Waltons- Week 3!

Once again, I was really looking forward to work experience this week. I was at the bus stop at 20 past 8 and was in town by 20 to ten. I went into the shop and into the kitchen at the back to put my bags away. straight away, I got the sweeping brush and swept the floor of the shop. When aoife came in I helped her to polish the pianos and then we were asked to clean the windows at the front of the shop. This meant climbing into the window displays and beings very careful so that we didnt knock anything over. Its also meant climbing up a very wobbly ladder and trying not to fall off. After cleaning the windows, we took fifteen minutes break. After break we tuned some mandalins and guitars and also polished the guitars as we went. We were then given a while to play the instruments, and I taught Aoife how to play some chords on the guitar. We went for lunch at 1 o' clock and went to tower records on wicklow street to have a look at some Cds. We returned to the shop at two and were asked to take the guitar amplifiers of their platforms, mop down the platforms, polish the amps, and put them back in their place. At three o' clock we were told that we could go home.

Waltons- Week 2!

I was really looking forward to today, because I really enjoyed last week.I got the 8.10 bus into town and arrived at waltons music shop at ten to ten. I went in and to the room at the back to put my bag and coat away and found that aoife was already there. We went and started our morning jobs. This week was my turn to polish all of the pianos, which took a while but aoife helped me after she had finished sweeping. we then tuned some mandalons and banjos and I broke another string. But phil said that it happens all the time while tuning them so it was fine. Myself and aoife were then asked to go to the post office to post a violin bow, which is very delicate. We needed to get a postal tube for the bow. However to our luck, the postal tubes were too small. We trekked back in the rain to the shop and told them our dilemma. They asked us to try a shop on nassau street called reads. So we set off again to that shop, only to find that the postal tubes there were the same sixe as the ones that were in the post office. So we returned to waltons and they said that they would look for something that they could put it in. our next task was to organised the books on the shelves in alphabetical order. This was more difficult as first presumed, as there was not enough space on the shelves and it was very difficult to fit all of the books in. We went on lunch at one o clock and returned at half so that we could play the instruments. at two we continued with sorting the books. phil had found something to put the violin bow in so me and aoife were sent back to the post office to post the package. We spent the remainder of the day tuning guitars until three when we were told that we could go home.

Waltons- Week one!:)

I started working in Waltons Music shop on South Great Georges street, in town. I wasnt as nervous as I was for my first placement, but I wasn't completely calm. I went into the shop and up to the desk. One of the guys that worked there realised that I was there for work experience and then I noticed another girl from a different school was also there for work experience.we were shown where to put our bags and coats and then we were put straight to work. I was asked to sweep the floor as it hadnt been done since before christmas. When I was finished I helped aoife to polish the pianos and then I was asked to tune some guitars. 49 to be exact. I also tuned some banjos but unfortunatly one of the strings snapped. I told phil, our boss, and he said that is was ok and it just needed to be restrung. then we were asked to take some stock from a massive cardboard box and put it up on display. at one o clock myself and aoife went for lunch. We had an hour but we came back after half an hour so that we could have time to play the instruments. We were then asked to go to the post office to post a letter. we had to be given directions because neither of us knew town very well, but we found it in the end. when we got back we did some more tuning and at three phil told us that we could go home early because there wasnt much left for us to do. overall I did enjoy the day. I got a feel for what its like to work in a shop.

Placement one complete1:(

After ten weeks in scoil naomh bríd, My work placement one has finally come to an end! I have to say that going back to work in the primary  school that I spent six years in as a student, it seems so different. Seeing the school as a teacher opposed to a student, gives you a completly different view of the school. It felt so good to be back and the experience was so much better than I ever expected it to be. All of the girls were so lovely and welcoming and they made me enjoy the experience even more! After spending the time in the school, I now know that I would love to work with children when Im older! I would love to stay there all year but I cant wait for my other placements.
Eilísexx :D


 

Week 10

Today was the day that i have been dreading since my first week of work experience. The last day. I am really going to miss the girls that i have been working with, the teachers and the school. I have become attached to the senior infants in a way and I am really going to miss them. as per usual I headed in at nine o' clock and met up with chanice, Alanna, and Daina. We all went up to the principal and gave her a present to thank her for having us back for work experience. I then went to my classroom and gave a present to Ms. A to thank her for having me in her class. I went to my table at the back of the room and all of the girls had to come down one by one with their readers and I had to do their reading with them. After everyone had read, the girls lined up according to the level of reading that they were at. I then had to swap the readers so that each girl had a book that they hadnt read before. I went for break at 10.35 until 11. when I went back to the class tey had learnt a poem about pets and before break Ms A had told them that they would be getting a visit from a pet. Mrs. B, who is a student teacher from chanices class, brought in her gerbil to show to the girls. They were all fascinated by the gerbil and were very excited. after the gerbil had left, I had to take the girls workbooks and put them in order of the tables that they were sitting at and put them back on the shelf. Since it was our last day, Myself, Chanice, Alanna and Daina decided to go out to the yard for lunch so that we could spend more time with the girls before they went home. After lunch, My class and Chanices class went to the stage to practice their christmas play. They were all sorted into their places and by the time that was done it was time for the girls to go home. when we got back to the classroom, One of the girls, Grace, cmae down to me with a present from the whole class. They gave me shower gel and a box of chocolates. I wasnt expecting to get a present so i was taken by surprise. I then gave the girls a bag of sweets each that I had brought in and gave them all a hug while they were going out the door. I am really going to miss them and am so grateful that I got the chance to get to know them all.

Week 9

As always I set off for work and arrived at the school for nine o clock. as per usual I met up with chanice, daina and alanna outside my classroom. when my class came in they were freezing cold do when everyone came in they all stood up behind their chairs and did some jumping jacks to warm up. I was then asked to bring the kids down individually and help them with their tricky words. I had to tick the words that they new and then mark them out of 30. while they were down with me they also read through their readers. I then went for break with the girls in the staff room. After break I was sent into the other senior infant class and get a bag of compost. The girls had been learning about plants and flowers and today they were planting dafodils. The girls were all given biodegradable pots and the had to design them with their crayons. Afterwards the had to come down to me at the back of the room and I showed them how to plant the flowers. I took them down 3 at a time. The first had to put some of the compost in the bottom of the pot. They then had to place their bulbs into the pots. some of the girls had put the bulbs in upside down at first so i had to show them the right way of doing it. after lunch I had to take some girls down to my table in pairs so that they could inish art that they had started during the week. the idea was to paint a window and then have icicles hanging from the window. when the girls went home I went into chanices classroom and helped her to put worksheets into the girls folders. I then went with alanna to the printing room to get the paper guillotine so that we could cut up the laminated tricky works and stick them up onto the wall.

Day eight!

As normal I was really looking forward to work experience. At nine o clock I arrived at scoil Naomh brid ready for another day in the classroom. When Went in I was greeted by the teacher of the Class and also by the girls as they were taking off their coats. The girls had been bringing in photos of themselves showing how they have changed since they were born as part of their history. I was given the task of making timeline with their photos. I had to call each girl down one at a time and they told me what order the photos went in and explain to me what was happening in each photo. I finished them all by breaktime. I went to meet up with the other girls in the staff room for break and returned to my class for 11 o clock. When I went back into class after break the girls were excited for art. using the fabric that I had cut out last week, the girls were going to make collage of a shoe. There were big shoes drawn on separate sheets. i was asked to take a group of four girls down at a time to one of the shoes. I had to help them and make sure that all of the fabric was stuck on properly I then had to paint the heels and the inside of the shoes and hang them up on the wall. After lunch the girls practiced for their Christmas play. They also did a talent show. At ten to two when the girls went home I went into chanices class and helped her to stick pictures up on the walls and sorting out folders. We finished up at ten to three and I really enjoyed the day.

Day seven!:)

Once again, i arrived at scoil naomh brid at nine o clock. as usual when i went into the classroom, i saw all of the girls, as they said hello to me. The first task I was given, was to cut up pieces of old materials. I was given a massive bok full of old sheets and curtins and i had to cut them into little squares. at twenty five to eleven, i went for my break. after break, i was given the job of stapling. the girls had done pictures in crayon and and crumpled them up and then painted over them with black paint. they looked like mosaics. i had to staple the pictures onto a white sheet and then stick the pictures up on the wall outside the classroom. after lunch the girls had playtime so i walked around the room and talked to some of the girls about what they were doing. At ten to two when the girls went home, i went into chanices class and helped her to stick things up on the walls.

Day six:)

After having a week off for mid-term break I was happy to be back for another day of work experience. as usual I went in to school at nine o' clock and met up with the other girls in the hallway. At ten past nine I went into my classroom and Ms acton asked me to take the girls down to the back of the room individually. However after about fifteen minutes the principal came in and asked me to come down and manage the bookfair. I followed Mrs pierce to her office and found out that I would be with Alanna at the book fair. We both walked down to the hall and and mrs pierce told us what we had to do. We stayed in the hall until breaktime and then went for something to eat. after break we went back to the hall but soon enough mrs pierce arrived with chanice because it was time for her to have a turn so I had to go to chanices class to help out with art. They were painting cinderella in her ballgown. I returned to this class after lunch to finish off but after about twenty minutes Mrs meleady sent me back down to the bookfair. It was a really good day.

Day five:)

I cant believe that its already halfway done. As always I was really looking forward to going into work experience. I went into school for ten past nine and met up with the other girls in the hallways before going into our classes. straight away when I entered the classroom the teacher told me what I would be doing for the day. Ms. acton and Ms. meleady, the two senior infant teachers, needed Chanice, Daina and I to line and number five lines on the first ten pages in one hundred and twenty copies. We all thought that the job eould be easy enough. however after one hour and only completing about twelve copies, our opinions had all changed. By the end of the day our hands were falling off and we didnt even get all of them finished. I think the teachers really appreciated us doing is because if we hadnt done it they would have had to do it over their mid-term break. They also promised us that they would never make us do anything like that again.

Day four:)

Once again the week flew past and it was time to go back to St Bridgets primary school. when I first went in I was asked to bring the girls down to the back of the room one at a time to practise reading. some of then got the words straight away but other had a bit of difficulty and I had to help them out a bit. after break I was given a massive pile of worksheets and i was asked to sort them into different folders. while I was doing that, chanice,who was in the other senior infant class, came in and asked ms acton if I could go into her class and help them to make some halloween lanterns in the shape of pumpkins. I was in the class helping again after lunch and when the children went home i helped chanice to hang the lanterns from the ceiling over the girls seats. Then we did some stapling and then we went home at ten to three.

one problem that I encountered was when I went into chanices class, they all wanted my help but I couldnt help them all at once. The best part of the day was when I first went into chanices class the girls were all very welcoming. The worst part of the day was when I was sorting sheets into folders.

Day Three

Once again I was really looking forward to going to my work experience. On wednesday the 10th of october, I went to St. Bridgets primary school. It was really nice to be back because everyone was so welcoming once again. At ten past nine I went straight to Ms Actons senior infants and at first I was just listening to what they were learning when they were told that they would be doing activities the children got really excited. I was asked to watch over and help one group who were playing giant snakes and ladders. all went rather well and there were no fights between the girls about silly things. after break to my suprise, the two senior infant classes went on a nature walk to castletown. while out on the walk i realised how difficult being a teacher of senior infants was. the class got over excited and wouldnt stay in a straight line and they would not listen if I told them to stop messing. when we got back lunch had already started so instead of going to the staff room for lunch i had to go to the computer room because there wasnt enough room for everyone in the staff room. after lunch I was given the task of taking the girls down one by one to practice their reading. however that didnt go as smoothly as I thought. ms acton had to go for a meeting so I had to look after the class for about half an hour. They were supposed to be doing work but they kept getting out of their seats and fighting over a rubber(as they all share one rubber). however I eventually got them to listen to me.

one problem that I encountered was trying to keep the girls undercontrol on the walk. They wouldnt listen to me for ages but I eventually got them to do what they were supposed to be doing.Thee best part of the day was when the girls paid attention to what I was saying on the walk and the worst part of the day was when they wouldnt listen to me when ms acton was gone to her meeting.

Day two!

I was really looking forward to going on work experience again. so on wednesday the 3rd of october I returned to st. brigids primary school. This time I wasnt really that nervous because I knew most of the class from the week before. once again I saw a lot of friendly faces of teachers willing to answer any questions that I had. At ten past nine I went to my assigned class. all of the children said Hi when i walked in and all of their smiling faces made me smile. straight away I was put to work. I was given the task of making a robot out of cereal boxes that the children had collected. The robot was called robotot and was from a story that the class had been reading. My job was to take the girls down in groups of six to help me.I had break and lunch at the same time as the first week.I spent the whole day making the robot and decorating it. I was actually very proud of my robot. when the girls went home at ten to two I was given more folders and sheets to sort out.
one of the problems that I encountered was actually making the robot. It was very difficult to get the legs strong enough because the body was so heavy and the robot turned out to be about the height of me. another problem was that the children all wanted me to put their boxes in certein places but it wouldnt work so I had to try and convince them to put their box in a different place. The best part of the day was walking in in the morning and seeing all of the girls smiling up at me. The worst part of the day was when the legs of the robot broke and I had to build them again.

Day one!!!:)

On Wednesday the 26th of September  all of the TYs had their first day of work experience. I went on a trip down memory lane! I went back to my old primary school, St. Brigid's. Its was so fun.I started at 9.10am. At first I was a bit nervous bit I was really excited to find out what class I would be put in. At ten past nine, the principal Mrs pierce came to take me to my class. To my surprise I got put into senior infants! They are such a nice class. And their teacher, Ms. A., was there when I went to school and she was so nice and helpful. I also saw a lot of familiar faces of the teachers that taught me when I went to school there. The first task that I undertook was to swap the readers around so that all the girls had a reader that they hadn't read before. Then I was asked to number the lines in a pack of copies that Ms. A gave to me! I went for break at 10.35. luckily I wasn't the only TY student there. Two other girls from my class and also two other girls from different classes in the year went too so I wasn't alone. After break when i went back to the classroom Ms A asked me to take the girls down to the back of the room to the art table in groups of three and help them with the piece that they were working on. I had to paint the back of some jigsaw and Lego pieces and then the girls had to press them on a page in certain patterns.I had lunch from 12.10 until 1 o' clock. after lunch I continued with the girls at the art table. They went home at 1.50 but I wasn't finished until 2.50 so I stapled some  booklets together as Ms.A was going to be the next day and needed work to give to the children. I then was sorting some of their work into folders. overall I learnt a lot and had so much fun!:)