Health & Wellness

Name: Ashley Oembler

Date of School Visit: November 13th, 2015

Grade level(s) visited: 4

Subject(s) observed: Mathematics

 

School

Albury Sayle’s Primary School was the third school I visited for my observations. Located off of Nassau Street, it resides within the North Western school district. Established in 1962, the institution is a large clean area that can comfortably accommodate its staff, students and faculty. Today, the approximate amount of students is 600 which rate them as a B school according to the Ministry of Education. There were visible evidence of rules along the corridor and stairway of the school such as ‘Watch your step’ and ‘No running in the hallway’. There wasn’t any evidence of projects at the school but I found the school to be a good learning environment for the child.

 

Administration

At Albury Sayles Primary School the school is very organized as the principal allowed the group to visit the school. In the administrative office, there were awards and pictures on the wall. Awards of achievements and photos of previous Principals were displayed along the wall as well. The mission statement of the institution is to provide optimum opportunities for all students to receive a well rounded education that will equip them with the necessary skills, knowledge, beliefs and positive attitudes required for work and life in a society. Each student will be developed into a mature, self-respecting and sensitive individual able to compete honestly and efficiently in the world.

 

Staff

As a prospective teacher just observing the classroom, the attitude I received from the staff members from Albury Sayle’s Primary was very respectful. From stepping onto the campus until I left they were helpful in showing my way to the administrative office, assisting me to observe an available class and the way around the campus. The philosophy believes that all students in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas regardless of the ethnic origin, gender or socio-economic background have the right to a sound education that will empower them to think critically, make wise choices and become caring, responsible, respectful citizens of their country. It is also our belief that our parents and the wider community must play a critical role in ensuring that their child/children’s school is a successful one. Attitude towards the teachers, students and other administrators are respectful.

 

Classroom

The size of the classroom was a moderate size that there were enough for the teacher’s desk, student desks, cabinet and other furniture to be evenly arranged. There were helpful learning resources around the classroom such as the labels of certain objects (door, window, cabinet, whiteboard). There weren’t any visible rules and consequences displayed about the room.

 

Teachers

Mrs. Symmonette has been in the education system for 30 year and has experienced a mixed group of student in one setting. What I got from her was that she believes every student has the potential to excelling their studies once they fully apply themselves. She spoke in complete sentences and her pronunciations were clear. The teacher’s skills were effective as once she showed the class a problem to solve on the board. She paired students with other students to get a better understanding of the topic at hand. I felt as though the teachers were motivational to her students. She only taught the lesson for the students to take notes. At one point, it felt like I was back in the 4th grade as some teaching techniques weren’t change as there was no creativity placed in the lesson.

 

Students in the classroom

It was a hassle for the teacher to keep order in the classroom. This was due to a few 6th graders sitting in the classroom were a distraction. The students were attentive during the lesson and were excited when they had an exercise to complete on Fractions.  The students learned quickly and were prepared for class. Each student wrote in their Math notebook and referred to previous pages for assistance.

 

Overall Impression of the School

My overall impression of the school was good. There wasn’t much to complain about. I liked the diversity of the students in the classroom I observed. It felt as though I was back in my primary school class as there was no advancement in the teaching techniques in the class. I learned that allowing your peers to assisting in the lesson can be very helpful.