First Days of School!

More update about my school!
I am teaching at the Mackay (pronounced Mc-Kai) School in Vina Del Mar Chile.  It is a private school with grades Playgroup (preschool)- Senior 4.  There are approximately 60 students in each grade preschool to 12th grade, and the school serves about 800 students.   I am working specifically with the third grade classes.  There are three classes, 3a, b and c.  I am working specifically with the 3C class, although I teach about 4 hours a week of English in the other two third grade classes.  The students are broken up into 4 groups:
Infant- Playschool through Kindergarten
Juniors- 1 through 4th grade (the group I work with)
Medio- 5th through 8th grade
Seniors- 9th through 12th grade

The Mackay School was created in the mid 1800's by British settlers who desired a 'proper' British education for their children.  Originally, the school was in Valparaiso (about 10 miles away) because it was the largest port in South America.  All goods coming from Europe and Asia into South America came through Valparaiso (More on Valpo in a following post).  Mackay is a sports school and all of the students are involved in futbol (soccer), rugby, cross country, swimming and sailing.  The students attend about 27 hours of academic classes a week and the other 13 are reserved for sports practice or games.  Each class; A, B, or C is also the student's sports team and they move through the grades together.  By 12th grade the students in each class are a cohesive team and seem to be very successful.  There are many other British and private schools in the area that the students compete against in sporting events.  The school is based on the British education system.  There is a head master at the school, Prefects (just like in Harry Potter) and the students use the word 'toilet' for bathroom.  The instructional practices are different that I have learned and been practicing in the United States so that has taken some getting used to.  The students are the same though, they are all very sweet boys with a desire to learn.

Here I am all dressed up for my first day of school! I even laid my clothes out the night before!! I was SOOO excited!

The first day of school, Tuesday September 21st, we had a teacher development and planning day! It was a great first day! I got to meet my teacher, then learn about the different areas of the school.  I attended a conference about the IB program (inter- baccalaureate) then a few seminars about math and one about technology in the classroom.  After we had the morning seminars we ate lunch (which is delicious and health, way better than any school lunch I have EVER seen in the states) then we were given some time to prep for our classes.  I got my schedule for teaching English and was asked to start the next day.  My first lesson went really well and I feel very confident in my classroom.  From here on out I am teaching at least a few periods of English everyday.  It was nice just to be thrown in rather than having the anticipation of just getting my feet wet.  My first formal observation is tomorrow and I am quite nervous, but I hope things will go just fine!  The last week of October and the first week of November I will be doing my full time student teaching and I will be teaching English and Math and conducting the whole class.  Since the school is a bilingual school, some subjects are still taught in Spanish.  My cooperating teacher will still be responsible for those because I do not have the academic language skills, or the training to teach in Spanish!
Wish me luck, the time is just flying by and I am enjoying every second of it!
Miss and love you all!
Miss Ehlers

So here it is!

Sorry, sorry a million apologies for the long wait for an update!  So here it is.  I have officially been in Chile for 2 weeks as of yesterday and it has been an amazing experience so far!  Things are crazy, chaotic and stressful sometimes but very enjoyable!
 I arrived here on Sunday September 19th after travelling for close to 24 hours.  My mom and Max dropped me off in the Airport in Seattle and my flight left at 1:30 pm.

I arrived in the airport in Santiago and immediately culture shock kicked in.  There were no familiar faces, I was incredibly jet-legged and everyone was in essence speaking gibberish.  I was able to make it through security and customs and get a taxi to the bus station in Santiago, it was VERY expensive, about 24 dollars for less than a ten minute ride.  I then bought a bus ticket to Vina, much more affordable, about 6 http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=451629391626384034dollars for an hour an a half trip.  The bus ride took us through the cordellera costa, or coast mountain range, to Vina del Mar, the city I am staying in.  My supervisor for my teaching program, Leonore met me at the bus station and took me to my host family's house.  They live in a naval base on the top of a hill.  It is very safe because you have to be a part of the military, or an invited guest to get in through the gates.  My house has the most amazing view of the ocean from our front window.  I got settled on the first day, showered (boy did I need it after 24 hours of travelling) and then we went to the beach.

yup I live here, be jealous :)

The following day we spend a lot of time exploring Vina, and yes, more beach! It is so beautiful!  Chile is just entering its springtime and it is not too warm yet.  It has been in the mid to high 60's and should start getting warmer in the next few weeks.  The water is pretty cold, too cold to go in right now. My host mom said that most people don't actually go in the water because it is cold and there are dangerous riptides in most places.  There are so many cool little mercados de artasanias or art markets here that are fun to explore!  The other day there was this man making sand sculpures on the beach, they were amazing!

 








There is also this awesome house that is build into one of the cliffs on the side of the ocean! it has a swimming pool and a light house and would be so amazing to live in, or even just tour.

Hope that's enough of an update for right now! I love and miss you all!!
Miss Ehlers

Chile Trip

I AM LEAVING FOR CHILE IN 15 DAYS!

Here are some deets about the trip.  I am going to Vina Del Mar, Chile for the next 3 months to do my student teaching.   I will be gone for three months! September 18-December 17.

The school is Called Mackay School and it is a British, All boys K-12 school.

I will be teaching in a third grade class! 

I will be living with a woman and her two boys, ages 8 and 10.  All of this is just blocks away from the beach!

I would love to receive mail, or care packages, so here is my address

Sara Ehlers

Población  Naval

street Spica número 37

Viña del Mar, Chile

Love to all!

Sara

My First BLOGGGGG!!

So, as some of you may know, I am heading out on an excellent adventure in a few weeks!  Many people have asked me if I was going to create a blog so they could follow me in my travels.  Despite me being quite technologically challenged, I have managed to create one... and here it is!