Berlin Metropolitan School

I thought I would give you a little information about what it is I will be doing in Berlin. I am teaching at Berlin Metropolitan School. This is an international school located in the heart of Berlin. It has only been open for 3 years and is really open to new ideas. The principal seems really nice and supportive of the staff. This school is very different from other international schools in that most students in international schools are from other countries and can usually speak English. This school caters more to the German families in the area. So some students will not be able to speak English, but I have been told they will understand you. This is very scary, but I just found out that I have a student from Fort Worth, TX in my class next year, so at least I will have someone to talk to. :) I am teaching 1st grade and I am the English speaking teacher. Every class also has a German teacher. We do not team teach, we teach at separate times but are highly encouraged to collaborate together on what is being taught. The German teacher will teach the students how to read and write in German and I will teach Math, Science, Social Studies, Calendar Time and then eventually English. The students do not learn how to read in English until they learn in German. So all the time that the students are with there German teacher I have plan time. Plus we get the normal specials as plan time too.

The school year is kind of different to the US school year. it is almost like a year round school. The kids start school the first week of September, however my first graders don't start until the second week. Since 1st grade is traditionally the first time the kids are in school they have a huge ceremony the Saturday after school starts and then the 1st graders start school. It is kind of a big deal in Germany and this just means that I get an extra week to get my classroom ready. Then we have school for 6 weeks and then get 2 weeks off in October. For Christmas I get 3 weeks, a week in February, 2 weeks in April and then 6 weeks in the summer. School goes until the middle of July. That is going to suck, but I am excited about all the breaks in between.

Well I hope this gives you some information about the school. I really don't know much more, but I will update you when I do.

A Crazy Summer

So many people have been asking how everything is going with preparations to move to Germany I thought I would create a blog for the trip. I will keep this updated while in Europe so everyone knows what's going on and so that I have record of my adventures.

This summer I have been busy getting things ready for my move. My old roommate is moving back into my house and so I have some cleaning up to do. I have been going through the drawers and cleaning things out. I have to figure out what I will take and what I need to leave.

At the beginning of the summer I made a list of everything that I needed done before I leave and fortunately I have accomplished quite a bit. One of the hardest things I have done so far is selling my car. I am very sad about this, but after a long talk with her, we parted our ways.

One thing that has stressed me out a little over the summer is finding a place to live while in Germany. And lets just say I will not find a place until I get over there. I did, however, find a place where I can stay until I find an apartment. This is a huge relief, considering I thought I might be wondering the streets of Berlin without a place to stay and two large pieces of luggage dragging behind me.

Well I leave town on Monday August 18th and my going away party is the 15th. It is at Rivermarket Brewery. I hope everyone can attend.

Have a great rest of the summer and I will continue to post when I have more news.