Day 270 - Indolent Pupils

Monday January 11th

This truly is a big chill. The temperature remains below freezing so nothing is melting and they are not sure how many teachers are going to make it in so......only Years 9,10,11 today and no uniform. It feels like Christmas week all over again.

Everyone is lethargic today, especially the kids, I can hardly rouse my Year 10s to do anything which is a shame as I am being observed. In the end, it goes quite well and DVS gives me a good rating. She is looking for more involvement from the LSA (Learning Support Assistant) in the class room. This is a fair point. I have lofty intentions of doing this but they are currently falling short as I barely have the time to organise myself let alone anyone else. Taking the time is worth it as they are a essentially an extra teacher who can help with classroom management, differentiation, focusing on some pupils so I can get round the rest.

Day 217 - Their Fate Is In My Hands

Thursday November 19th

Today I shadowed an LSA and had to set my first cover lesson.

The day itself was a bit of a blow out as the LSA wasn't really sure what she or I was supposed to do. I ended up observing a Year 7 and Year 8 Band 3 lesson in RS and English so it was OK but could have been so much more productive. My cover lesson went really well as I was there to set it up and they did more work in it than they have ever done for me!

I had to recommend 4 of the class to move up a set. Harder than I thought.

Day 84 - Jargon, Jargon, Jargon

Thursday July 9th

Short run this morning. I am beginning to find out that you cannot run anywhere in Winchester without encountering some kind of hill. This has obvious upsides and downsides. The downside is that the house we live on is on the top of one particular hill and whichever direction I run in I end up with a nice uphill to make it home. On the plus side I am finding my way round some lovely parts of Winchester. Discovered the Water Meadows today...beautiful (see photo)

Back to school today and spent it with the Pupil Support Department. Here is where it is important to understand the jargon and be very careful with the words you use. Basically, PSD work with kids at the school who have special needs related to their learning. Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) work in the classroom with them and make sure they have what they need to be included in the mainstream. Kings' is the lead school in the area for physically disabled children, some of whom I spent the day with. Without exception, these kids were amazing. They are just part of the school and no-one treats them any differently from anyone else. I met Andrew, Will, Jess, Kerry and really enjoyed sitting with them and watching them get through the school day. Feeds the soul.

Ellen was very brave today and went to Swimming Club at the school. She was very hesitant to get in the pool and I kept telling her that she just had to jump in and get on with it. She finally did and had a great time.