morning classes: The doors open at 8.10 am, and the students unpack their bags and begin morning work. We say our good mornings, prayer and I will take the roll. The morning usually starts with the core lessons; English, Mathematics and Religion.
Breaks: We get a break at recess and at lunch and usually one of those breaks I will be doing playground duty. I also get planning periods throughout the week to complete duties other than teacher i.e., planning, assessing, meetings
Afternoon classes: After lunch, the students return to classroom and have 10 minutes of mindfulness. The afternoon lessons are usually, Visual Art, Music, Health, or Technologies. Students may also go to specialist classes during this time.
After School: The bell goes at 2.35 pm. Once the students leave, I stay in the classroom until at least 3.00 pm to organise the classroom.
What's your background?
I grew up in Carnarvon with my Mum, Dad and three brothers.
My education began at St Mary Star of the Sea College in Kindergarten, and I stayed until Year 9. I then completed Years 10, 11 and 12 at Santa Maria College in Perth. Once I graduated Year 12, I moved back to Carnarvon to have a Year off to figure out what I wanted to study. Once I was set on being an Early Childhood Teacher, I went back to Perth to commence study at Edith Cowan University in 2014. In my last year at Uni, I completed my final practicum back at St Mary Star of the Sea College in a Kindy classroom where I felt very supported and learnt a lot about the realistic roles and expectation of teachers. After I completed my last practicum at the College I decided to stay in Carnarvon and finish the remainder of my degree online. I graduated University in 2018 and was offered a Year 3 position at the college for the following Year. I was then moved to Year One in 2020 and have been teaching Year One since.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes, I believe anyone who has a passion for education and who possesses the characteristics and skills that good teachers require would be capable of doing my job.
I believe teachers should have the following characteristics and skills:
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I love teaching because the rewards are limitless. My students bring so much excitement, energy, and a love of learning to my classroom. Watching the progress and growth of each student and the pride they demonstrate when they learn new things is exciting! My favourite thing to do is to make learning fun and engaging. It’s an awesome feeling seeing my students having fun when learning new things. It’s the positive progress that my students show throughout the year that reinforces that I am doing the right thing and making a positive impact on their learning.
What are the limitations of your job?
Being a teacher does come with a lot of responsibility, it can be very overwhelming to begin with, however, it is important to seek support from the leaders at the school. As a teacher, there are always work-related things you could be doing. It is important to develop work habits to ensure you have a healthy work and lifestyle balance.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...