Thank you and see you soon. 24.5.13
Do you love the picture? I do. If you are not aware who it is, it is Jim Henson, the founder and creator of The Muppets with perhaps his most famous puppet, Kermit the Frog. Jim Henson died over 13 years ago and this picture really does epitomise the loss that the industry felt as well as saying how people maybe gone but they are not forgotten. I upload this as we are about to break up for half term, just to say a huge thank you to everyone for their hard work and efforts over the last half term and a week will go by quickly, so enjoy the rest and I will see you all soon.
I have attached the latest newsletter from school so that everyone can keep up to date with what is going on. A number of highlights include
You know I am really proud of all of our pupils in the school and everything that they do on a daily basis, the newsletter is just an extension of how we inform our parents about everything that we do. Whilst not everything is perfect, we do try and our intentions are that we try to get everything we do as right as we can. Giving the children the best opportunities they can will help them with their future learning pathways. It is our goal to build memories, leaving our school with 'Do you remember moments....' is as important as ensuring that they achieve, attain and progress. Therefore, the children of LGJS will always be given new and exciting opportunities, from visits to visitors to new technologies. I will ensure this.
Friday has been its usual busy day, starting with the last class assembly of the year. Class 10M allowed us to share in their learning and it was fabulous. Lots of brilliant voices, super singing and the most exhausting dancing I have ever witnessed. Thanks for such a great start to the day. The rest of assembly was filled with regular items such as attendance, trophies from outside of school as well as recognising the achievements of the Boys and Girls Football Teams and the Tag Rugby team. It makes me feel very proud to be able to recognise their achievements.
The end of the half term also brings with it the end of another set of topics. I hope everyone has enjoyed what they have been doing, I certainly have enjoyed seeing the work that the children have produced. It really is impressive how they have taken their skills to such a good level. This curriculum really has played on the children's imaginations and with that they have soared. We enter the final half term about to review the progress and the process that the children have made and undertaken.
All this week I have been highlighting a number of events, such as the Global Gourmet Cafe's, and tonight I want to share with you the work that the Year 5 have been doing. Their topic was Scream Machine, a very technical topic with a real emphasis on Physics. As a result of their hardwork and studies the children have been constructing their own roller coasters and then using ICT to make a short film about them. To se them individually you can check our Twitter feed, you can also have a look at our You Tube channel through the link at the bottom of this blog.
That's all folks, I hope you all have a fabulous rest, fingers crossed the weather improves. I'm going to spend my time trying to do as little as possible and getting as much rest as possible before the start of another jam packed term. Priorities for the next half term are
Reports
Governor Awards
Staffing
Future planning
School Development planning
Playground developments....
Oh and ensuring our children get the very best teaching that they can. As you can see a rest is needed. I will see you all again on the 4th June, the staff are back in on the 3rd of June and we shall be focussing on gathering their views on what makes appropriate homework.
See you all soon.
Please stop by to have a look at our You Tube channel. You will find a huge variety of videos that have been made and uploaded to this channel. We hope you enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/lyndongreenjunior
I have attached the latest newsletter from school so that everyone can keep up to date with what is going on. A number of highlights include
- Sporting success
- Summer Fayre
- Uniform
You know I am really proud of all of our pupils in the school and everything that they do on a daily basis, the newsletter is just an extension of how we inform our parents about everything that we do. Whilst not everything is perfect, we do try and our intentions are that we try to get everything we do as right as we can. Giving the children the best opportunities they can will help them with their future learning pathways. It is our goal to build memories, leaving our school with 'Do you remember moments....' is as important as ensuring that they achieve, attain and progress. Therefore, the children of LGJS will always be given new and exciting opportunities, from visits to visitors to new technologies. I will ensure this.
Friday has been its usual busy day, starting with the last class assembly of the year. Class 10M allowed us to share in their learning and it was fabulous. Lots of brilliant voices, super singing and the most exhausting dancing I have ever witnessed. Thanks for such a great start to the day. The rest of assembly was filled with regular items such as attendance, trophies from outside of school as well as recognising the achievements of the Boys and Girls Football Teams and the Tag Rugby team. It makes me feel very proud to be able to recognise their achievements.
The end of the half term also brings with it the end of another set of topics. I hope everyone has enjoyed what they have been doing, I certainly have enjoyed seeing the work that the children have produced. It really is impressive how they have taken their skills to such a good level. This curriculum really has played on the children's imaginations and with that they have soared. We enter the final half term about to review the progress and the process that the children have made and undertaken.
All this week I have been highlighting a number of events, such as the Global Gourmet Cafe's, and tonight I want to share with you the work that the Year 5 have been doing. Their topic was Scream Machine, a very technical topic with a real emphasis on Physics. As a result of their hardwork and studies the children have been constructing their own roller coasters and then using ICT to make a short film about them. To se them individually you can check our Twitter feed, you can also have a look at our You Tube channel through the link at the bottom of this blog.
That's all folks, I hope you all have a fabulous rest, fingers crossed the weather improves. I'm going to spend my time trying to do as little as possible and getting as much rest as possible before the start of another jam packed term. Priorities for the next half term are
Reports
Governor Awards
Staffing
Future planning
School Development planning
Playground developments....
Oh and ensuring our children get the very best teaching that they can. As you can see a rest is needed. I will see you all again on the 4th June, the staff are back in on the 3rd of June and we shall be focussing on gathering their views on what makes appropriate homework.
See you all soon.
Please stop by to have a look at our You Tube channel. You will find a huge variety of videos that have been made and uploaded to this channel. We hope you enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/lyndongreenjunior
A time to shine 23.5.13
Another day, another busy schedule completed. Sadly, I haven't left the office area today and that was all down to the interviews that Mrs. P and I were conducting. From the office we can see the whole school going by and they certainly did on many occasions.
Our day was slightly turned on its head because of our visitor. Yesterday, I said that the school was looking forward to the visit of Ciaran Murtagh, from the feedback of the children and the staff, we definitely were not disappointed. After entertaining the pupils on the writing process for over an hour, he was then kind enough to sign every book personally, this lasted nearly 3/4's of an hour. We are really glad that Ciaran could attend today as it is important that we inspire the children through the writing process as well as letting them see the people behind the books. Another really worthwhile event. We have purchased a number of his books to go into the library for those children that didn't manage to get one today. You can see a clip of Ciaran in school at the bottom of the blog.
So as you knew, most of my day has been spent interviewing prospective candidates to fit our school. I was looking for teachers that want to inspire our children as well as fit into the already existing teaching staff that I have. A good day and all good candidates. I can reveal that I have approached two teachers with the offer of a job from September 2013 and both have accepted. All the candidates would have brought something to the school but those approached will boost our already super team in their own way. I am not revealing any names this evening as checks still have to be made and it has all to be confirmed but we are well down that road. What happens now is that I have to start to look at the staffing for next year, this means matching the staff together to create strong teams as well as matching the pupils to the teachers. It is a difficult process and many plans are made before it is revealed to everyone. I won't start this until after half term.
Another Global Cafe this afternoon hosted by Class 4S, another really well attended event and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that attended over the last three days, your support has been fabulous. As well as those that attended, we also had a number of the Lyndon Green family that gave up their time to come in and support the staff and children to put on such great events. A massive thank you.
Lots of pictures on the blog today, taken directly from our twitter site. It looks like class 6C and 10M have been very busy. You can see a number of cooking activities as well as those fractured Fairy Tales that I spoke of yesterday. Hopefully we will see more from the others classes tomorrow on what is the last day before half term.
The very last class assembly tomorrow of the year, that means everyone apart from Year 6, who do a big performance before their awards ceremony, has completed an assembly to share their learning with everyone. I think after seeing small snippets, the assembly tomorrow might turn out to be a show stealer. Good luck 10M.
Latest football news is another two games played and another two wins, scoring 14 goals and conceding none. An excellent effort.
It is 'Empty Vessels' time and I know you like this sections but today I have no news, I haven't heard anything from Mr. Gove today, therefore it is a great day.
Have a super evening! I still haven't got over my wine gum craving and will always accept more. In more peculiar news, my northern tones seem to be returning. not sure why either, maybe it is a calling.
My thoughts this evening are with the family of Drummer Lee Rigby, sadly killed in Woolwich yesterday evening.
Our day was slightly turned on its head because of our visitor. Yesterday, I said that the school was looking forward to the visit of Ciaran Murtagh, from the feedback of the children and the staff, we definitely were not disappointed. After entertaining the pupils on the writing process for over an hour, he was then kind enough to sign every book personally, this lasted nearly 3/4's of an hour. We are really glad that Ciaran could attend today as it is important that we inspire the children through the writing process as well as letting them see the people behind the books. Another really worthwhile event. We have purchased a number of his books to go into the library for those children that didn't manage to get one today. You can see a clip of Ciaran in school at the bottom of the blog.
So as you knew, most of my day has been spent interviewing prospective candidates to fit our school. I was looking for teachers that want to inspire our children as well as fit into the already existing teaching staff that I have. A good day and all good candidates. I can reveal that I have approached two teachers with the offer of a job from September 2013 and both have accepted. All the candidates would have brought something to the school but those approached will boost our already super team in their own way. I am not revealing any names this evening as checks still have to be made and it has all to be confirmed but we are well down that road. What happens now is that I have to start to look at the staffing for next year, this means matching the staff together to create strong teams as well as matching the pupils to the teachers. It is a difficult process and many plans are made before it is revealed to everyone. I won't start this until after half term.
Another Global Cafe this afternoon hosted by Class 4S, another really well attended event and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that attended over the last three days, your support has been fabulous. As well as those that attended, we also had a number of the Lyndon Green family that gave up their time to come in and support the staff and children to put on such great events. A massive thank you.
Lots of pictures on the blog today, taken directly from our twitter site. It looks like class 6C and 10M have been very busy. You can see a number of cooking activities as well as those fractured Fairy Tales that I spoke of yesterday. Hopefully we will see more from the others classes tomorrow on what is the last day before half term.
The very last class assembly tomorrow of the year, that means everyone apart from Year 6, who do a big performance before their awards ceremony, has completed an assembly to share their learning with everyone. I think after seeing small snippets, the assembly tomorrow might turn out to be a show stealer. Good luck 10M.
Latest football news is another two games played and another two wins, scoring 14 goals and conceding none. An excellent effort.
It is 'Empty Vessels' time and I know you like this sections but today I have no news, I haven't heard anything from Mr. Gove today, therefore it is a great day.
Have a super evening! I still haven't got over my wine gum craving and will always accept more. In more peculiar news, my northern tones seem to be returning. not sure why either, maybe it is a calling.
My thoughts this evening are with the family of Drummer Lee Rigby, sadly killed in Woolwich yesterday evening.
Tres busy and the hunt for wine gums 22.5.13
A very quick update now that the storm has cleared (i.e. the Tag Rugby team has left the building) Yesterday felt very successful in terms of the future of schooling for the children of LGJS. The political climate that we are currently experiencing puts us all under pressure. I know that I have to have the highest standards for the children here, that includes making sure our results are the best that they can ever be. It would be stupid of us to not realise that this is essential because the outside world only ever sees data and we all know that data can be interpreted in so many different way and positive and negative spins can be put on everything.
However, whilst never and I mean never ignoring our data, to ignore life experiences, fun and engaging pupils would be foolish, you cannot fill a school with unhappy children and that is why we took the shift to develop our teaching pedagogy so that it engages pupils more. As a result of this we have children that want to attend school, out attendance is continually over 97% for the school year, that they talk about their learning and that they acquire the skills to make them independent learners with a wealth of knowledge that surpasses previous expectations. The Global Cafe's that we are running this week in Year 4 are a result of the work that the children have been completing over the last 6 weeks, it isn't just a last minute thought. This is the children interpreting their learning in a fun and engaging way and then presenting it to the most important people in their lives. I hope those that attend this week recognise that this is their doing, they are doing it to show how learning can be displayed rather than just scrolling through books at Parents Evening. Therefore this commitment to our children and our community, to go back to the original point, is important when we begin to look at the future of our school. The meeting we attended last evening, a huge thanks to all our Governors that could attend, was positive and now we can take our journey further when we come together on the 10th June. It is our job to begin to explain to all the stakeholders (I hate the word) about why and what we are doing.
That's enough for today so far, it is 9:20 and I have work to do. The Tag Rugby team have left for the day to take part in the Tag to Twickers competition and I have a tight schedule before I have to leave school to go and observe another teacher in action. I will make sure that I finish the blog later and do any alterations to the original post.
Back to it, 6:30 and a few minutes to continue the blog for this evening and it is dominated by one thing.......... WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ! Our Tag Rugby Team have won the area competition of the Tag to Twickers competition. This means that they will go through to the All Birmingham Finals at Tally Ho. Our coaches obviously worked their magic to make sure we bettered our result of last year. It was nice to see that we faced our usual rivals and we certainly persevered to bring home the trophy, well done to all of you, I am very proud of you all.
A really busy day then for me, I left you prior to leaving to go to another school. Before that I received a really important phone call. The call was in regards to the playground development. A simple request, could the company come in person to drop the quote in. Of course they could. It was a nice surprise and the plans look good. We have to see how competitive it is now compared to the other quotes that we have coming in. Then and only then can I go to Governors to get the approval to spend. Exciting times ahead.
So off we trotted to another part of the City, not knowing what to expect when we get there. I was pleased with what I saw. I do something a little strange. I can tell whether a teacher is good enough within 5 to 10 minutes, but peculiarly (nothing new for me) I close my eyes to see if the voice would fit our school. Interestingly after admitting this to Mrs. P. she also did the same thing. Must be a Scottish thing (slightly weird) I'm not going to tell you my conclusion here, just in case any candidates read the blog. Still a full day of interviews to come.
After a quick dash back to school, quick bite to eat, it was back out again to Acocks Green to drop off all the trophies and medals for engraving. It is that time of year when we have to send off a bulk load of trophies etc. to be engraved with our name on. It is also part of the preparation for our annual Governor Awards. Is it really that time of year again?
Once back into school, it was great to be visited by 4 girls from Year 6. Although a slightly strange experience. They all came down with outstanding writing, however slightly warped. Their work was based on fractured traditional tales, stories with twists. So upon reading how The Elves and the Shoemaker no longer involves shoes but pants. The Ugly Duckling involving more than one ugly duckling and they were sold for food. I know slightly disturbing but highly entertaining, as were the girls.
Now yesterday I placed my order for the Global Cafe that was being run today. It was the turn of Class 4D, however, I wasn't able to attend today as I gotcaught up with something else. Now I thought I had struck a deal to have my food delivered, having waited and waited, I was reliably informed, quite independently that it was company policy that to get food you had to be present in the Cafe. Okaaaaayyyy, I think I've been told.
That is the day in a nutshell, busy as ever, however it is not over yet as still more preparation to do for the Interviews tomorrow. I suppose that is the fun part of the job, it doesn’t stop when you leave work, in fact it doesn’t stop. I secretly like it though, although recently I have decided that down time is good for the soul. I am chuckling writing this because i think it is one of my family members who said that the hardest part of being a HT is to decide which window to look out of in an afternoon, or something like that. Oh, how I laughed.................#tumbleweed.......................
From now on the last section of the blog will be dedicated to my favourite person in the whole world (no not myself) it is the one and only Mr. Gove. I was going to call it ‘Idiots Corner’ but that would be offensive, so instead it will be simply called ‘Empty Vessels Corner.’ Please remember these views are mine and mine alone, technically this is a lie because I know many people that share the same feeling. So what impact has he had today. He has talked about the impact and the need for Free Schools. My response was to booo the radio. End of news!
That’s all folks, seem to have real craving for wine gums this evening, not sure why, slightly peculiar, but that’s me. Well done again to Class 4D, he says through gritted teeth and to the Tag Rugby team. A brilliant day. Wish me luck for tomorrow, we will make the right choices for the school when deciding whether we employ any new teachers.
Last but not least, really looking forward to the visit of Ciaran Murtagh tomorrow, have a look at his Youtube video below. Very entertaining.
However, whilst never and I mean never ignoring our data, to ignore life experiences, fun and engaging pupils would be foolish, you cannot fill a school with unhappy children and that is why we took the shift to develop our teaching pedagogy so that it engages pupils more. As a result of this we have children that want to attend school, out attendance is continually over 97% for the school year, that they talk about their learning and that they acquire the skills to make them independent learners with a wealth of knowledge that surpasses previous expectations. The Global Cafe's that we are running this week in Year 4 are a result of the work that the children have been completing over the last 6 weeks, it isn't just a last minute thought. This is the children interpreting their learning in a fun and engaging way and then presenting it to the most important people in their lives. I hope those that attend this week recognise that this is their doing, they are doing it to show how learning can be displayed rather than just scrolling through books at Parents Evening. Therefore this commitment to our children and our community, to go back to the original point, is important when we begin to look at the future of our school. The meeting we attended last evening, a huge thanks to all our Governors that could attend, was positive and now we can take our journey further when we come together on the 10th June. It is our job to begin to explain to all the stakeholders (I hate the word) about why and what we are doing.
That's enough for today so far, it is 9:20 and I have work to do. The Tag Rugby team have left for the day to take part in the Tag to Twickers competition and I have a tight schedule before I have to leave school to go and observe another teacher in action. I will make sure that I finish the blog later and do any alterations to the original post.
Back to it, 6:30 and a few minutes to continue the blog for this evening and it is dominated by one thing.......... WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ! Our Tag Rugby Team have won the area competition of the Tag to Twickers competition. This means that they will go through to the All Birmingham Finals at Tally Ho. Our coaches obviously worked their magic to make sure we bettered our result of last year. It was nice to see that we faced our usual rivals and we certainly persevered to bring home the trophy, well done to all of you, I am very proud of you all.
A really busy day then for me, I left you prior to leaving to go to another school. Before that I received a really important phone call. The call was in regards to the playground development. A simple request, could the company come in person to drop the quote in. Of course they could. It was a nice surprise and the plans look good. We have to see how competitive it is now compared to the other quotes that we have coming in. Then and only then can I go to Governors to get the approval to spend. Exciting times ahead.
So off we trotted to another part of the City, not knowing what to expect when we get there. I was pleased with what I saw. I do something a little strange. I can tell whether a teacher is good enough within 5 to 10 minutes, but peculiarly (nothing new for me) I close my eyes to see if the voice would fit our school. Interestingly after admitting this to Mrs. P. she also did the same thing. Must be a Scottish thing (slightly weird) I'm not going to tell you my conclusion here, just in case any candidates read the blog. Still a full day of interviews to come.
After a quick dash back to school, quick bite to eat, it was back out again to Acocks Green to drop off all the trophies and medals for engraving. It is that time of year when we have to send off a bulk load of trophies etc. to be engraved with our name on. It is also part of the preparation for our annual Governor Awards. Is it really that time of year again?
Once back into school, it was great to be visited by 4 girls from Year 6. Although a slightly strange experience. They all came down with outstanding writing, however slightly warped. Their work was based on fractured traditional tales, stories with twists. So upon reading how The Elves and the Shoemaker no longer involves shoes but pants. The Ugly Duckling involving more than one ugly duckling and they were sold for food. I know slightly disturbing but highly entertaining, as were the girls.
Now yesterday I placed my order for the Global Cafe that was being run today. It was the turn of Class 4D, however, I wasn't able to attend today as I gotcaught up with something else. Now I thought I had struck a deal to have my food delivered, having waited and waited, I was reliably informed, quite independently that it was company policy that to get food you had to be present in the Cafe. Okaaaaayyyy, I think I've been told.
That is the day in a nutshell, busy as ever, however it is not over yet as still more preparation to do for the Interviews tomorrow. I suppose that is the fun part of the job, it doesn’t stop when you leave work, in fact it doesn’t stop. I secretly like it though, although recently I have decided that down time is good for the soul. I am chuckling writing this because i think it is one of my family members who said that the hardest part of being a HT is to decide which window to look out of in an afternoon, or something like that. Oh, how I laughed.................#tumbleweed.......................
From now on the last section of the blog will be dedicated to my favourite person in the whole world (no not myself) it is the one and only Mr. Gove. I was going to call it ‘Idiots Corner’ but that would be offensive, so instead it will be simply called ‘Empty Vessels Corner.’ Please remember these views are mine and mine alone, technically this is a lie because I know many people that share the same feeling. So what impact has he had today. He has talked about the impact and the need for Free Schools. My response was to booo the radio. End of news!
That’s all folks, seem to have real craving for wine gums this evening, not sure why, slightly peculiar, but that’s me. Well done again to Class 4D, he says through gritted teeth and to the Tag Rugby team. A brilliant day. Wish me luck for tomorrow, we will make the right choices for the school when deciding whether we employ any new teachers.
Last but not least, really looking forward to the visit of Ciaran Murtagh tomorrow, have a look at his Youtube video below. Very entertaining.
Short and Sweet 21.5.13
A really busy day today across the school but sadly not enough time to complete a really lengthy blog due to time restrictions. Tonight is the Co-Operative meeting with the local schools in the area. I will plan to update the blog with the events of today either in the morning or in the afternoon once Mrs. P and I have returned from watching a prospective candidate.
It was great to see so many parents in school this afternoon experiencing the global delights that your children had concocted during their Global Gourmet topic. Thank you it means so much to everyone. We look forward to seeing even more of you tomorrow and Thursday.
It was great to see so many parents in school this afternoon experiencing the global delights that your children had concocted during their Global Gourmet topic. Thank you it means so much to everyone. We look forward to seeing even more of you tomorrow and Thursday.
Back to normality 20.5.13
After the excitement of SATs last week, it was most definitely back down to earth with a bump! Deflation, deflation, deflation, I really think all the children and staff involved in the joyous task of SATs were running on adrenalin and now the tanks are empty.
It was great to not to have to jump through the annual hoops but today was back to the low adrenalin pumping paperwork, as well as trying to catch up with everything that was supposed to be completed last week. It was an ordinary day made brighter by the many visits of children. I can officially say that all the tests have been collected and are now on their way to the markers in Kent and Gloucestershire. I wished them good luck as they left my office. Let's hope that we don't need good luck and they truly represent the ability of our children.
To say today was back to normality and then to read the quote doesn't really reflect what goes on in school. I actually sat at about 9:30 and just listened. What could I hear? The sound of laughter filtering through the corridor, from my open windows I could hear the joyous noises filtering from Forest School and then looking forward to the screen that displayed 20 unread emails, I knew that today was a good day at LGJS. Lots to do and all purposeful.
It was nice to be able to welcome into school teachers from The Oaklands Primary School in Acocks Green. They spent the morning with us looking at what we do and how we do things at LGJS. It is great to always be able to spend time in other schools. I think as educators, we get very narrow minded by the location that we are in. The day goes so fast that we often forget that there are many other schools out there. Therefore, when you can, it is great to go and see what other people are doing, either as an affirmation that you are doing a good job, or simply to pinch ideas. I said the other day, not a day goes by that we don’t learn something new. Tomorrow we welcome the teachers of Years 3 and 4 from the same school. I hope they feel very welcome.
A really busy week this week (good) lots of different events and meetings etc. to look forward to and participate in. Year 4 are running their Global Gourmet Cafe sessions for the next three afternoons, it will be great to see everyone, I hope you enjoy the food that the children prepare, I promise to keep Mr. Sheehan away from the food prep, and you spend an enjoyable time with your children.
We have the Tag to Twickers competition on Wednesday with our expert coaches in charge, Mrs. Green and Miss O’Connor, good luck to the children, you will need it, maybe we should explain the rules to them.
To finish the week we have the last class assembly of the year. Class 10M will be presenting their learning through song and acting, we cannot wait, as well as Language Alive, making a welcome return to school for the Year 5.
For myself, a huge meeting after school tomorrow at the Infant School. Our Governors will be attending a Co-Operative meeting with other schools in the local area, an opportunity to find out information and to see how many schools are looking to forge a worthwhile partnership. I cannot wait. On Wednesday Mrs. P and I will be out of school in the morning, we are going to another school to share in the learning of a potential teacher for our school, exciting. On Thursday we will be spending the whole day locked away interviewing, trying to ensure we choose the best teachers we can for our school.
So as you can see a really busy week on the run in to the Whitsun holiday. I’m hoping to share as much as possible this week on the blog but do forgive me if I miss a day out.
Thanks for reading, one last thing if anyone felt a strange dark presence in and around the city this weekend, it was a feeling shared by a lot of people, it was like a gloom descending, I suppose a little bit like what Harry Potter experiences. If you did, don’t panic it was only Mr. Gove(Education Minister) attending the Head Teachers conference in the city centre, he’d left by Sunday, hence the beautiful weather. Have fun everyone, Mr. R.
It was great to not to have to jump through the annual hoops but today was back to the low adrenalin pumping paperwork, as well as trying to catch up with everything that was supposed to be completed last week. It was an ordinary day made brighter by the many visits of children. I can officially say that all the tests have been collected and are now on their way to the markers in Kent and Gloucestershire. I wished them good luck as they left my office. Let's hope that we don't need good luck and they truly represent the ability of our children.
To say today was back to normality and then to read the quote doesn't really reflect what goes on in school. I actually sat at about 9:30 and just listened. What could I hear? The sound of laughter filtering through the corridor, from my open windows I could hear the joyous noises filtering from Forest School and then looking forward to the screen that displayed 20 unread emails, I knew that today was a good day at LGJS. Lots to do and all purposeful.
It was nice to be able to welcome into school teachers from The Oaklands Primary School in Acocks Green. They spent the morning with us looking at what we do and how we do things at LGJS. It is great to always be able to spend time in other schools. I think as educators, we get very narrow minded by the location that we are in. The day goes so fast that we often forget that there are many other schools out there. Therefore, when you can, it is great to go and see what other people are doing, either as an affirmation that you are doing a good job, or simply to pinch ideas. I said the other day, not a day goes by that we don’t learn something new. Tomorrow we welcome the teachers of Years 3 and 4 from the same school. I hope they feel very welcome.
A really busy week this week (good) lots of different events and meetings etc. to look forward to and participate in. Year 4 are running their Global Gourmet Cafe sessions for the next three afternoons, it will be great to see everyone, I hope you enjoy the food that the children prepare, I promise to keep Mr. Sheehan away from the food prep, and you spend an enjoyable time with your children.
We have the Tag to Twickers competition on Wednesday with our expert coaches in charge, Mrs. Green and Miss O’Connor, good luck to the children, you will need it, maybe we should explain the rules to them.
To finish the week we have the last class assembly of the year. Class 10M will be presenting their learning through song and acting, we cannot wait, as well as Language Alive, making a welcome return to school for the Year 5.
For myself, a huge meeting after school tomorrow at the Infant School. Our Governors will be attending a Co-Operative meeting with other schools in the local area, an opportunity to find out information and to see how many schools are looking to forge a worthwhile partnership. I cannot wait. On Wednesday Mrs. P and I will be out of school in the morning, we are going to another school to share in the learning of a potential teacher for our school, exciting. On Thursday we will be spending the whole day locked away interviewing, trying to ensure we choose the best teachers we can for our school.
So as you can see a really busy week on the run in to the Whitsun holiday. I’m hoping to share as much as possible this week on the blog but do forgive me if I miss a day out.
Thanks for reading, one last thing if anyone felt a strange dark presence in and around the city this weekend, it was a feeling shared by a lot of people, it was like a gloom descending, I suppose a little bit like what Harry Potter experiences. If you did, don’t panic it was only Mr. Gove(Education Minister) attending the Head Teachers conference in the city centre, he’d left by Sunday, hence the beautiful weather. Have fun everyone, Mr. R.