A Day in the Life of…

Karen Murnane B.Ed, M.Ed(ICT)

Karen is a 3rd class teacher in St. Patrick’s N.S., Bruree, Co. Limerick. She is very interested in STEM subjects & music and is always striving to integrate new and innovative ways of teaching into her classroom. Her school is a Digital School of Distinction, an award that acknowledges the use of integration in teaching and learning throughout the school. She believes that we must move with the times while still maintaining the best educational values. She believes that one of the greatest challenges in the modern classroom is keeping children motivated and teaching them the skills that will make them life-long learners.

She mentored a team in the SEAI One Good Idea (Primary) competition in the 2015/2016 and 2017/2017 school years. They achieved 2nd place in the National Final in 2016 and won the National Final in 2017. She said such competitions help children to learn life-long skills such as researching, assimilating information and creating and making presentations for an audience.

She has become involved in eTwinning in the past three years and has won two National Quality Labels for projects with which she was involved. She is currently an eTwinning ambassador. She says that eTwinning is a wonderful way for children to learn about other countries and their cultures as well as making them proud of their own pace and heritage when they tell the project partners about themselves, their school, and their traditions.

She mentored a team in the SEAI One Good Idea (Primary) competition in the 2015/2016 and 2017/2017 school years. They achieved 2nd place in the National Final in 2016 and won the National Final in 2017. She said such competitions help children to learn life-long skills such as researching, assimilating information and creating and making presentations for an audience.

She has become involved in eTwinning in the past three years and has won two National Quality Labels for projects with which she was involved. She is currently an eTwinning ambassador. She says that eTwinning is a wonderful way for children to learn about other countries and their cultures as well as making them proud of their own pace and heritage when they tell the project partners about themselves, their school, and their traditions.

My alarm goes off…

At 7a.m.; I am not really a morning person but I need to be up now to be properly organised. I have four children aged 5-10, they help with chores around the kitchen in the morning and get themselves organised for school while I prepare the dinner. I find having everything on a timer or ready to switch on when we get back from school is a great stress relief in the evening. We usually leave about 8:30, they are all attending the school in which I teach. We get to school about 8:45 a.m.

I am responsible for…

I teach 3rd class so I am responsible for everything that happens in my classroom throughout the day. I have a timetable that I try to stick to. We are currently preparing for a school musical in 3rd – 6th class so we come together a few times a week to go through the scenes and songs. We will also be preparing for choir for the First Communion Ceremony in May. I am also responsible, with other staff members for updating the school website which I usually end up doing at home. As a staff we meet after school every Monday to discuss school activities, planning for events and developing school policies and documents. We recently received an ICT grant and I have been responsible for the purchasing of the equipment with this grant and setting up the new devices.

My typical day…

When I arrive at school, I have a coffee and chat with other staff. If I have any photocopying to do or materials to get that I need in the classroom I get those. Class starts at 9.20 a.m.. We usually begin by checking through homework that the children did. Everyday varies, however we do Maths, Irish, English and Religion everyday. Other subjects such as History, Geography, Science, Arts, Music & PE are done for an hour each week. The teaching and learning methods vary greatly, depending on the subject and the topic within that subject. Recently, pupils in my class were studying the Vikings and Scandinavia and they worked collaboratively to learn about them and then to create a short presentation about the Vikings. They also made Viking Helmets using Papier Mache. They have also been learning Scratch coding; they also work in groups for this as it helps them to come up with ideas and solve problems when they arise.

We get a half hour for lunch, I rarely take the full break as I might be helping a child who is finding something difficult, correcting work that they did during class or preparing for some activity after lunch.

The school day ends at 3 p.m.

The best part of my job…

It is ever changing and no two days are the same. It is always a challenge to try to do the best for every child in the classroom.

The most challenging part of my job…

It never ends! Despite the 3 o’clock time when the school day ends, it never truly ends as I am always looking for new and innovative ideas for my classroom and always trying to think of the best ways to get every child to do the best they possibly can!

I am inspired by…

My family, they instilled the value of dedication and hard work; my colleagues, they are all very hard working and truly committed to providing the best education possible for the pupils in our school.

Carol Dweck – her Mindset book was truly inspiring.

Sugato Mitra – his ideas that children can teach themselves and that as teachers we need to facilitate their learning.

After work…

After school my four children come to my classroom and most evenings they do their homework while I prepare for the next day or correct work. Sometimes I might need to meet with other teachers to discuss upcoming events in the school or to plan activities.

We are usually home by 4:30; then it’s time to finish any homework not already done and practice music. While the children are doing this, I sort anything else for dinner. My husband is farming so we often don’t have dinner until 6:30 or after, depending on his timing. It is a busy house, the kids go to GAA and Music so this involves driving them to activities. We try to have them in bed between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

I very often have more schoolwork to do then, preparing for the next day or reading about new ideas and innovations.

I try to run two to three times per week. I am a member of the An Brú running club and enjoy meeting up with others for a run when I can make it. I also do pilates and love to read, bake and play music when I can!

The motto by which I live my life……

Always give 100%