Week 1 - Orientation & Introduction to School (Ashwini and Felicia)

Monday, 6th May 2019

We made our way to school early in the morning to meet our Cooperating Teacher for the first time. The school that we were attached to, Punt, is located in Maur. Maur is a small village in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich. The school is about 10 to 15 minutes walk from our farmhouse. It is a German-speaking public school for children ranging from 4 years old to 12 years old. However, the Kindergarteners go to another building that is located a short distance away from the main school building for primary school students.

Punt, Maur (Primary)

Woodworking room

Main school building

Playground in the school

Ashwini is having some fun! 😄

Both Ashwini and I were attached to a class that consists of both 5th and 6th Graders. Due to the small population of students in Maur, the school had decided to have mixed levels classes. However, this is a unique characteristic of the school and it is not typical of all schools in Switzerland. Below are some pictures of how the classroom for 5th and 6th Graders look like:

Other facilities in the school:

Art room

Indoor sports hall/Gymnasium

Outdoor soccer court

Sandpit

Staff lounge

Staff lounge

School hours

School starts at 8.20am. On Mondays and Thursdays, school ends at 4.20pm whereas on Tuesdays and Fridays, school ends at 3.25pm. In Switzerland, all schools usually dismiss their students early on Wednesdays at around 11.55am.

On days that students go home later, they will have their lunch break from 11.55am to 1.45pm. During this time, all students would go back home to eat. For students whose parents are not at home, the school would make an arrangement for them to go to a cafe near the school to have their lunch. As for students who live far away from the school, there would be a school bus service to send them home and back to school.

Subjects

Students in Punt take various subjects such as German, French, Maths, Religion, Art, Sports, Music and Informatics. They also have a combined subject of World History, Geography and Biology altogether. English is taken as a subject only from 3rd Grade onwards. However, instead of learning the grammatical rules, the learning of English language is often integrated with other subjects such as Maths and Science. For instance, students learn how to tell time and name parts of a tree at 3rd and 4th Grade respectively. Our Cooperating Teacher (CT) explained that since English is their third language, the main objective of English lessons is for students to be able to understand the language. As such, there is not much emphasis placed on speaking and writing skillsSchool starts at 8.20am. On Mondays and Thursdays, school ends at 4.20pm whereas on Tuesdays and Fridays, school ends at 3.25pm. In Switzerland, all schools usually dismiss their students early on Wednesdays at around 11.55am.

Tuesday, 7th May 2019

After school, we went to Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zurich) to meet our student advisor, Christine as well as our mentor, Carola. Christine has been the point-of-contact for us when we were still in Singapore as she was in charge of all the administrative work and the arrangement of our homestay. The first meet up with her was very beneficial because she provided us with so much information about Switzerland, the places that we can visit and how to get around through the pamphlets, brochures and maps that she had given us. It was also really nice of her to arrange for us to meet up with a fellow Singaporean student, Cheryl who is currently studying in PH Zurich. Christine also invited us to join in an excursion to Mount Rigi that was organised by the school for exchange students on one of the weekends.

During the conversation with our mentor, she shared with us a little bit more about the education system here in Switzerland. We also discussed our goals for International Practicum and set aside a date for which she would come down to the school to observe our lessons.

This is us at PH Zurich.

From left to right - Ashwini, Felicia, Carola, Christine

Thereafter, we went to have dinner at Holy Cow! with Cheryl. It is a very heartwarming feeling to be able to find a fellow Singaporean in Switzerland. Cheryl was very helpful as she shared with us so many tips and pieces of advice. She would also text us occasionally to check that we are doing well in Switzerland.

We had burgers at Holy Cow! as recommended by Cheryl for the cheap student meal!

Wednesday, 8th May 2019

We were lucky to have met a replacement teacher, Maiko, in Punt who has taught in the Swiss School in Singapore for 2 years. There was an instant connection when we first met because of how she also misses Singapore and all the local delicacies so so much. We had a great time talking to her about Singapore. She even agreed to bring us around Switzerland and try the Asian food there because she understood how we felt being in a foreign country. She was like a mother to us, making us feel so comforted despite being away from home.

Maiko brought us to a Chinese restaurant (Suan Long) in Uster, the place where she lives, for lunch.

After lunch, she brought us to a supermarket in the neighbourhood where we could buy some Asian groceries.

Thereafter, we went to Lindenhof, River Limmat and Grossmunster church.

We stopped by a cafe to have some hot chocolate in the cold weather before exploring the place a little more.

This is us with foam moustache! :)

Finally, after a long day of walking, we went to Zeughauskeller for dinner. Built in 1487, the restaurant showcases old medieval weapons. We ate traditional Swiss dishes.

Fret not, we were drinking apple juice and not beer! :p

Tuesday, 7th May 2019 to Friday, 10th May 2019

Throughout the week, we sat in class to observe the way our Cooperating Teacher (CT) conducts her lessons. Since the lessons were mostly conducted in German, we had difficulty trying to understand what she was teaching. However, the students were very helpful as they tried their best to explain to us what was going on in class. We would also try our best to help our students with their classwork whenever possible, especially for English lessons. Towards the end of the week, our CT arranged for us to observe the 3rd and 4th Grade English lessons taught by other teachers.

Sunday, 12th May 2019

In the morning, we wanted to explore our neighbourhood a little. We decided to visit Badi, Maur - a lake nearby our house that we saw on the way from the airport to home. As were walking there, we chanced upon some interesting sculptures.

In the afternoon, we met up with Yu Pin, Wen Xin and Evangeline as we had a plan to explore the town of Rapperswil. It was a 2.5 hrs boat ride from Burklichplatz across Lake Zurich. Over there, we saw the castle, chapel and many more.