Ciara Lynch is a primary school teacher from Cork, who graduated from Mary I with a ‘B.Ed with Music’.

Since starting teaching, Ciara has worked in Community National, denominational and Educate Together schools in both Dublin and Cork.  Last year, Ciara set up her Instagram page @ciarasclassroom as a way of learning from other teachers, sharing ideas of her own and connecting with other teachers across the country and world.

My alarm goes off…

at 7am and my day begins.  I get ready for work, have breakfast, pack my lunch and am on the road for about 7:40.  I don’t live too far away from school so I am usually in my classroom just after 8am.  Although school doesn’t start until 8:50, I like to get in a little early and get a few jobs done before my class arrives.

I am responsible for…

my class of 27 Senior Infants.  Having spent the past few years teaching Third Class, it has been quite an adjustment but I’m really enjoying being back on the infant corridor this year.  I am responsible for ensuring that all of the boys and girls in my class feel welcomed, safe, represented, happy and appreciated in our classroom.  I am also responsible for making sure that each individual learner’s needs and abilities are catered for in my classroom, so that all students are supported to achieve their own potential.

My typical day…

with my class starts with me welcoming each of the boys and girls in my class individually at my classroom door.  I think it’s so important to give that little bit of time to welcome each child by name and create a really positive, community atmosphere in the classroom.  During the morning session of the day, I usually teach Irish, maths and two other subjects (these vary depending on the day).  We are really lucky in my school to have a lot of in-class support time, so I have two teachers come in for ‘Ready Set Go Maths’ three days a week.  We also have our SET teacher for in-class support for a lot of our reading, writing and art lessons.  Every day after the first break, we have literacy and Aistear.  As I teach infants, we only have 30 minutes left after the second break before home time, so we usually use this time for ‘Learn Together’ (the ethical education programme in Educate Together schools) and tidying up for home.  At 1:30, the boys and girls are collected by parents and minders etc from our classroom.  As each child is collected, they chose what ‘goodbye’ they would like to do with me e.g. high five, handshake, mini-dance, wave.  Once all of my students have gone home, I have a quick chat with the other Senior Infants teacher and/or our SNA and SET teacher, before doing a bit of tidying up and prep for the next day.

The best part of my job…

is all of the stories!  I love listening to the kids tell me stories or tell me their news from the weekend. Their excitement and enthusiasm, and all of the unexpected details, twists and turns get me every time.  I also love sharing classroom stories with my colleagues and friends; the things that happen in our classrooms can be so heart-warming, hilarious, outrageous, sweet…. I reckon most teachers probably have enough stories to write their own best-seller books!

The most challenging part of my job is…

accepting that there is only so much I can achieve in one day.  Like other teachers, I often find myself thinking about a variety of things that would make my classroom a better place.  I research ideas on how to best support individual learners in my classroom and how to best cater to all of the different needs, abilities and interests of my students.  I get random strokes of inspiration from ideas I see teachers sharing from their own classrooms on Instagram and Pinterest.  I seek out ways to bring topics to life and alternative ways to teach challenging concepts and ideas.  I work really hard and always want the best for my students, so it can be difficult, at times, to accept that I am only human and that it will take time for me to achieve everything that I want to for the boys and girls in my class.

I am inspired by…

other teachers.  I truly believe that engaging with other teachers, both in your own school and further afield, is the most beneficial form of CPD out there!  I couldn’t even begin to list all of the things I have learned from all of the amazing people I have had the opportunity to call my colleagues, and all of the fantastic teachers I have connected with on Instagram.  These teachers have inspired me and help me to continually build upon my teaching skills.

After work…

I usually spend a little bit of time writing out my plan for the next day and organising any resources I need.  In the evenings, I usually relax at home with my boyfriend, watch some TV/Netflix, do some jobs around the house and read my Kindle.  I like to go to Zumba or Pilates two evenings a week; I always find that the classes help to clear my mind and put me in a good mood, even on the most stressful of days.

The motto I live by…

“In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.”

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