Update!
A lot has happened since I last posted.
First of all, we put on a 6-12 musical written by a couple teachers and many students. Writing a show is HARD, and I was just in charge of some of the music. It took many hours and lots of demanding conversations but we did it! I was amazed at our final production. I say that not to toot my own horn, but to really say that I see how this IB stuff works. The singers, actors, and instrumentalists used different genres, arrangements, led rehearsals, advocated for musical choices (changing keys, planning choreography around musical phrases, etc), and in general used all kinds of skills to put their musical talents on display.
Second of all, the first trimester ended. For me that meant that I got new groups of 6th and 7th grade students. They have drama, music, and visual arts each for a third of the year, rotating at the trimester. So now I'm repeating the units I taught at the beginning of the year and am learning so much. The trimester coming and going also means that I'm in the midst of marking students for the first time. IB marking is quite different than any marking I've done before so it's taken a lot of focus.
Third of all, I went to Ireland with Bryan! We met up in Dublin, took a car out to Galway (and Clifden) for a couple days and then came back to Dublin for a few more days before heading back to our homes. Besides getting to see Bryan, I got to drink the occasional pint of hard cider, drive a car, and feel COLD! all of those are welcome things now that I'm living in the dry desert of saudi.
Fourth of all, we had a community ensemble concert. We rehearsed for maybe 7 weeks before sharing our music with an audience. One of the big reasons I chose the position I'm in was that I got to keep conducting, and it has proven to be a very positive choice for me. I did some research during college about teacher attrition and how education programs are set up in universities and something remarkable really stuck with me - specialist teachers (PE, art, music, etc) have dual identities in a way that a grade 4 teacher or a science teacher might not. Because of this "dual identity", in order to feel like myself, I not only need to be teaching, but I also need to be making music. Our rehearsal times this fall have kept me feeling sane and like myself. I can always count on the familiar rules of music and working with people to make beautiful sound when everything else around me is changing or challenging.
Besides those work-ish things, I've been keeping busy exercising, baking for the holidays, having friends over for dinner, and making plans for the holiday break. I'm getting excited for all the people, activities, and foods of home!
(I wrote this post during the week of december 11-15, but didn't post it until just now! sorry I forgot to click "publish"!)
First of all, we put on a 6-12 musical written by a couple teachers and many students. Writing a show is HARD, and I was just in charge of some of the music. It took many hours and lots of demanding conversations but we did it! I was amazed at our final production. I say that not to toot my own horn, but to really say that I see how this IB stuff works. The singers, actors, and instrumentalists used different genres, arrangements, led rehearsals, advocated for musical choices (changing keys, planning choreography around musical phrases, etc), and in general used all kinds of skills to put their musical talents on display.
Second of all, the first trimester ended. For me that meant that I got new groups of 6th and 7th grade students. They have drama, music, and visual arts each for a third of the year, rotating at the trimester. So now I'm repeating the units I taught at the beginning of the year and am learning so much. The trimester coming and going also means that I'm in the midst of marking students for the first time. IB marking is quite different than any marking I've done before so it's taken a lot of focus.
Third of all, I went to Ireland with Bryan! We met up in Dublin, took a car out to Galway (and Clifden) for a couple days and then came back to Dublin for a few more days before heading back to our homes. Besides getting to see Bryan, I got to drink the occasional pint of hard cider, drive a car, and feel COLD! all of those are welcome things now that I'm living in the dry desert of saudi.
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| Bryan and me at the Cliffs of Moher |
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| Rainy day? Stop and warm up with tea and a scone! |
Fourth of all, we had a community ensemble concert. We rehearsed for maybe 7 weeks before sharing our music with an audience. One of the big reasons I chose the position I'm in was that I got to keep conducting, and it has proven to be a very positive choice for me. I did some research during college about teacher attrition and how education programs are set up in universities and something remarkable really stuck with me - specialist teachers (PE, art, music, etc) have dual identities in a way that a grade 4 teacher or a science teacher might not. Because of this "dual identity", in order to feel like myself, I not only need to be teaching, but I also need to be making music. Our rehearsal times this fall have kept me feeling sane and like myself. I can always count on the familiar rules of music and working with people to make beautiful sound when everything else around me is changing or challenging.
Besides those work-ish things, I've been keeping busy exercising, baking for the holidays, having friends over for dinner, and making plans for the holiday break. I'm getting excited for all the people, activities, and foods of home!
(I wrote this post during the week of december 11-15, but didn't post it until just now! sorry I forgot to click "publish"!)
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