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I'm going away for the first week of holidays, and then I hope to get some school work done in the second week.

What about yourself? @Spirit_Healer

@Spirit_Healer , I've still got a lot of marking to do from my Year 8 kids.

@Millieme , what about yourself? Are you on holidays too?

Hi @BPDSurvivor

Not yet here, still a week to go, but i actually dont get the school holidays off anymore but they give me time to catch up a bit on the admin/report writing side of my work and there is no travel for visiting sites so it is still a 'break' and my office is really casual during the holidays. I am hoping to take a day or two off though to spend with my kids who will be on holidays.

I have so much admin to do, i am kind of looking forward to school holidays anyway to catch up!

agh the marking never ends in high school!

Have you got any plans for the holidays?

Hello @Millieme @Spirit_Healer @tyme @Shaz51 @Snowie

Woohoo! School holidays for me right now.

So glad for the break. I’m still keeping an ear open to school stuff but just glad to be able to sleep in.

How’s everyone?

Wats everyone up to? I’m having a cuppa and the kids are having movie night.

Spent about 3 hrs in the pool today.

Of course I’m still checking school emails (which teacher doesn’t?).

Good news, three of our foundation enrolments for next year with extensive needs have been accepted into an Autistic school. They will be there for their early years and transition back to us later. That school is such an amazing school. I wish others could get in too, but their numbers are capped.

Anyone had experience with Autistic or SDS settings? @Millieme, maybe you’d know?

Hi @BPDSurvivor

I do have some experience with special schools and special/Inclusive Education settings within mainstream schools, the expertise that is developed over time to meet students specific needs is so high in these settings that they can provide such a good start for students and the educators have additional training for communication in particular. I work with several settings with individual students who have high needs... But i'm also a big believer in inclusion over segregation and hope that sometimes in the future systems are more flexible in developing every site towards higher inclusion (this sometimes makes me have conflict with myself as I also work with children for whom safety can only be provided in a specialised setting right now). We dont have any specialist Autism schools here but i do have a family who are moving to a Victorian location to access one. I've been working on transition with that school and they do sound amazing. If i ever get a chance I think i would love to see if they would give me a tour!

I have had a big day and my kids are looking forward to school holidays.

Yes! Totally get you @Millieme .

Safety is huge. We have kids who are absconders, climbers, mouth non-food items etc. Unless they have 1:1 support all the time, it can pose a huge risk.

We have 2 schools for autistic students in the early years and only one high school. Students pretty much can’t get into the high school unless they’ve put their name down from day dot. Other than that, we have a few schools for those with mild to moderate ID. Unfortunately, new rules means these are now capped and they only have intakes at the beginning of each year.

A lot of families now have to work with the department of education to see how to best support the kids that miss out but really need it. I don’t know solution they’ll have.

Oh well.. I’m only a teacher. I can’t change policies…

Hope you are looking forward to the school holidays. How old are your own kids?

Yes, having one to one support is sometimes so necessary but can be hard for teachers to support assistants and and aids to know how to provide the skill building that the student needs. I have been working on a lot of response to intervention processes that support teachers and ta's to implement purposeful support towards student goals. the difficulty is managing workload alongside.

the public system i work in is a little different i think, parents can't choose to enrol students in a spcial school/class unless the student has been assessed by us and found to be eligible first, placements are then made after a very drawn out process of assessing identifying which children have greatest needs. There is no ongoing funding for students who are eligible for these placements but there isnt enough space for in these settings (there is a transitionary funding) but sites need to apply on a regular basis for ongoing funding.

My kids are in high school which is keeping us busy. Both of my kids have some additional needs (eldest medical challenges and youngest has autism/adhd) and we are working through some challenges. I think you mentioned kids as well? how old are yours? Im taking a couple of days off in the holidays so will spend some time with them if the eldest isnt working. They are counting down the hours left in school this week haha

Hello @BPDSurvivor , how was your week away?

I finished my holiday marking on Monday, haven't felt like planning much for the upcoming term yet. I did two days trips and am doing another one tomorrow.

I really needed these holidays. How do you manage with your teaching? I have constantly had that feeling of being on the hamster wheel/going through the motions and anticipating every weekend and break, just to get some reprieve!

Hi @Spirit_Healer . I’ve never enjoyed holidays and breaks more than when I became a teacher.

I totally need it.

And you know the funny thing? Parents say ‘well you had two weeks to do it!’ In my head, I’m thinking they don’t realise how much of a break we need!

Ive just checked my timetable and I only teach 8 hours a week from this term. This will allow me to focus on all the other things I need to do including the kinder to foundation transitions. I need to meet with the kindergartens to see how we can best support those with additional needs.

I’ve just stayed up putting lesson plans online and going through what I’m teaching tomorrow.

I can see all the other teachers doing the same. The shared documents on drive have very late ‘last modified’ times hahaha.

Back to the grind tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes @Spirit_Healer