Happy New Year

 

I'm not sure who gets more excited and nervous about the start of a school year, the teacher or the students! Getting a classroom ready for a new year always reminds me of my days on stagecrew, getting ready for opening night.  All the preparation, making sure the props are in the right place, waiting for the curtain to go up on a new year of learning.  This year has been especially exciting as I prepare my classroom within a new school in a different country.

           One side of my classroom

               Maine bulletin board

            Nether Heyford bulletin board

           Blueberry sponge painting

            Life cycle of a blueberry


The Bliss Charity School is a beautiful building.  The school was established in 1674 by a grant from William Bliss, a local who made good in the wine trade. The "new" building was constructed in 1880 and includes a bell tower and vaulted ceilings.  The school bell is rung by pulling a rope in one of the classrooms and a child is responsible for ringing the bell before school and at the end of break times.  The school day starts at 9:00am and ends at 3:15, when parents walk from all over the village to pick up their children.  There are no school buses at Bliss!

                    The 400 year old school bell

     I get to ring the bell on the first day of school!

When my students arrived on the first day of school they had two enchanting things in their favor right away.  First, they were all dressed in uniforms, so they looked adorable.  The Bliss school color is a light blue and all of the children wear some form of sweater or sweatshirt that has the school crest on it. Secondly, when they opened their mouths these cute little English accents came out.  It is endearing! If you look to the end of this video (made by some visiting foreign students) you'll hear Bliss students singing:
Bliss video
(School song is at 2:15 on the video)

         With Claire Byrne, my fabulous mentor!

Outside of Claire's classroom, in the old part of the building

I am teaching Class 4, Years 3 & 4, Keystage 2. What that means is that I have the fourth classroom in the school. And in the morning I have a class of twenty 7 and 8 year olds (year 3's) and in the afternoon eleven more students ages 8 and 9 (year 4's) join us.  Keystage 2 refers to the band of curriculum I am teaching as designated by the government according to the UK Education Act of 2002.

 Maine flag, courtesy of Meredith Strang-Burgess, and lobster pot on loan from Mr. Tony Ponts - a Fulbright exchange teacher from the UK to Maine in the early 80's

 The original headmaster's desk- 300 years old?

To learn more about the Bliss Charity School you can visit their website:
Bliss Charity School