Gilnahirk Primary School: P6

As I said in an earlier post, I am doing the second half of my student teaching at Gilnahirk Primary School.  I am in a P6 class with 30 students, and the teacher I'm working with is Mrs. Thompson.

I have found myself comparing the school and the students to my first placement at Meriwether Lewis (hi Mrs. Oehler's class!! I miss you!).  Gilnahirk is located in a pretty wealthy neighborhood and does not seem to have very much diversity.  This is similar to Meriwether.  However, I did find differences as well.  Gilnahirk is a little bit smaller in terms of building size.  There is more of the building around the back, but this will give you an idea.

Gilnahirk Primary School 

The entryway into the school

The class sizes are also different.  They are much bigger at Gilnahirk!!  While, there are only two classes for every grade, each class has 30 students in it.  That has been a bit of an adjustment for me.  I went from 23 little six year olds to 30 nine and ten year olds!  Below are pictures of the P6 class that I'm in.

Here are a list of other differences I have noticed:

• ALL of the students wear uniforms ALL of the time!
• Everyone talks with an Irish accent
• The students study religion in school and even practice hymns 
• They say "Maths" instead of "Math"
• The teachers teach every subject, including health, PE, art, and music

While it may seem like there a lot of differences between this class in Belfast and my first class in Charlottesville, I have found some things that are the same.  Students in Northern Ireland have allergies just like students in the United States do!

I have also found that the most important things (the staff and the students) are the same as well.  Everyone at Gilnahirk has been incredibly nice and welcoming, just as they were at Meriwether Lewis.  Most importantly, the students are nice, welcoming, and fun.  And I think they are excited that I am here to teach them!  Below is a sampling of the gifts I was given on my first day in the classroom!

Getting things like these from students is one of my favorite things!

This next week the students have what they call Half-term Break, so they are on vacation for an entire week!  I'm making the most of it by traveling to Dublin in Ireland, Brussels and Bruges in Belgium, and Edinburgh in Scotland.  I'm so excited! I love to travel!!!

Stay tuned for details and pictures of my adventures!

Settling In

This past week has been a whirlwind!  I spent most of my time settling in at my halls of residence, or dorm, and going to meetings and classes.  Below is a picture of the hall that I'm living in while I'm here.  It is called Dunseverick Hall.

Dunseverick Hall, my residence while at Stranmillis

I have my own room and my own bathroom, so I really like where I am living!  I'm up on the third floor, and the rest of my friends who are here are in the same building, so it's really convenient.

Even though my week was spent mostly in meetings and class, on Friday I was able to visit the school I will be teaching in.   It is called Gilnahirk Primary School.  In primary schools over here, they have different names for the grades.  So I will be teaching in a P6 class.  This stands for Primary 6, and it means that the students are 10 years old.  P6 is the equivalent of 5th grade in the US.  They are a bit older (and bigger!) than the students I am used to teaching, but I'm excited for this new experience and challenge.

I forgot to take pictures on Friday of Gilnahirk Primary School, but I promise to take pictures next week!  Here is the link to their school website.

http://www.gilnahirkps.org.uk

Besides going to classes, meetings, and visiting Gilnahirk, I did manage to explore the city of Belfast a little bit.  I went to the Ulster Museum, found the grocery store, and went back into the city centre to do a little shopping.  I'm trying to get a head start on some Christmas gifts for my family!

However, the coolest things from this week were the rainbows!  I saw two rainbows this past week!  TWO!  They were so bright and clear and I could see all of the colors.  One was so close I could almost see where it touched the ground!  I didn't see any leprechauns or pots of gold, but I still think that they were lucky rainbows.  Below is a picture of the second one I saw.

Hopefully I will see more rainbows this week, and I promise to have pictures of Gilnahirk Primary School for my next post!

Stay tuned!

Leavin' On A Jet Plane and Arrival in Belfast

Hello Everyone!!

On Saturday (October 11, 2014) I drove to Newark-Liberty International Airport (in New Jersey), and boarded my plane that would take me to Belfast, Northern Ireland.  I was a little nervous.  I'm always nervous before I start something new, and this was a pretty big new thing to start.  Once I got to my gate I was fine though, because I found the other people I would be having this adventure with!  Here is a picture of me at the airport with all of my luggage!

Me at Newark-Liberty International Airport before my flight to Belfast!

The plane ride was long (five and a half hours)!  Luckily, I slept for part of it.  After we landed, we took a bus to Stranmillis University, which is the school we are going to while we are here.  We then went and walked all around the center (or centre as they spell it here) of the city.  It's so pretty here!  And we have been told that we brought the sunshine and nice weather with us... I hope it stays!  After the exploring and the jet lag (I am 5 hours ahead of the East Coast), I was exhausted!! I had an early bedtime, and woke up feeling much better.

I can't wait to do some more exploring and to travel!  I'm also excited to see what an elementary (or primary as they say here) school is like here.  My first day in my school is Friday!  I'll make sure to write another post about my new school!

Stay tuned!!!