Well it has been a while since my last post, but with school beginning and tackling all the homework each night with the boys, there hasn't been much time for updating. They all have homework every night. Clay has the most to do but he is the oldest and this school is very rigorous. He is working very hard. Joshua is struggling to get a better grip on being responsible for himself, and taking ownership for his education. As soon as he can get this mastered, he is going to have a wonderful year! Denver is also working hard and trying to adapt to the higher level of work that is expected from him. It is a learning year for all of us!
Not only have the boys successfully made it through 2 1/2 weeks of school, I have worked as a substitute teacher twice at their school. Very interesting experience being the sub and not the actual teacher.... All went very well, but it was just a different experience being in the substitute teacher role. All of the kids were very good, didn't have any problems.
The first time I subbed it was for the elementary campus as the PE teacher. Very full schedule! I had 7 class times with kids, an hour for lunch, and an hour for a planning period. The elementary gym and supply closet are very nice. Any PE coach/teacher would love to have this type of space and supplies.
The second time and most recent was just this passed week. I subbed for the middle school campus for one of the 8th grade teachers, Language Arts and Social Studies. All of the kids actually worked on the assignment that was left for them. I was impressed! Now they aren't perfect but they were all working.... Their behavior was very well behaved and polite.
I am sure that the school will keep me plenty busy with sub work, but I really need to find a steady form of income. We thought that we would be able to get by with me not working but things are 3x as expensive here as in the states, so this will not be the case. I am fine with working.... It was strange to me not having a job. Granted taking care of the house and monitoring the kiddos is full time work in itself, but I have always worked outside the home from the time I graduated high school. So the past couple of weeks have been good but at the same time very different than what I have been accustomed to. With all this being said, a couple of weeks ago I put all of my professional information out to a few schools to be included on their sub lists as well, and I actually applied for a few positions at a new school that is in the final stages of being built about 20-25minutes from our villa compound. I received a call yesterday for an interview for one of those positions!! I was really thinking that I had possibly started my application process too late but I guess not! My interview will be today around 3pm, and I am praying for God's will to be done. There are no guarantees, but I have at least made the cut, or the short list as they call it here. They collect applicants information, sort through them, and then make a "short list" of those that they are most interested in to contact for interviews. So I guess they think I am qualified enough to at least make the cut! I am very nervous, but best foot forward!
Now here is the tricky part.... To work here you must have particular professional documents attested. Now you may be asking, what does that mean? Basically having something attested means that the documents must be stamped and verified in your home state, then your home country, and then in the country you are going to be working in. This means that I will need to get my college transcript, college diploma, and teaching certificates attested. At this time I do not have any of these things attested. I am in the process of getting all of this done, which is going to require me to send these documents back to the states and then to the powers that need to sign and stamp them, and then back to the UAE to be verified here. For today's interview I will not have any of these documents in this official form, but I will have copies of these items for them to see, with the promise of the attested documents to come. Man the hoops you have to jump through to work in a different country!
The teaching position is a lower level/elementary position, so I am excited yet nervous! I have never taught on the elementary level. The lowest level/grade that I have ever taught is 5th grade, so we will see how it goes. If I get this position, then I can say that I have worked on all campuses....high school, middle school, and elementary!
So send up a prayer for me that God's will be done in this new adventure!! I am always saying you are never to old to learn new things! Looks a good time for learning!!!
Not only have the boys successfully made it through 2 1/2 weeks of school, I have worked as a substitute teacher twice at their school. Very interesting experience being the sub and not the actual teacher.... All went very well, but it was just a different experience being in the substitute teacher role. All of the kids were very good, didn't have any problems.
The first time I subbed it was for the elementary campus as the PE teacher. Very full schedule! I had 7 class times with kids, an hour for lunch, and an hour for a planning period. The elementary gym and supply closet are very nice. Any PE coach/teacher would love to have this type of space and supplies. The second time and most recent was just this passed week. I subbed for the middle school campus for one of the 8th grade teachers, Language Arts and Social Studies. All of the kids actually worked on the assignment that was left for them. I was impressed! Now they aren't perfect but they were all working.... Their behavior was very well behaved and polite.
I am sure that the school will keep me plenty busy with sub work, but I really need to find a steady form of income. We thought that we would be able to get by with me not working but things are 3x as expensive here as in the states, so this will not be the case. I am fine with working.... It was strange to me not having a job. Granted taking care of the house and monitoring the kiddos is full time work in itself, but I have always worked outside the home from the time I graduated high school. So the past couple of weeks have been good but at the same time very different than what I have been accustomed to. With all this being said, a couple of weeks ago I put all of my professional information out to a few schools to be included on their sub lists as well, and I actually applied for a few positions at a new school that is in the final stages of being built about 20-25minutes from our villa compound. I received a call yesterday for an interview for one of those positions!! I was really thinking that I had possibly started my application process too late but I guess not! My interview will be today around 3pm, and I am praying for God's will to be done. There are no guarantees, but I have at least made the cut, or the short list as they call it here. They collect applicants information, sort through them, and then make a "short list" of those that they are most interested in to contact for interviews. So I guess they think I am qualified enough to at least make the cut! I am very nervous, but best foot forward!
Now here is the tricky part.... To work here you must have particular professional documents attested. Now you may be asking, what does that mean? Basically having something attested means that the documents must be stamped and verified in your home state, then your home country, and then in the country you are going to be working in. This means that I will need to get my college transcript, college diploma, and teaching certificates attested. At this time I do not have any of these things attested. I am in the process of getting all of this done, which is going to require me to send these documents back to the states and then to the powers that need to sign and stamp them, and then back to the UAE to be verified here. For today's interview I will not have any of these documents in this official form, but I will have copies of these items for them to see, with the promise of the attested documents to come. Man the hoops you have to jump through to work in a different country!
The teaching position is a lower level/elementary position, so I am excited yet nervous! I have never taught on the elementary level. The lowest level/grade that I have ever taught is 5th grade, so we will see how it goes. If I get this position, then I can say that I have worked on all campuses....high school, middle school, and elementary!
So send up a prayer for me that God's will be done in this new adventure!! I am always saying you are never to old to learn new things! Looks a good time for learning!!!
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