Volunteering at an Aussie Elementary School

Volunteering at Bangalow Elementary School was one of the best experiences I have had while volunteering on this trip! We went to the school on Tuesday and there around 9am to meet the principal. He was very nice and welcomed us by giving us our schedule for the day and telling us about his school. There are about 200 students that attend the school and about 14 adults/teachers present each day to care for them. This is an average size for a primary school in Australia. The students also wear uniforms here...its is not mandatory but all of the parents make their children anyways to reduce competition and bring all all of the children to the same level.

Our day started out in Kindergarten. They started class with a singing role call and a few other songs. Then it was time for PE...their PE seemed more like preparing the children for future cricket players rather than getting them active. They tossed bean bags to the children and taught them the correct way to catch the bean bag. then the children were instructed to do other developmental activities with the bags such as, tossing it into the air and catching it, tossing it and clapping then re catching the bag, tossing the bag between hands, and a few more. We assisted the children that were having a hard time and encouraged the ones who had mastered the skill.

Next on our schedule was playing bingo, coloring, and reading. We split up the class into groups and each of us got a small group for about ten minutes. Then the children would rotate to the next activity. I had the bingo activity! The kids were all pretty nice and had a lot of fun...remembering that they were not allowed to make much noise. The school is very big on keeping the children in order and quiet...at least I though so...

After Kindergarten and lunch was over we headed to the fifth grade class. I was not exactly ready for this huge jump in age and activity level! The stage 3 class was rowdy to say the least...they immediately bombarded us with question after question. Some of them silly, some serious, and other rather inappropriate. But it was fun to answer their questions and laugh along with them. When the teacher tried to get the class under control it seemed to be an impossible task! She tried to continue a lesson on fractions and we were instructed to walk around and help anyone who needed assistance however, all of the kids wanted us to help so they could talk to us. The teacher didn't seem to mind much and after math time we headed off to the library.

The library assistant was much more strict with the stage 3 class! Teaching them manners and turning on a video that updated the kids on current news in the world. I never had this in my schooling and I though it was a great idea to teach children at such a young age about the world and its current issues.

Recess was next and we spent it in the teachers lounge hearing all the gossip going on around the school...it was entertaining.

After recess we moved on to first stage class. In this class we each got some one on one time with two students to teach them how to read. These students that we got to tutor were kids that have been having trouble with reading and need a little extra attention. This was the perfect job for me! I know how it feels to be a slow reader and have difficulty learning so helping the kids out was a lot of fun. We picked out six words to teach the kids and by the end of the session they had to know the words. I turned learning into a game for my students. We layed out the six cards and I could call out the word and they would find it. Once they found the word they flipped the card over until all of the cards were flipped over. Then the student would randomly flip the cards over again and have to read the card to me. If they had trouble with a word we sounded it out together and came up with a way for them to remember it...making silly sentences or breaking the word up into two. We played a few more word games and then the student was finished and could return to class.

I really enjoyed tutoring the students and they seemed to feel very comfortable with us as well. We returned to the classroom and assisted in helping the students write about a picnic they went on. It was a lot of fun! Stage one is probably my favorite age group to help with. They listen and are very interested in learning but sometimes needs a little bit of encouragement.

School was finally over around 3pm when our professors wife and our grad assistant picked us up. We then headed back to camp to continue our volleyball tournament that we started yesterday. My team one the first round but lost in a close game in the second round. I was a little disappointed that we lost but I was more than satisfied with my performance thanks to all of the compliments I got for my improvements. When we first started the volleyball tournaments I wasn't very good at the game but after playing each week I have gotten better and better each week...this week I felt like I helped my team out tremendously! Its a great feeling to work at something and see your own improvements and get recognised for them! The championship game is tomorrow.