St. Colmcille's School

I am updating my blog from the staff room at St. Colmcille's Community School, while drinking tea and enjoying an Irish bisquit! This is a secondary school where I just observed an English transition class. The transition year is 15-16 year olds and some students actually skip this year. 1st year is 12-13 yr olds, 2nd year is 13-14 yr olds, 3rd year is 14-15 yr olds, then transition, and then 5th year, 15-17 yr olds and finally 6th year which are 17-18 year olds. I learned that they have no assessments at all (no tests, quizzes, graded homework, papers, etc.) What they have is a week of testing in November (which was last week) and again in February and June. That is it. It is different than in the states, that's for sure, but the students are still about a grade level ahead of what we have observed back home. Here at Colmcilles secondary level we also have a student teacher teaching History.

We walked here from Colmcilles primary building. We observed two different physical education classes, one for first class (kindergarten) and the other with primary infants (4 year olds). Both of the classes went very well as they worked on locomotor skills, tumbling, personal space, and the parachute. The kids really enjoy our PE student teachers since there are really no organized PE at that level. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to teach PE, most of the time.

We left the hotel at 7:55am, caught the 8:25 bus 16 and rode it about 45 minutes. We will return late afternoon and then will leave at 5pm to walk back to Trinity College to catch a 5:25 bus to a place called Ballenteer. We are hosting a social at a local pub for the host families and cooperating teachers and administrators. That event will be from 7-9, so it looks like another late evening.

Today is still quite brisk, but at least it is not raining as it was yesterday. It was 39 degrees yesterday, but it felt like 29 (according to weather.com). My cold is progressing to the congested head and uncontrollable cough stage. I hope to turn a corner before the weekend. The weather should warm up a bit also.

The bell just rang, so I must be off. Until later...