Author: Cori Saas (page 6)

First Three Weeks

The new school year is just past three weeks gone. The second week flew by; I liked almost every moment of each school day. The first week however, simply slogged along; I felt frustrated. I’m teaching at a different school this year. I am no longer the ‘single story’ high school ELA, Arts Ed and Outdoor teacher, though I am… (read more)

Our Story, This Fall

All day today students & families & former students have been messaging with kind words of hope & support. Today, I started at a new school. Today, many of our kids started out on a similar journey. I like this note from a former student, “University tomorrow. So excited. And nervous. Going to do the best I can. I hope… (read more)

My Path

Dear Team, Today was the first time I have felt this undervalued as a teacher. And the truth, that’s not the case. It is just the case today. I was trained in the middle years program. This is a program with a focus on kids and curricula grades 6 to 9. Though the province lumps us in with the elementary… (read more)

Choosing Joy

Last week I received two letters in the mail. I wasn’t surprised until I realized that the letters had been addressed by me. I’d written them the previous summer during a difficult period. At the time, the letters were a reflective activity for a summer institute I was completing. The words on each envelope were in my handwriting yet the… (read more)

Inquiry Opps: a week of curriculum learning

This week I’ve been taking my ELA accreditation. I came in expecting to be challenged. I also came in uncertain what we’d actually be doing. I’m moving schools in the fall. This week, Miranda, the senior Math/Science teacher, is taking her accreditation as well. This morning we had an activity to plan an inquiry unit – Yah, I know. The… (read more)

Home, Always.

Last week I moved out of one school and into another. Mostly, that’s true. However, the stories remain. I’ve brought all of them with me. All of the resources, exemplars and memorabilia are now packed and sitting in boxes in a different building. The packing of all those stories happened in a flurry of four days. A week earlier, 30… (read more)

In Their Words

Today, following our school’s annual awards ceremony, I sat on the grass and watched students and teachers play soccer. I was too spent to move. I had kicked off my shoes, I had crossed my legs and was just soaking it all in. One student was playing soccer in flip-flops and a pink dress; some kids where eating tubes of… (read more)

Strong in Mess

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much I like staying connected with kids. It’s a messy topic. Here’s what I know. And it’s not much. About every month or so, my daughter goes out for coffee and a muffin with her former grade six resource teacher. My daughter is in grade ten. Actually, she’s almost in grade eleven. Their suppers… (read more)

The Importance of Crossing Thresholds

Supporting each other is really important. When I was a pre-service teacher, I spent one of two of my shorter-internships at a school that did this well. At this school, when kids were more successful in some spaces or with different teachers than with other teachers in other spaces, the staff encouraged kids to be where they were most successful.… (read more)
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