#fullongeekfriday INTERSPERSED with head banging!
Bravo, hurray, hurrah and well done to all the children to the left of this blog, you are amazing ambassadors for this school and listening to the reasons why your teachers chose you was fabulous. If I was in your shoes, I'd have small feet... Sorry, if I was in your shoes and a teacher was saying that 'you're a pleasure to teach....a role model for the school....tremendous improvements etc.' then I would have the biggest grin on my face possible. I am, as always very proud of the children in the school, whether they make the tiniest steps or giant strides in their learning, they are all special to me.
So we come to the end of another week and as the title suggests Fridays are #fullongeekfriday. It is the day where I don't really move from my desk, as it is the day that I write newsletter, alter websites etc. yes you know by know that I enjoy gadgets, so it is one of my favourite days. I need a mantra. Chant to yourself Mr. R. 'I must get out more, I must get out more...' or employ little geek (my daughter) to do it, she would love it, at least it would divert her attention from One Direction, I seem to know all the words to all of the songs and know when each band members birthdays are. She even threatened to have a birthday party for Harry Styles on Feb 1st, and why do I care that Taylor Swift and Harry are not getting back together.........aggggghhhhhhhh, take a deep breath.
So why the head banging? Can you guess? Nothing to do with music. For those that guessed the magnificent seven, you are all geniuses. Today it was six. Whilst they are all ace pupils, it felt like six too many! Wow they confused the life out of me and whilst I love teaching Numeracy and have taught it to thousands of children during my teaching career, I have never ever in my whole career seen a child complete a single calculation using two different operations. The question posed was supposed to be an addition question but boy they managed to stretch the laws of Numeracy and combine subtraction in the same question. After much capitulation, head scratching and all round tears.(mine) A voice pipes up, 'Come on, cut him some slack!' That was it, end of lesson, you are free to leave and never to return, until Monday.
Well we have come to the end of another week at Lyndon Green Junior School, where does the week go? I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work in delivering the curriculum with such passion and commitment allowing these children to thrive! A huge thanks to all our parents for supporting us in everything that we do, whilst we are far from perfect we are trying to inspire your children to continue their learning when they leave us and move on to another school. Thank you for hearing them read,supporting homework, clubs etc. Without you all, we would be nowhere. A thank you to anyone that has bothered to take time to access our twitter feed, or read any of the current blogs that are up and running. 'You need to get out more, you need to get out more...' repeat until you believe it.
Next week sees the run in to the half term and the conclusion of all of our curriculum topics. We are also welcoming you all in to spend time with your child's class teacher to discuss the progress that they have been making throughout the year so far. On both evenings I would like to try an experiment of receiving feedback on what you hear and what you see. An experiment in that we will be asking you to use technology to record your comments. We will be using an app called linoit and it records digital post it notes. It is really simple to do and we will be on hand to help you in the entrance hall.
I know why you are still reading this, your waiting to see if there is any OAP news.(my parents) Well I have scoured all news channels and radio broadcasts and as far as I can find, there are no reports of disturbances today in St. Andrews, so I am assuming that they are tucked up in their residential home by now waiting for their tea. They are so excited that I mention them in this blog even to the extent that they have passed the link onto other family members thinking that this blog will go global. Bless them!
Quick edit: Mrs. P no calamities to blame your absence on today, touch wood all calm. Also why didn't the food industry learn from the nursery rhyme ...'There was an old lady' The last line
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...
She's dead, of course
Right have a great one, the newsletter is below as well as images from around school today. I will leave you with a quick quiz question to see if you can answer it. Leave your answer in the comment box with your name and if you are the first I will mention you in the next blog. No googling it.
In what sport did Stephen Roche find fame?
So we come to the end of another week and as the title suggests Fridays are #fullongeekfriday. It is the day where I don't really move from my desk, as it is the day that I write newsletter, alter websites etc. yes you know by know that I enjoy gadgets, so it is one of my favourite days. I need a mantra. Chant to yourself Mr. R. 'I must get out more, I must get out more...' or employ little geek (my daughter) to do it, she would love it, at least it would divert her attention from One Direction, I seem to know all the words to all of the songs and know when each band members birthdays are. She even threatened to have a birthday party for Harry Styles on Feb 1st, and why do I care that Taylor Swift and Harry are not getting back together.........aggggghhhhhhhh, take a deep breath.
So why the head banging? Can you guess? Nothing to do with music. For those that guessed the magnificent seven, you are all geniuses. Today it was six. Whilst they are all ace pupils, it felt like six too many! Wow they confused the life out of me and whilst I love teaching Numeracy and have taught it to thousands of children during my teaching career, I have never ever in my whole career seen a child complete a single calculation using two different operations. The question posed was supposed to be an addition question but boy they managed to stretch the laws of Numeracy and combine subtraction in the same question. After much capitulation, head scratching and all round tears.(mine) A voice pipes up, 'Come on, cut him some slack!' That was it, end of lesson, you are free to leave and never to return, until Monday.
Well we have come to the end of another week at Lyndon Green Junior School, where does the week go? I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work in delivering the curriculum with such passion and commitment allowing these children to thrive! A huge thanks to all our parents for supporting us in everything that we do, whilst we are far from perfect we are trying to inspire your children to continue their learning when they leave us and move on to another school. Thank you for hearing them read,supporting homework, clubs etc. Without you all, we would be nowhere. A thank you to anyone that has bothered to take time to access our twitter feed, or read any of the current blogs that are up and running. 'You need to get out more, you need to get out more...' repeat until you believe it.
Next week sees the run in to the half term and the conclusion of all of our curriculum topics. We are also welcoming you all in to spend time with your child's class teacher to discuss the progress that they have been making throughout the year so far. On both evenings I would like to try an experiment of receiving feedback on what you hear and what you see. An experiment in that we will be asking you to use technology to record your comments. We will be using an app called linoit and it records digital post it notes. It is really simple to do and we will be on hand to help you in the entrance hall.
I know why you are still reading this, your waiting to see if there is any OAP news.(my parents) Well I have scoured all news channels and radio broadcasts and as far as I can find, there are no reports of disturbances today in St. Andrews, so I am assuming that they are tucked up in their residential home by now waiting for their tea. They are so excited that I mention them in this blog even to the extent that they have passed the link onto other family members thinking that this blog will go global. Bless them!
Quick edit: Mrs. P no calamities to blame your absence on today, touch wood all calm. Also why didn't the food industry learn from the nursery rhyme ...'There was an old lady' The last line
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...
She's dead, of course
Right have a great one, the newsletter is below as well as images from around school today. I will leave you with a quick quiz question to see if you can answer it. Leave your answer in the comment box with your name and if you are the first I will mention you in the next blog. No googling it.
In what sport did Stephen Roche find fame?
Exactamundo and getting greyer! 7.2.13
Each day I drive into work listening to Chris Evans on Radio 2, normally it is just background noise but today my ears perked up. It was a feature on the news about a solar superstorm. Apparently a major report has announced that if the UK was struck by the image on the left then "it would be challenging but not cataclysmic!" Who are they kidding! If we were struck by that surely we would be crisp. I can see someone in the halls of Westminster or Whitehall turning around and uttering the words, "that was challenging." Stepping out of the car this morning and feeling the icy chill, thats when I immediately thought, ooh could do with a solar superstorm at the moment.
A really peculiar day today, but any day is made brighter by the arrival of the magnificent seven. We thought we only had six at first, so they rearranged themselves into boys one side and girls the other. The power of choice eh! All for nothing with the late arrival of Heenah. Since the near defection of Zoe yesterday to Mrs. Pitt, I had to be on my guard, looking for escape tunnels or any ruse to leave the room. Thou shall not pass by me or I will have to hunt them down, ok time to stop the poetic license.
Today was tough, as you are aware I pay a fortune to have my hair highlighted with grey tints, but today it was turned grey naturally. Frustration spilled over into laughter and much banging of the head. All for the sake of finding change in a two step word problem. If I said, step one we do this .... and, step two we do this... once , I must have said it a hundred times. It was delightful to see them leave, not due to the success, it was simply just delightful to see them leave. Tomorrow is another day and I have cancelled my hairdressers appointment. I feel scared already.
After last nights collaboration with Stanville Primary School, it was great to return to our own school to start to bring to a close the topics that we have been doing. Everything is coming together nicely, we are amazed with the knowledge of the children and how they have learnt to solve problems, whereas when they were completing the first topics they found this difficult. The staff are gearing up to Parents Evening next week, where they will be able to show off the brilliant end results of the children's topics. I received an invite from our Year 5 today to visit their Travel Fayre next week. Seeing the human body on display reminds of Damien Hirst and his many exhibitions. It really is fabulous. Many of the pictures below show our children in poses with their creations. They all look delighted!!!!!
At the end of the day it was time to come together with Mrs. Pitt and Miss O'Connor to plan the diary for the next week. During this session we had a look at the week after half term, I don't think that there will be any children left in school that week as it is the start of another topic and another engage week.
An emergency trip to Erdington to drop children for a football match ended the day. I have to thank Poppy and Molly for such an eventful journey. I was talked to death. I think I must have uttered 10 words on the whole journey.
I'm finishing this blog at Bournville swimming pool whilst little geek and brother are having swimming lessons. It's not very nice because it is so warm and the smell of chocolate is filling the air. Why not nice I hear you cry. I'm not a big fan of chocolate and it is quite sickly.
So that is it for the day, another eventful day, but before you go for the evening I had to share the OAP news. I believe that tomorrow they will be abandoning their specially adapted car and commandeering a Ring and Ride vehicle so that they can tear it up in St. Andrews, Scotland. Sadly, this is the same town that is hosting many dignitaries from around the world at the same time. So if you see any OAPs behaving inappropriately on TV, I apologise now. They are usually rounded up by mid afternoon.
Have a great weekend Mrs. P (she's a lady of leisure on a Friday whilst the rest of us toil away, I believe she's taking in a macramé lesson tomorrow) the rest of us will do it all again tomorrow.
Right anyone up for a solar storm?
A really peculiar day today, but any day is made brighter by the arrival of the magnificent seven. We thought we only had six at first, so they rearranged themselves into boys one side and girls the other. The power of choice eh! All for nothing with the late arrival of Heenah. Since the near defection of Zoe yesterday to Mrs. Pitt, I had to be on my guard, looking for escape tunnels or any ruse to leave the room. Thou shall not pass by me or I will have to hunt them down, ok time to stop the poetic license.
Today was tough, as you are aware I pay a fortune to have my hair highlighted with grey tints, but today it was turned grey naturally. Frustration spilled over into laughter and much banging of the head. All for the sake of finding change in a two step word problem. If I said, step one we do this .... and, step two we do this... once , I must have said it a hundred times. It was delightful to see them leave, not due to the success, it was simply just delightful to see them leave. Tomorrow is another day and I have cancelled my hairdressers appointment. I feel scared already.
After last nights collaboration with Stanville Primary School, it was great to return to our own school to start to bring to a close the topics that we have been doing. Everything is coming together nicely, we are amazed with the knowledge of the children and how they have learnt to solve problems, whereas when they were completing the first topics they found this difficult. The staff are gearing up to Parents Evening next week, where they will be able to show off the brilliant end results of the children's topics. I received an invite from our Year 5 today to visit their Travel Fayre next week. Seeing the human body on display reminds of Damien Hirst and his many exhibitions. It really is fabulous. Many of the pictures below show our children in poses with their creations. They all look delighted!!!!!
At the end of the day it was time to come together with Mrs. Pitt and Miss O'Connor to plan the diary for the next week. During this session we had a look at the week after half term, I don't think that there will be any children left in school that week as it is the start of another topic and another engage week.
An emergency trip to Erdington to drop children for a football match ended the day. I have to thank Poppy and Molly for such an eventful journey. I was talked to death. I think I must have uttered 10 words on the whole journey.
I'm finishing this blog at Bournville swimming pool whilst little geek and brother are having swimming lessons. It's not very nice because it is so warm and the smell of chocolate is filling the air. Why not nice I hear you cry. I'm not a big fan of chocolate and it is quite sickly.
So that is it for the day, another eventful day, but before you go for the evening I had to share the OAP news. I believe that tomorrow they will be abandoning their specially adapted car and commandeering a Ring and Ride vehicle so that they can tear it up in St. Andrews, Scotland. Sadly, this is the same town that is hosting many dignitaries from around the world at the same time. So if you see any OAPs behaving inappropriately on TV, I apologise now. They are usually rounded up by mid afternoon.
Have a great weekend Mrs. P (she's a lady of leisure on a Friday whilst the rest of us toil away, I believe she's taking in a macramé lesson tomorrow) the rest of us will do it all again tomorrow.
Right anyone up for a solar storm?
To quiver or not to quiver, that is the question! 6.3.12
Another day done! That was a long day! I'm just sitting down to write this at 20:21 in the evening. My tea is cooking (makes a change from spinning the takeaway wheel, and tea is a northern term) so it gives me a chance to reflect and analyse the day that has gone by. For those that know me well, this is a fault (or is it a positive) of mine, I over analyse everything and I always ask questions of myself and what I can do better. The problem with this, is that it can be a painful experience because i see things in pictures inside my head and I try to see situation and how they can be resolved. Wow I sound odd!
So onwards, reflect, analyse and solve problems or praise solutions. I have chatted with Mrs P about this blog, actually I think I have found my new obsession and she informs me that there are a number of HT blogs that she knows and the beauty of them is that they show the human side behind the HT. I hope that this blog shows how human we are. We take the flack, we get the angry parents, but in the end we all share a common goal, the children of LGJS. It is also my job, with the whole staff to create an ethos that celebrates the individuality of our school and our children as well as promoting the school in the local community and for me to a wider audience. However, beside that another pearl of wisdom from our Scottish visitor was that their is a HT that talks about her different shoes everyday. Well take that, I have a different pair of socks each day, Pah!
Now for those wondering whether my elderly Parents read last nights blog, they did. I don't want to make minor celebrities of them because at their age they wouldn't cope with the attention but as long as they can see this blog and they know I am ok then I will keep mentioning them. They are well known on the East coast of Scotland, firstly, because they are English and secondly because they are the ones that drive a specially adapted car that has a magnifying glass for a car windscreen, so that when you drive past them all you see is a pair of magnified eyes. Bless.
Right I must get on because Mrs. Wyatt does not start her marking until she has read the blog. Now if she knows me well, I'm a night owl and don't need sleep so I could write this after twelve but she would never get her work done. Today started with a very early meeting, offering support and advice but then let the trumpets sound, yes it was the return of the magnificent seven, yes they rode again and you can see from the picture below they are all hard at work in my office. It was like they had never been away, what with Tom rabbiting away, Zoe shouting random numbers until she got the right one. You know what though, it makes me smile, they make me laugh especially when I hear the comment, "I wish I was with Mrs. Pitt!!" Really! God help you tomorrow I have such a difficult piece of work for you all. Mwahahahahahah.
Great work going on around the school again today, such effort and enthusiasm from those children that really want to learn and it was a real pleasure to see the work coming down with beaming children. Don't get me wrong, this job has its downside and yes that usually involves someone saying the wrong thing or not doing what they are told, that's just the teachers!!! So a little bit of seeing children happened today, where much lip quivering and tapping of the feet happened, my approach however, is always to see if the children know where their are exits points in any situations. An exit point is where they could have walked away or not got involved or said something. Sounds easy, simple choice!
The day ended with a mass exodus of the school by the staff as they headed to Stanville Primary School, just down the road. The purpose being to work together on our future curriculum projects. We embarked on the curriculum journey together and so far are enjoying the successes that it is bringing to the children of the local area. That's it folks, fun filled day. Already starting to think of things for tomorrow. Remember my lists where I never get to number two, well here is one for tomorrow.
1. Shout at bus company
2. Finance
3. Teach
4. Paperwork
5. Praise children
6. Evaluate pupil progress
Such fun eh? Thanks for reading.
So onwards, reflect, analyse and solve problems or praise solutions. I have chatted with Mrs P about this blog, actually I think I have found my new obsession and she informs me that there are a number of HT blogs that she knows and the beauty of them is that they show the human side behind the HT. I hope that this blog shows how human we are. We take the flack, we get the angry parents, but in the end we all share a common goal, the children of LGJS. It is also my job, with the whole staff to create an ethos that celebrates the individuality of our school and our children as well as promoting the school in the local community and for me to a wider audience. However, beside that another pearl of wisdom from our Scottish visitor was that their is a HT that talks about her different shoes everyday. Well take that, I have a different pair of socks each day, Pah!
Now for those wondering whether my elderly Parents read last nights blog, they did. I don't want to make minor celebrities of them because at their age they wouldn't cope with the attention but as long as they can see this blog and they know I am ok then I will keep mentioning them. They are well known on the East coast of Scotland, firstly, because they are English and secondly because they are the ones that drive a specially adapted car that has a magnifying glass for a car windscreen, so that when you drive past them all you see is a pair of magnified eyes. Bless.
Right I must get on because Mrs. Wyatt does not start her marking until she has read the blog. Now if she knows me well, I'm a night owl and don't need sleep so I could write this after twelve but she would never get her work done. Today started with a very early meeting, offering support and advice but then let the trumpets sound, yes it was the return of the magnificent seven, yes they rode again and you can see from the picture below they are all hard at work in my office. It was like they had never been away, what with Tom rabbiting away, Zoe shouting random numbers until she got the right one. You know what though, it makes me smile, they make me laugh especially when I hear the comment, "I wish I was with Mrs. Pitt!!" Really! God help you tomorrow I have such a difficult piece of work for you all. Mwahahahahahah.
Great work going on around the school again today, such effort and enthusiasm from those children that really want to learn and it was a real pleasure to see the work coming down with beaming children. Don't get me wrong, this job has its downside and yes that usually involves someone saying the wrong thing or not doing what they are told, that's just the teachers!!! So a little bit of seeing children happened today, where much lip quivering and tapping of the feet happened, my approach however, is always to see if the children know where their are exits points in any situations. An exit point is where they could have walked away or not got involved or said something. Sounds easy, simple choice!
The day ended with a mass exodus of the school by the staff as they headed to Stanville Primary School, just down the road. The purpose being to work together on our future curriculum projects. We embarked on the curriculum journey together and so far are enjoying the successes that it is bringing to the children of the local area. That's it folks, fun filled day. Already starting to think of things for tomorrow. Remember my lists where I never get to number two, well here is one for tomorrow.
1. Shout at bus company
2. Finance
3. Teach
4. Paperwork
5. Praise children
6. Evaluate pupil progress
Such fun eh? Thanks for reading.
The Industry of McDonalds but all the fun of Disneyland 5.2.13
Just to clear something up right from the offset. I had a good upbringing! I want to make that clear as last night I sent the link to this blog to my Parents and I may not always have portrayed my upbringing so well, they did a fab job and made me the person I am now. I do however have a strange imagination and a very dry sense of humour. They will be reading this in their residential home in the cold, cold East of Scotland. I will try to be sensible from now on.
The title of the blog tonight is stolen from a tweet that was sent out by Class 5E today and it was something that I had forgotten about and for the life of me cannot remember where I first heard it or who said it. It is an age thing, you know when you get to 34 things just don't stick anymore....
Back to the title, I was immediately compelled today to use the title because the tweet showed an image of children completely engrossed in their topic. It also made me take flight to the stairs to go and see what the children were doing. Now it takes a lot to amaze me. Today I was completely blown away with what I saw.
Let's set the scene, the Year 5 current topic is All around the World and they have been studying, investigating and generally engaging themselves, with the expertise of the Year 5 staff, through many different wonders of the world and many different places. What I saw this afternoon depicts why we chose to go the direction that we have done. The children have been very busy recreating buildings and landmarks from around the world. The results are staggering.... I have never seen anything like it. The buzz and excitement makes you feel so good, imagine how they must be feeling. It was one of those moments where you can say that's it, time to give up, move to either Italy or Finland with a house overlooking a lake, coffee on the go and time to write my memoirs..... Whilst I digress with that image it was truly staggering and they weren't even finished. Wait until you see them.
I could continue this evening by singing the praises of all the different year groups and I will do in future blogs. The reason being that we are coming to the end of the current topics and I want to celebrate and share with the whole world what our children are achieving...
So the title, stand back and think about it for a second. The industry of McDonalds....whilst we may argue the pros/cons of the establishment we cannot argue about their industry and hardwork to build such an empire. The fun of Disneyland....sorry, but no argument, being a recent convert to its charms I enjoy every second of Disneyland and would challenge anyone to have been on 'It's a small world' more than I have and still love it. That child is still in me. Link that to the children and I think you have the perfect ingredients and description of the recent changes to our curriculum.
Thanks once again for everyone taking the time to read this blog. The number of people reading this has now gone over 1300 since the beginning, even at weekends!!!!! Please feel free to leave any comments, they can only be seen by myself, all comments are appreciated, suggestions for daily titles are most welcome.
Have fun and please give time to watch the Youtube clip below, very inspirational for such a little guy and makes much sense and boy he can dance. Father if you are reading this, the nurse will be round soon!!!!!
The title of the blog tonight is stolen from a tweet that was sent out by Class 5E today and it was something that I had forgotten about and for the life of me cannot remember where I first heard it or who said it. It is an age thing, you know when you get to 34 things just don't stick anymore....
Back to the title, I was immediately compelled today to use the title because the tweet showed an image of children completely engrossed in their topic. It also made me take flight to the stairs to go and see what the children were doing. Now it takes a lot to amaze me. Today I was completely blown away with what I saw.
Let's set the scene, the Year 5 current topic is All around the World and they have been studying, investigating and generally engaging themselves, with the expertise of the Year 5 staff, through many different wonders of the world and many different places. What I saw this afternoon depicts why we chose to go the direction that we have done. The children have been very busy recreating buildings and landmarks from around the world. The results are staggering.... I have never seen anything like it. The buzz and excitement makes you feel so good, imagine how they must be feeling. It was one of those moments where you can say that's it, time to give up, move to either Italy or Finland with a house overlooking a lake, coffee on the go and time to write my memoirs..... Whilst I digress with that image it was truly staggering and they weren't even finished. Wait until you see them.
I could continue this evening by singing the praises of all the different year groups and I will do in future blogs. The reason being that we are coming to the end of the current topics and I want to celebrate and share with the whole world what our children are achieving...
So the title, stand back and think about it for a second. The industry of McDonalds....whilst we may argue the pros/cons of the establishment we cannot argue about their industry and hardwork to build such an empire. The fun of Disneyland....sorry, but no argument, being a recent convert to its charms I enjoy every second of Disneyland and would challenge anyone to have been on 'It's a small world' more than I have and still love it. That child is still in me. Link that to the children and I think you have the perfect ingredients and description of the recent changes to our curriculum.
Thanks once again for everyone taking the time to read this blog. The number of people reading this has now gone over 1300 since the beginning, even at weekends!!!!! Please feel free to leave any comments, they can only be seen by myself, all comments are appreciated, suggestions for daily titles are most welcome.
Have fun and please give time to watch the Youtube clip below, very inspirational for such a little guy and makes much sense and boy he can dance. Father if you are reading this, the nurse will be round soon!!!!!
Oh to be a child again!!!! 4.2.13
Some might say that I am, others might say why, but I would say to be able to relive and ensure that I grasped every opportunity that I have ever been given. I think sometimes we all take for granted the experiences that we are given and then when they pass us by, we yearn for the past. What abiding memories can I take from my primary schooling? What sticks out the most is I suppose is my final year at St. Aidans and St. Oswalds in Royton, Oldham, I remember a couple of things, my residential trip to London (memorable for the fact that the hotel set on fire) and my Year 6 teacher who didn't always fill time effectively with learning. (it was obvious) When there was a lull in the day, he used to reach for his guitar and we sang the same song over and over again.... have you seen the old man, in the closed down market, kicking up the paper with his worn out shoes..... I believe it was Ralph McTell. To see a class of disenchanted children singing a song from 1969 was quite depressing.
I digress, I know it was only about 15 years ago (much coughing) but if they are the only memories that I have then it really isn't good enough. So the desire to be a child again, to have the experiences that we are trying to give the children of LGJS, lies deep within me. This is what spurs us all on, we aim to create memories and make everyday an exciting adventure. Not every child will like school, not every child will enjoy writing, reading, but there is always a spark within and it is our job to ignite that and bring them alive through learning that is tailored to engage their interests. It would be easy to say 'What a load of boloney!' This is true, we are aiming to achieve this and to engage our children and as The Hollies said 'The road is long......' it will take time, as Rome wasn't built in a day, neither can the same results be achieved instantly. I'm an impulsive person and usually want things done straight away, when I want a new playground, my Violet Beauregarde comes out and makes me want it now, however I know patience, time and thorough prep always brings results.
Back to the adult world and today was not a typical Monday, it was not a typical day and it was filled with dealing with events that detract from Teaching and Learning, that is when you realise that you have a great team behind you all working for the same cause. Where would I be without Mrs P.? Probably more sane than I am now. How often do you have a conversation about blue tits and counting them in your garden??? I know random...so dealing with the downside always must end in an upside and chatting with the children and seeing what they are doing is most definitely the upside.
To bring this blog to a close today allows me the opportunity to mention the brilliant and amazing news story of the discovery of Richard 111's skeleton in a car park and the confirmation that it is his body. Such an amazing discovery but also a wonder why they were not discovered earlier.
Eastenders has just started so it is time to publish this and go and check on whether the grass is growing still outside. Anything but......
So if you read the blog tonight or over the next couple of days, leave a comment and think about what memories come to mind from your school days. Have fun all!!!!
I digress, I know it was only about 15 years ago (much coughing) but if they are the only memories that I have then it really isn't good enough. So the desire to be a child again, to have the experiences that we are trying to give the children of LGJS, lies deep within me. This is what spurs us all on, we aim to create memories and make everyday an exciting adventure. Not every child will like school, not every child will enjoy writing, reading, but there is always a spark within and it is our job to ignite that and bring them alive through learning that is tailored to engage their interests. It would be easy to say 'What a load of boloney!' This is true, we are aiming to achieve this and to engage our children and as The Hollies said 'The road is long......' it will take time, as Rome wasn't built in a day, neither can the same results be achieved instantly. I'm an impulsive person and usually want things done straight away, when I want a new playground, my Violet Beauregarde comes out and makes me want it now, however I know patience, time and thorough prep always brings results.
Back to the adult world and today was not a typical Monday, it was not a typical day and it was filled with dealing with events that detract from Teaching and Learning, that is when you realise that you have a great team behind you all working for the same cause. Where would I be without Mrs P.? Probably more sane than I am now. How often do you have a conversation about blue tits and counting them in your garden??? I know random...so dealing with the downside always must end in an upside and chatting with the children and seeing what they are doing is most definitely the upside.
To bring this blog to a close today allows me the opportunity to mention the brilliant and amazing news story of the discovery of Richard 111's skeleton in a car park and the confirmation that it is his body. Such an amazing discovery but also a wonder why they were not discovered earlier.
Eastenders has just started so it is time to publish this and go and check on whether the grass is growing still outside. Anything but......
So if you read the blog tonight or over the next couple of days, leave a comment and think about what memories come to mind from your school days. Have fun all!!!!
When it all falls apart, it's good that you have a plan. 1.2.13
Calamity of all calamities, why oh why does it always happen on a Friday? Darn you Mrs. P and it could only happen to a Head Teacher. All of the previous could be a title for the next instalment of the blog.
As in all good emergency TV programmes, my day started off brilliantly. My house was calm, excitement filled the air with the impending class assembly of my eldest, youngest was complaining of feeling poorly and not wanting to go to school, quick dose of Calpol and he stirred and was reminded today was the day he changed his reading book, he perked up and went off to search ther internet. Ironing was completed (yes I do my own!) so we all trundled off to watch Edwin Hubble take to the stage to deliver her lines magnificently. Proud dad filming it to embarrass her in future years, saving up material for the day I become THE embarrassing dad. (I think she has already come to that conclusion, and hates the fact that I called her little geek in the previous post, however she'll live)
With a spring in my step it was time to return to my own school looking forward to teaching the magnificent seven and catching up with the Achievement Certificate winners this week. That is when it happened....
Year 3 are not in school today, they are visiting a centre to support their curriculum, they are going to have an amazing day and everything has been prepared meticulously right down to the nth degree. So when emergencies take place we have a plan to put into action, staff are trained to deal with emergencies and I can assure you now that everything is ok and the plan worked perfectly. So why the emergency I hear you cry!
Firstly I cannot teach the magnificent seven because I have to travel to collect a pupil that has become unwell. So with phone in hand (technology) I set off to find the centre in the far flung reaches of Dudley. My phone will act as the SAT NAV (I hate them and usually use a map but in this case I have no time) Everything was going perfectly until I hit the dreaded M6 to get onto M5. So much work being done, traffic is at a stand still. (no rush needed) SAT NAV is talking to me and tells me I'm 8 minutes away. Then disaster, my battery goes. So whilst all other plans are in place, it is time to panic. Ok, calm down, haven't a clue of where it is or how to contact school to let them know. Right critical incident time, find a bank, then pay phone.
Done, now I cannot remember the last time I used a pay phone, but this one didn't take coins you had to use a card. Nope, so if all things transpire to go against you, do what you do best, in this case find a school and ask them to google it. A huge thankyou to the staff of Woodsetton Primary for their help, it seems that I was only 2 minutes away.
I passed some peculiar places along the way, but one thing caught my eye and that was a sign outside a pub that said. No horses!!!!!!!! It reminds me of the joke about the horse walking into the pub and the barman saying "Why the long face?" (I am so sorry, i'll get my coat)
Returned back safely, handed over pupil safely, everything returns to normal. As normal as we can make it. A quick catch up with staff and then onto the exciting emails check and Twitter check, everything in a rush to make sure it is complete before the close down for the weekend.
This week has been challenging, amazing, challenging, amazing (note the pattern) but would I wish for it to be anything different. Certainly No. It would be nice for some days to be quieter but then I would be bored, school would be dull and it would be time to leave. So let the organised madness continue, let's continue to challenge, stimulate and inspire the next generation because you never know, amongst the 370 children there maybe one, who one day would like to thrive amongst the fun filled experiences that make up being a HT.
Have a brilliant weekend, sorry no blogs over the weekend, I don't think I will be able to fill it with anything but the mundane. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this.
Enjoy the pictures and the rest and shall we do it again next week? Why not. I'll leave you with the following quote by Stephen Hawking:
Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet.
Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.
Be curious
As in all good emergency TV programmes, my day started off brilliantly. My house was calm, excitement filled the air with the impending class assembly of my eldest, youngest was complaining of feeling poorly and not wanting to go to school, quick dose of Calpol and he stirred and was reminded today was the day he changed his reading book, he perked up and went off to search ther internet. Ironing was completed (yes I do my own!) so we all trundled off to watch Edwin Hubble take to the stage to deliver her lines magnificently. Proud dad filming it to embarrass her in future years, saving up material for the day I become THE embarrassing dad. (I think she has already come to that conclusion, and hates the fact that I called her little geek in the previous post, however she'll live)
With a spring in my step it was time to return to my own school looking forward to teaching the magnificent seven and catching up with the Achievement Certificate winners this week. That is when it happened....
Year 3 are not in school today, they are visiting a centre to support their curriculum, they are going to have an amazing day and everything has been prepared meticulously right down to the nth degree. So when emergencies take place we have a plan to put into action, staff are trained to deal with emergencies and I can assure you now that everything is ok and the plan worked perfectly. So why the emergency I hear you cry!
Firstly I cannot teach the magnificent seven because I have to travel to collect a pupil that has become unwell. So with phone in hand (technology) I set off to find the centre in the far flung reaches of Dudley. My phone will act as the SAT NAV (I hate them and usually use a map but in this case I have no time) Everything was going perfectly until I hit the dreaded M6 to get onto M5. So much work being done, traffic is at a stand still. (no rush needed) SAT NAV is talking to me and tells me I'm 8 minutes away. Then disaster, my battery goes. So whilst all other plans are in place, it is time to panic. Ok, calm down, haven't a clue of where it is or how to contact school to let them know. Right critical incident time, find a bank, then pay phone.
Done, now I cannot remember the last time I used a pay phone, but this one didn't take coins you had to use a card. Nope, so if all things transpire to go against you, do what you do best, in this case find a school and ask them to google it. A huge thankyou to the staff of Woodsetton Primary for their help, it seems that I was only 2 minutes away.
I passed some peculiar places along the way, but one thing caught my eye and that was a sign outside a pub that said. No horses!!!!!!!! It reminds me of the joke about the horse walking into the pub and the barman saying "Why the long face?" (I am so sorry, i'll get my coat)
Returned back safely, handed over pupil safely, everything returns to normal. As normal as we can make it. A quick catch up with staff and then onto the exciting emails check and Twitter check, everything in a rush to make sure it is complete before the close down for the weekend.
This week has been challenging, amazing, challenging, amazing (note the pattern) but would I wish for it to be anything different. Certainly No. It would be nice for some days to be quieter but then I would be bored, school would be dull and it would be time to leave. So let the organised madness continue, let's continue to challenge, stimulate and inspire the next generation because you never know, amongst the 370 children there maybe one, who one day would like to thrive amongst the fun filled experiences that make up being a HT.
Have a brilliant weekend, sorry no blogs over the weekend, I don't think I will be able to fill it with anything but the mundane. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this.
Enjoy the pictures and the rest and shall we do it again next week? Why not. I'll leave you with the following quote by Stephen Hawking:
Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet.
Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.
Be curious
I must try harder! 31.1.13
Ok, I have a confession to make, right here and now! Last night I said I was going to try and have a digital free evening, comments were made through this blog saying good luck etc. but to be honest I did, however it only lasted an hour and a half. In that time i managed to drive home, about 30 minutes, visited the outlaws for tea, about 1 hour and then I went onto twitter to check the school account. It has been said that I am addicted to twitter but I will deny that claim but probably only be able to do it in 140 characters or less.
Growing up in the northern suburbs of Manchester amongst the cotton mills of Oldham, technology was not so evident as it is now, You cannot move anywhere these days without noticing the digital age. When I was growing up and as one of seven children, our Christmas treat was a trip to Rumbelows (similar to Brighthouse) to watch T.V. through the shop windows and if I was lucky it was my turn to wear the Christmas jumper. (I jest) We were really lucky because we had a front loading video recorder as well as a Commodore 64. Far superior to the ZX Spectrum. Technology then was nothing compared to today. Im currently sat in my house and I look around, my youngest is on a laptop, quite confidently finding his way around (this was the child that at the age of 2/3 was using an ipad so confidently it convinced me that tablets were the way forward) my daughter is on the internet on an iPad and in the background is Takeshis Castle on Digital TV. The world has changed. Whilst we still love books etc, technology does have its place. However it is taking over. My failure to remove myself from the digital world goes back to my thirst for information. I do genuinely sit with an iPad, laptop and smartphone and all in use at the same time, whilst watching digital TV. To some this is their idea of hell, to me this is normal. I am lost without the internet.
So how does this equate to school? We are always looking at new technology to support learning and I will always seek to provide our children with the tools that they need to be able to complete tasks or to satisfy their thirst for knowledge. Goodness, I have just thought, am I trying to make 370 clones of myself aggggghhhhhhhhh.
So, whilst we invest in tablet and mobile technology, sourcing and improving our technology all the time, I must take a step back to remember that not everyone likes technology (something I find difficult to understand) for example in the book vs. kindle debate I understand both points of view because I buy both. Therefore, reading and the physical act of writing, speaking, playing etc. will remain important to the core of our school, we may record it using digital technology and present in it a variety of ways (see links below from today) but I must remember the balance between both. With that in mind Mr. Crees is heading to London tomorrow to visit the Bett show with a whole list of questions, one being can we fund one tablet per pupil?
The magnificent seven were most definitely that today! After being taught the Makaton sign for easy and linking it to their maths work (big mistake) I upped the pace today and I confused the life out of them. It was their task to point out where the mistakes were. It's great to see them working out problems to questions and reasons for me setting them certain types of questions. If they can identify the reasoning they can solve the issues. Great fun!
School is amazing at the moment, what with the fabulous work that is going on, coupled with a really well prepared and interactive assembly on recycling. I often step back and look around to see the faces of the children. What do I see? Children engaged, having fun, learning staggering well and willing to show their learning off. Letters for Parents Evening went out today, we cannot wait to show you what we have been doing and may even use technology to get you to record how you feel things are going
Long post today, sorry if you dozed off during it. A quick plug for all the photos and the links below, remember all taken from one day at Lyndon Green. That is why I am so proud to be the Head and to work with super teachers and have amazing children. Whilst I am here just a quick Happy Birthday to both my brother and sister (not twins) as well as saying to Mrs Green, I hope you read the weekly diary because you are filling in my assembly shoes tomorrow whilst I go and compare our school with another one. So excited to see my little girl (8) in her assembly tomorrow, she has the role of Edwin Hubble. Proper geek like me!
http://audioboo.fm/boos/1185248-boneypart
http://audioboo.fm/boos/1185513-meetings-are-evilboo
http://twitter.yfrog.com/7g52fuscywxzxlnknssindiiz
Growing up in the northern suburbs of Manchester amongst the cotton mills of Oldham, technology was not so evident as it is now, You cannot move anywhere these days without noticing the digital age. When I was growing up and as one of seven children, our Christmas treat was a trip to Rumbelows (similar to Brighthouse) to watch T.V. through the shop windows and if I was lucky it was my turn to wear the Christmas jumper. (I jest) We were really lucky because we had a front loading video recorder as well as a Commodore 64. Far superior to the ZX Spectrum. Technology then was nothing compared to today. Im currently sat in my house and I look around, my youngest is on a laptop, quite confidently finding his way around (this was the child that at the age of 2/3 was using an ipad so confidently it convinced me that tablets were the way forward) my daughter is on the internet on an iPad and in the background is Takeshis Castle on Digital TV. The world has changed. Whilst we still love books etc, technology does have its place. However it is taking over. My failure to remove myself from the digital world goes back to my thirst for information. I do genuinely sit with an iPad, laptop and smartphone and all in use at the same time, whilst watching digital TV. To some this is their idea of hell, to me this is normal. I am lost without the internet.
So how does this equate to school? We are always looking at new technology to support learning and I will always seek to provide our children with the tools that they need to be able to complete tasks or to satisfy their thirst for knowledge. Goodness, I have just thought, am I trying to make 370 clones of myself aggggghhhhhhhhh.
So, whilst we invest in tablet and mobile technology, sourcing and improving our technology all the time, I must take a step back to remember that not everyone likes technology (something I find difficult to understand) for example in the book vs. kindle debate I understand both points of view because I buy both. Therefore, reading and the physical act of writing, speaking, playing etc. will remain important to the core of our school, we may record it using digital technology and present in it a variety of ways (see links below from today) but I must remember the balance between both. With that in mind Mr. Crees is heading to London tomorrow to visit the Bett show with a whole list of questions, one being can we fund one tablet per pupil?
The magnificent seven were most definitely that today! After being taught the Makaton sign for easy and linking it to their maths work (big mistake) I upped the pace today and I confused the life out of them. It was their task to point out where the mistakes were. It's great to see them working out problems to questions and reasons for me setting them certain types of questions. If they can identify the reasoning they can solve the issues. Great fun!
School is amazing at the moment, what with the fabulous work that is going on, coupled with a really well prepared and interactive assembly on recycling. I often step back and look around to see the faces of the children. What do I see? Children engaged, having fun, learning staggering well and willing to show their learning off. Letters for Parents Evening went out today, we cannot wait to show you what we have been doing and may even use technology to get you to record how you feel things are going
Long post today, sorry if you dozed off during it. A quick plug for all the photos and the links below, remember all taken from one day at Lyndon Green. That is why I am so proud to be the Head and to work with super teachers and have amazing children. Whilst I am here just a quick Happy Birthday to both my brother and sister (not twins) as well as saying to Mrs Green, I hope you read the weekly diary because you are filling in my assembly shoes tomorrow whilst I go and compare our school with another one. So excited to see my little girl (8) in her assembly tomorrow, she has the role of Edwin Hubble. Proper geek like me!
http://audioboo.fm/boos/1185248-boneypart
http://audioboo.fm/boos/1185513-meetings-are-evilboo
http://twitter.yfrog.com/7g52fuscywxzxlnknssindiiz
Fight or Flight? You decide! 30.1.13
Another day draws to a close and it certainly was a full on day. So what's new!
Well the title of the blog today has many reference points and can be identified throughout all our lives whether we are children or adults. What is our first instinct when things get tough or are different? Fiight? (not literally) To embrace change and to have a go at things that are difficult is a real challenge for everybody today. What does it mean to fight? To know that things are difficult and that the road maybe tough, but the exhilaration that you feel once you have achieved and the feeling of success in my opinion cannot be matched.
So Flight! Is it the easy option, I suppose it is. When things get tough, when new concepts are introduced and they maybe not to our liking then lets run for the hills. Let's to our best Forrest Gump impression and keep on running (ref. The Doobie brothers!) But it keeps us safe and comfortable in the knowledge that new experiences don't get in the way of our own existence.
Wow this is deep, but I use the above in relation to the magnificent seven, however, only six today (you can see them below). I referred to new concepts and whether we fight or flight, today i saw a group that chose to fight. Yes with a little reluctance to do so, but that sense of achievement and the feeling of success was clearly evident. They were hungry for more and more. The subject material? Subtraction! Yes easy to some but not for the magnificent seven. They embraced, they challenged, they looked confused, they questioned but they GOT IT!
Therefore, can we take a lesson from these children? We sure can. If things seem tough, fight and fight some more to overcome those obstacles to success. In the end you will be worn out but the adrenaline rush, the feeling of euphoria, can it be beaten? I doubt it.
Here endeth the lesson....
Actually today has been a day filled with challenge, organisation and expectation. Have I achieved everything that I set out to do, probably not but one thing I know and it comes in the form of an old Scottish proverb (Mrs. Pitt) 'We do not stop until the job gets done.'
Tonights blog will be posted much earlier than normal as tonight I am going to try and have a non digital night. Picture it, laptop, iPad and phone all in a row. Yes that is me! Will I manage it, I doubt it but I will have a go.
Have fun and thankyou if you have taken the time to read this. Over 800 people have since it started. Wow! I was only expecting one or two and that would have been enough.
If you also check our twitter feed you will have noticed that I bagged the 4000th tweet, there is that child coming out in me again!
Mr. R
When everything tries to defeat you, do what you do best, teach!! 29.1.13
The title of the blog tonight really is a reminder of what i see my core purpose as. If as a HT things begin to get you down then I suppose we return to our most comfortable place, with the children. Today I was a teacher again. If you ask me to tell you what my job description entails, the first thing I would put down would be a teacher. I can add councillor, surrogate parent, handy man, doctor and the list continues but when things transpire to get on top you, then you return to what we know best and that is being with the children and teaching. I was not the only one to enjoy their time in the classroom today. Mrs. P was heard to say 'I love teaching!' Raise your hands if you agree.
So what has made me decide this direction for the blog today. Well essentially 1/2 of my time today was spent educating, forget paperwork, dealing with buildings, its the contact with our pupils that make it all worthwhile to see the inspiration, to see them come alive, that is why we do it. We can stand back with a grin on our faces and say quite happily. I DID THAT.
So the plan for today started with the return of the magnificent seven as they rode into my office to continue their learning in Numeracy. Little did they know that today it would be subtraction. Easy I hear you cry. Nope not for this little lot, however to give them confidence is to give them the keys to the treasure chest. They listened and they soared. Delighted with everyone one of them.
11 o'clock and the appointment we had waited for. An interview with Link2ict about our twitter usage. Apparently top of their list to discuss its impact and how we use it. Flattery gets them everywhere. Great discussion and anything that promotes the school is well worth doing. Look out for the Link2ict newsletter on our twitter feed towards the end of Feb.
The afternoon arrives and I am scheduled to teach in class 5E, a great class with some brilliant ideas, we had fun. Our main purpose was to retell a story from a different point of view. For example, the three little pigs from the side of the wolf. We had a huge variety of stories that we could flip on its head but my particular favourite which i truly Rothwellised (not a word, but it is now) was the story of The Wizard of Oz, a lovely story however have you ever realised that Dorothy was actually a cold blooded killer and a thief. Think about it, she killed two witches and even stole a pair of red shoes off one whilst landing a house on her. #cruelandheartless I had a great time and a shame when it came time to leave. I will return soon.
The last hour of the day was spent preparing for a meeting with the leadership team in school, loads on the agenda to get through including updates on ICT (exciting things to come!) Numeracy and many other things. We just can't help being busy.
Drawing this blog to a close allows me to say that no matter how difficult things get or how difficult decisions and choices are, to clear the head and refresh I will always seek refuge back in the classroom knowing that our children will always bring you back down to earth, enabling you to face anything.
I really want you to see the pictures from school today and the work that the children have produced or work with Cornerstones and the introduction of our new curriculum has stimulated, reenergised and engaged everyone.
Shall we do it again tomorrow? Maybe we can do some follow up work? eh Mrs. W?
So what has made me decide this direction for the blog today. Well essentially 1/2 of my time today was spent educating, forget paperwork, dealing with buildings, its the contact with our pupils that make it all worthwhile to see the inspiration, to see them come alive, that is why we do it. We can stand back with a grin on our faces and say quite happily. I DID THAT.
So the plan for today started with the return of the magnificent seven as they rode into my office to continue their learning in Numeracy. Little did they know that today it would be subtraction. Easy I hear you cry. Nope not for this little lot, however to give them confidence is to give them the keys to the treasure chest. They listened and they soared. Delighted with everyone one of them.
11 o'clock and the appointment we had waited for. An interview with Link2ict about our twitter usage. Apparently top of their list to discuss its impact and how we use it. Flattery gets them everywhere. Great discussion and anything that promotes the school is well worth doing. Look out for the Link2ict newsletter on our twitter feed towards the end of Feb.
The afternoon arrives and I am scheduled to teach in class 5E, a great class with some brilliant ideas, we had fun. Our main purpose was to retell a story from a different point of view. For example, the three little pigs from the side of the wolf. We had a huge variety of stories that we could flip on its head but my particular favourite which i truly Rothwellised (not a word, but it is now) was the story of The Wizard of Oz, a lovely story however have you ever realised that Dorothy was actually a cold blooded killer and a thief. Think about it, she killed two witches and even stole a pair of red shoes off one whilst landing a house on her. #cruelandheartless I had a great time and a shame when it came time to leave. I will return soon.
The last hour of the day was spent preparing for a meeting with the leadership team in school, loads on the agenda to get through including updates on ICT (exciting things to come!) Numeracy and many other things. We just can't help being busy.
Drawing this blog to a close allows me to say that no matter how difficult things get or how difficult decisions and choices are, to clear the head and refresh I will always seek refuge back in the classroom knowing that our children will always bring you back down to earth, enabling you to face anything.
I really want you to see the pictures from school today and the work that the children have produced or work with Cornerstones and the introduction of our new curriculum has stimulated, reenergised and engaged everyone.
Shall we do it again tomorrow? Maybe we can do some follow up work? eh Mrs. W?
Invasion of the Robots and all things money! 28.1.13
Yup it's that time again, EastEnders! So I use the time to complete my blog. I cannot believe the amount of visitors it is attracting even when there hasn't been an entry. On Friday we peaked at 87 individual page views and then over the weekend another 35. Thankyou for the great comments that you have been leaving.
Ok, so onwards. What's happened in school today? Well we had a special visitor to help promote our Environmental cause. It was made extra special by the fact it was a robot. I am still trying to work out how it worked but no matter how it worked, the children were engrossed in the message as well as participating. Thankyou Mrs. P for arranging it. So what happened next? Money time. I spent the best part of the new three hours discussing schools finances and looking forward to next year as well as discussing our financial priorities in terms of resources and staffing. I enjoy doing this because I know in advance the exciting things that we are trying to achieve in school. I can say here and now that we will be developing one of the playgrounds with play facilities that will support our successes at sport.
The rest of the day was then spent completing paperwork, exciting hey. It was interspersed with children visiting me to show their brilliant work in Numeracy. (Always a delight)
Not really the most exciting day for me but i suppose securing the future of Lyndon Green does hold its exciting challenges. To be one step ahead and continually reflecting and improving is always a challenge. Therefore if this is the challenge then I wholeheartedly accept it.
I am looking forward to a visit from Link2ict who are coming to discuss our use of twitter and why I feel it is important. This is hopefully going to be a feature in the next newsletter. As Bros once said 'When will I, will I be famous?' Actually hopefully never, I am more than happy doing my job quietly (don't laugh staff) and letting what we do in the school become famous.
So challenge tonight is to see if we can hit more than 87 individual hits on this blog as well as if you would oblige, please visit Class 4D's blog and leave them a comment they would be delighted. Ta mucho. Mr. R
http://lgjs4d.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/our-vile-week.html
Ok, so onwards. What's happened in school today? Well we had a special visitor to help promote our Environmental cause. It was made extra special by the fact it was a robot. I am still trying to work out how it worked but no matter how it worked, the children were engrossed in the message as well as participating. Thankyou Mrs. P for arranging it. So what happened next? Money time. I spent the best part of the new three hours discussing schools finances and looking forward to next year as well as discussing our financial priorities in terms of resources and staffing. I enjoy doing this because I know in advance the exciting things that we are trying to achieve in school. I can say here and now that we will be developing one of the playgrounds with play facilities that will support our successes at sport.
The rest of the day was then spent completing paperwork, exciting hey. It was interspersed with children visiting me to show their brilliant work in Numeracy. (Always a delight)
Not really the most exciting day for me but i suppose securing the future of Lyndon Green does hold its exciting challenges. To be one step ahead and continually reflecting and improving is always a challenge. Therefore if this is the challenge then I wholeheartedly accept it.
I am looking forward to a visit from Link2ict who are coming to discuss our use of twitter and why I feel it is important. This is hopefully going to be a feature in the next newsletter. As Bros once said 'When will I, will I be famous?' Actually hopefully never, I am more than happy doing my job quietly (don't laugh staff) and letting what we do in the school become famous.
So challenge tonight is to see if we can hit more than 87 individual hits on this blog as well as if you would oblige, please visit Class 4D's blog and leave them a comment they would be delighted. Ta mucho. Mr. R
http://lgjs4d.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/our-vile-week.html
?????????????????? 25.1.13
No it is not a mistake, it is genuinely my thoughts being processed. Lets not get too down and lets remind ourselves of the amazing things that we do and share everyday through our school community............ Ok I'll settle for the fact it is Friday.
So what happened today, well lots and lots and lots. An assembly with the whole school and just myself, trying to work on a few songs and perfect them. I must commend the Year 6 today for their enthusiastic singing!!!! We will make great singers out of them yet. I also shared with the school what each other was doing through the power of Twitter, we saw, shared and was disgusted at some of the antics going on. Such fun.
After assembly my favourite part of the whole day.....Lunchtime. I jest.
It was time for Numeracy, yippee, only 6 in out of 7 today but I still put them through their paces and the sweat was literally rolling down their cheeks. Got to make them work if they are getting to sit on my nice chairs. They were all genuinely amazed that I mention them on here and whilst Tom was trying to start yet another conversation about the Villa the rest of us were sighing with the thought 'Not again!' Great effort all round today. So proud of them.
The afternoon was then spent being visited by children with great work from different classes intermingled with a series of impromptu meetings. And then the moment of calm when the 3.30 bell tolls, the school falls silent and everyone leaves. You know I hate it. Time to reflect on the week, catch up with emails and Twitter and then prepare for the homeward journey and to the choice of what to eat.
I'm just finishing this blog at 7.15 before I take my youngest to bed and have a cheeky snooze whilst he falls asleep. I wish you all a brilliant weekend. I already know we have an exciting week ahead and an exciting visitor on Monday. Going to have a quiet technology weekend, but I doubt it.
Enjoy all the photos from today, again fabulous art.
Don't forget to leave a comment if you have had a good week or have enjoyed seeing the photos or not.
Relax. Mr. R.
So what happened today, well lots and lots and lots. An assembly with the whole school and just myself, trying to work on a few songs and perfect them. I must commend the Year 6 today for their enthusiastic singing!!!! We will make great singers out of them yet. I also shared with the school what each other was doing through the power of Twitter, we saw, shared and was disgusted at some of the antics going on. Such fun.
After assembly my favourite part of the whole day.....Lunchtime. I jest.
It was time for Numeracy, yippee, only 6 in out of 7 today but I still put them through their paces and the sweat was literally rolling down their cheeks. Got to make them work if they are getting to sit on my nice chairs. They were all genuinely amazed that I mention them on here and whilst Tom was trying to start yet another conversation about the Villa the rest of us were sighing with the thought 'Not again!' Great effort all round today. So proud of them.
The afternoon was then spent being visited by children with great work from different classes intermingled with a series of impromptu meetings. And then the moment of calm when the 3.30 bell tolls, the school falls silent and everyone leaves. You know I hate it. Time to reflect on the week, catch up with emails and Twitter and then prepare for the homeward journey and to the choice of what to eat.
I'm just finishing this blog at 7.15 before I take my youngest to bed and have a cheeky snooze whilst he falls asleep. I wish you all a brilliant weekend. I already know we have an exciting week ahead and an exciting visitor on Monday. Going to have a quiet technology weekend, but I doubt it.
Enjoy all the photos from today, again fabulous art.
Don't forget to leave a comment if you have had a good week or have enjoyed seeing the photos or not.
Relax. Mr. R.