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During my practicum experience, I observed that the students are extremely diverse and have distinct life experiences. Despite their differences, the students seem to share a strong sense of community and togetherness. Many of the students in my class and their families experience financial difficulties and food insecurity which often influences the students' behavior. Fortunately, the school facilitates a daily snack program as they recognize active learning and engagement cannot be done on an empty stomach. Student behaviour can be challenging, however, I have built strong relationships with the students and their families - which is extremely rewarding.

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Something I have noticed about my practicum school is the diverse families that attend the school. Not only in my class, but in the school as a whole. In my class, there are three students who are ELL and one student with ASD. This does not change the way students interact with each other, even in grade one they are continuously helping and supporting one another. It has been rewarding to see the community that has been built amongst the students, families and staff at the school. My mentor teacher is in constant communication with the families in our class. If there is something that she deems urgent, she will email the parents during the day. Otherwise, she will talk to parents at drop off and pick up about their child's progress and what they did throughout the day.

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In my practicum school, I noticed that the students come from diverse families. There is a strong sense of community in the school and there are many ways that students are involved, in announcements, during recess, clubs, and so on. Families freely converse with teachers before school building great relationships. I noticed that there are many students and teachers in the schools so it may be hard to feel like a community if you haven't connected with a lot of the other members. I have found it rewarding to see how my Mentor Teacher is able to interact with all the different students and differentiates learning between them but in a way that doesn't alienate them.

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In my practicum school I have noticed that the families and students that attend the school are all coming from diverse backgrounds. A lot of our school community is composed of new immigrant families who are looking to get on their feet and then move to different areas as many of the students who go to the school are typically only there for a year or two. Something that I am struggling with is learning about the socioeconomic status or living situations that some of the students face. My mentor teacher and I do as much as we can such as providing clean clothes and winter gear to students along with sending students home with extra snack but it is hard to not want to do more for the students who need it. What we can do is provide resources and supports for the families but at times they are not utilized. Something that has been rewarding is connecting some families to my community placement so that they can take advantage of the free support that is available in their neighbourhood!

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In my practicum school, I have noticed that the community is made up of a very diverse group of people. The students are diverse not only in culture, language, and race, but in socioeconomic status. This has been a form of some conflict within the classroom that I am placed but my MT did a wonderful job of facilitating a talking circle in which these issues were addressed. I found that the students felt quite comfortable opening up not only to the teacher, but to each other. This tells me they feel safe in the environment, even when needing to deal with difficult situations. I feel like being different/having a lot of people with a lot of different life experiences can sometimes make it difficult to understand each other, but through communication, they have had the opportunity to see all of the ways they are also alike one another.

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In my practicum I have noticed that students and their families come from diverse backgrounds, nonetheless, there is a great sense of community, connection, and belonging. Students and their families are highly connected to each other as many of them live closely and participate in activities within and outside school together. A community centre is located right next to the school, so many students attend extra-curricular activities after school, such as arts and swimming classes. I have noticed that this establishes positive relationships between individuals but also at the community level. One thing I found to be difficult in my school community is building trustful relationships. As said, a bond of relationship had been forged between them, and as a new person coming from outside their community, it is oftentimes difficult to build a stronger relationship with them. However, this also has been rewarding as I am able to learn about different people and community and see and hear their thoughts.

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At my school practicum I have noticed that there are diverse children that belongs to different race, culture and religion. I noticed that the community school is in has low income families where parents are busy working and providing care to their children. The school provides snacks for students which is a great way to help those families who have hard time providing snacks to their children and it is nice to see everyone has the same snacks. It is hard to connect with the parents at my school because not every parent can pick up their children because of their work schedule they go to childcare or home daycare. Also, I can tell if the child is working on his academic abilities at home or not or what kind of families they have been surrounded with through their behaviour in the class. It is rewarding that school supports the families in the community by helping them in terms of providing snacks for students, and external supports that they need for example, for the new comers language support.

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My current placement is at nelson mandela public school and the main thing I have noticed is how connected the school is to the community. This school is heavily involved in community outreach programs, before and after schools and other activities. This school also has a snack program in place which all students have a chance to partake in. This program is called the student nutrition program, this program is in place in order to give students in the community who are at risk for poor nutritional intake to have access to healthy and nutritious food throughout the day. The school is also placing a big emphasis on anti racism by being inclusive of indigenous, black and POC children. The school celebrates all backgrounds and diversity in the school. The school has a room where muslim students can pray, they are currently celebrating and learning about black history month and also celebrated Chinese new years by having a buffet as a whole school.

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One thing I have noticed in my practicum school is how inclusive the school community is in its practices. I have noticed a lot of support and engagement in Indigenous ways of knowing and being and the continuous ways the school is learning together and taking into account our Land. What I have found to be rewarding so far is seeing my lesson plans be put into action and getting to see that students are enjoying and understanding the concepts. What I have found to be most challenging so far is classroom management. However, I continue to try my best and observe my MT to pick up on her techniques/strategies to support me when I engage in lessons with the students.

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During my practicum, I have observed a strong connection between the school and the surrounding community. It is evident that many students share a close bond with both the school and the community, whether it's through activities within the school or outside in the community. Adjacent to my placement school is a community center where students frequently attend extra-curricular activities after school, and their enthusiasm demonstrates the positive impact of such engagement on community relationships. Additionally, the school has a designated prayer room for Muslim students, and I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the meaningful way in which students were able to freely express themselves. Overall, I find it rewarding to see how the community has enriched the school experience. Some challenges that i've noticed is some of the divide that can occur between students. I think it is an issue that has been addressed by the teachers within the school but its still something that may affect the school environment at times. Despite this, it's been rewarding to see all the different students and watch they're learning.

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I noticed quite a few things from my school practicum. One of the first things I noticed was the need for me to be even more engaged in the community. They were meeting me into the school year. In this sense it was difficult to make some connections because the students were already comfortable with each other.

My mentor teacher is also currently on a leave of absence so the teacher in the classroom has an LTO and is with me long term, which is good. She lets me know some of the things that the students go through and this gives me a lot of context of their expectations as well as how to teach.

There is a lot of diversity in the classroom which is very nice to see. I feel like I belong and because of my hard work, I now have established connections with the students. It was actually very wonderful to hear from my mentor teacher that the students were asking about me during reading week. I was happy to know they notice when I am gone because it shows I impacted them.

One thing I wish I had more of was parent interaction. I have tried staying back after school but because my teacher does not dismiss the students on the days I am there, this makes things particularly difficult.
Another thing I did notice was that the students are more accustomed to life downtown. The school I am at is downtown and the students are aware of some of the things that happen like people trying to take students. This actually happened recently so the entire school added more security rules for dropping and picking students up.

In all this, I must say that the most rewarding thing has been establishing trust with the students. I feel as though they see me as a person they can go to when they need help. This brings a strong joy to my heart.

For the block of placement, the positive will be that I will be there every day and also on days that I will be able to engage with parents. I was able to talk to parents often at my prior placement so I do look forward to this opportunity. All in all, I can say that I appreciate being a part of such a diverse community!

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At my current practicum school and more specifically in my current placement classroom there are 3 students that come from the local shelter as well as students that come from more privileged backgrounds. I have learned from the students that this does not make a difference for them, everyone sees each other for who they are and not from where they come from. The community that my practicum school is located is definitely on the cusp of mid to low income. One aspect of my school that has been difficult is definitely figuring out how to plan lessons for students that live in shelters and being mindful of what they face on a daily basis. However, on the other hand this has also been rewarding because I am always surprised by the resilience those students have when they come to school.

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At my practicum school, I have noticed that there is lots of diversity in terms of who teaches in, and attends the school. From the students and family, I have learned the importance of creating a bridge from the classroom to home environment. I have been able to see the difference when a parents works with their child at home, versus when they do not. An aspect of the community that has been difficult is that since the school is located in a lower economic area, many parents are busy working, so it can be hard to get them to complete homework with their children and provide support. Although, seeing the children develop and grow is a big reward.

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At my practicum school, it has been rewarding and refreshing to see that students come from diverse communities. One thing I have noticed is that my MT places a lot of emphasis on building relationships with parents. My MT engages in short conversations during dismissal time especially to inform parents on their child's progress and behaviour. She maintains constant communication with the parents of students who might be experiencing any sort of difficulty. For example, if a student is having difficulty in reading, she ensures that she informs the parent of any progress on a daily basis and to let parents know that they also need put in extra effort at home so that there is constant progression. Likewise if a student is having difficulty behaving, my MT and the parents will discuss any strategies that should be implemented, both at home and at school.

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In my current practicum school, I’ve learned a lot about the families I’ve grown to know. I’ve noticed that the school community itself is lucky to have a strong support system from parents when it comes to providing donations and funding to contribute to the schools new equipment, resources, and facilities for faculty members and students to enjoy. However, I’ve also paid close attention to the other side of things within this particular school community as well. We have a few families who live in the local shelter down the street from the school. A student in my classroom who’s only four years old is from the shelter. It’s been rewarding to be able to provide him with some positive experiences in the classroom. It can sometimes be challenging to face the lives that some of our students may be enduring beyond school hours. However, I’ve learned that it is important to recognize this, as our support as teachers provides students with a sense of security and trust knowing that they can safely build close connections with those around them in their school environment.

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One thing that I noticed during my practicum school experience is that the students all come from different backgrounds and experiences but there is a great sense of community. As the students and their families all live in apartment complexes that are close to the school. Many families are of low socioeconomic status and this has influenced the behaviour of the students and the way that the school operates. As the school is fortunate to offer a snack program that contains one fruit and one other grain product every day for all students. The behaviour of the students can be challenging as it is hard to find a balance of what to say and how to diffuse situations properly. But it has allowed me to grow as an educator as I can see different solutions to problems and hear different people’s opinions and ideas.

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In my current school practicum, I noticed two main groups of families; we have students who come from shelters and require additional support, as well as those who are coming from more privileged neighbourhoods. Having these two types of families in my school practicum, I sometimes find it challenging to address different situations happening in the classroom. I am still learning how to balance this type of classroom environment without dismissing any student concerns despite their familial circumstances. Given that the neighbourhood of the school is not safest and best influence for children, I have encountered several behavioural concerns. This led to after school meeting with parents which my mentor teacher allowed me to take part of. Although these are challenging to balance, it is also rewarding as part of my teaching practice.

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At my practicum school for the winter semester, I noticed and was informed by my mentor teacher that many of the teachers, students, and families know each other from past experiences and that they live very close to each other. All of the grade 3 students in my classroom have been in the same classroom together and their families closely connected with each other for many years, they are also connected with my mentor in a professional sense of understanding and connections as community members.

One thing I found really well in my placement was that the teachers are very supportive with each other and always work together to share teaching anecdotes, strategies, notes, and ways in which they can approach their lessons to support their students. By communicating closely and working together on projects, my placement school's teachers develop a democratic system that is supportive and collaborative.

One thing I found that I was struggling with is to feel welcomed within this group, as I often struggle with feeling included as a third-party member from a team that is very familiar with each other. I often greet other teachers with respect, but always find it difficult to engage in conversation unless if relevant to teaching or fulfilling tasks.

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During my practicum at a school, I have observed that many of the teachers share a similar background with their students. In my classroom, I have noticed that approximately 75% of the students come from a Punjabi background, as does my mentor teacher. Through conversations with my mentor, I am learning a great deal about Punjabi culture and how to communicate and interact effectively with my students and their families. I am also working to understand the different types of authority that students are used to, while trying to give them a voice to provide feedback and share their knowledge.

One aspect that has been challenging for the school community is the level of involvement of families in the school system. Many parents volunteer for after-school programs or even work at the school. Although it is great to see parents taking an active interest in their children's education, it can be intimidating to have them watching me lead a lesson, and to feel like I might be scrutinized for making a mistake. However, I appreciate the dedication that the parents have for their children's education, and I will continue to strive to build positive relationships with them.

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One thing I noticed in my practicum school is how supportive everyone in the enviornment is to each other. Whether it may be through seeking guidance or support from another teacher or getting extra supplies, the staff is always open to support at any time. As well, another one is how well they communicate with one another. This can also be seen between the parents as sometimes I notice in the students agendas the parent writing little thank you messages for my MT. This is also observed during dismismial as sometimes parents may come to my MT and talk about things that are unrelated to school; this has allowed me to realize how important relationship building is. What I found to be most rewarding so far is having students potential come out. There is a student in my class who is always quiet and keeps to herself but when working with her 1on1, I see how brilliant and creative she is which is something she never shows at all. It has been rewarding to see how when a students trust you, everything goes so well. One thing I find to be quite difficult is 'dealing' with those students who sometimes show a tough personality and shrug off things you say. Rather than fighting fire with fire I would want to learn how to face such students who talk back etc and create good communication.

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I have noticed there is a strong emphasis on respect and kindness within my practicum school. Teachers constantly look out for their co-workers, their students, and other staff in the building. The school community is very well knit together and value each other. I have not noticed much familial interaction with students in the school, perhaps because I only see their interactions for under 5 minutes a day during entry and dismissal. The teacher-parent relationship however is very good, especially in my classroom, where my MT is always in communication with parents regarding students’ progress and success. Something that has been difficult is engaging students who have learning disabilities and those who are not at school as often due to different reasons. For example, there is one student who has high-functioning autism, and although is capable to complete all tasks, it is very difficult for him to engage in a whole group lesson. It has been rewarding to work with students and seeing them get excited when I am teaching a lesson, and be proud of themselves when they achieve a new skill. Some challenges that others may face or are facing include lack of inclusivity, racism and discrimination (either from students or staff), and difficulty with classroom management.

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At my practicum school, I noticed that the community is very close-knit as it is located around many apartment complexes. The school has a great sense of belonging and highly promotes diversity. Something that I learned during my first day at practicum is that the students and families undergo significant stress and family and financial hardships. Most of all the families are of low socioeconomic status and are racialized minorities. I have seen how strongly this impact their learning as many students show signs of anxiety and periods of sadness, which makes it hard for them to focus in class. This has been a difficult aspect for me to learn how to help these students and ensure they feel comfortable at school. One thing that has been rewarding is seeing students who do not participate in the learning with the class, participate and develop an interest for learning. I work with many students with special needs and behavioural problems who are uninvolved in the class learning, so seeing them participate, even if it is just for 1 or 2 periods is a huge accomplishment. Building trusting relationships with them and reflecting their interests and identities into the lessons helped to get them engaged in the learning. These students are now more comfortable with me because I got to truly know them and created lessons and activities that they will enjoy.

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At my practicum I found that the families inside the community are quite close and familiar with each other. With the school being in the middle of many large apartment complexes, I found that many families have a greater sense of belonging and connectedness compared to other school’s I have seen. I also have found the effects of socioeconomic status being a prevalent factor in some educators' decisions in how they facilitate their approach to teaching. Mostly having heard that many may not give some children the opportunity to thrive. Hearing comments through the grapevine may be the most difficult to hear as a becoming teacher. As we navigate our way through new environments every few months, we continue to see older habits and perspectives solidify themselves within the educational environment and make it difficult to break away. Getting to know these students, I know that during this practicum block will have its challenges, but I think that so far has been rewarding in seeing students have an opportunity to experience new ways of learning with newer teachers to make a classroom environment less monotonous and more engaging. I am able to use these situations to find my own identity and create experiences that resonate with them and take into consideration their feedback.