A year of changes

2016 has been a year of a lot of changes. 

Last year I did some casual teaching at about 8 local primary schools. I enjoyed it, mostly, but there was one school I really liked teaching at, and I was sorry not to be called there at all during Term 4. I used to daydream about getting some regular work there. Until one afternoon towards the end of term, when I had a call from their principal, asking about my availability for 2016. I told him I was available, and he said he would call back in a few days, sounding like he might have a position for me.

I waited, glued to my phone at all times. I spoke to him again in the last few days of school, but he had no news for me, the school's enrolment had dropped a little and they weren't sure how many teachers they needed. The school year ended, and I tried to forget about it all, wondering if I might hear from them again as school went back at the end of January. But on the 7th Jan I was surprised with a call offering me a temporary job as Teacher Librarian at this school that I really wanted to teach at!

This seemed nothing short of a miracle, because I am not a primary school teacher (but a high school teacher) and have no library experience. However that didn't seem to bother them! I accepted the job and spent the rest of January researching to find out what a Teacher Librarian actually does (and preparing for Emily's 18th birthday party). I met the retiring librarian of 26 years service before school started, and began the job at the end of January.

 I am loving spending my days with books and kids. This seems like the perfect job for me :)

Of course, I have plenty to learn, about children's literature, running a library, and teaching information literacy. But I'm finding it all a good challenge and coping well so far with working full-time again. It still seems amazing that I have this great job, and didn't even have to apply for it!

(Not sure why I didn't open the blinds for these photos?)

Over time, I might make some changes to the layout and decor of the library. You can see that the library is very well laid out and holds thousands of good books. For now, I'm content setting up the occasional display and making minor changes to add to the smooth running of my day :)

I've gotten to know two lovely ladies at school, one is the library assistant, who works in the library 2 days a week, accessioning books and doing the administration. My other friend is a teacher who shares the library office with me 3 days a week. If it wasn't for them, my job could become a bit lonely if I didn't make the effort to get to the staffroom, since the library office has everything I need for lunch and working, and I'm not working in a team as the classroom teachers are.

In addition to teaching full-time, I'm studying part-time by distance education to be fully qualified as a primary teacher, to keep my future options open. I'm not sure how long my great job in the library will last. My job seems easy in comparison to my studies, which could quite easily fill my every waking hour, but I'm just managing it all, somehow. 

It's a big year of change for Emily, also. She's studying Events Management, and won a huge scholarship to pay for her course, for which we are very thankful. Her full-time course takes just two days a week at college, and she works occasionally in a part-time job. 

Laura is in Yr 11 this year, so need to be studying a lot more, and even Steve is doing some studies as part of his job. I'm still teaching piano, but not leading bible study this year. There's a lot of driving the girls to do in the evenings, to their various activities, and occasionally on the weekends we can fit in some driving lessons for them. 

So, as you can imagine, almost every moment of every day is filled, which is such a change for me after years of being mostly at home, choosing my activities, setting the pace. But God is good, and we are all coping, I am loving it all (except when I have assignments due) and I am thankful for these new challenges and opportunities for us all.