Working man...

So, I work at iCAN British International School. It caters for students up to Year 8, so it's mostly a primary affair. I teach Year 7 and 8 maths and then I help out in various other classes as both an ESL and maths teacher.

The canteen by the pool

While I've been here since Monday, today marks the first day of students. The kids are really nice, the staff are really nice and the school is really nice. Apparently the design brief included the word "resort", as in a place to relax and holiday, not "you can resort to anything you like while building". So, yeah, it's nice. It even has an infinity pool (although it doesn't look over much).

The pool

It's quite a different experience to my school back in Melbourne. There are plenty of assistants, so if I want something photocopied or laminated, I just put it in a basket with appropriate instructions. I have my own desktop and laptop, printer, phone and mad little sound system.

And while my room is on the third floor and therefore is prone to heating up, I have four air-conditioners which I'm not being shy in using.

My classroom which is also my office

The kids are from all over. Apparently a lot of them are children of a Khmer and a something, where the something is usually an irresponsible male who is no longer around but pays the bills (so I guess a bit responsible...or something). Others are English, Australian, American etc etc. It's really refreshing that they all speak English. I always found the fact that my students couldn't understand my hilarious jokes and witty banter as very frustrating. No longer. Finally I will be recognised for my comic and intellectual greatness (well, you guys don't recognise it and I'm not too proud to aim down a rung or two).

Included in my class are the (adopted) children of two of my bosses (the head of KS3 (Year 7 and 8) and the principal). So, that's a little bit of pressure. I might just have to concentrate all my efforts on those two and ignore the rest. What's more, they both hate maths, so that'll be a challenge to turn them around. But I'll give it my best.

And my classroom again

Another nice thing about teaching at this school is the fact that I'll have the kids for the whole year. It's nice and refreshing to be able to plan for that whole period instead of taking it term by term. So, while being organised has never been one of my strengths, I've already written out a plan for the whole year simply because I'm so excited that it's actually possible (and a little bit because my boss told me to too).