Another week of summer

Monday evening. It appears my once daily blog has deteriorated into a weekly ramble. Apologies readers, I really am trying to keep this up, it's just that my laptop has lost its Internet connection, so I can only blog when my folks' computer is free.

Also I am lazy. And enjoying summer. And having fun. And then realising that I have forgotten to obsessively document all of this on my blog. Whoops.

It was 30 degrees today, wooooo! Actually, that's a bit too hot, particularly if you're in an office being teased with the use of a fan, which you then can't plug in because there are no spare plug sockets. Also it's too hot if you only have a winter office wardrobe and thus have to resort to black trousers and long-sleeved shirts. It's odd I don't really have any summer wear, given that we had a "summer" term and all. Anyway, I made my peace with the heat by walking around barefoot and eating lots of oranges, yum yum.

Apart from working semi-hard (I left at 3:45pm today, I find it near on impossible to work after 3:30pm, my mind just starts to shut down) I have been busy trying to get fit again after realising that eating lots of junk, drinking lots of beer, and generally being slothful isn't the best way to stay in shape. I'm also reading this, which one of my friend's wrote, and to whose book launch I attended last week. I can't really remember what else I did last week, I spent most of it with X, so it kinda went by in a blur. I think I won a lot of things though (apart from the moon points game, where whoever spots the moon first wins. I am so bad at this, I think the moon hides when I am looking).

Oh yeah, I remember, my friend Jonno finally got engaged, awesome, how exciting! She will be getting married in winter 2009, but she's been waiting aaaaages to be proposed to, so I'm really pleased for her. Am also pleased with all the family stuff I've been doing, I love doing family stuff (well, most of it, unless it's boring) and also getting the house back in order after the builders etc.

So yeah, generally things are good, just ticking over really. I'm going to go and open my leaving presents now, whoop whoop! They are wrapped in such nice maps of London paper though, I'm going to have to try really hard to keep it nice and pretty.

I'M FREE!!!

Woooooooooo! I made it! It's the summer holidays and my two years on TF are over!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so pleased and proud!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow. I can't believe it really. All that is left is one final learning log and the TF graduation. Wow.

I cleared out my classroom yesterday and it was kinda sad. It reminded me of finishing university and having to empty out the room for the next inhabitant. I left some of the maths posters up, and also random useful things for the new TF-er who'll be based there, but still, it felt odd. Also because it was the first working day of the holidays and I was in school, along with a fair few other teachers, heehee, whoever said teachers worked till 3:30pm was soooo wrong!

You know, it feels really good too, to know that I have stuck at it for two years and actually done some good and useful stuff. The memories and achievements and dramas and tragedies and all the rest of it, they are all there still.

Two years worth of work and laughter and grief. Done.

Right, my laptop is broken and I have loads of other things that need to be done today, so I will come back and post properly later.

But just to remind you.....I'm finished, it's summer, WOOOOOOOOO!

Highlights from the week

I'm putting off the gym for 20 more minutes because it's been a whole week and no blogging action from me. Time to update this wonderful record of my rambley life.

Good things from the week:

• 8E stepping up for sports day and doing the business (every single kid in the tutor group bar one took part in one event or another, excellent...fingers crossed we finish well in Year 8)
• non-uniform day - yeah I got to wear flip flops!
• playing tangrams and Nubble Express with loads of my classes (hope I haven't started the "fun lessons" too soon)
• telling all my classes that I'm leaving and them all being sad about it - maybe I'm a good teacher after all
• teaching 8E a PSHE lesson based on the role of education in society (something that I taught my Y12s in AS Sociology) and having them respond really well to it
  
• spending most of my weekend with X, and also a midweek meet-up too - aaaah it makes me happy. As does winning two pairs of knickers in a bet over dominoes
• reverse parking into a tight tight spot the first time round, and then being told by the parking attendants that I was the best lady parker they'd seen all morning
• the end of year staff boat party - a free bar = shocking hangover, but it was loads of fun to celebrate the almost end of year with my colleagues. Not to mention getting muchos compliments for my "bap dress"
• having the new TF maths teacher in for his London week, and hearing that having watched all the maths teachers teach, the one he most wanted to be like was me!
  
• seeing my American friend Braden from my summer at Dartmouth, and also reunion-ing with all the kids from our exchange that year
• our final TF workshop, which was a bit lame, but so ace to see all of our year, and also to know that we've almost completed the programme, yeeehaaaa!

Not-so-good things

• not getting the money back from that ridiculous Wing Security towing my car away - grrrr
• being so busy that all the mundane chore type stuff has just not been done
• having to a learning log (boring)
• still not knowing about my knee operation and so not being able to book anything proper for the summer
• waiting for my WWOOF-ing booklet so I can finally contact some people about that

Aside from that, it's been a stellar week, I'm feeling awesome and happy! Five days of school to go, which will be crazy and emotional, but this time next week, well, I'll be at a colleague's BBQ celebrating the end of a mini-era. Hope all is well with you.

Monday - 9 days to go!

Wow, I am oddly free, and it's partly wonderful and partly overwhelming. Having even a few hours to spare is such a rare sensation that it almost makes me anxious to be that way. Nah, not really, I am enjoying it!

I was meant to be meeting up with a friend who's just come over from the States, but he's totally jet-lagged, so now I am contemplating whether to be productive in this time or just chill. So far the latter is winning, in that I lay down with a book and then promptly fell asleep. That didn't last long though - my house is SO loud + the sun was shining brightly through my window (a nice change from the practically torrential rain that trapped me in school around 5ish) + my phone kept going off, that I decided to just get up. Really I think I need the rest though, I've been pretty hectic the past few days.

Before I give you an update, I'd just like to point out that I wanted to write my blog earlier when I was stuck in school, but Blogger is blocked on the server because it's classified as pornography, how ridiculous! Also, the new TF maths kid started today, bless him, and he seemed so young and fresh and keen, I couldn't believe it. Just now I sent across a lesson template for him, and yesterday I collected up some useful stuff to give him, and it really hit me, how much time and effort and work has gone into these last two years in teaching. So much really.

I've spent a lot of time with X really, every day since last Wednesday, which has been ace. In retrospect it's probably an error to try and invite X to every little thing that I get invited to do, but I can't help it, I'd just rather have my time with X than without. Consequently I feel a bit at a loss today, in that whenever I have a bit of free time, I want to give it to X. I wonder if this is something to worry about...?

Saw Berts on Saturday, was awesome, him and his friends are just so lovely and friendly and fun, I always really enjoy my time with them. He dealt well with my lecturing, or so I thought. It was good seeing Keble kids on Friday and Thursday too, good fun. Have been doing some gym stuff too, good for me. We saw Cous Cous last night, which was sad actually, I think I am a happy ending kinda person, and Cous Cous was far to "real" to have that.

Just noticed that my F key is a bit messed up, boo, I don't want to buy a new laptop yet. Hopefully I won't need to use it so much. Except now it seems I need to use it all the time.

Ok so I think I will do some chores and then have an early night, woo! Ironing here I come...

Nearly NQT!

I'm listening to MistaJam's show on 1xtra - perfect funky house and bassline tunes for this HOT Tuesday. School was roasting today - the kids were all irritable and whiny cos it was so hot. More of this will clearly happen before the end of term, but it's ok, 13 days left! Plus all the exciting stuff is starting to kick in e.g. sports day, non-uniform day, the summer fete, the charity fun run etc. Woo!

I got my NQT induction forms today, which means I have almost passed this year! Two hurdles remaining - my transition point 3 conversation with my subject mentor (not too tricky) and my NQT folder (more tricky). In theory I can make up some stuff for this folder, and really I don't think it'll be too heavily analysed by my school. In practice though, I need to make it good because my absence total was 28 days (the maximum allowed is 30) meaning the GTC (or whoever scrutinises this stuff) may want to look through it. Hmmm. Should be ok.

Tomorrow is the TF celebration evening, which should be lovely. I think it's about time for TF fix, remind us what we're all fighting for etc. I was kinda reminded today period 4 when I taught the Y12 sociology taster lesson, which was basically an introduction to the course and what it was all about. The kids were pretty enthusiastic and I think I got a lot of them thinking about stuff, so that was good. I enjoyed it actually, making me think really sociology is what I should be teaching.

In final news I am officially a WWOOF member today, and I figure I have enough money to not bother temping that much this summer, so maybe I will WWOOF my time away!