Holidays are here again!

Greetings, dear readers

Good heavens, how the last few months have flown! After another long pause due to the busyness of the season, I finally have time to sit down and write out a blog entry. There is a lot to cover, so I will try and keep this post brief and relevant to the most important information, and any other information will be included in later posts.

The first key piece of news is that I have completed the Postgraduate Diploma of the Master of Teaching (Secondary). I submitted my final assessment on Monday evening, and am now waiting for my provisional registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). Although there were a few hiccups along the way, I am pleased to say that my final placement at Vermont Secondary College was a successful mission. My mentors' feedback and marks in their final reports were better than I expected.

A couple of weeks ago, I returned to my old school, Donvale Christian College, to have an informal interview with my old Maths teacher, who is now the co-Head of Secondary. The interview was to discuss the prospect of coming back to work as a casual relief teacher next year. The interview went well, as Mr Kay said he would be happy for me to return as a teacher.

In light of my likely situation, I figured that I might as well finish the final 50 points of coursework (to obtain the Master) next year, and preferably before I land a full-time position. There are three streams offered next year: 1) Research; 2) Induction; and 3) Professional Development, which I have chosen. This enables me to specialize in an area of interest, and can be done full-time over one semester, or part-time over two semesters. Given how much I struggled under a full-time load last year, I think the latter option might be the way to go. I have until Friday December 14 to confirm my subjects, but the sooner I can enrol the better.

Last night, the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE) had its annual ball at San Remo Ballroom on Nicholson Street in Carlton North. The theme this year (somewhat appropriate in more ways than one) was 007 with the corny tag License to Teach. My mission for the evening, dressed in a nice hired tuxedo (see picture), was to host two very attractive young ladies: Sophie, a friend of mine who is about to complete a PhD at Melbourne Uni in politics, and her younger sister, Chloe, who has applied for next year's Master of Teaching (Secondary) program. To keep things short, Sophie, Chloe and I had a wonderful evening, thus allowing me to say "Mission Accomplished". I can hardly wait to catch up with them over the summer break once they return from holiday in Thailand.

With Christmas now not too far around the corner, I will talk more about that and other things in my next post.

Cheers and God bless,