I h
ave spent 16 of my 17 years teaching at the same school in a lovely little town on the NSW/VIC border called Howlong (I live in the nearby and much bigger town of Albury). We are a K-6 public school with approximately 200 students. We usually sit at 8 classes but sometimes we bump to 9.
I have reinvented myself a few times over the decade and a half – Full-time classroom teacher for 6 years and then went permanent part-time for the next 9 years as the main RFF or LST person (my 2 days off per week are spent being a Dad, making sawdust, renovating, gardening or sneaking a few chapters of the latest novel).
2020 was the year I stepped into the role of Librarian for our school (we had not had one for several years). While it was not the best of years to attempt something new I thoroughly enjoyed my year ‘among the books’ whilst reconnecting students with a space that had been neglected and somewhat forgotten.
I have always been passionate about reading and learning – I’m going to get to do a lot of that over the next 2 years as I complete the Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) degree.