Questions, questions, questions 6.6.13
What makes you happy? What makes you want to shout out? Can you even begin to answer these questions? I know, I know lots of questions. Or are there any answers? Do I have to differentiate between professional and private? Is it possible?
I have to say here and now that there is something about Lyndon Green Juniors, something I don't know if I can put my finger on it, but it is something I have never felt before at the three previous schools that I have worked in. Don't get me wrong, I have loved working in all the schools that I have and would willingly return to two out of the three. Is it the people, the children, the parents? I don't quite know specifically, but maybe it is the unexpected that I encounter on a day to day basis, a nail salon taking place before I left this evening with the offer to have my nails done. Is it the fun that we have, Sorry Linda we could only afford a one way ticket to Redditch this year, not quite Switzerland. Something makes me return everyday and as teaching is such a passionate job, this place really has stolen my heart. ( I can hear the abuse from the back now, I do have a heart)
Why do I say all this? Well today felt great, personally I felt great, but there was a great atmosphere and on reflection (as usual) we make that, the whole teaching team. I don't differentiate between teachers,teaching assistants and administrators, they are just titles, we are all teachers and educators, we all work together to make LGJS a super place to be. Oh and maybe the pupils help, from putting a smile on my face from the moment I opened the door, thanks Sam, to the moment the last one leaves in the evening, a real pleasure to be with.
Lots still happening today, class 4S visited the airport as part of their new topic, apparently they met Aston Villas new signing, I think he goes by the name of Lionel Messi!!!!!!!!!! The atmosphere was still purposeful in one of the most demanding terms of the year. Now don't start the violins but the teachers really are being pushed at the moment and it is a difficult half term for everyone. They still have to weekly plan, teach, mark as per normal, but also they are trying to write the most detailed reports about the children in school. We have changed the format this year to include personal memories of the individual children, we wanted to bring a really homely feeling to the reports rather than just a mechanical process. They all have deadlines to meet like in any profession and I know they will all meet them, leaving me two weeks to read and comment on every report. Such is the life of a teacher at the moment!
Finally for this evening, actually I do have one more after. Today was the day I released the staffing structure for next year, no silliness this year just made sure the staff knew that they would all receive the email at the same time. It really creates a huge buzz, but thank goodness it is all over, they do get themselves all worked up. Sadly, this is now a confidential piece of information until we release it to the children and parents on the 3rd of July ( I think ) we don't release the info until then as we still have the end of year to think about rather than the children for next year. It doesn't stop you from guessing if you would like to, however at this point I need to inform everyone that from September we will be joined by two new members of staff and they are, Miss Jackson and Mrs Jones. I'm really excited about them joining us and I hope that like me, they feel the attraction that LGJS has for everyone. It has been said before, Lyndon Green becomes part of your DNA.
Last bit for what I thought was going to be a short blog. Homework and little geek news. It is finished and she has done it all by herself. The homework title was 'India, a mixed media'. I saw you all laughing as I left school with tissue paper, glitter and sequins, no not for my latest strictly come dancing outfit, although..... No her ideas have come to fruition and she enjoyed doing it....
Digital Friday tomorrow with pictures from assembly, newsletter as well as Governors preparation to do. If I don't get it all done it will be another Sunday spent in school so I better get a comfy seat and settle down for the day.
Thanks for reading, keep safe and let's do it again tomorrow.
What makes you happy? What makes you want to shout out? Can you even begin to answer these questions? I know, I know lots of questions. Or are there any answers? Do I have to differentiate between professional and private? Is it possible?
I have to say here and now that there is something about Lyndon Green Juniors, something I don't know if I can put my finger on it, but it is something I have never felt before at the three previous schools that I have worked in. Don't get me wrong, I have loved working in all the schools that I have and would willingly return to two out of the three. Is it the people, the children, the parents? I don't quite know specifically, but maybe it is the unexpected that I encounter on a day to day basis, a nail salon taking place before I left this evening with the offer to have my nails done. Is it the fun that we have, Sorry Linda we could only afford a one way ticket to Redditch this year, not quite Switzerland. Something makes me return everyday and as teaching is such a passionate job, this place really has stolen my heart. ( I can hear the abuse from the back now, I do have a heart)
Why do I say all this? Well today felt great, personally I felt great, but there was a great atmosphere and on reflection (as usual) we make that, the whole teaching team. I don't differentiate between teachers,teaching assistants and administrators, they are just titles, we are all teachers and educators, we all work together to make LGJS a super place to be. Oh and maybe the pupils help, from putting a smile on my face from the moment I opened the door, thanks Sam, to the moment the last one leaves in the evening, a real pleasure to be with.
Lots still happening today, class 4S visited the airport as part of their new topic, apparently they met Aston Villas new signing, I think he goes by the name of Lionel Messi!!!!!!!!!! The atmosphere was still purposeful in one of the most demanding terms of the year. Now don't start the violins but the teachers really are being pushed at the moment and it is a difficult half term for everyone. They still have to weekly plan, teach, mark as per normal, but also they are trying to write the most detailed reports about the children in school. We have changed the format this year to include personal memories of the individual children, we wanted to bring a really homely feeling to the reports rather than just a mechanical process. They all have deadlines to meet like in any profession and I know they will all meet them, leaving me two weeks to read and comment on every report. Such is the life of a teacher at the moment!
Finally for this evening, actually I do have one more after. Today was the day I released the staffing structure for next year, no silliness this year just made sure the staff knew that they would all receive the email at the same time. It really creates a huge buzz, but thank goodness it is all over, they do get themselves all worked up. Sadly, this is now a confidential piece of information until we release it to the children and parents on the 3rd of July ( I think ) we don't release the info until then as we still have the end of year to think about rather than the children for next year. It doesn't stop you from guessing if you would like to, however at this point I need to inform everyone that from September we will be joined by two new members of staff and they are, Miss Jackson and Mrs Jones. I'm really excited about them joining us and I hope that like me, they feel the attraction that LGJS has for everyone. It has been said before, Lyndon Green becomes part of your DNA.
Last bit for what I thought was going to be a short blog. Homework and little geek news. It is finished and she has done it all by herself. The homework title was 'India, a mixed media'. I saw you all laughing as I left school with tissue paper, glitter and sequins, no not for my latest strictly come dancing outfit, although..... No her ideas have come to fruition and she enjoyed doing it....
Digital Friday tomorrow with pictures from assembly, newsletter as well as Governors preparation to do. If I don't get it all done it will be another Sunday spent in school so I better get a comfy seat and settle down for the day.
Thanks for reading, keep safe and let's do it again tomorrow.
Back down to earth with a bump! 5.6.13
Nice to see you, to see you..........(I hope you all filled in the missing gaps) Great to be back in school again, it doesn't take long to shake off the cobwebs does it. It was a nice week off, apart from the weather towards the beginning, but it was a great opportunity to recharge the batteries ready for the onslaught of this term. Was it difficult to get the blog up and running again? It certainly was, but once the cobwebs have been blown off the keyboard it certainly has begun to flow once more. I hope you had a great week off and that you managed to get out and about. My highlight? Thanks for asking, was a trip to Legoland and a chance to be really daft for the day. The highlight was the embarrassment of sitting in traffic parallel with another car for about 15 minutes and my youngest blowing kisses and singing to the lady in the car next to us. Remember he is only 5 and she must have been about 25. I don't know where he gets it from!!
The staff returned to school on Monday morning bright and cheery!!!! Straight down to work looking at the school priorities and a few moans (I now like to call them development points) then it was onto looking at our view of what homework should be. I get to look at it from both perspectives as a HT and as a parent of children who hate the homework that they are given, to the point where little geek tries to do the homework in a peculiar way for instance, her 10 spellings to be put into spelling sentences, she would try to include all the spellings in one go. How about writing 5 facts about India, her response, it has 5 letters, 3 of them are vowels, I think you catch my drift. We also look at it from the fact that she also has Brownies and Cello to do. From my other perspective as a HT and a provider of education, there is an expectation to provide homework. This expectation is driven from parents, the Government have granted HT's the power to determine the level of homework and isn't prescriptive at all.(be careful Mr. R that sounded positive in relation to the DFE) Homework has to have a purpose and a value to it, otherwise it is just a pointless task.
We have already consulted our parents about what they think and had some brilliant feedback. Some comments baffle me but we know we have to get it right. So on Monday we looked at a few very open questions:
What is homework?
What is the purpose of homework?
What do we set regularly and what do we do with it?
Ideally what homework would we set for it to have a value?
Again some very carefully considered responses, this will now go forward to policy development and then to put it into practice.
The last two days have been unbelievable and it really is like we have never been away, definitely back down to earth with a bump. I'll give you an example of one days diary. Every morning we have a briefing to make sure everyone is aware of what is happening in school, this is what I wrote today:
RSE workshop for Year 5 Parents
Travel Transition workshop for Year 6
Teacher out on minibus training
4D Birmingham Airport - Flight School as part of their new topic (4W went yesterday)
5E at Gilberstone Tennis Centre - Filming for Sky TV
Lyndon Humanities visiting the children that are moving in Year 6
Tag to Twickers Training for Yr 5 and Yr 6
Swimming for 3C and 5B
oh and how about some teaching!!!!
Utter co-ordinated madness! but great fun really, remember I have said before that to be stuck in a job that doesn't make you happy must be the hardest thing in the world. It is part of my philosophy that you have got to have fun and enjoy what you do, laugh and make sure that your work place is as much fun as could be. If you are not happy, then simply time to go, find yourself, do something else that would make you smile everyday.
I watched a TV programme on BBC 3 yesterday called The Call Centre and as strange and as wacky as the CEO was, his main focus was, yes, to make sure that the company made money but to also make sure that his staff had fun and that the environment that they worked in was as enjoyable as it could be. It is the little details that count. Whilst I won't be throwing things at the staff if they yawn when I talk, I do like the idea of making them all sing to energise themselves. His philosophy, that 'happy people sell,' can easily be transferred to 'happy children and staff learn.'
Nearly finished for the day and just wanted to upload the blog before I go home. I hope you have a nice evening and that you can join us all again tomorrow for what I am sure will be another fun filled day at the helm of the good ship Lyndon Green. Be safe one and all. Amen to that!
Nice to see you, to see you..........(I hope you all filled in the missing gaps) Great to be back in school again, it doesn't take long to shake off the cobwebs does it. It was a nice week off, apart from the weather towards the beginning, but it was a great opportunity to recharge the batteries ready for the onslaught of this term. Was it difficult to get the blog up and running again? It certainly was, but once the cobwebs have been blown off the keyboard it certainly has begun to flow once more. I hope you had a great week off and that you managed to get out and about. My highlight? Thanks for asking, was a trip to Legoland and a chance to be really daft for the day. The highlight was the embarrassment of sitting in traffic parallel with another car for about 15 minutes and my youngest blowing kisses and singing to the lady in the car next to us. Remember he is only 5 and she must have been about 25. I don't know where he gets it from!!
The staff returned to school on Monday morning bright and cheery!!!! Straight down to work looking at the school priorities and a few moans (I now like to call them development points) then it was onto looking at our view of what homework should be. I get to look at it from both perspectives as a HT and as a parent of children who hate the homework that they are given, to the point where little geek tries to do the homework in a peculiar way for instance, her 10 spellings to be put into spelling sentences, she would try to include all the spellings in one go. How about writing 5 facts about India, her response, it has 5 letters, 3 of them are vowels, I think you catch my drift. We also look at it from the fact that she also has Brownies and Cello to do. From my other perspective as a HT and a provider of education, there is an expectation to provide homework. This expectation is driven from parents, the Government have granted HT's the power to determine the level of homework and isn't prescriptive at all.(be careful Mr. R that sounded positive in relation to the DFE) Homework has to have a purpose and a value to it, otherwise it is just a pointless task.
We have already consulted our parents about what they think and had some brilliant feedback. Some comments baffle me but we know we have to get it right. So on Monday we looked at a few very open questions:
What is homework?
What is the purpose of homework?
What do we set regularly and what do we do with it?
Ideally what homework would we set for it to have a value?
Again some very carefully considered responses, this will now go forward to policy development and then to put it into practice.
The last two days have been unbelievable and it really is like we have never been away, definitely back down to earth with a bump. I'll give you an example of one days diary. Every morning we have a briefing to make sure everyone is aware of what is happening in school, this is what I wrote today:
RSE workshop for Year 5 Parents
Travel Transition workshop for Year 6
Teacher out on minibus training
4D Birmingham Airport - Flight School as part of their new topic (4W went yesterday)
5E at Gilberstone Tennis Centre - Filming for Sky TV
Lyndon Humanities visiting the children that are moving in Year 6
Tag to Twickers Training for Yr 5 and Yr 6
Swimming for 3C and 5B
oh and how about some teaching!!!!
Utter co-ordinated madness! but great fun really, remember I have said before that to be stuck in a job that doesn't make you happy must be the hardest thing in the world. It is part of my philosophy that you have got to have fun and enjoy what you do, laugh and make sure that your work place is as much fun as could be. If you are not happy, then simply time to go, find yourself, do something else that would make you smile everyday.
I watched a TV programme on BBC 3 yesterday called The Call Centre and as strange and as wacky as the CEO was, his main focus was, yes, to make sure that the company made money but to also make sure that his staff had fun and that the environment that they worked in was as enjoyable as it could be. It is the little details that count. Whilst I won't be throwing things at the staff if they yawn when I talk, I do like the idea of making them all sing to energise themselves. His philosophy, that 'happy people sell,' can easily be transferred to 'happy children and staff learn.'
Nearly finished for the day and just wanted to upload the blog before I go home. I hope you have a nice evening and that you can join us all again tomorrow for what I am sure will be another fun filled day at the helm of the good ship Lyndon Green. Be safe one and all. Amen to that!