A fellow teacher candidate and I, both with Intermediate/Senior specializations, had the unique privilege of conducting a practicum at Talbot Trail Public School to not only co-teach in an elementary school environment, but to also observe what takes place as the end of the school years approaches. My colleague and I worked together to engage a classroom of Grade 7 students in interactive lessons; for example, my colleague coordinated a lesson related to Canada’s 15oth anniversary while I facilitated a visual arts lesson, introducing students to the ceremonial purpose of paper folding in Chinese culture.

Our practicum of a few weeks culminated in gifts in the form of Canada cookie decorating kits (no doubt a reference to the Canada 150th anniversary lesson) and a card, signed by all of the Grade 7 student, which read:

Dear Miss N and Miss D, 

We are so thankful for you coming to our classroom! You did such a good job teaching and you will definitely be missed. We wish you guys the best in your future! Hopefully you get students as funny and cool as us!

These tokens of gratitude were more than just thoughtful, they were insightful. While the card’s message provided an overall assurance that I performed well as a teacher, both the card and the gift propelled me to reflect on my entire experience in this classroom in further detail. I learned that it is possible to engage students in interactive lessons that not only address curriculum expectations, but also keep them interested in learning activities even when the end of the school year approaching may not motivate them to. Interacting with students, no matter for how long, is key to establish a rapport with students and increasing the chances of them responding well to lessons. Such a reflection on my practicum at this school has allowed me to further develop my professional practise as a teacher in preparation for teaching future students.