Oh hi. It's been a while.
Remember how in my last post I said I was still waiting for a job? Well, the wait is over. God has graciously provided me with a full-time Speech Pathologist position at a school. Ever since starting work (about two months ago), the days and weeks have just flown by. It's pretty unbelievable that we are already more than halfway through the year. It seemed like only a few days ago where I flipped my calendar into June (but we're already in August?!)
Blogging has been very sporadic this year. The past half of the year has lacked routine and I had been spending most of my time trying to find my feet as a newbie out of uni. Now that things have settled down a little bit, I thought I would provide an update on my new job and other things that I have been up to during the past few months that I have been away from my blog. (Just a forewarning, it's quite a wordy post).
After graduation, I had an inkling of where I wanted and didn't want to work. I was certain I would steer away from working in a school setting. But God is full of surprises and he has placed me in (you guessed it)...a school. I landed the job after one of my friends from uni messaged me about a school in Logan looking for a Speech Pathologist to join their team. Her uncle is the head of college so she had this information hot off the press. They've never had a Speech Pathologist before and I would be first and only one. Knowing that I would be a sole Speech Pathologist and also the role being in a school setting, I was hesitant. Ideally, I wanted to work alongside other Speech Pathologists so they could offer me advice and guidance as a new graduate. But I decided to take a leap whilst making sure I would be proactive in looking for mentorship from other sources. I also told myself that even though it wasn't my "dream" setting to work in, I knew that I would grow to love it.
I was quietly anxious about it all but after the first few days, some of the anxiety was dampened by how caring and welcoming everyone was. I got asked how I was finding things by at least one person each day and just as I thought I could quietly integrate myself into the community, someone wrote a huge welcome message on the whiteboard in the staff lunchroom for all to see. And just in the first month of working, there were three surprise parties for several staff members and it just showed me how generous and thoughtful this community that I had found myself in was.
Being the first and only Speech Pathologist meant that I had to lay the groundwork for basically everything. I had to order a whole lot of resources, set up a referral system for teachers, create alternate ways of doing things while I waited for resources to come, learn the existing system of how things operated and figure out how I could integrate into it...it all seemed like an overwhelming task. And while I still have many moments where I doubt myself and feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, it's been a great learning curve and I am feeling more and more comfortable and confident each day that I am there.
After spending more than a month assessing students and developing resources, I was finally able to start my therapy groups last week (yay!). Currently, I am working with students from Prep to Year 3 and boy, has it been interesting (and cute). Little people have such interesting and surprising things to say sometimes. My favourite part is getting random hugs and 'hi's from some of them throughout the day. Some also think I'm one of the Chinese teachers so I get a few "ni hao"s from time to time which is quite hilarious.
Working has sapped most of my energy nowadays but there have been pockets of time and weekends where I was able to kick back and do things I love. I was lucky enough to have a few days off during the school holidays to visit a new brunch spot, explore the quaint suburb of Graceville (from where the above photo was taken) and revisit a childhood memory of painting a pot. I also visited the Etsy markets yesterday and seeing creators and their handmade goods always tickles my itch of wanting to create my own goods. But alas, that day is yet to come.
It has also been a month of new music, with Oh Wonder releasing their second album (which I fall in love with a bit more every time I listen to it) and Yoste hosting their first official gig - which I was so glad I could be there for! I was very impressed by their opening act as well (i.e. T Scarlett).
I think I have officially broken my record of most words in a post, and with that said, I should probably stop it here. Hopefully I can provide another post soon :)
Now playing: Slip Away - Oh Wonder
After graduation, I had an inkling of where I wanted and didn't want to work. I was certain I would steer away from working in a school setting. But God is full of surprises and he has placed me in (you guessed it)...a school. I landed the job after one of my friends from uni messaged me about a school in Logan looking for a Speech Pathologist to join their team. Her uncle is the head of college so she had this information hot off the press. They've never had a Speech Pathologist before and I would be first and only one. Knowing that I would be a sole Speech Pathologist and also the role being in a school setting, I was hesitant. Ideally, I wanted to work alongside other Speech Pathologists so they could offer me advice and guidance as a new graduate. But I decided to take a leap whilst making sure I would be proactive in looking for mentorship from other sources. I also told myself that even though it wasn't my "dream" setting to work in, I knew that I would grow to love it.
I was quietly anxious about it all but after the first few days, some of the anxiety was dampened by how caring and welcoming everyone was. I got asked how I was finding things by at least one person each day and just as I thought I could quietly integrate myself into the community, someone wrote a huge welcome message on the whiteboard in the staff lunchroom for all to see. And just in the first month of working, there were three surprise parties for several staff members and it just showed me how generous and thoughtful this community that I had found myself in was.
Being the first and only Speech Pathologist meant that I had to lay the groundwork for basically everything. I had to order a whole lot of resources, set up a referral system for teachers, create alternate ways of doing things while I waited for resources to come, learn the existing system of how things operated and figure out how I could integrate into it...it all seemed like an overwhelming task. And while I still have many moments where I doubt myself and feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, it's been a great learning curve and I am feeling more and more comfortable and confident each day that I am there.
After spending more than a month assessing students and developing resources, I was finally able to start my therapy groups last week (yay!). Currently, I am working with students from Prep to Year 3 and boy, has it been interesting (and cute). Little people have such interesting and surprising things to say sometimes. My favourite part is getting random hugs and 'hi's from some of them throughout the day. Some also think I'm one of the Chinese teachers so I get a few "ni hao"s from time to time which is quite hilarious.
Working has sapped most of my energy nowadays but there have been pockets of time and weekends where I was able to kick back and do things I love. I was lucky enough to have a few days off during the school holidays to visit a new brunch spot, explore the quaint suburb of Graceville (from where the above photo was taken) and revisit a childhood memory of painting a pot. I also visited the Etsy markets yesterday and seeing creators and their handmade goods always tickles my itch of wanting to create my own goods. But alas, that day is yet to come.
It has also been a month of new music, with Oh Wonder releasing their second album (which I fall in love with a bit more every time I listen to it) and Yoste hosting their first official gig - which I was so glad I could be there for! I was very impressed by their opening act as well (i.e. T Scarlett).
I think I have officially broken my record of most words in a post, and with that said, I should probably stop it here. Hopefully I can provide another post soon :)
Now playing: Slip Away - Oh Wonder
First of all, many many heartiest congratulations on your job! Reading your blog, you seem really passionate towards your work. Best of luck for your future endeavors.
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