It seemed clear to Cheryl, Francine and I that our group project was "somewhat" ambitious in scope and that our budget was (hmm.... what word to use) "flawed." So we decided to revise. There were 2 options 1. revise the project objectives
2. revise the budget and submit it again to the Ministry of Education.
After some debate we decided to go with option 2. Cheryl and Francine made some minor changes, I made some suggestions, we added some mileage and...TA DA! A new, bigger budget.
Let's hope the Ministry realizes we are serious.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A short list of some possibilities
Today I spent several hours reviewing the books that I recently recveived from the Centre des Ressources Pedagogiques. It was great fun, even if I kept being interrupted by 4 neighbour kids, the phone, the dog, the laundry and of course, my hubby. Jeez, working on a Sunday...there must be a reason God wants us to take this day off!
Here are the covers of some of the books I have chosen.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Cheryl writes her first blog entry
Cheryl writes:
Kristen, Francine and I met for our first "official" TLLP meeting in Kincardine on Tuesday April 22nd. We had a huge agenda and worked hard to get through it. What a great team we are! We divided jobs in an attempt to conquer yellow sticky lists and then met back to celebrate periodically during the morning. We discussed our plan and made some worthwhile decisions about the where, what, when, how and why of our proposal.
We established a time line for when we would pull folks together to moderate on French writing. We got our budget code and are ready to roll financially! Yeah! We created lists of how to group teachers and grades to best accommodate needs and discussed our strengths at each division. That was fun as we are all primary teachers! LOL.
In the afternoon we prepared our initial presentation to FI teachers so that the message is clear and delivered in the same way. We are excited to get folks on board and realize how much this proposal is a collaborate effort that requires the input from all stakeholders. We are excited to create something that reflects our Catholicity and is authentically ours!
We worked on organization of information collected thus far and created binders and a bin to keep us on the right path. Francine took on the job of recording the minutes from our chart papers. The room was well decorated by the end of the day! Kristen will keep the blog going and we will all add to it as we learn and grow through our journey. I will take care of the finances and submit to the board. As far as implementation of the proposal we will share that equally.
I feel blessed to be part of this amazing team. The day was super productive and the enthusiasm was contagious. We are ready to proceed on this learning adventure!
Cheryl
Kristen, Francine and I met for our first "official" TLLP meeting in Kincardine on Tuesday April 22nd. We had a huge agenda and worked hard to get through it. What a great team we are! We divided jobs in an attempt to conquer yellow sticky lists and then met back to celebrate periodically during the morning. We discussed our plan and made some worthwhile decisions about the where, what, when, how and why of our proposal.
We established a time line for when we would pull folks together to moderate on French writing. We got our budget code and are ready to roll financially! Yeah! We created lists of how to group teachers and grades to best accommodate needs and discussed our strengths at each division. That was fun as we are all primary teachers! LOL.
In the afternoon we prepared our initial presentation to FI teachers so that the message is clear and delivered in the same way. We are excited to get folks on board and realize how much this proposal is a collaborate effort that requires the input from all stakeholders. We are excited to create something that reflects our Catholicity and is authentically ours!
We worked on organization of information collected thus far and created binders and a bin to keep us on the right path. Francine took on the job of recording the minutes from our chart papers. The room was well decorated by the end of the day! Kristen will keep the blog going and we will all add to it as we learn and grow through our journey. I will take care of the finances and submit to the board. As far as implementation of the proposal we will share that equally.
I feel blessed to be part of this amazing team. The day was super productive and the enthusiasm was contagious. We are ready to proceed on this learning adventure!
Cheryl
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Cheryl, you don't need a laptop, just borrow mine!
Here is Cheryl hard at work. She was emailing 2 teachers in our board to see if they would be on-site team leaders (you see, the team is expanding as we speak!). Andree D has agreed and we are waiting for confirmation from another teacher.
Earlier in the day we contacted the Ministry of Education with a question and----get this---we got a person, on the phone, immediately, bilingual, helpful and cheerful. After recently dealing with Ma Bell, this was an exciting event for me. See, it doesn't take much to make me happy.
Ummm...here?
Here we are, hard at work- Kristen, Francine and Cheryl. We ended up covering the entire room in chart paper. We were at St Joseph's school in Kincardine and I wonder what everyone thought of our wall papering job. I had a blast working with you today ladies. A la prochaine!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Diving into the box of treasures
As I mentioned before I received a box of books for my project this week. They are just lovely. The book fan in me is salivating. I have 3 weeks to evaluate the books, choose those I want to keep and return the others, before being invoiced.
So...here I am working on a Saturday. The Ministry of Education is so SMART! They forsaw this, I'm sure! You see, part of the budgets for 2 projects included "release time". "Release time" is teacher talk. It means you are out of your classroom and a supply teacher is hired. During that time you work on your project. Yeah...well...I'm a sucker! You see, I've done hours and hours of work already, as has my team. All of it in the evenings and weekends. Therefore not applicable for "release time" money. Hmmmm. So I'm wondering if the Ministry is going to let us have "lieu time". This is when you bank hours on weekends and evenings and then add them all up. Once you have enough lieu time a supply teacher is hired and you are FREE! Why am I skeptical??
I guess it's the perfectionist in me. I can't have a pile of books taller than my 7 year old sitting in my office and NOT dive in. I can't postpone starting this work until a day when a supply teacher is available. I'm a sucker, for sure!
So, what have I been up to today? First, I did some re-reading of Lucy Calkin's Primary Writing program- specifically the introductory stuff. Then I spent a pleasurable hour reading some of the new French books that have been calling to me. Later this week I'll let you know which books have made my "possible" list.
On Tuesday Cheryl, Francine and I are meeting for the entire day. This is "release time" and I can hardly wait!
So...here I am working on a Saturday. The Ministry of Education is so SMART! They forsaw this, I'm sure! You see, part of the budgets for 2 projects included "release time". "Release time" is teacher talk. It means you are out of your classroom and a supply teacher is hired. During that time you work on your project. Yeah...well...I'm a sucker! You see, I've done hours and hours of work already, as has my team. All of it in the evenings and weekends. Therefore not applicable for "release time" money. Hmmmm. So I'm wondering if the Ministry is going to let us have "lieu time". This is when you bank hours on weekends and evenings and then add them all up. Once you have enough lieu time a supply teacher is hired and you are FREE! Why am I skeptical??
I guess it's the perfectionist in me. I can't have a pile of books taller than my 7 year old sitting in my office and NOT dive in. I can't postpone starting this work until a day when a supply teacher is available. I'm a sucker, for sure!
So, what have I been up to today? First, I did some re-reading of Lucy Calkin's Primary Writing program- specifically the introductory stuff. Then I spent a pleasurable hour reading some of the new French books that have been calling to me. Later this week I'll let you know which books have made my "possible" list.
On Tuesday Cheryl, Francine and I are meeting for the entire day. This is "release time" and I can hardly wait!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
2 projects, 2 new developments
Today my first shipment of books arrived from Catherine Payant at CFO. Yeah! Quels beaux livres! I can hardly wait to tackle them.
For the group project I located this website last night. It parallels our project in many ways: It is an exemplar project. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/f_premiere.pdf Check it out.
I also received an email from a good friend of mine: Andrea H. She wanted to let me know that's she's been reading the blog and she's impressed with the projects. She reminded me that she has access to 400 kids in Immersion, through her school board. She offered any help we might need.
Interestingly, our recent School Effectiveness framework meeting with the Superintendent, outlined the need for more teacher-directed Professional Development. I think these 2 projects are a definite fit!
Cheryl, Francine and I are looking forward to meeting on Tuesday and getting started in earnest. I think we'll like begin by looking at what the above-mentioned project did and going from there. I know we definitly need to set some immediate goals and deadlines, or we are going to sunk!
I suppose I will soon need a 1/2 day to get started looking at that box of possibilities that Catherine sent my way. If I don 't send them back within 21 days I get invoiced for ALL of them, not just the ones that will be useful to my project.
For the group project I located this website last night. It parallels our project in many ways: It is an exemplar project. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/f_premiere.pdf Check it out.
I also received an email from a good friend of mine: Andrea H. She wanted to let me know that's she's been reading the blog and she's impressed with the projects. She reminded me that she has access to 400 kids in Immersion, through her school board. She offered any help we might need.
Interestingly, our recent School Effectiveness framework meeting with the Superintendent, outlined the need for more teacher-directed Professional Development. I think these 2 projects are a definite fit!
Cheryl, Francine and I are looking forward to meeting on Tuesday and getting started in earnest. I think we'll like begin by looking at what the above-mentioned project did and going from there. I know we definitly need to set some immediate goals and deadlines, or we are going to sunk!
I suppose I will soon need a 1/2 day to get started looking at that box of possibilities that Catherine sent my way. If I don 't send them back within 21 days I get invoiced for ALL of them, not just the ones that will be useful to my project.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Lucy Calkins links
http://www.unitsofstudy.com/author_bios.asp
This is the biography and summary of Lucy Calkin's primary writing resource. This is what I will be using for my individual project.
This is the biography and summary of Lucy Calkin's primary writing resource. This is what I will be using for my individual project.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Contacting the experts
Once our team had recovered from the drive to Toronto we began making our plans in earnest.
For my individual project I contacted the Centre Franco-Ontarienne des Ressources Pedagogiques-- a wonderful center in Hull/Ottawa that helps Ontario French teachers locate and purchase quality resources.
I made contact with Madame Catherine Payant. I explained my project and was gratified to get an immediate response: She would help me and she was excited for me! Together Catherine and I put together a first group of books for my perusal. They are slated to ship out today. Now I just have to notify someone at the Board office that they can expect a large shipment of books...I wonder who?? Accounts payable? French resource? Literacy? hmmmm. I never can get the Who Does What of Board Offices straight!
Cheryl, Francine and I are busy emailing each other to make plans for next week. What in heavens name did people do before email? We hope to meet for a full day to firm up a few things and pick some initial tasks for our Immersion teachers to administer.
I have had lots of positive feedback about this blogs. Francine and Cheryl will be contributing soon and I'm hoping to take some pictures. My sister, the ever-brilliant Kendra, suggested creating some links to Lucy Calkins and curriculum resources too. I wonder how to do that?
For my individual project I contacted the Centre Franco-Ontarienne des Ressources Pedagogiques-- a wonderful center in Hull/Ottawa that helps Ontario French teachers locate and purchase quality resources.
I made contact with Madame Catherine Payant. I explained my project and was gratified to get an immediate response: She would help me and she was excited for me! Together Catherine and I put together a first group of books for my perusal. They are slated to ship out today. Now I just have to notify someone at the Board office that they can expect a large shipment of books...I wonder who?? Accounts payable? French resource? Literacy? hmmmm. I never can get the Who Does What of Board Offices straight!
Cheryl, Francine and I are busy emailing each other to make plans for next week. What in heavens name did people do before email? We hope to meet for a full day to firm up a few things and pick some initial tasks for our Immersion teachers to administer.
I have had lots of positive feedback about this blogs. Francine and Cheryl will be contributing soon and I'm hoping to take some pictures. My sister, the ever-brilliant Kendra, suggested creating some links to Lucy Calkins and curriculum resources too. I wonder how to do that?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
It's off to Toronto for us!
So, in late March, we headed off to Toronto. The Ministry of Education wants all the teams and individuals who made successful project proposals to meet. The Marriott on Yonge Street was our destination.
Now, I don't know about you, dear reader, but I HATE driving in Toronto. I do it, but only out of love for my sister, who lives in the big city. At first, Cheryl, Francine and I hoped to drive together. Unfortunately, other committments meant that I ended up driving alone.
The conference was planned for a Wed night, Thurs and Friday. I wrote up 2 days of complex day plans for my supply teacher, and off I went. It was all good until the DREADED 401. I hate that highway. It is the site of daily deaths and I am not known for making shoulder checks. Jeez, I usually drive in Owen Sound, where the biggest threat on the highway is a cow or wild turkey! But, it actually went okay. Using Mapquest printouts I navigated my way to downtown Toronto, only to miss the Yonge St exit. Yikes. So I take the next exit and backtrack on Lakeshore to Yonge. My heart was pounding, my hands were sweating, my head was aching. But I made it!
I have never been happier to hand my keys to a concierge! I met Francine and Cheryl at the hotel and we registered.
The conference was great. We learned that the TLLP was a pilot project and that we are "Pioneers". We had some great speakers who inspired us and made us wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into. We even had the Minister of Education visit our table and chat for awhile. Can't beat that! Some of the workshops were about how to present our findings to colleagues, how to use technology to make our tasks easier, how to track our progress and budget, how to keep the attention of a group of Adult Learners, how to publish our findings, and how to work with a team. So, of course, we felt over-whelmed and excited. We felt like the Ministry was truly committed to helping us suceed and we wondered if we were crazy for taking this whole thing on.
We also met some wonderful teachers from across the province. Some of them seemed so organized and "with it". Others were like little lost lambs, being led to the slaughter. We felt somewhere in between. I always knew teachers are a talented and intelligent bunch, but boy oh boy, were some of those fellow teachers amazing people. It was inspiring and terrifying.
Now, I don't know about you, dear reader, but I HATE driving in Toronto. I do it, but only out of love for my sister, who lives in the big city. At first, Cheryl, Francine and I hoped to drive together. Unfortunately, other committments meant that I ended up driving alone.
The conference was planned for a Wed night, Thurs and Friday. I wrote up 2 days of complex day plans for my supply teacher, and off I went. It was all good until the DREADED 401. I hate that highway. It is the site of daily deaths and I am not known for making shoulder checks. Jeez, I usually drive in Owen Sound, where the biggest threat on the highway is a cow or wild turkey! But, it actually went okay. Using Mapquest printouts I navigated my way to downtown Toronto, only to miss the Yonge St exit. Yikes. So I take the next exit and backtrack on Lakeshore to Yonge. My heart was pounding, my hands were sweating, my head was aching. But I made it!
I have never been happier to hand my keys to a concierge! I met Francine and Cheryl at the hotel and we registered.
The conference was great. We learned that the TLLP was a pilot project and that we are "Pioneers". We had some great speakers who inspired us and made us wonder what we'd gotten ourselves into. We even had the Minister of Education visit our table and chat for awhile. Can't beat that! Some of the workshops were about how to present our findings to colleagues, how to use technology to make our tasks easier, how to track our progress and budget, how to keep the attention of a group of Adult Learners, how to publish our findings, and how to work with a team. So, of course, we felt over-whelmed and excited. We felt like the Ministry was truly committed to helping us suceed and we wondered if we were crazy for taking this whole thing on.
We also met some wonderful teachers from across the province. Some of them seemed so organized and "with it". Others were like little lost lambs, being led to the slaughter. We felt somewhere in between. I always knew teachers are a talented and intelligent bunch, but boy oh boy, were some of those fellow teachers amazing people. It was inspiring and terrifying.
So what's the project about anyways?
I'm sure you are wondering. So here it goes:
Project One: Mon prof adore lire
This is the individual project. In my school board we have spent a lot of time, energy and money on new literacy initiatives. One resource we have been using at the Primary level is Lucy Calkins' writing curriculum for primary grades. This is a wonderful resource that shows teachers how to run an effective writing program. It uses mentor or touchstone books to begin each lesson. For example, the personal narrative lessons recommend the use of several wonderful children's books, that are personal narratives, to show the students what good writers do. The picture books are crucial to the outcomes.
Unfortunately, French Immersion teachers have been struggling to use this resource. You see, only ONE of the mentor texts that Lucy Calkins uses is available in French. This leaves French Immersion teachers with a huge problem. Most have solved the problem by searching for other quality books to use during Writer's workshop. This has been a difficult, time-consuming and frustrating undertaking. It has been made all the worse by the fact that the school board has purchased a set of the recommended texts for each school. English teachers have exactly what they need to implement Lucy Calkin's writing curriculum. French Immersion teachers do not.
My project proposes to find quality French books that dovetail with Lucy Calkin's resource, purchase them for classrooms in our school board, and workshop their use with all the French Immersion teachers in our Board.
PROJECT 2: Ici on Ecrit
This is the team project. Again, the project is based on a missing resource for French Immersion teachers. In this case the missing resource is a set of Writing Exemplars for French Immersion. The Ministry of Education has published a set of Writing Exemplars for each grade level, in English and in French. However, the French exemplars are intended for use by French First Language teachers, not Immersion. Exemplars show teachers what their students should be doing at each grade level, and provide examples of work at level 1,2,3 and 4. This is a valuable resource for teachers.
Francine, Cheryl and I intend to create these Exemplars for Immersion teachers. We will be collecting writing samples from Immersion students across the school board, marking them using a common rubric, and publishing our findings. We will need the cooperation of all Immersion teachers to undertake this project. The proposal is so expensive because of the time needed to collect, mark and publish our findings. 3 teachers working together, means 3 supply teachers in our classrooms- a considerable expense. In addition, we will need to meet with all the other French Immersion teachers in our board on several occasions. This means more supply teachers.
I hope these two outlines will help you understand the scope of our projects. Needless to say, Francine, Cheryl and I have a lot of work to do in the coming months!
Project One: Mon prof adore lire
This is the individual project. In my school board we have spent a lot of time, energy and money on new literacy initiatives. One resource we have been using at the Primary level is Lucy Calkins' writing curriculum for primary grades. This is a wonderful resource that shows teachers how to run an effective writing program. It uses mentor or touchstone books to begin each lesson. For example, the personal narrative lessons recommend the use of several wonderful children's books, that are personal narratives, to show the students what good writers do. The picture books are crucial to the outcomes.
Unfortunately, French Immersion teachers have been struggling to use this resource. You see, only ONE of the mentor texts that Lucy Calkins uses is available in French. This leaves French Immersion teachers with a huge problem. Most have solved the problem by searching for other quality books to use during Writer's workshop. This has been a difficult, time-consuming and frustrating undertaking. It has been made all the worse by the fact that the school board has purchased a set of the recommended texts for each school. English teachers have exactly what they need to implement Lucy Calkin's writing curriculum. French Immersion teachers do not.
My project proposes to find quality French books that dovetail with Lucy Calkin's resource, purchase them for classrooms in our school board, and workshop their use with all the French Immersion teachers in our Board.
PROJECT 2: Ici on Ecrit
This is the team project. Again, the project is based on a missing resource for French Immersion teachers. In this case the missing resource is a set of Writing Exemplars for French Immersion. The Ministry of Education has published a set of Writing Exemplars for each grade level, in English and in French. However, the French exemplars are intended for use by French First Language teachers, not Immersion. Exemplars show teachers what their students should be doing at each grade level, and provide examples of work at level 1,2,3 and 4. This is a valuable resource for teachers.
Francine, Cheryl and I intend to create these Exemplars for Immersion teachers. We will be collecting writing samples from Immersion students across the school board, marking them using a common rubric, and publishing our findings. We will need the cooperation of all Immersion teachers to undertake this project. The proposal is so expensive because of the time needed to collect, mark and publish our findings. 3 teachers working together, means 3 supply teachers in our classrooms- a considerable expense. In addition, we will need to meet with all the other French Immersion teachers in our board on several occasions. This means more supply teachers.
I hope these two outlines will help you understand the scope of our projects. Needless to say, Francine, Cheryl and I have a lot of work to do in the coming months!
Approval given- Yikes!
Francine, Cheryl and I submitted our proposals to the Board office. We learned quite quickly that the Board had agreed to pass our proposals on to the Ministry. If the Board had rejected our proposals at this stage we would have been able to make revisions and try again, or give up entirely. We were pleased to hear that the Board felt our projects had merit.
So, we waited and waited and went on with the myriad tasks that a teacher undertakes every day. From time to time we wondered if the proposals had even been forwarded! We wondered if the Ministry had received them. We wondered if perhaps the Ministry of Education had laughed at our proposals and promptly shredded them. And then...
Success! We received an email from the Ministry, letting us know that..... both projects had been accepted.
My individual project was accepted with one revision: the books I planned to purchase had to be labelled with the school board's stamp and had to remain the property of each school. This is because the Ministry already funds text books and other books. The project could not be JUST about purchasing books. I agreed to this revision, since that was the plan from the outset; I just hadn't written that into the proposal.
The team project was accepted without revisions. The Ministry even approved the budget.
So, we waited and waited and went on with the myriad tasks that a teacher undertakes every day. From time to time we wondered if the proposals had even been forwarded! We wondered if the Ministry had received them. We wondered if perhaps the Ministry of Education had laughed at our proposals and promptly shredded them. And then...
Success! We received an email from the Ministry, letting us know that..... both projects had been accepted.
My individual project was accepted with one revision: the books I planned to purchase had to be labelled with the school board's stamp and had to remain the property of each school. This is because the Ministry already funds text books and other books. The project could not be JUST about purchasing books. I agreed to this revision, since that was the plan from the outset; I just hadn't written that into the proposal.
The team project was accepted without revisions. The Ministry even approved the budget.
Working out the details
So far my proposal was coming along really well, and I had agreed to write a team proposal as well.
My principal generously arranged for me to meet with Cheryl and Francine and I made the trip to Kincardine where Francine teaches, the following week.
So here are the team members:
Francine P is a very experienced French Immersion teacher, who has a reputation for getting things done, finding new resources, and being a wonderful mentor and teacher. She is our team leader. Her family is very important to her and she loves a challenge.
Cheryl M is an experienced French Immersion teacher as well. Cheryl is a realist, with a real knack of keeping us on track and being practical in her approach. She is a brillant teacher with lots of good ideas. Her husband is a principal in our school board and her kids depend on her to keep things running smoothly.
Together, we felt we had a fighting chance of getting our proposal approved. We met for one afternoon and put together a rough draft. The draft included a budget, timeline and curriculum links. The team worked well together and really gelled. We felt we could continue to work as a team, especially with Francine leading the way. I was happy to get to know these two women better and to be included in a team that had so much expertise.
At the end of the afternoon we left the proposal with Francine, to finish up, edit and email to us later that week. It was a good working session and despite our $20, 000 budget (!!!!!) we were optimistic.
My principal generously arranged for me to meet with Cheryl and Francine and I made the trip to Kincardine where Francine teaches, the following week.
So here are the team members:
Francine P is a very experienced French Immersion teacher, who has a reputation for getting things done, finding new resources, and being a wonderful mentor and teacher. She is our team leader. Her family is very important to her and she loves a challenge.
Cheryl M is an experienced French Immersion teacher as well. Cheryl is a realist, with a real knack of keeping us on track and being practical in her approach. She is a brillant teacher with lots of good ideas. Her husband is a principal in our school board and her kids depend on her to keep things running smoothly.
Together, we felt we had a fighting chance of getting our proposal approved. We met for one afternoon and put together a rough draft. The draft included a budget, timeline and curriculum links. The team worked well together and really gelled. We felt we could continue to work as a team, especially with Francine leading the way. I was happy to get to know these two women better and to be included in a team that had so much expertise.
At the end of the afternoon we left the proposal with Francine, to finish up, edit and email to us later that week. It was a good working session and despite our $20, 000 budget (!!!!!) we were optimistic.
Crazy me...2 projects on the go!
Once I had a rough draft that I was happy with I decided it was time to talk to Francine. Francine is my French Immersion Literacy Coach, a job she does part-time for the Board.
The next time she popped into my school to chat (January) and look over some new resources, I showed her what I was up to. In typical Francine fashion, she was intrigued and enthusiastic. She encouraged me to submit the proposal and made some suggestions about my budget. (up to this point the budget part of my proposal was just a rough guess!).
Francine then suggested that we write a team proposal with Cheryl, in order to undertake a project that she had been thinking about for quite awhile. I, foolishly, agreed. Why not? Two project proposals is better than one! We chatted with my principal about our idea. Monique, ever the optimist, was keen. She encouraged us to go for it and even agreed to free me up the next week so we could get together.
Looking back I wonder why I agreed to join a team project, on top of my individual project. I guess I just figured there was no way the Ministry of Education would approve my project.
HA!
The next time she popped into my school to chat (January) and look over some new resources, I showed her what I was up to. In typical Francine fashion, she was intrigued and enthusiastic. She encouraged me to submit the proposal and made some suggestions about my budget. (up to this point the budget part of my proposal was just a rough guess!).
Francine then suggested that we write a team proposal with Cheryl, in order to undertake a project that she had been thinking about for quite awhile. I, foolishly, agreed. Why not? Two project proposals is better than one! We chatted with my principal about our idea. Monique, ever the optimist, was keen. She encouraged us to go for it and even agreed to free me up the next week so we could get together.
Looking back I wonder why I agreed to join a team project, on top of my individual project. I guess I just figured there was no way the Ministry of Education would approve my project.
HA!
Writing the proposal
Once I had decided to go for it, I brainstormed some ideas. I bounced them off my husband and a few teacher friends at school. My husband, Greg, thought I was crazy to undertake a new project, after so many years of doing courses. I had to agree!
The Teacher Learning and Leadership Project information given to teachers, through the Ontario Ministry website, was very open-ended. It was a pilot project and it seemed to be easy
enough to apply.
I began writing a proposal. The rough drafts were pretty sketchy on details, to say the least! I kept wondering why anyone in the world would give me money for such a weak proposal.
I ran my first few drafts past my Literacy coach, a wonderful woman, named Staci. She read each draft and made some very insightful comments. Other teachers, who would understand what I was trying to do, also gave me some input. The greatest strength of any school is the expertise and professionalism of the teachers. I am blessed to work at the local Catholic primary school. At this school teachers take their jobs seriously and are always seeking innovative solutions to practical, every-day problems. What a wonderful staff and each person I asked to help me was amazing. So, thanks ladies (and 2 gents)! You keep me sane.
The Teacher Learning and Leadership Project information given to teachers, through the Ontario Ministry website, was very open-ended. It was a pilot project and it seemed to be easy
enough to apply.
I began writing a proposal. The rough drafts were pretty sketchy on details, to say the least! I kept wondering why anyone in the world would give me money for such a weak proposal.
I ran my first few drafts past my Literacy coach, a wonderful woman, named Staci. She read each draft and made some very insightful comments. Other teachers, who would understand what I was trying to do, also gave me some input. The greatest strength of any school is the expertise and professionalism of the teachers. I am blessed to work at the local Catholic primary school. At this school teachers take their jobs seriously and are always seeking innovative solutions to practical, every-day problems. What a wonderful staff and each person I asked to help me was amazing. So, thanks ladies (and 2 gents)! You keep me sane.
Deciding to go for it
Hello and welcome to my first post.
In December I received an email from my principal, outlining a new Professional Learning opportunity for experienced Ontario teachers. It was a Ministry of Education iniatitive, encouraging teachers to apply for money to undertake a project of their choice, alone or in a team.
I thought for a long time about what kind of project I would undertake. I then decided that I had no interest in doing it. I have a young son and I had just completed 10 years of Additional Qualification courses, resulting in a nice pay raise, and lots of free time.
Then, one day I looked up the Ministry website and thought "Ah, well, I'll just apply. What chance do I have of getting a grant anyways?" . So began my journey.
In December I received an email from my principal, outlining a new Professional Learning opportunity for experienced Ontario teachers. It was a Ministry of Education iniatitive, encouraging teachers to apply for money to undertake a project of their choice, alone or in a team.
I thought for a long time about what kind of project I would undertake. I then decided that I had no interest in doing it. I have a young son and I had just completed 10 years of Additional Qualification courses, resulting in a nice pay raise, and lots of free time.
Then, one day I looked up the Ministry website and thought "Ah, well, I'll just apply. What chance do I have of getting a grant anyways?" . So began my journey.
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