Day One: September 15th

 introduced to my MT - Christina Schmidt

 toured the school - Mount Carmel
 met site coordinator - Judy St. Louis
 shown around the Science Supply Room
 introduced myself to the three classrooms
o two Grade 10 Academic Science
o one Grade 11 University Chemistry

Day Two: September 22nd

 learned how to work the photocopy machine and scantron machine

 got to know Schmidt a little more and some of the students
 learned about IEPs

Day Three: September 29th

 learned how much teachers support one another

o the Head of Science passed away from cancer today
o the entire school was so supportive
o learned how much community matters
o how much they depend on one another
 learned how to look up reasons for absences and write them for your own
knowledge
 learned how to enter marks into Markbook
 worked with one student independently on balancing reactions

Day Four: October 6th

 marked some quizzes with Schmidt

 had an on-call in a Civics and Careeers classroom
 had to leave the school early for a meeting
  continued getting to know the Grade 11’s - they are very curious about post-
secondary education
 started Breakfast Club on Thursday mornings

Day Five: October 13th

 had some great conversations with students who visited Breakfast Club
 setup for Grade 11 lab - guessing covalent or ionic bonds
 setup types of reactions for Grade 10’s - single displacement, double
displacement
 witnessed learning in action
o Grade 11 students explored and described what was happening to the
compounds
o to see which ones where metal or nonmetal
 looked at midterm grades and saw which parents/guardians needed to be called
 learned the basic “steps of conversation” with a parent
 hopefully will get the chance to inspect how Schmidt tells parents about student,
tone, how she talks, vocabulary she uses
o important step - to notify the parents of kids progress if its below
expectations
o need to continue talking to parents about students learning
o need to be aware of other options - what parent, teacher, student, school
can do to support the student or how the student can support themselves

Day Six: October 20th

 more students came today to shat during Breakfast Club

 starting to really enjoy the part of my morning
o students asked questions about University and Teachers College
o I asked about what classes they were taking
 it was great!
 in a classroom that wasn’t “in-session”
 learning took place because there was no typical classroom
structure
  just a comforting, nonjudgmental atmosphere that happened to be in
a classroom
 did a lab with the Grade 10’s
o very interactive between teacher and student
o another way/activity that promotes learning that is not lecture-based
 Grade 11’s had a test review
o I felt inadequate - I can’t remember any Chemistry
o need to see if I can borrow a textbook - especially for next semester

Day Seven: November 3rd

 Breakfast Club announcement was a success

 U of T student teachers are here now for 4 weeks
o a little jealous that they are here everyday and get the chance to develop
their own lesson plan and teach
o become emerged in the school culture because they are here everyday
 I feel disconnected - I come every Thursday and the students have moved on to a
different topic
o I never see the complete process of learning
o see disjointed processing
o not continuous
 feel in between states - not a teacher and not completely a student either
o I feel strange in this role
 worked with Schmidt in her Grade 10 classes
o when describing the eye
o planned for me to do a lesson, or help make a lesson on the eye
 Grade 11’s wrote a lab quiz and started significant digits

Day Eight: November 10th

 only 10 students in Breakfast Club today - only a few regulars

 Grade 10’s did a Mirror Lab
 o help setup
o helped explained what they were expected to do and what they should see
 completed an answer key for the Grade 10 classes
o dealing with Snell’s Law
o went around the class to help with any problems with the math worksheet
 Grade 11’s did work on Percent Composition - I completed the answer key
throughout fourth period
 Schmidt and I discussed the lesson plan for The Human Eye
o looking forward to this
o looking through textbook for information
o building a presentation as well
o very excited for this

Day Nine: November 17th

 only about 10 students this morning in Breakfast Club

o most only wanted to use the computers in the back
o I allowed them to use the computers
 makes me realize how much power I have - even as a student
teacher
 personally - I thought saying no to them would be denying them the
chance to complete work and make their lives that much more
difficult
 I don’t know their circumstances - maybe they don’t own a
computer? or have internet?
 which is exactly why I felt bad when another student teacher
turned away students who were looking for the Breakfast Club
when we had to put food away
 went over my lesson with Schmidt - she told me what to change
 did an on-call with Schmidt in the Alternative Education room
 Grade 10’s did review
 Grade 11’s did an investigation worksheet
o really saw engagement with the students
 o most found the puzzle really fun to complete
o showed how fun, engaging activities develop learning
o showed how other students learn

Day Ten: November 24th

 was a little late today due to weather conditions - 7:40am

 doing my lesson today - excited and a little nervous
 Mental Health Awareness during lunch today
o for students to learn more about mental health
o for students to participate
o I think this is great - mental health stigma is still very much prevalent in our
society
 awareness and understanding are key
 helped Schmidt record marks
 my lesson went really well
o Schmidt said that students who don’t normally participate did
o Schmidt helped me fill in the silence when they were writing notes - I
appreciated that, I’m still learning, practice makes perfect
o had a great group discussion - students had a lot of interesting questions
o showed me how come students learn - some need that real life or applicable
aspect to truly reach understanding
 Grade 11’s did a lab where they had to write out their own procedure
o very interesting lab
 had to apply knowledge learned to make their own lab
 definitely an activity that I will definitely use

Day Eleven: December 1st

 came in very early today - 7:20

 spoke with Aaron about Breakfast Club - menu is changing to limit sugar and
increase whole grains
  starting to recognize the student regulars that come on Thursdays - engaged in
some meaningful conversation
 had sometime before Schmidt got here and went through the Grade 10 Biology
Unit
o wrote down some ideas - engagement activities, educational material
o discussing what lesson I will be teaching in the new Unit
 went to the talent show last night
 asked about being apart of the Basketball Team
 Grade 10’s did a laser maze activity
 Grade 11’s had test review today

Day Twelve: January 12th

 Breakfast Club had only four people show up

 both the Grade 10’s and Grade 11’s had a Unit Test today
o Grade 10 - Biology
o Grade 11 - Solutions
o I helped Schmidt mark
o created the answer key to the Biology Test
o submitted marks into Markbook for the Grade 10 students
 watched another Grade 10 class perform a Dissection Lab
o very cool
o the students were very knowledgeable when I asked them questions

Day Thirteen: January 19th

 again, only four people came to Breakfast Club

 Schmidt was away due to family emergency
 helped out the Supply Teacher with Schmidt’s classes
 filmed my Biology Demo today in period three
 I marked Schmidt’s Grade 10 Biology Tests, recorded the marks and put them into
Markbook
Day Fourteen: January 26th

 I proctored an exam
 ran multiple choice through the scantron
 completed 2/3 of a Grade 10 answer key for the exam
 talked to Aaron about my Indigenous Lesson Plan

Day Fifteen: February 9th

 I have a new Mentor Teacher - Maya Beg

o have second and fourth period off
o first period - Grade 11 University Chemistry
o third and fifth period - Grade 12 University Chemistry
o going to be very interesting since I am a Biology student
o she has made me feel very uncomfortable
o received a textbook to remind myself of Grade 11 Chemistry
 helped Beg setup a lab after school for the Grade 11’s and got the materials for
the Grade 12 activity as well
 Anne came to meet with me and Elisa today - she also wanted to meet my new
MT
 as we were walking Anne out we stopped into the office to talk to Judy St. Louis
o while we were there we saw a fight break out between many teenage girls
and one mother
o we heard profanity and death threats
o we also saw a girl come in with a broken nose
o it was very dramatic and nerve-wracking experience
o another side of teaching that I have never seen before
o never seen anything like that happen before
 did not know what to do
 felt like I was frozen in place
 o makes myself think about how I would react if that happened in my
classroom - what would I do?
o three male Teachers and one male Vice Principal broke up the fight
between the girls
 would I freeze in place if I heard death threats or saw an assault
happen in my class?
 makes me reflect on what could happen in a class in high
school
 bullying and social media can make matters worse between
students
 social media can be dangerous

Day Sixteen: February 16th

 had about 6-7 students at Breakfast Club

 two other Teacher Candidates were with Elisa and I at Breakfast Club
o can’t help but feel a bit separated from them due to the difference in schools
o they have different schedules, blocks, therefore have different experiences
than Elisa and I
o nice to meet new people though - especially those who you might teach
with
 I really admire Beg’s teaching style
o very down to earth, easy to follow, and funny
o uses really good life examples
o can tell that she is comfortable and confident with Chemistry
 did a little activity with the Grade 12’s to find if compounds were paramagnetic or
diamagnetic

Day Seventeen: March 2nd

 had a lot of students in Breakfast Club

o probably for the Blood Donor Clinic
o need to eat and hydrate
 setup a lab for the Grade 12’s for most of the morning
 o inquiry-based experiment
o “a crime happened at Mount Carmel”
o trying to find which powder is the “criminal” powder - or the one that isn’t
safe
 Grade 11’s just had a normal lesson

Day Eighteen: March 9th

 Breakfast Club had a lot of students again - waffles today

 Grade 11’s had their first Unit Test today
o watched over them
o marked the first page of the Grade 12 Unit Test
 helped Beg plan for her Grade 12’s today - can’t decide what to do because there
is only two days before March Break

Day Nineteen: March 21st

 makeup day - missed practicum February 2nd due to a funeral

 no Breakfast Club because its Tuesday
 came in at 7:50 today instead of my usual 7:20-7:30
 Grade 11’s
o photocopied worksheet for single displacement reactions
o lecture about single and double displacement reactions
 Beg did a demo of 2Al + 3CuCl2 -> 2AlCl3 + 3Cu
 did another demo for precipitates KI + Pb(NO3)2 -> KNO3 + PbI2
 an awesome way to demonstrate reactions
 Grade 12’s - just a lecture
 found out about parent-teacher interviews Thursday night - I plan on going
 Beg told me about this retreat the school does for the Grade 11’s
o they stay for two nights
o Grade 12 students are picked to run it
o there are workshops that every Grade 11 attends
  for example - prayer, reflection, self-awareness etc.
o every Grade 11 is split into groups that aren’t their friends
o its a great way for students to talk and get support from staff and
classmates
o they learn that they aren’t alone in their struggles
o also a great way for teachers to learn more about their students and know
the struggles they are going through

Day Twenty: March 23rd

 had a great conversations with the students who came to Breakfast Club -
travelling, concerts etc.
 Grade 11’s had a lab today
o double displacement reaction lab - predicting precipitates
 Grade 12’s had a regular lecture about enthalpy