I, Mary, started my new job as a building substitute teacher this past week. So far, it has been amazing. We haven't had any students yet---ha ha! No but really, the staff and the entire school is so incredible. You can tell that all the staff members and teachers have so much passion for the students and helping them develop as learners and just as good humans.
The days I have had so far have been teacher workshops. The first week I had three days of new teacher workshops where all the new teachers in the district meet and get lots of information about the school, technology, health insurance, etc. I really enjoyed just getting to sit down at a meeting and be a listener and contribute, instead of being in charge! I keep getting this question from the other staff at the school. "Isn't it nice to be in such a small school district?" - To get the facts Orono school is a school district with 4 buildings. K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. There are about 240 students in each grade level - so this makes about 700 students at each building and 1,000 students at the High School For a grand total of 3,100 students at the school! So with my Danish mindset of our kids school having only a little under 500 students K-9 you can imagine how funny this question was to me. At first I laughed, and explained to others - but now I just smile and say yes. A lot of the new staff is coming from school districts with 500 students in each grade! With the size of the school you also have a lot of resources. So there is a specific person for almost everything. If you want to know about that specific computer program, you contact person A, if you have a question about lunch number pincodes, you contact person B. It's not just ask the secretary og IT person - there are many many secretaries and IT people. So I am still learning where to direct my questions both as a staff memeber, but also as a parent.
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| Bus tour - on a real school bus - it brought back memories of how hot it is on busses in the summer months and how to take the windows down!! |
The first three days of new teacher workshops were also days of getting spoiled! We had beautiful lunches provided all three days. One of the hightlights was getting to take a bus tour of the entire district and have a guide tell us about the area. Orono schools have a large area they cover including farm land and quaint country homes to the west, and huge mansions on Lake Minnetonka to the east. So it is a economically very diverse. During the bus tour we saw so many beautiful areas and stopped at a local restaurant (Actually in the small town of Maple Plain, where we live) for lunch.
That Friday we were treated to a nice meal at Lafayette Country Club with the school board and all administrators. Definitely a way to make you feel appreciated as staff.
Last week I was able to have a few days off and only worked Monday, Thursday and half day Friday. Monday the entire staff had a start up get together with breakfast and time in the auditorium where I had to get up in front of the entire teaching staff of over 300 people and be introduced. I love being in front of people, but this was a bit intimidating as my principal read things up from my application and it was a total bragging moment. The Danish girl inside me was like. "Wait, I'm not so special.." It was a good learning experience to feel on my own body the feeling of being out of my comfort zone, like I so often ask of my choir members and students! Another thing I realized that day are that over 50% of the teachers at this school have their masters degrees...so another 2 years of education in a specific area, and some even have a PhD. This is a bit intimidating, but I trust that I am very capapble of being a part of the team! That Monday we were also treated to a food truck with delicious barbeque options! I hear that from now on we have to bring our own lunches!! HA HA!
So yes, the big day is tomorrow where all the students come and I will be thrown into the job of being a flexible staff member. Basically I show up at 8am every day and get told what I will be doing. Mostly I will be in the classroom filling in for the daily teachers, but I could also get asked to assist a student in 1 on 1 reading, monitor the lunch room og recess on the playground, help in the office, help a special ed student, or just assist in a classroom with whatever may come up. I know I will be challenged this year, but I am looking forward to it, and have already enjoyed feeling like a part of a well working team.
Signing off,
Mrs. Madsen
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