The past work week was cut short by parent-teacher interviews on two of the days and a professional development day on the Friday - code for no school, but as a teacher you must do something to develop yourself “professionally”. I only had parent-teacher interviews with my grade threes, a class I feel blessed to have. I did not have to use any phrases commencing with, “your child needs work on...”, or “your child is having some problems with...”, or “your child is a terror...”. Instead, I was met with smiles and compliments, a lot of parents saying that their son or daughter often exclaims, “it’s Madame Deitcher day today!” when it is my day to come in. If they only knew that each Wednesday morning I wake up thinking, “it’s grade three day today!”, not to mention “grade four day!” on Thursdays and most recently, “grade eleven day!” on Tuesdays. As much as I wish to have my own class, the same students each day, a classroom I can decorate as I please, there is a certain novelty to being the teacher who comes in once a week. If they are excited to see me because we only get one day a week together, then I am excited too. And I always am.
Professional Development Day, for me, was spent in Victoria. I attended a French Immersion teacher workshop at the University of Victoria, but indulged in a sort of mini-vacation as well. Since I went to UVic for my university degree, I still have a few good friends who live there, and so nights and days were spent tripping around town having as much fun as when I used to live there. It is unbelievably nostalgic going back to Victoria, an instant comforting feeling I welcome immediately once I get off the ferry. Since the start of this school year, I have yet to have such a relaxing weekend as this one I spent on the island. As my mini-vacation comes to an end, I cling desperately to that comforting feeling as I take the #70 bus back to Swartz Bay. How wonderful it is to live in a place you love and to visit a place you love. It makes you feel like the world is small and calming, with friends everywhere and memories left like footprints so that you always know how to get back. Pictures = Sunset in Vancouver, Morning in Victoria
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