#crtlife

[econocaos]

[j3cko]

Kinder Teacher?

Yesterday I went for a half day at Broadmeadows Valley teaching prep which was a good day. Preps are always good... I decided I would swing by Lemontree to give the documents and all that jazz so that I could start work as soon as possible. Lo and behold I get some news...

The supervisor tells me that her Kinder Teacher is going to quit and that there would be a vacancy. She told me that the position would be open for me if I so choose to take it. JEEZ! I just accepted a CRT position would be amazing given that I just need some casual work and then she tells me that she would like me on for full time! I'm now overwhelmed. After all the job offers in the last week until now I have no idea what to think!

The position may open up this Nov 25 (the day I already start working for them) because the teacher might not want to stay for the rest of term. So she gave me the option of giving it a trial run until then; if I like it then we could do a formal interview and I could work for the year full time. With a possibility of sponsorship. YIKES! I didn't really give much thought about staying another year, but if sponsorship and LOVING the job I am doing is in the cards... it may just be a possibility for me.

The only thing is A. I'm full time so not much vacation time can be taken off B. The pay is lower because I'm full time (I don't know why that would be but it's like a $5 difference) C. I would have to quite ANZUK which pays a lot more and give up CRT work 

ON THE FLIP SIDE: A. I would get my OWN classroom and do my own planning B. It would be a steady job with consistent work and getting to know my kids C. The childcare if amazing D. A possibility of sponsorship if I do an amazing job 

So you see my conundrum... what to do...

Even if I choose not to take the position (she says that I'm overqualified as an ECT to do CRT work and should take this opportunity), I would still get CRT work with the higher pay and get work all the time. That's good news because I can still pick and choose when I want to work and not have too much responsibility. However....MY OWN CLASSROOM?! AND MY OWN KIDS?! And I would get a lot more experience as a teacher planning and implementing activities... and actually have a MAJOR hand in developing these kid's minds. It's kind of hard not to see what a great opportunity it is...

So after a lot of mulling things over, I think I will see if the supervisor needs me until the end of term -- if she does, I'll do a trial run until Christmas. If I love it and want to continue on, I'll do it for the year. If I don't, I can just let her know and she'll find someone else and I can continue doing CRT work. I mean at the end of the day.. I may not be making more money, but I'm still making more money than back home and I get my own classroom; allowing me to fully experience being a teacher. 

This is so exciting and I can't believe all of this is happening to me right now. I'm nervous that I may not live up to expectations as she thinks I would be perfect for the job (not sure how she would know as she didn't really give me a formal interview or ask me of my teaching instruction.. maybe I'm just that good at looking confident and talking?) but I'm going to try my best to make sure these kids love coming to class! 

Let's see what happens now... dundun dunnnnnn

[j3cko]

You want me? You really want me?

So this weekend was the Melbourne Cup meaning Tuesday was a public holiday! Also means no work for me monday or tuesday. I also didn't get any work wednesday which sucked but no worries... I decided to take advantage of tuesday and wednesday by going to the beach! Such amazing weather but seriously Melbourne weather never stays consistent. 

I had an interview Wednesday at a childcare centre called Lemontree who is owned by an organization called Guardian and it went really well! I got the CRT position for that centre which starts Nov 25 and will give me a minumum of 3 days of work and more if I want it! So that's good to know as the term is going to be over in a month and a half and I won't have work for the holidays. Perfect timing I say!

So we all know that I haven't been getting many jobs from ANZUK so I obviously wasn't expecting any work from them. I got a call from Guardian asking if I would be available to work 2 full weeks before Nov 25 to work at another childcare centre and I was so excited I said yes but then ANZUK called and said one of the schools had requested me to work for one week. Talk about timing. Jeez, all of a sudden I'm getting work with ANZUK when I finally got another job?! So I had to accept ANZUK's job offer because I know I don't get much from them, and if I say no I may not get any more work -- ruining any chance of getting called back. Turning down the 2 weeks with Guardian made me sad but I have to make sure that I cover all my bases for my future job opportunities!

Then guess what... I get a call to work the entire week of Nov 25 -- the same time I would start at Lemontree. JEEZ honestly the timing of all this is ridiculous! It's the same school as the one I accepted to work for next week. So now I'm stuck with what to do -- do I accept work with ANZUK for the one week or do I stick with Lemontree and work with them? 

Well I just called Lemontree and she desperately needs me to start work with them for the week. Guaranteed to work the whole week because the girl is on leave starting that Monday. Therefore I decided to stick with Lemontree and not go with ANZUK. I also heard that the Kinder teacher decided to quit and there's a possible opening in that room! A lot of opportunities knocking on my door... we'll see what happens then!

I don't get paid as much at the childcare but it's steady work and will cover the holidays. It also seems like a great atmosphere at Lemontree and I'm super excited. Maybe not so much the diapers and stuff but it should be a good experience :) 

FINALLY I CAN SAY THAT I HAVE WORK !!!! And maybe I'll have enough money when my apo comes to visit to take her out and stuff... it's so sad when you don't have money. Really sad.

On a side note. I went to Broadmeadows Primary today and taught a prep class. It went super well and I do love their preps! Such a good bunch and I enjoyed it quite a bit! I can't say I love their year 1's and 2's but their preps are amazing :) Tomorrow is a half day with Broadmeadows Valley (the same one I will be working all of next week with) so it'll be a shitty paycheck next week but what can you do...

[j3cko]

YMCA / JOB INTERVIEWS

I ended up joining the YMCA! It costs around 32/fortnight and I get to use the group fitness classes! I tried one yesterday called Body Pump and it was mostly conditioning with weights. Man it was hard though, my body aches!

Today I had an interview with another teaching agency called Charterhouse. It employs different departments and education is one that just opened as another department in February. I decided to join with them as well as ANZUK because I didn't see the harm in it. Might as well right? If one agency doesn't give me work, maybe the other will and I will finally have work on a consistent basis! That's my logic of thinking anyways. I also have another interview next week with a childcare centre in Carlton, so if that works out well then I may have more work than I can handle! But I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch.

I also got a call back from the childcare that I interviewed last week. She called me today and offered me the job but I had to turn it down because it was a full time position and one that wouldn't really allow me to take any vacation. So I'm really banking on the agencies to get me work. If not, well maybe I will have to change my mind and find something permanent. But only time will tell! I just got my ACECQA approved so that SHOULD give me more work with ANZUK. Let's see how the next couple of weeks fare, and if things are looking up, then I can rest easy. 

On another note, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Heading to a house party that a Canadian teacher is throwing tonight so I'm super excited! My costume is finally finished and you will all get to see how it looks when I post pictures :)

[j3cko]

Work it baby work it!

I forgot to mention that Saturday night, my landlord's daughter stayed over at his place (he lives on top of our place) and ended up partying the night away. They woke me up at 4am in the morning and were blasting music like it was the best night of their lives. I live directly under the dining room so I could hear everything. I had just about enough, so I went up there and told them to turn the music down because it's 4am. There was only 4 people and they were partying like they were 19.... they were actually 36. Jeez. So they turned it down, then turned it back up 15 minutes later. Was going to call the cops if that kept up, even if she is the landlord's daughter.

Sunday was the same shit at night. The girl was blasting music at 10:30pm and so Sophie and I went upstairs to tell them to turn it down. Should've seen Sophie bitch at them (only 2 people this time). Priceless.

I got a call in the morning Monday and it was at a special needs school called Jackson School. It was a Grade 5/6 class and I really liked the school. I had a teacher aid so that helped alot!

Tuesday I got work at a school called Concord Special Needs School. Taught art and it was the easiest thing ever because A. the teacher was there to tell me what to do B. the kids were mostly ASD and behavioural but overall good C. the classes were small D. I actually taught year 7-10 and liked them!

Wednesday I got work at a school called St. Thomas More for a prep class. The kids were very smart and one of the better behaved preps I've had! Would definitely love to go back for sure! Hopefully they call for me :)

Thursday was a half day at Broadmeadows Valley and I worked in the afternoon in the Gr. 5/6 class. It was a pretty tame afternoon, pretty much only supervised for 2 hours. Easiest paycheck yet! Except of course there was a small girl fight that I had to split up. Nothing major, just some pushing lol

[j3cko]

4 Minutes Flat

Alright so I might not have worked Monday. But I did get lucky and get a job Tuesday because Britt mentioned that I needed work (when she got called by ANZUK and I didn't). Went to Christ the Priest and taught preps there. A pretty good school! I loved it! The teacher was there so she ran through the timetable with me which was awesome. The kids are amazing and so well-behaved. I really hope they call me back because that was such a good school! 

Now onto today. I figured I probably wouldn't get called today so I slept in. At 7:18am I got a call for a half day at Northcote Primary School. Of course I saw yes as I'm so broke I would take just about anything! It took me literally 4 minutes to get ready and run out the door. With a banana, chapstick, jacket, open umbrella and backpack in two hands while running towards the station, the train was coming at 7:24am. The umbrella was flipped inside out so it was so hard trying to run and being dragged back. Jeez I looked so comical. But well worth it!

I got a Grade 2 class and it was team teaching with Tracy (Nicki was the girl I replaced). Pretty good school and I would definitely want to go back. Hopefully they call me! I left my name with them so they can ask for me if they need a CRT. Let's cross our fingers!

Too much anxiety right now. Work needs to pick up ASAP.

On another note, I've been watching 2 Broke girls and I'm finished 2 seasons. Talk about tv-marathon! 

[j3cko]

Life as we know it

Monday = no work

Tuesday = no work

Wednesday = calling twice and bitching about how I have only worked once in 2 weeks. Finally 10 minutes after that they had something for me. Why is it that I have to call and nag and nag and bitch and moan until somebody gives me a job? I know it's slow for the last term, but this is getting ridiculous. It's not fair that some people get more work than others.

Now they have changed the system so that you shouldn't call but rather do an "online sign-in" which tells them whether or not you're available for that day. All you have to do is click "I am available to work tomorrow" and magic is supposed to happen.... or not. How can I rely on one click to determine whether or not I will get work the next day? How do I know that they will give me work and not someone who has been consistently getting work? Is there an app that tells them some people have not been working as much? Because I don't get how they choose who gets work. I figure if I call, I'll be able to fight my case rather than allow cyber space to do my fighting. 

In my agency's case, it doesn't matter if you call because all they say is "Okay we'll put you on the list and if there's work we'll call you." BULLSHIT. There's no way you're going to give me work. It's all lies I tell you! Man term 4 sucks :( I need a second job. The process is going to repeat itself again tomorrow and the day after and the day after. Once again, I will have to wake up and hold onto my phone like it's my lifeline. 

On that note, I went to Prince's Hill Primary School in Carlton. I taught 3/4 and 5/6 but it was mostly supervising all day. The good thing about open concept sometimes is that most teachers team-teach. The added bonus was that the students were all working on their science projects so all I really had to do was watch over them. It was so boring. I was falling asleep while walking around the classroom. And seriously neighbourhood 1 for 3/4 is so annoying. The kids are a bit rude and like to push buttons. Not as bad as other schools but man makes me want to wish I was sitting at home watching Vampire Diaries. Okay maybe not that badly but some kids need to learn respect.

The other days that I was off was mostly running errands, groceries, running, going to the park and just plain lazing around. If I get time off tomorrow (which I really hope I dont, as I need money to pay rent), I'm gong to have to work on my resume and hand out some to cafes/child care centres/retail, WHATEVER! 

Man who knew term 4 was going to be this slow?! 

[j3cko]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Friday I went to Wales Street Primary School and taught a 5/6 Grade. It was actually not bad at all. The kids were good and the teacher was there so she helped by running by the lessons for the day. Everything went pretty smoothly and it was a good day overall! I would definitely go back to that school! At least I made a day's worth of teaching for next week's paycheck. Pathetic still! I really hope I get more work this week. But since it's the last term, CRT budget is low :(

Met up with the girls later on that evening and just caught up. Tania's place in Richmond is GORGEOUS. Low-key night but it was nice to catch up and see everyone after vacation.

Saturday I just ran around doing errands. Trying to find pieces for my Halloween costume and other random stuff. Then had to make mashed potatoes for the Thanksgiving dinner at night. 

What a fun night it was! I was so glad that we got to have a Thanksgiving dinner even though I wasn't at home! I may have missed family Thanksgiving (butter chicken instead of turkey) but at least I got to celebrate with friends here! It was a great turn out and lots of people were there. Drinks, food and good company! Turkey turned out great (Thanks Heather!) and the mashed potatoes were a success! First time making mom's mashed potatoes (Thanks Mom!) and everyone liked it! Yay! I pretty much had a food baby after that. Also didn't help that I had apple crumble after that... That was delicious!

Today it's rainy and nasty, complete opposite of the sunny day on Saturday, so there will be lots of bed relaxation and continuing to watch Vampire Diaries. Fun fun fun... It's Sunday dinner and it's my turn to cook! Going to make some pork/shrimp dumplings for the housemates! Yum yum yum :)