PD - ooh interesting stuff...

Yesterday was my first PD in over 2 years. Well, my goodness I have missed a heck of a lot...Let's see where to begin...

Right, firstly the Education Department in my fair city will be changing in the next 2 years (really should have moved my head out of the 'lalalalalala not listening' sand earlier). That was the first bit. Cannot really comment on this as yet, need to do some reading and refreshing of my brain for that.

More fun, is the fact that my union has purchased an AMAZING program called TOPS and have it as a live site on their website for lil old me to use (and other teachers) as a means to store and to utilise in schools as a planning tool. It is pretty darn fantastic, it has all our curriculum details, plus already has some of the new stuff. It has planners and resource type materials. Generally I had a great big old sigh of happiness at the sight of it. Very very impressed.

Add to my overall happy was the realisation that the Union is pretty cool, no one is there with baseball bats or picket lines already set, they are really very supportive. Turns out they even got us Relief teachers a pay rise for this year, so happy me again.

More exciting is the continued phone calls from schools as reactions to my Relief letters...TWO TODAY...I even have an interview at one school on Friday so they can put a face to me :) might need to find a better face hahaha....

I need to be registered with WHO??

Yes, you need to be registered over here with a particular 'college' to be allowed to teach in our schools. You need to pay these people each year and jump through many hoops to stay not only registered but also to advance your registration. Of course they must do something in return, right, right? Not, so far as I have seen...

I have had to register with them three, yes three times so far, because don't you just know it, they won't accept that my birth certificate, same one as 5 years ago, same one as 2 years ago, is the same one this time...I do not get it, but I have also given up trying to get it. I just smile, jump through another pretty hoop and pray that this time they will yes "Yes, welcome to our little club". Fingers crossed because I have the rather large desire to be teaching again soon and really, really do not want them to muck it up...Did I mention I have absolutely no idea what it is they do for me yet??

We pay them money, they give us a little plastic card, possibly the most expensive plastic card I own, may I point out, and then they....Oh yeah, nothing. I am sure as I scrabble and slip my way back into the classroom I will discover a delightful amount of tricksey fun things that they have magically been supplying for the last 18months...But until then....