Post-PGCE Update

My placement class teacher has filled me in on the destination of the broad beans. :)

The class picked them when they were ready, cooked and enjoyed them. I am so very pleased that they turned out well and that the children had a chance to try them, as a lot of them had not tried broad beans before.

Plus, the beans that were ready later on have been dried and will be re-planted next year. So, our science experiment seems to have a lasting legacy - for the next school year at least. :)





In other news, on the NQT position hunt, I've been shortlisted four times. I've attended three interviews and taught two observed lessons. Tomorrow, I'll be teaching a third observed lesson. *fingers crossed*

Regarding job hunting, I think it is quite a nerve-racking process. 

• The application itself is long and each school/position deserves a well thought out and personalised statement/letter of application. This can obviously be time consuming, but I definitely think the extra time is necessary to reach the shortlisting stage. 
• Teaching a lesson in a school you don't know, to a class you've never met, whilst being observed by one or more senior members of staff is even more stressful. Yet, I've surprised myself by actually enjoying each of the lessons I've taught. It has made me realise that I do like being with a class and creating opportunities for them to learn and develop. :) 
• The interview section has probably been the biggest source of worry. My interviews thus-far have been with 5-person panels! You very much feel like you are in the hotseat. They also seem to have a habit of being over surprisingly fast - a short burst of pressure and then they are over and you can do no more. [Except this time, where the school have reversed the process, interviewing first and then shortlisting again before the observed lesson.]

If - when - I secure an NQT post, I'll be sure to report back. In the meantime, I'm going to keep on searching and keep on learning. :)

Official Pass List

Today, the official pass list for my Primary PGCE went live at 12pm today.

I think, for most, it was a formality. If you have passed all the assignments, passed the placements and had the QTS file signed off, it is pretty much a given. Conversly, those who have been told/asked to resist either an essay or a placement have known for some time that they have to. 

Nevertheless, it is great to have things confirmed.

I have now been officially awarded a PGCE with QTS!

That makes me an NQT. Eck!

First Teaching Interview Lesson

Yesterday, I had my first interview for a teaching role.  I say interview, because that is what happened - it took me by surprise lol. The letter said it was a two-stage process. A lesson observation and then, if invited back, an interview the following day. Instead, I was asked to wait [nothing else was said] and 1h45m later, I was taken into a 5-person panel interview! Needless to say, I don't think I did well in the interview section as I was caught on the hop lol. A shame, as it seems like a lovely school, but I'll just have to wait and see..

Anyway, the positive was the lesson. I had to teach a 1 hour literacy lesson to a class of 30. I found it quite difficult to plan, because I didn't have any assessment or prior knowledge information to work from, or any knowledge about the make up of the class. Once I arrived though, and actually started teaching, I really enjoyed it! The class were lovely and worked hard. We managed to come up with some great things, focusing on descriptions of a forest using all of our senses. We closed our eyes and listened to the clip below, and we looked at lots of different pictures. They did really well with the starter and the peer assessment plenary too. The hour raced by [in a good way - I didn't lose track of timings etc] and I was almost sad to hand them back to their own teacher lol. Bless them! :)

 

[An edited version of forest sounds found on YouTube]

 

Being "the teacher" and having your own class is definitely the best aspect of the job. :)

PGCE Course Finished! :o

Today, we had our final university session. Now the PGCE course is over.

It was quite nicely timed. Our induction day, last year, was on July 4th. That day, we were told that it was the hardest year of our lives. That we would never be so knackered and that we would never be so physically drained. They also set us a range of tasks for the summer, including tests in our core subjects... I left that day feeling dejected and unsure. 

Now, it is exactly one year on. The course is finished. It is incredible!

My QTS folder has been signed off. I already know my placement grades. I also know my marks for the two main MA level essays. I am just waiting on one shorter, reflective essay mark and then the final 'pass list'. They haven't actually said when they will be released. It is a bit crazy really, but I am sure it will all come through in the end.

It feels odd to have finished. Part of me didn't think I would make it. But I have. The majority on my course have. It feels pretty darn good! :D

I have also been shortlisted for another job. Not sure if that is a good thing yet or not, but we'll see. I might as well give it a shot. :)

Broad Beans

The beans I planted with my class, at the start of my placement, are now out in the school garden and - as you can see - they are coming along nicely. It is great to leave something there, growing and developing. Hopefully, they will produce lots of great beans for the children to try - especially as most had not tasted broad beans before. It is a good thing to have as a bit of a legacy. :)

Today was my last day at my placement school. It was very sad, although I am not one to well up. My class gave me so many little presents - all things that they had drawn or made. It was very sweet. I will definitely miss them, and my class teacher and my teaching assistant. They have all been fantastic. 

I started out very skeptical for this placement, as the first was not ideal. However, I have been given a good report, lots of positive feedback and I have throughly enjoyed it. So much so that I applied for three jobs on Monday. One of them contacted me yesterday to say I had been shortlisted, so I now have my first teaching interview to prepare for. It is very, very scary. But, who knows, it might all just slot together perfectly. :)

QTS File Hand-In

On a PGCE course, you end up having more files than you could ever hope to carry. Just some of those, for my course, include:

- English Subject File

- Maths Subject File

- Science Subject File

- Foundation Subject File(s) [covering RE, History, Geography, Art, DT, PE, MFL, Music and ICT]

- CIS and AFV File(s)

- Placement Files [minimum of 2 - one for each main placement - but most people, self included, end up with multiple files for the larger placement]
- MA Module Files [Teaching & Learning and the Self Directed Study]

- QTS File.

Each file is a lever-arch. Each file is full. Then there are all the bits and pieces that have to go elsewhere. So much paper! Each student on a PGCE course must be responsible for the death of multiple trees! :/

Anyway, the placement files are looked at by our class teachers and our STCC. They have to be on hand at all times and we cannot 'deny access' to anyone. My STCC signed my files off when I finished my placement, so they are just sitting tight now [incase I am one of the people picked by the external examiner - who will then want to see every above file].

The 'main' file is the QTS file. The one pictured above. This one features documents from our HASE placements, our Record of Achievement, essays and feedback, workbooks for English, Maths and Science and a few other pieces. Eg, our CEDP. This week was hand-in week for the file. On Wednesday, after school, I whizzed up to the department and submitted it. It felt like such a big moment. All being well, I should get my QTS and pass the course. Yay! :D

I celebrated the ceremonial hand-in with a friend. We frequented the bar 'beer garden' for my college until 9pm, sitting in the sunshine. The sun opted to shine unmasked by clouds that day, for the only day this week. It felt so good. Being in school and not really teaching [well, sometimes taking lessons but not doing the planning side] has some real benefits - namely, being able to sit until 9pm in the pub without then having to rush back to do shed loads of work lol. :)

On a slightly different note, my STCC finally seems to "like" me. I went to ask him something on Friday and he said he was very proud of me and that he thinks my final placement report is fantastic and well deserved. My class teacher has given me a good overall but she has upped the number of outstandings since she showed it to me, so it is about 50% good and 50% outstanding now for the standards, which is far more than I expected. When I said that I am thinking about maybe applying for some teaching jobs, he hugged me! I suppose that should be a confidence boost. He thinks I can do it. To be honest, I think I can do it too. My dilemma, lol, is whether I want to... Decisions, decisions. :)

Working One-To-One

The next two weeks are enhancement weeks. Today, I opted to stay with my own class [although, from tomorrow, I am off to other classes - Yr1/2 and then EYFS next week] and used the time to do some of the assessment tasks I hadn't got around to. Obviously, I've been formatively assessing throughout my teaching, but detailed, summative assessments are hard to do when you don't have the time to work one-to-one. Having had a TA role today, I was able to fit it in during things like 'show and tell'. :)

It was really nice, working on that level with my sample of children.

They seemed to enjoy it, especially the MA/HA children I picked as they are often expected to get on with things whilst the teacher/TA focuses on the LA. Instead, they were getting the full of attention of an adult and were being asked to talk about their ideas etc. :)

I did a few reading miscues, which were quite revealing. Then I did some great Maths AT1 assessments. We recorded the audio from session and I've turned that into a transcript. It is so interesting - the thought processes and the way they explain things, to back up the written notes/answers given. They saw it was a challenge - in a good way - and wanted to solve the puzzles. That is exactly the attitude you want to encourage. It was fab. 

Whilst letting go of control today was a little difficult - I almost wanted to be up at the front, doing lessons I had planned etc - the time it gave me to spend working with children in this way was great. It is something you lack often when teaching a full class of 30 - you simply don't have the time to do it.

And, another nice thing. Before hometime, I gave the class a card and some sweets [I've already exchanged cards and presents with the teacher and TA] and mentioned that, whilst I will be around school, I won't be in their class anymore. They all moaned and one of the boys, who I have told off on a number of occassions [although I have obviously praised him wherever possible to - firm but fair], said that he didn't want to me to go. How sweet is that! I am going to miss the class, without doubt...

Final Placement Finished

Just a quick update...

My final placement finished yesterday, so - for now - that means no more teaching, no more planning. Yay! :D

My class teacher was really sweet. She has got me a great card, a cake, smellies, vodka and wine! As I had PPA on a Friday afternoon, she told me to go straight home and start celebrating. I didn't lol - I got a few jobs done and helped her out with the class instead. The weather was rubbish and I was in no rush to get off. :)

She is finishing off my report this weekend, but we discussed it and - as it stands - she has given me a good or outstanding for each QTS standard. Very, very happy with that.

Things are wrapping up now.

Two more weeks at school [on enhancement]. It is going to be strange when I leave - we've been there for some 10 weeks straight already!

Then, there is just one day in university and then the final move out day. Three weeks today and I'll be back home, with my PGCE complete and QTS!

Who'd have thought it?! :D

One half term on placement? Completed! :D

Today has been a rather long day. Starting at the usual 6am, so we could get to school by 7am. I worked through break and lunch - again, as normal - but then had a real good laugh with a few of the teachers in the garden. I've become something of a passive smoker - mainly because so many teachers at my school smoke lol. We had a really good laugh though and it was great to have some light-relief. :) 

I left school at around 4.30pm but had to go up to a local leisure centre to update a display provided by the school [all about the olympics]. We had created some medals this afternoon, where the children wrote down a time when they were brave. Some of those were incredibly funny - I've realised, especially after marking so much Big Write, that innocent spelling errors can make you cry with laughter. Although obviously not in front of the children! Eg. One of the medals read "I was brave when I fell off the whores". Obviously, the pupil meant horse, but it didn't stop myself, the TA and my class teacher having a good, innappropriate giggle. One that was incredibly funny [without any such spelling errors] read: "I was brave when I was chased by a venermous spider and when a horse ate my hair". I mean, what lol?! The children are fantastic - they are definitely a highlight of any PGCE. They make you smile, with their little ways and some of the things they say, every day. :D

Anyway, I put the display up and got back home at around 5.30pm. I then realised that I hadn't eaten anything today [pretty usual on placement, I've found], so I competed with a large group of Americans to cook my dinner. They are still in the kitchen now [in fact, there are more of them now lol], so I am glad I didn't hold off to cook without interrupting them. :)

As the title says, today marks the end of a half term. An entire half term as the main teacher for 29 children. A very scary notion! It has been a good half term though [knackering, but good] and we've managed to do some creative things. The children have written and performed playscripts, created photoframes in DT, 'natural collages' in art, newspapers/bar charts/collages and various maps in history/geography and we have had the chance to do lots of practical things in maths. Eg, we did a 'measure me' activity on Monday outside in the sunshine - with the children working in pairs to find 7 set measurements, eg. foot length, smile width. Similarly, we did lots of hands-on activities involving capacity on Wednesday, including an activity where we made up some drinks for Willy Wonka. It is nice when the creative things pay off and the children seem to enjoy their lessons. And, they have all been so engaged by our class novel [The Twits] that we keep having little fights on our hands over the Roald Dahl book collection in our classroom - all the children want the chance to read each and every one, including those who normally refuse to read. Yay!

So, all good things. I've one more week of this placement left, then two weeks enhancement. I've arranged to spend those two weeks in three different classes [covering EYFS/KS1 and year 3 - I am staying in my current class for three days, just because I'd hate to miss that chance]. Time is ticking. It'll soon be summer! And, before that, I've got half term. There is an essay to do and a day to be spent in university, but I have most of the week off and it almost doesn't feel real right now. No 6am starts for a week?! Wow! :D

 

Oh, and here are our broadbeans now. :) We finished our investigation into the effects of light [and disposed of those slightly unhappy looking plants today - they went into the compost bin] and we planted the children's individual broadbeans. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, they will be able to serve them up in the school kitchen [alongside some of the crops being grown by the other classes]. :)

Durham Display :D

The Ancient Egypt display came down this week [or, rather, was reduced in size and moved to another display board] - that was the class topic for spring term. As we are 6 weeks into summer term now, and with Ofsted looming, it was time for a change. :)

For summer term, the topic is Durham - the history and geography of the place. So, we've looked at lots of maps, photographs and paintings from as early as 1500, as well as the story of St Cuthbert and the story of John Duck [the Durham Dick Whittington, I'll have you know]. Our class trip obviously tied into this topic and we've since examined the 1851 census to produce bar and pie charts about professions at the time, as well as examining life as a Victorian miner and as a Victorian domestic servant. The latter things are get to go on display. We also have our gold [thanks to my spray-painting antics in the playground this afternoon] frames to go on the table - we are going to link our DT and use the frames to display some extra pictures from our trip. :)

Anyway, I think the display looks pretty darn good so far. The TAs are fantastic when it comes to displays [as well as in general!] and managed to put it up in just a couple of hours - from start [pulling down and moving the old one] to finish. The classroom is starting to fully reflect the work I've been doing with the class, so that feels great and the children have had a little boost from having new pieces on display. For example, the 'writing wall' is now full of work on The Twits, from character descriptions to playscripts - all from the last few weeks. The vocabulary wall features lots of great adjectives for our class topics - The Twits, Durham and 'growing things' [for science]. We have a small Hindu display with a puja tray that the children have examined - they are drawn to it each morning, which is lovely. And, we now have this large Durham display to show off some of our history/geography work. Things are really coming together and I feel like I have made an actual mark on the classroom now. :)

St Cuthbert Display

This display has now increased in size, but I think even here the picture of St Cuthbert is very powerful. As part of one of our lessons last week, the children thought of questions they had about the photo - we ended up with around 50 to choose from! Some were fantastic, some were very cute. Eg, 'Did he have bunk beds?'. Awwww! But, we've picked a few [some more might go up yet] to add to our picture and we have done some work to answer the questions the children had. The little posters were part of our work on the journey his body took to reach Durham - simplified to exclude the years spent in Chester-le-Street and the fact the monks travelled south and then back up again. But, we have got some stuff on that up now and these posters were just a way of the children sharing their knowledge. It is quite sweet and links well to our main Durham display with the collages I posted previously. :)

Class Trip = Success!

This week saw our class trip finally arrive. When we planned it for week 5 of term, it felt like it would be ages away, so it is a little odd now that it is done. I am not saying the time has flown by - it has been damned hard work - but it still feels strange to be over with this aspect of it.

All the children came, which had hung in the balance for quite a while, due to a sad incident a few weeks back when a young boy drown in the river we were going to travel along. Thankfully, we managed to persuade all the parents that we would keep their children safe - and, of course, we did. :)

The children really seemed to enjoy it. Our Big Write task was to write a letter about it, telling a friend what you liked/disliked and the vast majority were incredibly positive. A couple of the children had been scared by the boat at first, as they had never been on one before, but even they enjoyed it in the end.

The children got to dress up as Victorians and have a maths lesson, Victorian-style. They also got to do some Victorian laundry lol, dress up as miners and create some brass rubbings [another thing going on our display]. The Heritage Centre was quite small, but they seemed to think it rather big lol and their letters revealed that they had taken a lot in. Especially the features of the C19th prison cell and the punishments dished out lol. We had a wander up to the Cathedral and then along the river to the boat. The boat was definitely a highlight, as the boat driver was incredibly good with the children. Even when one, in particular, kept shouting 'Mr Boat Man....' as he had so many questions. Lol. He ran a little competition for them and said the reward would be ice-cream for everyone, if they all took part. Some of the children didn't believe him, so they were especially chuffed when we got off the boat and went to an ice-cream kiosk. We ate Mr Whippy cones with monkey's blood by the river! It so nice. And, for the first time in weeks, it was dry and quite sunny. [It has rained every day since!] It was nice to be away from school and everything went without a hitch. Yay!

My first school trip, as the lead teacher [apparently lol], was a success! :D

Display Pieces

We have really upped our topic based work this week, for our topic [Durham]. We had a lesson on St Cuthbert and the journey his body made, carried by the monks, to escape the invading Vikings. One aspect of the lesson was to create A3 collages of the key parts of our story. Below are some. 

The latter cow was the first one created. The girls involved started off well, with brown tissue paper for the dun cow. I went to help another group and they did that lol! I think it is quite pretty actually. It reminds me of the painted 3D sculptures of cows that were dotted all around Manchester a few years back. And, it reminds me of the story of the patchwork elephant. But, for our history/geography display, it doesn't really work. 

So, I had to get strict and give them only a few colours - rather than letting them collect their own from a table of resources - and now the result is a little more accurate lol. It is a little sad, definitely - so much brown! But, we have coloured land maps the children have done, posters, photographs and these great binocular pictures - where the children drew what they could see looking through binoculars towards Durham lol. So, there will be lots of colour. And, we've got some captions - the children wrote them and typed them up - to explain these collages, to ensure they make sense lol.

The display should end up pretty good. We already have a huge painting of St Cuthbert on one wall, with questions all around it that the children have asked/want to find out. Some of their questions were quite intellectual lol - 'why did he believe in God?'; 'why did the monks want to save his body from the Vikings?' etc. Some were just really funny lol - 'did he sleep in bunk beds?' lol... We also have a huge photograph of Durham Cathedral and some of the surrounding buildings. It must be 7 foot long! The TA - who is amazing when it comes to display pieces - has three copies, each smaller than the last. She is going to decoupage it, so that it has a 3D effort/looks like it is coming out of the wall. It should be really high impact. Exciting times! :D

Final Placement: Week Four

So, I am now officially half way through my placement. They always say the latter half goes much quicker than the first, so that can only be a positive! :D I've been at my placement school now for six weeks, four of which have been teaching 80%. Another four weeks teaching 80% to go and then two weeks of enhancement - still keeping my fingers crossed that my STCC lets me go into class one [EYFS] for those weeks. :)

The mid-way point also brought the interim report. I am very, very happy with mine. I got a good. My teacher suggested that there was room to move up to outstanding by the end of the placement but I don't think that myself lol. I am happy with a good. Good is, well, good. :D

This week felt very routine. I managed to shave 15 minutes off my Big Write marking time, which is great. And I was even praised by my STCC - never thought I would see the day lol. The children have engaged quite well with our topics this week - they especially liked examining two samples of soil [random, but they loved it], sitting around a puja tray and being able to handle the different objects on it whilst we learnt about Hindu worship, updating our chart of plant observations [for our plants experiment], using an angle-eater to hunt for right-angles and writing playscripts to go on the wall. :)

Regarding the plants, we have four lots. Three that are involved in our light experiment and one lot of 30 that are for the children. They planted their own and they each have their name on a pot. These are doing very well and we think that we might replant them outside in the vegetable patch this coming week. That would be a lovely activity, although I am not quite sure when I can fit that in lol. Anyway, we have put stakes in them for the time being, as we were ending up with something of a jungle on the windowsill. I wasn't keen on the plants topic [or the rocks/soils topic, to be fair] when I started, but part of me loves having a classroom with lots of plants in it. Plus, we planted them on our first day back after Easter - watching them grow almost feels symbolic of my own development. I think I have grown in confidence and there are a lot of things I am doing now, as a matter of routine, that perhaps I didn't think I could. There is no question about it - this placement has been 100 times better than my first. :D

[Cupboard]  

[Corner]      
[Windowsill] 

Quasar!

Not strictly a positive about my pgce. But, if I was not on the pgce, I wouldn't have known the people involved or have been living here, so it kind of is. :D

Today, to celebrate a friend's birthday, we decided to spend the Bank Holiday wisely. By visiting South Shields, having a meal in a cave and playing Quasar!

 I've never played before and was a little unsure of what to expect. Our team of 7 [should have been 9 but 1 was stuck in traffic and another thought it might bring on a panic attack] was up against a team of 9 children/teenagers. One in our group told the kids that we are all teachers and that definitely kicked things off lol. It was teachers vs the kids lol.

I really enjoyed it! I think it must be pretty good for you too - lots of running around, ducking and diving. You literally don't stop moving for an hour. Our team were pretty strategic - working in pairs or even threes to take down the other team lol. They were a little more random - although a couple could definitely grow up to be snipers lol! Worrying I suppose.

Anyway, outside, after an hour in the dark, we got the scores. Blue team [the kids] had -16!!! Red team [the teachers] had 1424!!! Get in lol. The kids were gutted lol. 

My own record wasn't great, although I came third on my team. The two guys in front of me were incredible - 80% accuracy rate. Using a laser gun is very different from using a shot gun lol - I don't think I aimed properly at all, but I didn't too bad - especially not as it was my first go. It has definitely recharged my batteries to help with the next four weeks. An afternoon of fun with friends is a must on a course like this. :)

Final Placement: Week 3

I have made it through week three of my final placement. Yay! 

It has been quite a good week. Obviously, there are lots of areas to work on and to improve, but I am getting into the routine now. Even if that routine does involve getting to school just after 7am, often leaving at 5pm and then spending a good 3 hours working at home before bed lol! 

Whilst the class teacher is always going to be 'the teacher', the children now see me as their proper teacher too. This afternoon, a few came to me with some playtime-related issues even though the class teacher was in the room. In a way, that felt quite good. I don't think the children ever really saw me as their proper teacher on the first placement, probably because it was a short placement. :)

The lessons went reasonably well this week and - thankfully - our plant experiment is really taking off. It looked, at first, like nothing was growing but they've taken off now. The photos below are from the start of the week - by today, they were all considerably bigger. The children have been noting observations - on a class chart - and we have been measuring them as well. It is a nice thing to have accompanying our science work and the children enjoy taking it in turns to water them all. As there are 12 plants for our experiments plus 31 extra [1 for each child and the teacher], there is a lot of watering to do lol. The larger 'in the cupboard' plant below had grown 21cm in just 7 days. I wish I could grow so fast lol! :)

 

[In the cupboard - three broad bean and one cress.]

  

[In the corner of the classroom - three broad bean and one cress.] 

  

[On the windowsill - three broad bean and one cress.]  

[Some of the 31 extra plants for our class vegetable patch.] 

I think I am going to survive this course after all and I really do like my class. There are lots of quirky characters and it can be a challenge, due to the vast variety of attainment levels, but they are all great children. I also love how random things really catch their imagination - for example, I use a timer when they change for PE, which is a set of cartoon track racers. A different racer seems to win each time - I suppose it is randomly generated. The children love it! They start cheering on for the racer of their choice and it actually works in getting them to change quickly, so they can sit on the carpet and see the end of the race lol. A little success but quite a nice one!

Four more weeks and then it is half term. It is going to be hard work, no doubt about that, [especially as Ofsted have as good as promised a "no notice" visit before June] but hopefully it will remain good fun. :)

Two Weeks In

I am two weeks into my final placement and things are going an awful lot better than my first!

There are still a couple of things to work on - obviously - but teaching 80% of the timetable is much better. The children know I am the teacher, rather than me ducking in to take this lesson and that lesson etc. Plus, I have a great relationship with my class teacher - she is incredibly supportive and knows how to give you feedback in a postive way. The class has some real characters and, I won't lie, some days they can feel a little too excentic but, on the whole, they are a good bunch. :D

I'm also taking part in the year 3 tennis club after school - as my class teacher needed help running it - and I am in the midst of planning a school trip [getting simple things like confirmation letters from companies is a bit of a struggle, but I'll get there in the end]! I've even managed to get the hang of the IWB - despite not having used one before this placement. :)

It is hard work - there is no denying that. I am in at 7am each day. I usually leave at around 5pm, although some nights I've been there until 6pm. Then, once home, I have to sort out my planning, flipcharts and resources for the lessons the following day. Sleep is a dream in itself lol... Whilst I am pretty sure that I don't want to do my NQT next year - I need to do something different! - I am feeling really positive about my pgce for the first time since it began. :D

Five weeks on placement. One week that is uni based. Another week on placement. Two weeks at school on 'enhancement' [I want to go into EYFS or at least KS1 lol]. Three days in university and then it is all over. And I plan on making the best of it - after all, I think I have proved to myself that I have the staying power to get this far, so now I am just going to enjoy being the teacher and exploring the area around Durham.

Life is pretty good. :D

Easter Chick Hunt

This afternoon, we decided to organise an Easter chick hunt. It was a bit of a faff but it was well worth it - if only for the giggles we got out of it. :)

The children were assigned a chick [numbered] with a card [numbered] to write down their clues. They had to hide it somewhere in the school grounds [which are beautiful by the way, as the school is surrounded by farm land and a forest!] and then write down a clue. All the clues were compiled in a box and dished out at random, so the children could follow a clue to reach a chick. Simple enough.

Some of the clues were priceless!
- 'Up here' with an accompanying arrow.
- 'On the grass' [helpful when there is enough grass to fill a football pitch lol].
- 'Left of the garden' [which, as the children discovered, could be any which way lol].
Etc. [There were too many to list!]

Watching the children search and then support each other with the trickier clues [like those above lol] was really sweet. They seemed to work well in teams and were all running about the grounds with little hats and sunglasses. So cute! My teacher and I just enjoyed being out in the sunshine, though I did help a few children - particularly with working out what the clues actually said, due to some inventive spelling and rushed handwriting lol. My teacher decided that a plenary was necessary [the first one I've ever seen her do lol], so we all sat around on the grass, in the sunshine, and talked about clues. What makes a good clue? What isn't so good? How had they found it? Etc. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and even the children had a laugh at some of the clues [without upsetting anyone, thankfully]. At one point, I nearly lost it - which in turn made my teacher nearly lose it - retaining your composure is hard when things are that funny! Goodness knows what the chickens thought as they watched from their hutch lol! :D

Positive Feedback & A Sunny Day

Today, my teacher gave me a little bit of feedback about my time in school so far. I think my STCC has mentioned that classroom management was a bit of an issue on my last placement, so she gave me some tips. I have been firmer from the off this time, but I welcome the advice. She said I should spend my first proper lesson laying down the ground rules. I think I will create a class charter with them, introduce a noise chart and perhaps re-jig the reward system with them - make everything clear and get off to a good, firm start lol. :)

Anyway, the positive thing she said was that:
- I have built up really positive relationships with the children.
- I am already aware of their individual needs and quirks.
- I am "tuned into" the children and can read them well.
How sweet is that?! She finished by saying it was very obviously that I love working with children. It made me think a bit. At times - lots and lots and lots of times - on this course, I've felt like packing it in. I've had no intention of going on to be a teacher. But, I do enjoy being with the children and it can be a very fun environment to work in. With the motivation that gave me, I applied for my first job. [That still means I am way behind most people on the course - who are up to job application 1000 and one or two have actually got a job secured - but heyho, it's a start.] :)


During PPA, the teacher decided to go home [I think the beautiful weather had an impact, plus she had a hair appointment booked]. Rather than sit around at school and just waste time, she said she would give me a lift home. I was back for around 12.30pm. I took the decision to sit up on the Mound in the centre of college - overlooking the Cathedral - and I just read [The White Pearl by the amazing Kate Furnivall, as it goes] for 2 hours! It was bliss. So peaceful. So sunny. I even got a little bit sunburnt. A beautiful way to end a positive day. :D

Swimming & Ukulele

Today was a really nice day.

In the morning, the class performed their Ancient Egyptian assembly. We've worked so hard across the week to perfect it and they seemed to really enjoy it. They sang the songs well and all the parents beamed with delight. :)

After the fun of the assembly, we went to the local pool for the class's swimming lesson. From the perspective of the teacher and I, we just had to supervise each half of the class [as only half were taught in the pool at any one time]. And, my teacher insisted that you must have a chocolate bar and a hot drink during that process - hey, I'm not going to complain lol. Though, I did feel a little naughty, given the fact the kids were burning up all that energy and we were just injesting it lol. The only odd thing was that a lot of the children's parents were there watching - apparently they attend every week. They were friendly enough, but I did find it strange that they were there watching, especially if one of their children began to misbehave lol.

In the afternoon, we had a ukulele lesson with a very random, unusual and pretty gigantic man. He was a giant, I'm sure of it lol. I've never played a ukulele before, but my teacher insisted - she always joins in - so I gave it a shot. The class have had 5 lessons and I was pretty chuffed to have caught up with them. I was happily playing along and changing between chords F and C lol. Woo! Sadly, that is the only ukulele lesson I will attend - I am teaching Friday mornings, not Friday afternoons. Unless I hang around during my PPA to join in lol, but that seems a little mad given how much you have to do on a teaching practise lol. :)

So, all in all, a pretty groovy Friday. I really like my new class. All names learnt, little quirks noted and my teacher - whilst being completely different to me in every way - is very supportive and we can have a laugh together. Yay!!!

Owls and EYFS

Today has been a very quirky sort of day. On the work front, I managed to come up with my objectives for every literacy and numeracy lesson between now and June [8 weeks of lessons] and I finally settled on my class novel. We are doing The Twits. :D

On a slightly less happy, but rather unusual note, our routines were altered quite dramatically after one of the teachers found an injured owl on his journey into school. The owl was kept in a box and a few of the teachers kept checking on it. It was a really beautiful bird, with bright orange eyes. At lunch time, two of the teachers headed back to where it had been found to try and set it free [as it seemed to perk up]. However, they realised that it had a broken wing. Over lunch, a debate ensued - the local vets said they would put it down if we brought it in. The guy who had found it said he thought that was best, because he doesn't like the idea of a wild animal suffering or living a sheltered life. When the headteacher arrived, he - surprisingly - sided with some of the female teachers and agreed to drive up [a 50 minute journey, each way] to a sanctuary the school has links with. They care for injured animals, as well as having free range hens etc [that is where the school sourced the hens they have]. He didn't know the way, so the EYFS teacher went with him. As I had PPA [as did my class teacher], we ended up covering the EYFS class. It was such a good afternoon! The kids are so cute, so random and are real characters at that age. It was a little awkward as neither of us knew the children's names, but we had grasped quite a few by the end of the afternoon. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully, my STCC will let me spend my 'enhancement' weeks in there - or at least some of them. :)


Update 22.03.2012:
Sadly, the owl hasn't made it. The sanctuary said that the wing was broken right up to the neck, which meant they couldn't easily amputate it [as they'd hoped] and she had a broken rib, sticking out through her back. It definitely put a low on the day, although the people at the sanctuary said we had done the right thing. They said the owl must have been in a lot of pain but at the roadside, it would have taken up to a week to die 'naturally'. And, as my STCC said, they had to give it a chance - rather than just having it put down straight away - and they did that.
Poor owl... :(

Gamelan :D

Today, we had our Gamelan class at the Observatory. It was not necessarily what I expected, and at times it was almost uncomfortable [sitting cross legged on the floor for an hour and a half made my feet go to sleep lol - I must have looked very funny when I got up at the end of it lol], but I really enjoyed it.


We played a few different pieces, using all the instruments within the set, and the man told us a bit about the history of Gamelan. Eg, that it originates in Java; that the set is believed to have a soul and the main gong is the keeper of the soul; all the music is cyclical and the gong is played to mark the start of the circle; they count down, rather than up, when starting a piece, because you are counting towards the gong [not away from it]. :)

I played a Puleg first. Then the saron. And, finally, a gendèr.

It was really good fun, even if we did get lost a couple of times.
One of the patterns [for the saron and gendèr] was notes: 3535 2525 3535 2525 6767 5757 6767 5757 2376 5723 [and repeat]. It was quite easy to get lost lol, until you got into the routine, especially as we had to 'silence' the previous note, whilst playing the next. It was a bit like rubbing your belly and tapping your head lol. It sounded pretty good though. :D

It was a nice way to finish. That session [which went onto include some work, with the usual music tutor Sue, on African tribal chanting and dancing] marked the final 'foundation' session of the course. Scary stuff! Eck.