As I start a new term I thought I would reflect on the last term. It was a very busy term: two trips, snow, parents evening, mini reports and a production to name a few of the activities.
In some ways I found the term quite hard. I found out that I had a very picky parent in my class. This meant having to quickly put together greater extension work for some of the children in Maths and a feeling that I was being watched constantly.
I also had problems with Shaun. His Mum came to see me because she had found he had a pencil case and some football cards that weren’t his. She also told me he had taken large amounts of money from her and a mobile phone. I had to speak to him about it and so far there have been no more problems.
I have found that I have had to rely on God more and more in order to face every situation that faces me in my role as a teacher. I’m learning in new ways that teaching isn’t just about teaching.
The end of the term was especially busy because year 3 and 4 were doing their production. The rehearsals were manic with brooms, crowns and dresses flying everywhere. However on the performance the children were brilliant and made us very proud.
The term to come is also going to be hectic and I will face new challenges, such as writing full reports!
Today at school the newest boy in my class, Chris, came up to me in the playground and asked if I wanted him to get the register. I told him that it wasn’t time yet, but he could get it in 15 minutes. Quick as a flash, from under his jumper, he produced not only my register but the year 3 and year 6 registers! Grinning, he proudly told me he had already got them!
The world was white and at 6.45am on Monday I got a call to say that school was going to be closed. Despite good intentions of preparing all my lessons for the rest of the term I ended up going out and playing in the snow! It was an unexpected day of fun!
As a side note I was shocked when I went back to school to find that only about 3 of the children in my class knew what sledging was. I had to draw a picture on the board to show them! What a shame that they haven’t had a chance to experience it.
I recently took my class on a trip. It was a brilliant day and gave me a chance to spend some quality time with some of my children as well as getting to know some of the parents better. I think dealing with the parents is the part of teaching which I find the hardest, so it was a good opportunity to spend some time chatting with them on the coach.
There is so much to organise for a trip: making sure you have booked well in advance; organising what the children will be doing while you are there; which children you’ll put in which groups; what the children need to bring with them; which parents are going to help; health and safety….to name a few!
Thankfully everything went really well. I didn’t leave anyone and all the children were enthusiastic and exhausted by the end. I was exhausted as well!
Had a very relaxing holiday, which was great! I had mixed feelings about going back; on the one hand I didn’t want to face early mornings and noisy children but on the other hand I was actually getting a little bored at home.
When it came to it I really enjoyed seeing my class again and hearing about what they had been up to. I love the way children are so excited about telling anyone who will listen everything they have been doing and thinking! It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to get to know them so well.
I have a new boy in my class - Zack. He is a very friendly chap and has already given me his opinions on his past schools. I suspect he will be reporting back to his parents on me as well!
We have been levelling children’s writing this week. This is a time consuming process, and it seems everyone has a different opinion about it. It has even caused rifts between members of staff. It is difficult to stay out of the arguements and politics of the staffroom. As a Christian I am trying not to take sides or get involved, but I have found that I have been cornered and quizzed about my opinion. I don’t know if this is because I am young and a new NQT but it makes situations awkward and potentially strains relationships. I am hoping that by the time we come back after Christmas everyone will be refreshed and more forgiving.
The month of December, the time of good cheer….”
Just a flavour of the Christmas spirit at school! As my classroom is adjoined to the hall I hear the carols on a daily basis and therefore have them running through my head almost constantly! We have a carol concert next week so the Head of Music takes every opportunity to have the children in the hall singing their hearts out.
Children and teachers are definately ready for a holiday. My class seem to have forgotten how to talk rather than shout and cannot concentrate on a piece of work for more than approximately 10 minutes. The same goes for the staff! Despite this, it is lovely to see the Christmas decorations around school and catch some of the excitement.
On Monday when I was teaching the children about how Christains celebrate Christmas I was able to give them a real insight into why Christmas is important. It led to a lot of interesting questions such as: was Jesus real? It was such a blessing to be able to discuss this with the class.
This is a little delayed, but I will try to update you all on what has been happening with me.
Half term was a relief - I was exhuasted! I was so tired that I found myself putting the cereal away in the fridge! It was a great break and I made sure I had some time which was completely off, although I did pop into school a couple of days.
Henry has left the school. I have a mixture of emotions - there is an element of relief that I no longer have to deal with his severe behaviour problems, but I also feel very sad that he couldn’t settle at the school and has had to move on. He really needed to be somewhere where he would feel safe and have soem stability. I just pray that God will be working in his life.
Henry did leave me with one funny story before he left. We had a Shakespeare company coming to school to do some work with the children. Henry had been unsettled in assembly so my mentor came into my class and asked if there was anyone who thought they might not be able to behave in the afternoon - Henry put his hand up! He did get to go to some of the performance but he also sat out of some and did work. What a funny thing to put his hand up!
Apart from Henry I have also had a parent in. She feels that her son Alan is not being challenged enough in Literacy. She was quite scary when she spoke to me, so I am going to have to have a think about what I can do. Personally I think he is a little lazy. He is clever, but he hardly ever finishes his work. Sometimes parents are more trouble than the children!
Only 2 days left til half term and I’m really excited about it! I’m enjoying teaching, but I’m ready for a little break. The children were wild today! I’m not sure what had got into them but they seemed to have lost the ability to speak at a normal volume and therefore it was a very noisy classroom! Despite this they did some lovely freeze frames to think about chronology and plot in stories which was great fun. I’m hoping for a quieter, but just as enjoyable day tomorrow.
Had a really good time last week. It was very busy but there were some great days. Thursday was lovely - all the children had come dressed as characters from books and I had told them that they all had to do a 1 minute talk on their character. It was great to see them so excited and eager to share. It’s lovely when they have worked hard on something and want to tell everyone about it. After they had given their presentations they made me do one! I was dressed as Pippi Longstockings and they gave me marks on how I did. The marks I was given ranged from 100/100 to not speaking clearly and talking too fast! Everyone was so engaged and wanting to participate I left school on a high!
