New job - Part 1

That's right -- I've got myself an occupation. I'm working in the after school Extended Care program at Oregon Episcopal School, a private K-12 school in SW Portland. It kind of fell into my lap. My mom was working in their summer program. In the weeks following my move, I came into her classroom to help out, because I was bored with unpacking and because I can't seem to stay away from schools. One day, we ran into one of the directors of the after school/summer programs and we started talking about next year. On a whim, I asked about open positions. Before I knew it, I was heading home to update and send in my resume, coming in for an interview, and accepting a job. It's a half-time position, M-F from 2-6. Strangely enough, the way things worked out, my mom and I are both working in the grades 1/2 E.C. room. We can do lesson planning after dinner. :)

Pluses: half-time, giving me time to do other things; afternoon position, allowing me to wake up slowly, and minimal lesson planning. Cons: I work till 6pm everyday, which makes evening plans difficult; shared classroom space, making prep and set-up challenging; and constantly changing student population.

The last week of August I attended a number of orientation days and started learning more about OES. (I also had my first cold in nearly a year -- bleh.) I find it very interesting. Obviously, they're a Christian school, but they seem to be very open to other perspectives. A good portion of the staff and students are not Episcopalian, or even Christian. The educational approach OES takes is like a mixture of Peninsula -- lots of outdoor activity, child-centered, funky creativity -- and a prep school -- super-high academic expectations, uniforms for the little kids, rigid rules in some areas. I'm still trying to figure it out!