Today Cheryl, Francine and I met in Formosa to continue working on our TLLP. It was a beautiful drive to the little town of Formosa and I found the school easily since the steeple of the Catholic Church was a beacon, shining from miles away.
Our "to do list" was vast, but we were fortified by coffee, Hershey’s kisses and Werther’s Originals.
First we talked about our slide show, which some of us had shown to our staff last week.
Next, we looked at the logistics of who would visit each of the 3 remaining Northern schools, to show our slide show.
We then discussed where we should hold the upcoming October professional development sessions. We will be leading the teachers through a "Teacher Moderation" session, encompassing a full day.
Of crucial importance was who would order the food for the sessions, who would pay and how exactly would it arrive? This is not as easy as you might think, since Formosa is half between Nowhere and Really Nowhere. We set the budget for snacks, drinks and lunch and made the necessary phone calls.
Next, we looked closely at the marking rubric that teachers will be using during the Teacher Moderation sessions. We spent ages playing around with the qualifiers, language and spacing of the rubric. We are now happy with our final rubric and have made copies for all.
After lunch, (leftover spaghetti for me!) we looked over the work we had accomplished in August. We made some revisions, re-checked our ‘francais" and rolled the presses. Yeah! We did it! All French Immersion teachers will get the on-demand writing prompts tomorrow.
Last, we prepared packages for each teacher, principal, and Supervisory Officer that will be involved. Cheryl did a great job of writing a cover letter to clarify any outstanding questions and to lay out our future plans.
Next we will meet on October 8th. The agenda for that day includes all those pesky, last minute details that crop up when leading a group of teachers through a new process.
