Week 5: End of International Practicum
And we're done! 5 weeks fly by so fast. This week only consists of 2 days, one on Monday where the students clean up their lockers and play games for the rest of the day, and the other on Tuesday where students carry out their chosen activities for choice days.
In more detail, I spent Monday giving my goodbyes and tokens of appreciation to all the teachers who I interacted a lot with. We returned the key fobs given to us and packed up all our things. I didd my very last lunch duty as well, doing crowd control as the students trickle in after their classes. At the last few periods, I went down with Qi Ting to observe the fashion show carried out by the Year 9s. From that show, we saw that the students are more open here, with their extremely daring and creative outfits as well as the cheering from the younger students. It was heart-warming to see the juniors supporting the year 9s enthusiastically, giving the models of the fashion show high-fives and fist bumps as they walked down the mini runway.
On Tuesday, Qi Ting and I helped manage one of the choice days activities alongside my CT, Mr Garratt. We had to guide the students to and from the swimming pool, like an excursion. It is unlike Singapore since back home, we normally have chartered buses to bring the students to the location. Here however, teachers and students use public transport. Bringing 25 students on a train and ensuring everyone behaves and gets off is chaotic. Thank God we had three teachers that day. It ended up being more tiring than I expected though, especially since the train broke down mid-journey on the way there due to complications in the track ahead. Hence, we had to be flexible and find another route to the swimming pool - by bus. By that time, the students were restless and had to be herded onto the bus. After which, we had to ensure students did not make too much noise or block the path when wanting to stand beside their seated friends. Thankfully, they could be persuaded to entertain themselves quietly after being seated properly.
On the way back, we ran into another complication. Two male students did not show up for roll call before departure. We could not afford too much time to search for them and hence, my CT sent Qi Ting and I off at the train station by the swimming pool with the rest of the students. We then brought the students back to the train station by the school while my CT went back to look for the two missing boys. He quickly and efficiently contacted the pool administration to look for the two boys and found them in record time. We found out later that the boys lost track of time and were just getting out of the pool one my CT went back to find them. One thing to prep myself for when bringing students out for excursions I guess. Phew!
Alls well that ends well!
In more detail, I spent Monday giving my goodbyes and tokens of appreciation to all the teachers who I interacted a lot with. We returned the key fobs given to us and packed up all our things. I didd my very last lunch duty as well, doing crowd control as the students trickle in after their classes. At the last few periods, I went down with Qi Ting to observe the fashion show carried out by the Year 9s. From that show, we saw that the students are more open here, with their extremely daring and creative outfits as well as the cheering from the younger students. It was heart-warming to see the juniors supporting the year 9s enthusiastically, giving the models of the fashion show high-fives and fist bumps as they walked down the mini runway.
On Tuesday, Qi Ting and I helped manage one of the choice days activities alongside my CT, Mr Garratt. We had to guide the students to and from the swimming pool, like an excursion. It is unlike Singapore since back home, we normally have chartered buses to bring the students to the location. Here however, teachers and students use public transport. Bringing 25 students on a train and ensuring everyone behaves and gets off is chaotic. Thank God we had three teachers that day. It ended up being more tiring than I expected though, especially since the train broke down mid-journey on the way there due to complications in the track ahead. Hence, we had to be flexible and find another route to the swimming pool - by bus. By that time, the students were restless and had to be herded onto the bus. After which, we had to ensure students did not make too much noise or block the path when wanting to stand beside their seated friends. Thankfully, they could be persuaded to entertain themselves quietly after being seated properly.
On the way back, we ran into another complication. Two male students did not show up for roll call before departure. We could not afford too much time to search for them and hence, my CT sent Qi Ting and I off at the train station by the swimming pool with the rest of the students. We then brought the students back to the train station by the school while my CT went back to look for the two missing boys. He quickly and efficiently contacted the pool administration to look for the two boys and found them in record time. We found out later that the boys lost track of time and were just getting out of the pool one my CT went back to find them. One thing to prep myself for when bringing students out for excursions I guess. Phew!
Alls well that ends well!
Glad that you have had learnt and benefited alot from this experience. See you back home in SG!
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