For my field experience, I was put into St. Michael Community School. My partner and I met at the school and we walked into the school together. One of the first things I noticed is that the St. Michaels is connected to another school, Mother Theresa, and is separated at the front entrance. St. Michael was up the separating stairs, while Mother Theresa was down. Since the two schools share a building, St. Michael was awfully small compared to the elementary school I attended as a child. As I checked in and handed in my paperwork, my partner and I were escorted to the staff room, where I met my coordinating teacher, Amanda Norton. Ms. Norton is the grade 1/2 teacher at St. Michael. She took us on a tour of the school, which consisted of one hallway, a gymnasium, and had a small room downstairs. The hallways were decorated with student work, as well as having an interactive poster that students could write what they were thankful for (as it was just Thanksgiving). Overall, I felt very welcomed in the school.

The class I was in for the entire session was Ms. Norton’s 1/2 split. The children seemed eager and full of energy. As we were with the class, we watched as they learned about patterns in math, read a story as a class in language arts and learned about absorption in science. However, something I didn’t expect was what Ms. Norton called brain breaks. To my understanding, these are ways to get the children more hands-on with what they are learning and/or to burn some energy as since they only are grade 1, they have a lot of it. For example, after the lesson of seeing and constructing patterns, the children got to go to stations around the room to construct patterns of their own. My partner and I were both designated our own station, and I was given X’s and O’s, while she was given beads and string. Other stations included stamps and felt stickers. Another brain break was a short program of a little dance the children participated in or short cartoons around 5-7 minutes each.

After not being in an elementary school for so long, I was quickly reminded of how it felt. Although similar, this school did not have the same impression that mine did growing up. During our tour of the school, Ms. Norton told us how many of the children come from low-income homes, in which many parents struggle to provide things for children beyond the necessities. She then exclaimed how, because St. Michael is a community school, they receive donations that they can use to supply children in need. I felt like this is an amazing way the school can help these families who are struggling, as their kids could receive stuff such as new winter jackets or school supplies that their family might not be able to afford.

In conclusion, the school community and my cooperating teacher made me feel comfortable in the atmosphere they have, and I can say I am happy to be a part of it too. I feel as if a school like St. Michael will have much to offer me in terms of experience and education.