Thursday, March 27, 2008

Downhill skiers

I've been so wrapped up in the whole job search this week, that everything else has been put on the back burner.

But, I felt I should publish these pictures from Easter vacation. On Saturday we went to the little ski hill 5 minutes from our cabin. They were having a race which anyone could take part in. Espen was a bit too cool, but Anders and Johan were into it. I forgot my camera at home, so these pictures are taken with the camera on my phone. Better than nothing, though. The weather was absolutely gorgeous that day, and we had a really good time!







I have a job!

I finally made a decision - I called the principal at Ekeberg school today and accepted his offer of a job there! They were the first school to offer me a job (and my first interview). In the meantime, I've been to interviews at 4 other schools and gotten one other official offer (and would most likely have gotten offers from the other schools as well). The school that offered me a job yesterday was a junior high. They wanted me to teach English and Norwegian. I had to really decide if I wanted to be at junior high or elementary school. And the fact that there is less grading at the elementary level (they don't get grades until 8th grade in Norway) was a big factor. What finally made me decide that this was the right place, however, was the fact that whenever I mentioned Ekeberg school, people were just going on and on about what a great school it was and how the teachers were all so nice. I decided that that is what matters more than anything else.

Ekeberg is an elementary school. At this point, they're not sure which grade(s) I will be teaching, but the principal said that they will have decided within the next month. I am so excited! I feel really good about having accepted this job. I know people who have worked as substitutes at the school and who have done their student teaching there and everyone really seems to like it.

And it is so nice not to have to think about it anymore!!!!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

St. Patrick's Day



Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day - and we had green cupcakes!

This week is Easter vacation in Norway - no school for anyone. Gaute is working this week, but Thursday through Monday are national holidays here - all stores are closed and no one works. So, we're off Wednesday evening to our cabin. Lots of snow up there so we're going to get in some last skiing for the season.

Here in Oslo, it's not very wintry, though. Although it is pretty chilly (below freezing at night), we have no snow, and we took out the trampoline over the weekend. Which is always the best sign of spring around here!



Monday, March 17, 2008

Second-graders


Johan has had a loose front tooth for a while. After a lot of wiggling and pulling, it finally came out Friday night.

On Saturday, his best friend Alexander came over - and he was missing the same front tooth as Johan. The two of them looked so cute together!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

More about jobs

Today I had another great job interview. I was very happy with this school, too. They were very interested in having me work there, although they couldn't officially offer me the job yet. Although they did let me know that if I got offered a job somewhere else, I should let them know, and they could probably arrange something...

And, what do you know, this afternoon I got a call from the principal at the first school where I had an interview on Tuesday, and they offered me a job! I was more surprised than anything else. I thought the interview went pretty well, but they didn't seem that enthusiastic. Plus, they had gotten 65 applications...But, now I have an official offer from that school. I'm pretty sure that I'd rather work at one of the schools I interviewed with yesterday and today, though. And next week is Easter vacation here. So, tomorrow I think I need to decide which of those schools I liked best and then call them and tell them the situation. If I'm not going to take the job, then I'd like to let the school know as soon as possible so that they can offer it to someone else. It's really exciting, but it's making it hard for me to concentrate on anything else!

And I have a paper due tomorrow that I haven't even started on. So, now it's time to get going on that...could be a long night!

Litt av hvert

Just a few things -

Korsvoll school had a dodgeball tournament for the oldest kids, and Anders' class made it to the final round yesterday - the first time a 4th grade class has ever made it to the final! They lost the game to the 7th graders they were playing against (not Espen's class), but it was extremely close. The 7th graders all came up to them afterwards and congratulated them and said they had played really well. And the 4th graders walked around with huge grins on their faces for the rest of the day!

On Tuesday, Lynus Club had a big kick-off since the Norwegian football season starts at the end of the month. The kids got pizza and they got to meet all of the players in this season's lineup. Big excitement! They made a video and put it up on their website. If you look carefully you can see Anders, Johan and me. Espen was their, too, but he was a bit too cool to be walking around with us.

I took Espen to the orthodontist today. Last time he was at the dentist, she recommended that we make an appointment for him with an orthodontist since his bite was a bit off on one side in the back. The orthodontist said that the problem was minimal, and that he might not need braces at all, but if he does it will only be on a few back teeth. Espen was very happy - I guess he thought that he was going to walk out of their today with a full set of braces on his teeth.

I had a great interview yesterday. I really liked the school a lot, and it seems like they really liked me. They said that they'll let me know either way on the 28th of March. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. But- I have another interview in a few minutes with another school which also seems really good, so we'll see what happens....

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

One interview down

I had my first job interview today. I think it was my first job interview ever, actually. All of the jobs I've had before have been jobs that I've gotten through other people.

I think it went pretty well. The interviewers were friendly and nice, and I got a good impression of the school through them. I wish I could have seen a bit of the school, though. They had allotted a half hour for the interview, and there was someone waiting to come in after me, so there was no chance to get shown a little bit around the school. They said they're going to make their decision in a couple of weeks, so we'll see what happens.

Yesterday I got two more phone calls from schools that want me to come in for interviews. One tomorrow, one on Thursday and then one the week after Easter. They all seem like good schools, so I'm pretty excited. After going to this interview today, I can't wait to go to more interviews.

Mini-cello concert


The Norwegian government has been sponsoring various cultural events for the schools the past few years - sending kids to concerts and theaters, as well as sending instructors to the schools. This winter, they've had music instructors for the first graders. They're learning how to play "mini-instruments" and then having concerts where they show off what they've learned. They only have two practices before the concert, and I think they did a great job. The kids think it is so much fun to play a real instrument, and they think it's extra cool that their parents come to the concert.

I took some videos, but it seems that Blogger is having some problems uploading them right now. I'll try to post them later.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Another interview...

I got up this morning and checked my e-mail, and there was a message from the principal of another school who wanted me to call him today and arrange a time for an interview. Yippee!

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Football game

Here are some cool pictures from Espen's football game yesterday. His coach made him captain of the team!! And they won - 14-1...



Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Interview :-)

I just got a call from the principal at one of the schools I applied at - and he wants me to come in for an interview on Tuesday. He said they had gotten between 60-70 applications, but that they thought it was interesting that I had gone back to school as an "adult". With the first couple of jobs I applied for, I sent a cover letter which was less than impressive, but I got my act together and sent some great cover letters with the later applications. This school was one of the ones which had a good letter.

I'm so excited - and this gives me a lot of hope that I will be getting more phone calls soon...Most of the schools I've applied for don't have deadlines until the end of the month.

Now I need to read up on this school so I can say something smart at the interview!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Springish

It's 8:30 in the morning, and it's pretty cold right now (23 degrees F), but it's light out and the snow is pretty much all gone. Anders went to school with tennis shoes for the first time since November (although I don't think he realized how cold it was...), and Espen rode his bike to school for the first time since last fall.

It's not true spring yet - too cold for that - but it's so nice to wake up at 6:30 and have the sun shining!!