Orientation is over.
We are officially ex-pats. We have Alien Registration numbers and everything. The card should be here in another week. We've done quite a bit of exploring with the new teachers. Not as much as some, because we have a little one and are limited in the evenings.
The first week of orientation was all new people. There's about 80 of us, 30 from Elementary School. Roughly 20 New High School teachers and councilors. Since Im talking about school, lets start there. Our rooms are the BOMB!! Big science labs with views of the Yellow Sea in the distance. Jessi posted a pic, and Im sure everyone has seen it by now. Ill grab another one on a clear day. Its been really hazy and humid, so vis is low lately.
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| KISJ HS Faculty 2015-16 Pic. Jessi and I at back left of center. HS Principal and School Academic Head front right. HS Dean front left. About 1/3 of us are new this year... Pic was taken in the HS Zen Garden. ( Ill grab more pics of it later) |
Our rooms are across the hall from each other on the 3rd floor. We got our macbooks, and have been introduced to our new suite of teaching programs. Ive even messed around with the curriculum software a bit while I was writing syllabi for my 2 classes. Each room has appletv, so we airplay our presentations through that wirelessly, but we still have to plug in to get the mac-daddy speakers in the ceiling to work. Cant have everything....
Its kinda late, so Im not going to get in to everything we've done these past two weeks. Including...
1. Abi's first 2 weeks of nursery school
2. Our trip to Hallim Park and Our first Lava Tube excursion.
3. Meeting the rest of the new teachers at Hyopjae Beach
4. Dinner with our friends downstairs, The Moore's and their two young kids in Sagyae on the water.
5. The staff, end of orientation catered BBQ at Hwasun Beach
6. And todays hike with the Moore's on our first (partial) Olle trail, around Songaksan.
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| Map of most of the places weve been over the last 2 weeks. |
I have lots of pics for those, so stay tuned later this week.
What Id really like to do is take a minute and describe our schedules. We are teaching on a Rotating Block schedule. 4 classes a day, ~83 min each, a 47 minute lunch, and a 33 minute "homeroom" period. After school is a support period and then sports practice. 8 total periods, of which We'll teach 4. Lets look at my schedule more closely...
| Time | Monday (A) | Tuesday (B) | Wednesday(C) | Thursday (D) | Friday (A) |
| 8:20-8:53 | Advisory | Study Hall | Advisory | Study Hall | Teacher Meeting |
| 9:00-10:23 | Team 10 mtg (P1) | AP Chem (P5) | Chem 1 (P4) | Plan (P8) | Plan (P1) |
| 10:30-11:53 | Plan (P2) | Plan/ 2nd Sem Study Hall (P6) | Chem 1 (P3) | Chem 1 (P7) | Plan (P2) |
| 11:53-12:40 | HS Lunch | HS Lunch | Grade 10 Advisory Lunch | HS Lunch | HS Lunch |
| 12:40-2:03 | Chem 1 (P3) | Chem 1 (P7) | Plan (P2) | Plan/ 2nd Sem Study Hall (P6) | Chem 1 (P3) |
| 2:10-3:33 | Chem 1 (P4) | Plan (P8) | Team 10 Mtg (P1) | AP Chem (P5) | Chem 1 (P4) |
| 3:40-4:25 | Club Time | Academic Support | Club Time | Academic Support | Club Time |
| 4:35- 6:05 | Co-Curricular Practices | Co-Curricular Practices | Co-Curricular Practices | Co-Curricular Practices | Co-Curricular Practices |
| *Club and Academic Support times are assigned to the day, not to the ABCD schedule | |||||
The other stuff is a bit more complex. Lets start with advisory. This is 10 students, who I have in other classes, who I am "responsible" for. Basically a parent role, since most of the kids live on campus. I basically keep tabs on these 10 kids. I see them almost every day outside of my regular classes and eat lunch with them once a week (C day). I will keep tabs on their studies and well being, and also teach them about academic honesty, hard work, blah, blah, blah. I start my day with them on A & C days and I will see them during Academic Support times too at the end of Tuesday and Thursday.
Academic Support is 45 minutes at the end of Tues and Thurs where I am available in my room for extra help. My advisory kids will check in as part of their grade and let me know where they will be. The kids are locked out of the dorms from about 8:30 - 4:00 so they dont really have a choice but to be somewhere getting extra time, fixing grades, making up assignments, etc. BTW, school policy is max C on late work, and nothing accepted after a week. :)
I have a morning study hall on B & D days. 16 students for 45 minutes at the start of the day. Attendance required. Second semester I will have a second study hall 6th period. The kids get alot of time and support at the school. The focus truly is academics. No excuses.
Club time, is when Ill see my American Chemical Society Chemistry Club. We will meet once a week, and since its an active, student-run club, Im basically just an advisor who will order supplies and make sure they dont blow themselves up. I dont even keep the money they raise.
Co-curricular is sports practice. It does NOT interfere with any academics, classes or support time. Even most of the games and meets are on the weekend. Some teams will be flying to Seoul, Busan and Japan, but again, mostly on long weekends.
The last bit up there is called "Teacher Meetings". This is every Friday morning, regardless of scheduled day. It is a rotating meeting between Division meetings (Highschool, Middle, and Elementary), Department Meeting (HS and MS Science are one department), and the WASC meeting (basically our school improvement plan mtg) There might be a 4th one, but I dont remember. Im surprised I remembered all of this.
So does it sound like Ill be busy? I probably would think so, except for one thing.... In Brevard, my course load was 7 of 8 periods and science fair. I had over 140 students in my chemistry classes, many who could not handle the basic math and reasoning skills required for the course, but whom I could not afford individual time, due to packed full classes (~26 students/class)
In total I will see 90 students every 2 days first semester, including advisory and study hall. Some of those 90 are repeats (all 10 of my advisory and a most of study hall kids are in my chem classes) I really only have 78 students. Of those, 10 are advisory and 16 are in study hall, so Im not teaching them chemistry or grading their papers. So we're down to 64 Chem Students. 10 AP and 54 Chem 1. Ill see 39 of them on A & C days (20 P3, 19 P4), and 25 on B &D days (10 P5 AP, 15 P7). Teachers, wrap your heads around that. Ill be teaching maximum 40 kids a day, every other day. (Jessi has even fewer students last we looked, only 5 AP Bio!, and most of the rest of her courses (2 Bio and 1 Chem) were under 18 each).
Im curious what it will be like to have the time to meet and collaborate closely, and do the things Im required to do without it feeling like a burden. Maybe Ill actually have a home life this year, or get to spend all weekend with my family. I worked 70 hour weeks last year, including every Saturday for at least 6 hours in my classroom. Im curious what free time feels like..... Ill let you know...
Stay tuned for the next blog, later this week, where Ill post pics and describe our adventures this past 2 weeks of orientation...
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