Seriously, I offered to go in to be helpful for a couple of days but now, after a month, I am fading fast, several teachers off at the moment means that my days are filled, crammed with a sea of faces, all disappointed because their real teacher isnt in and they have me instead. I think I have had 3 1/2 free lessons in the last 4 weeks, At my age I kind of expect to feel tired at the end of the week but Lindz is young enough to be my daughter and she is feeling it too.
I got a lovely Christmas card which read...
"Dear Mrs Walker, have a great Christmas even though you are not my teacher . From Georgie"
Tomorrow I am going to get the spare whiteboard downstairs and let the tutor group loose on it with my coloured board pens to make a Christmas card for their tutor that I can photograph and email to her to cheer her up while she is off.
I have never had a young tutor group, mostly years 10 and 11 so "fostering" a year 7 group was a bit of a culture shock to say the least, they all need all of the details all of the time, so I introduced them to the idea of "end of term" a month ago in an effort to spread they hysteria out to a bearable level, they wanted a party, secret santa, fizzy drinks, decorations, you name it!. I held out until 2 weeks before the event to let them put a tree up, they brought in decorations, tinsel and I got a pack of gold baubles for them.
I solved the fizzy drink issue by saying I would provide the drinks, I dont want to be the tutor of the child that projectile vomits Haribo over the gym!!
Being at work all the time means that I dont have the 2 days alone in the middle of the week, I am acutely aware that I am not part of the department clique,and the age jokes from the HOF are wearing a bit thin, but I like the time in the classroom with the kiddies and that, after all, is why I started teaching in the first place. No matter how hard I work, I cant seem to make any progress on the performance management reviews, Dunc would have helped me strengthen my resolve, give me something to come home to and dispense sympathy, but for now I am sticking with what I know until I decide what to do with myself. I am doing a course to qualify me as a maths teacher which will help my employability no end,
All of the above means that a bit of R&R is on the cards................................
Al and I are off to Hawaii Big island.....beaches, volcanoes, sunshine, 28C, a different way to spend Christmas instead of freezing our bits off at home.
I am not sure that the concept of 28C has dawned on Al, he told me he has a pair of light coloured trousers and some short sleeved shirts for summer wear, I dont think he owns any swimmimg trunks, I havent seen his knees for years. I want to go with hand luggage only so we dont get held up waiting for it but I dont think he is keen on that either!
I already have a volcano in my garden, a mole is building a scale model of the great volcano ranges of the world on my lawn- now I see why people try to get rid of them, its going to take ages to grow back in the spring , thats if I can keep the chickens off it long enough!
See you when we set off!
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