NaNa Toulouse: Résultats de la recherche pour geraldine

Teachers, it's our time! #summerbreak

Remember back in August, when I wrote about teachers going back to school? I was happy to go back, but OH LAWD am I ever happy that it’s June!

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High school teachers, we have it good. Yes, we often deal with rude, antsy teenagers. We listen to the broken hearted. We encounter unimaginable spelling mistakes and geography mishaps (“But miss, Afrika is a country.”) But when June rolls around, our teaching days are numbered, and our freedom is renewed! * angels singing * Exam supervision for a few hours, and the rest of the day to finish off corrections, enter our marks, have sangria… It’s simply beautiful! (Extra special mention: God bless elementary school teachers, who spend the entire month of June with their students in hot classrooms. Honestly, hats off!)

We all seem to have that sense of accomplishment: we made it out of the trenches; another year is over. It’s time to relax and catch up on hobbies you can’t do during the school year (Hello, learning German!) Honestly, summer is also the best time to get some planning done. Sounds a little crazy, working when you don’t have to, but being proactive (even just a little bit) alleviates some of the stress during the school year.

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As the year was winding down, some students asked me how I felt. I calmly answered that I was looking forward to the end of the year, but what I was really thinking was “Schooooooooool’s out for summer!” We’re likely more excited for summer than the students are. The young don’t appreciate free time as much as adults do, and that’s a fact.

Ya, I’ll miss the sweet students I taught this year. They might cross my mind as I leisurely stroll through a market on a weekday morning. I might think of them as take a road trip with friends. I might even bump into them at the mall. All I can say is that summer break is finally here, and I’m very, very happy.

Bonnes vacances to all you hard working teachers! Cheers to the summertime!

Geraldine xoxo

Géraldine, collaboratrice du mardi matin
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Géraldine est une professeure d'école secondaire, elle est aussi une de mes amies les plus chères. Fan finie de médias sociaux, Instagram est de loin son préféré d'entre tous. Le mardi matin, elle nous présente ses trouvailles de la semaine et ce, toujours dans la langue de Shakespeare! C'est un rendez-vous! Suivez-la sous @geraldinea pour en découvrir davantage sur elle!

juin 17, 2014
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#Lunchbox motivation!

Bouffe

Ask any teacher what their favourite part of the workday is, and many of them will answer lunch! It’s a time to unwind, catch up with colleagues, and, of course, eat! In my opinion, lunch HAS to be delicious and nutritious. Honestly, for years, I was bringing the same old sandwich to work. I never knew how depressing that was until a colleague of mine, who always had amazing lunches, said: “I have to have a good lunch, or else there’s nothing to look forward to in my workday.” It’s like she flipped a light switch in my brain. A good lunch = motivation and happiness!

In the last two years, my lunches have been the object of admiration of my colleagues, and I’m filled with pride! Working in a school, lunchtime is limited to a maximum of 50 minutes. Our choices are also limited in terms of what to eat: the cafeteria is now free of French fries and soda (good) but cold pizza and the tiniest portion of salad is not what I call motivating.

What’s for lunch today? I prepared a BIG GREEN SALAD: arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, avocado, and chia seeds. I don’t really like store bought dressing (usually because I’ll end up pouring the entire bottle,) so I use olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Then there’s a mini V8, some pieces of cantaloupe and a vanilla yogurt. It might not look like much, but a heavy lunch is never a good idea. I can never work properly when I eat heavy because all I want to do is sleep! Total prep time: 20 minutes. It may seem like a lot, but when I think about how excited I’ll be to eat the next day, it’s all worth it. Down with boring lunches! What are you having today? Make it a good one :)

Geraldine xoxo

Géraldine, collaboratrice du mardi matin
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avril 22, 2014
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#duolingo: The funnest way to learn a new language!

découverte

I want to learn German. I always have been interested in learning this foreign language, but I never was ready to invest much time or money. It was mainly rooted in curiosity, and possibly mixed in with my deep interest in history. Well, a few weeks ago, my friend Stacey introduced me to the most amazing website and smartphone app to learn a new language: Duo Lingo!

By signing up to this free site, you have access to an electronic language course, to be used at your convenience. Let me tell you, it does not feel like sitting in a language class! It’s like you’re playing a computer game, but it’s actually rewarding! (Unlike many time-wasting games which will remain unnamed, but that are cavity inducing…) In the week that I tried it (and I used it several times each day), I have learned many basics of the German language, and it was almost completely effortless.

The beauty behind this app is that it is designed so that people who are users of these languages can share their knowledge with others. For example, when playing one of the games, and you aren’t sure why an answer is wrong, then there are discussion boards for "teachers" to explain certain intricacies of the language. It’s really well done!

What languages can you learn? Well, the “popular” languages are available (French, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese), while other languages are “hatching” (meaning that they are in the process of building a community of language learners and teachers.)

I can sincerely say that one of my goals this summer is to actually be able to read German, and possibly even speak it. No, I’m not going to Germany anytime soon, but I feel like this is the kind of challenge that I can enjoy while sitting on a lawn chair in the sun, with a nice cold bier in my hand ;)

Geraldine xoxo

Géraldine, collaboratrice du mardi matin
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