For the past 7 years, I have been the 1 Junior teacher at St Margaret’s school for girls. Before I retire, I would like to share with you what makes St Margaret’s such a special place to teach.
We are fortunate at St Margaret’s to have small class sizes. There are numerous examples of how this is beneficial.
From the minute the girls arrive in the morning, I have time to chat to them, give them individual attention, hear their weekend news or for them to tell me something special such as losing a tooth the night before! This precious settling in time is a great way for me to build close relationships with the girls and get to know their characters, interests, hobbies and families. Knowing all this about them, I can then celebrate any of their successes in class and I know what motivates each girl and can give them support and encouragement with new concepts and experiences.
In the morning, I encourage a soft start with what the girls have named ‘choosing time’. This is a fantastic opportunity for the girls to make independent choices and develop social skills. There are lots of choices for free play such as craft, construction, art, small world, role play and sand and water play. I often ask the girls for their personal choices of resources to put out and areas are developed with the girls’ interests.
From the first day they arrive in class, I encourage routines and independence skills. This encourages girls to get to know me as their teacher and feel a sense of calmness knowing my expectations and familiar routines within the class. Girls regularly work at their tables for individual work but will often be asked to work in mixed ability group tasks throughout the week.
Because we have one class at each stage it is easy for me to work with other classes. 1 Junior have a 4 Junior buddy class which builds a special bond with the girls. 4 Junior love to come and work with the 1 Junior girls and the 1 Junior girls learn to build their confidence when working with others.
Another benefit, is that in class, I am able to support girls in small or individual reading groups. There are a range of reading books which are provided by the junior school to develop their reading skills. Reading groups often change throughout the year depending on their reading developmental stage. I get to know their needs and how to build their fluency as I have the time to read regularly with them throughout the week.
Girls are also supported throughout the day with classroom assistants who can support individuals or groups depending on the activity.
I have the ability to adapt literacy and numeracy work to individual needs within the class as we know the girls so well. Although all girls are taught the same literacy or numeracy skills together as a class, some girls are given extension work and some girls are given consolidation work depending on their stage of development.
I realise some girls may have a keen interest in certain topics so girls are taught topics such as science and social studies as a whole class. I encourage girls to share their own expertise with their peers. For example, one girl is an expert about vets and animals and another is knowledgeable about dinosaurs while another could tell you some interesting facts about sea animals. The work linked to these topics can be differentiated depending on the girl’s expertise on the topics.
I have encouraged a love for the outdoors at St Margaret’s school. I often go out for outdoor learning with other year groups or with buddy classes. Our small classes mean we can take public buses to places such as Hazlehead woods or the Botanical Gardens. These experiences have some many health benefits and develop social and problem-solving skills.
Throughout the week, girls can use their own individual chrome books provided by the school for ICT lessons and other subjects. All of the resources needed for the day-to-day work in the class such as pencils, pens, rubbers, scissors, glue sticks etc are provided by the school. The girls like to have their own special pencil case kept at home for homework.
It is a privilege to get to know our parents well. From informal chats at the end of the day to welcoming them in at Well done Wednesdays or information shared through our google classrooms, I can build strong working relationships with the parents. The open-door policy enables us to work in partnership with the parents.
St Margaret’s has a unique family-friendly, safe environment where the girls can flourish and learn at their own pace. I have absolutely loved every minute of teaching the 1 Junior class and will miss the girls and their families. I am handing over to my experienced colleague, Mrs Munro, who will I know enjoy every minute of 1 Junior as I have.