Jeans?

Yesterday I had a great time shopping in Watertown and going out for lunch with my Dad. Luckily my passport came back to me in time! I've been looking for some new pieces for my 'Teacher Wardrobe". I managed to find 3 nice pairs of dark wash jeans. I would like to hear the opinion of some of you who have been in the profession for a while, dark wash jeans - are these 'professional' enough to wear to work?

Today I've been working on more paperwork(When will it end?!). I scanned a number of documents including my diplomas and Visa to send to my agency, as well as application forms for my umbrella pay roll company. Due to the fact that I will essentially be a kind of 'free lance' worker under my teaching agency I need to sign up with an umbrella corporation to handle my pay roll and such. The good thing about this is that they help you get a number of deductions from your taxes (while overseas I will be responsible for paying UK taxes)including travel and accommodations. As well, the company helps to quickly set up a UK bank account for me. This is very helpful as opening a new bank account in a foreign country can be quite an ordeal(essentially, you need proof of a UK address to open the bank account, and in order to rent a flat you need to show proof of having a bank account!).

Today I also want to start scanning some of my resources to have digital copies when I go to the UK. Books can be super heavy, so instead I am planning on taking a few small hard drives with my essential school resources on them to print off when I need them. I just need to find the motivation to sit at the scanner for a few hours to get it done.

Visa's In

This morning my UK Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa was delivered to my door. Now, not only can I finish filling out my paperwork, but I can now start looking seriously at flat rentals.

Yesterday I made a trip to Chapters to pick up the book Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall to go along with Second Grade Sugar and Spice's supply teacher package on TPT. It contains a number of worksheets to use for your supply teacher, or if you are a supply teacher (like I will be) and you are left without plans, or end up having extra time. The worksheets have the students compare their class with Miss Nelson's class, and among other activities have the students develop a create story about what their teacher is doing while they are away from school. I'm hoping that this will prove to be a useful resource for me.

I've been trying to get through some of my resource books before September because they are too heavy to pack and take with me. At the gym yesterday I began reading The First-Year Teacher's Survival Guide: Ready-to-Use Strategies, Tools & Activities for Meeting the Challenges of Each School Day by Julia G. Thompson. It's an informative book that includes self tests so you can see where you stand with your skills. It is an American book, so not everything inside is applicable, but it is still a good resource for the basics.