After a total of 7 days working since my arrival it was time for a well earned break! Why wait 10 weeks for a holiday?
Headed off to Madrid with Mum and Dad. We were expecting Emily to meet us at the airport on her return from Morroco. Before we even left Luton there was a phone call with a plea for money. Why, I hear you asking? Well, younger sister has well and truly perfected the art of missing Easy Jet flights. Oh, and managing not to have access to any money in a crisis.
Our flight was delayed leaving Luton. Remembering Em's advice about ALWAYS carrying peanut M&M's I armed myself with snacks and drinks. We found seats together on the plane. Then discovered that we had to wait on the tarmac for perhaps an hour. Something about customs officials paying a visit and then requiring clearance to land on arrival at Madrid. So, out came my sandwich. I enjoyed a little picnic before the flight even departed.
We found our way through the terminals at Madrid. Collected our bags and just walked off to the metro. No customs checks, no stamps in our passport. I guess all people arriving from England are trustworthy so why waste time on unnecessary paper work! With no problems we negotiated our way on the metro to Sol. Found a taxi which did a lap or two round the block, asked 2 policemen for directions and dropped us off at our hotel. Emily kindly booked a place on the street in Madrid famous for its prostitutes.
Sunday, 8 July 2007
Week at Witchford
Well, back in June I signed up for a whole week at Witchford Village College. That meant 5 very early starts. But at £110 a day you can't turn it down. Theoretically I was covering for a PE teacher going on a course. However, the school got news of an OFSTED visit (like ERO in NZ). With the exception that the school gets between 2 and 5 days notice. So there was a change of plans. Lorna didn't go on the course and I spent most of the work perfecting my invigilation skills! Not at all exciting but I was quite ill at the time and the work wasn't taxing. Didn't even involve alot of talking which was good.
Happenings that week included:
Happenings that week included:
- a man practices golf at a park near the bus station. In the city (Cambridge) with signs prohibiting you from doing so many things it seems strange that practicing golf in a public park is permitted. I guess at 6.30 am not too many people are in danger of being hurt!
- the student saying "thanks, darling" as a collected his exam paper in.
- another students requesting a glass of water in the middle of an exam.
- watching a maths exam with about 150 students, more than half did not have the required equipment. Who would have thought that a calculator, pen, compass, protractor and useful might be required in a maths exam?
- two sisters murdered in Stretham (a village between Cambridge and Witchford). There was some chance these girls attended Witchford. Police patrolled the school gates to ward away any unwanted media attention.
Thursday, 7 June 2007
Impington Village College
From one extreme to the other in more ways than one. On Wednesday it was a short bus ride to Impington Village College on the outskirts of Cambridge. Protocol teaching agency are very good at giving you directions about which bus to catch and when to catch them. However, I have been in Cambridge long enough to realise that to get to this school I could avoid using 2 buses and travelling 15 minutes into town only to travel 20 minutes back past home to get to the school. So, in just over 10 minutes I walked to the bus and found my way to the school in plenty of time.
This school was more organised. I was given a map of the school and a list of times for each lesson, important as like Tawa there is no bell between classes. Oh, and even class lists for each lesson. Back to a 6 period timetable, each lesson lasting a mere 50 minutes. So it was a period of English - Year 7's (around 11-12) proofing a diary entry on a day in the life of a slave. Not too difficult, mostly students needed help with spelling and knowing what time dawn was.
Then off to humanities - geography with a lovely bunch of Year 9's (not) doing work on floods in the UK in 2000. Straight from the text book. Not too thrilling and although some did work, many did not.
It was to be invigilation again in period three - my favourite. But at the last minute I was let off the hook and took another Humanities instead. Year 8's (I think) doing posters on Pilgrimage. Again some good work produced but some rubbish too.
Back to English for period 4. This lesson was taken by a student teacher. Started off a bit of a mess with a neighbouring teacher, myself and then the student teacher all being present. From the start the kids didn't have much clue who was in charge and took full advantage. There was no time for a quick strategy talk so I sat back and let the student teacher get started. Year 10's were slow to settle but eventually she got the instructions across. After watching one guy wander about. get kicked out, come back in of his own accord, get kicked out again etc. I decided it was time to do something. Just went over and sat with him and worked out where he was up to and helped him get started. He managed to concentrate and do work for a bit but then got bored and wandered about cleaning tables, the TV, the computer screen. The student teacher spent the entire lesson working with one individual. Every now and then interrupted by a question from another student. There were less than 10 kids there and I think I would be kind of annoyed if I were a student in that situation.
After lunch it was more English. I think it was Year 9's who had been watching XMen. There task was to do a review. Seemed pretty straight forward however there is always a catch. A good number of students had seen little or none of the film. This made it pretty difficult to help them get started.
Finally it was another Year 7 group. Back to writing diary entries on a day in the life of a slave. Despite being the last lesson of the day, some students completed this task very well. Not so much can be said for their spelling though.
Oh, I forgot to mention. Somewhere in the middle of the day a kid decided it would be funny to have a fit. You know, fall off his chair, shake about on the floor. The planning for the event was less than subtle so when it occurred I just ignored it. He very quickly regathered his composure and took his seat. We carried on just as if nothing had happened.
So far my opinion of supply teaching is that it is a challenging and interesting job. No day is the same. It is a great chance to visit different schools and look at the way in which they are managed. Also, as a teacher who has desserted her class a fair number of times, it is good to see what it is like to be a fill in. I am quite confident that none of the students I have come across in the last couple of days are as much of a handful as a couple of individuals I could name from previous NZ classes. So far I have been lucky, I am also making mental notes of the types of activity that students can and will complete in the absence of their normal teacher. All very good professional development.
After a busy day I decided to flag the bus and just walk home. Took just over 40 minutes. Good excuse not to go for a run when I got home. At least I thought so.
This school was more organised. I was given a map of the school and a list of times for each lesson, important as like Tawa there is no bell between classes. Oh, and even class lists for each lesson. Back to a 6 period timetable, each lesson lasting a mere 50 minutes. So it was a period of English - Year 7's (around 11-12) proofing a diary entry on a day in the life of a slave. Not too difficult, mostly students needed help with spelling and knowing what time dawn was.
Then off to humanities - geography with a lovely bunch of Year 9's (not) doing work on floods in the UK in 2000. Straight from the text book. Not too thrilling and although some did work, many did not.
It was to be invigilation again in period three - my favourite. But at the last minute I was let off the hook and took another Humanities instead. Year 8's (I think) doing posters on Pilgrimage. Again some good work produced but some rubbish too.
Back to English for period 4. This lesson was taken by a student teacher. Started off a bit of a mess with a neighbouring teacher, myself and then the student teacher all being present. From the start the kids didn't have much clue who was in charge and took full advantage. There was no time for a quick strategy talk so I sat back and let the student teacher get started. Year 10's were slow to settle but eventually she got the instructions across. After watching one guy wander about. get kicked out, come back in of his own accord, get kicked out again etc. I decided it was time to do something. Just went over and sat with him and worked out where he was up to and helped him get started. He managed to concentrate and do work for a bit but then got bored and wandered about cleaning tables, the TV, the computer screen. The student teacher spent the entire lesson working with one individual. Every now and then interrupted by a question from another student. There were less than 10 kids there and I think I would be kind of annoyed if I were a student in that situation.
After lunch it was more English. I think it was Year 9's who had been watching XMen. There task was to do a review. Seemed pretty straight forward however there is always a catch. A good number of students had seen little or none of the film. This made it pretty difficult to help them get started.
Finally it was another Year 7 group. Back to writing diary entries on a day in the life of a slave. Despite being the last lesson of the day, some students completed this task very well. Not so much can be said for their spelling though.
Oh, I forgot to mention. Somewhere in the middle of the day a kid decided it would be funny to have a fit. You know, fall off his chair, shake about on the floor. The planning for the event was less than subtle so when it occurred I just ignored it. He very quickly regathered his composure and took his seat. We carried on just as if nothing had happened.
So far my opinion of supply teaching is that it is a challenging and interesting job. No day is the same. It is a great chance to visit different schools and look at the way in which they are managed. Also, as a teacher who has desserted her class a fair number of times, it is good to see what it is like to be a fill in. I am quite confident that none of the students I have come across in the last couple of days are as much of a handful as a couple of individuals I could name from previous NZ classes. So far I have been lucky, I am also making mental notes of the types of activity that students can and will complete in the absence of their normal teacher. All very good professional development.
After a busy day I decided to flag the bus and just walk home. Took just over 40 minutes. Good excuse not to go for a run when I got home. At least I thought so.
Witchford Village College
This was where I headed on Tuesday for my first day of work in England. A school in a wee village an hours bus ride north of Cambridge. It was an early start to catch the 6.40 a.m. bus but I survived.
An interesting school with only 3 lessons a day. Each lasting 100 minutes. This presented a good challenge as the first two classes I covered had no work set for them. Not too bad though as they were Food Tech classes. Part way through the first class with a bunch of Year 10's (15 year olds) we figured out the Resource centre was booked for them. Headed to library type place with plenty of computers. Most of them used the second half of the lesson to make progress on their current project - developing a sweet or savoury food product.
The second class were Year 8's (12 and 13 year olds) doing a compulsory rotation class. Current work was on pastry. Most students had a book with theory work in. So first I found a couple of pastry related activities. They didn't take much time though. Second I gave them ingredients for a mystery recipe. Can you guess what it was? That's right Annabel Langbein's famous Chocolate Brownie. In groups they decided what they thought they could make using the ingredients and then planned a method. After that most of them chose to do a word find in the back of their books.
After lunch I had the thrill of invigilation. It was bizarre. I think I counted 14 students in this GCSE graphics exam - 7 boys and 7 girls. We had 3 people supervising. Just a wee bit over the top don't you think. Never mind, boring as it was, at least I got paid.
So, despite there being no planned work and the extraordinarily long lessons I survived! It is worth noting that the school has recently implemented a "Calm Learning Environment" policy. I lovely beige slip can be filled out and sent off to E1 with a good student. Within minutes someone arrives to remove any disruptive students. No need to make use of this with the Year 10's but I had no hesitation in marching a couple of the Year 8's. Worked a treat. Figured that 100 minute lessons were definitely justification for putting the system to good use.
An interesting school with only 3 lessons a day. Each lasting 100 minutes. This presented a good challenge as the first two classes I covered had no work set for them. Not too bad though as they were Food Tech classes. Part way through the first class with a bunch of Year 10's (15 year olds) we figured out the Resource centre was booked for them. Headed to library type place with plenty of computers. Most of them used the second half of the lesson to make progress on their current project - developing a sweet or savoury food product.
The second class were Year 8's (12 and 13 year olds) doing a compulsory rotation class. Current work was on pastry. Most students had a book with theory work in. So first I found a couple of pastry related activities. They didn't take much time though. Second I gave them ingredients for a mystery recipe. Can you guess what it was? That's right Annabel Langbein's famous Chocolate Brownie. In groups they decided what they thought they could make using the ingredients and then planned a method. After that most of them chose to do a word find in the back of their books.
After lunch I had the thrill of invigilation. It was bizarre. I think I counted 14 students in this GCSE graphics exam - 7 boys and 7 girls. We had 3 people supervising. Just a wee bit over the top don't you think. Never mind, boring as it was, at least I got paid.
So, despite there being no planned work and the extraordinarily long lessons I survived! It is worth noting that the school has recently implemented a "Calm Learning Environment" policy. I lovely beige slip can be filled out and sent off to E1 with a good student. Within minutes someone arrives to remove any disruptive students. No need to make use of this with the Year 10's but I had no hesitation in marching a couple of the Year 8's. Worked a treat. Figured that 100 minute lessons were definitely justification for putting the system to good use.
Sunday, 3 June 2007
The flat
Downstairs:
1 lounge - 2 sofas, coffee table, TV with Sky (selected channels - lots of sport), shelves and stuff
1 dining room - dining table, 3 chairs, clothes airer, desk, shelf
1 kitchen - fridge, freezer, oven, gas elements, microwave, cupboards, benches, sink
1 laundry in a cupboard - washing machine and drier
1 back garden - table, 2 chairs, small clothesline, grass, trees & plants, fish pond (I think with fish)
Upstairs:
3 bedrooms - 1 medium, 2 small, mine is a small one
1 bathroom - toilet, basin, bath with overhead shower (low pressure)
People:
no smokers
1 guy - Kevin the landlord: works at bookies, loves sports, has travelled a bit (Spain, NZ, Australia, South Africa, USA...)
2 girls - Kelly & me. Kelly moves out next weekend before going travelling. Watch this space for details of her replacement.
Pets:
no cats
no dogs
just fish and the odd pigeon - main they coo alot!
Vehicles:
Kelly brings home a different one every night. It's not what you're thinking. She works at a car rental place.
1 green bike - Kevin either rides or walks to work
TBA - perhaps I'll get a bike, Cambridge is not designed for cars
Other:
Less than 200m walk to closest bus stop, buses every 10 minutes Mon - Sat, only a 10 minute ride to the top end of the city
Supermarket - Budgens is about a 3 minute walk away, also a collection of other shops at same location
Kebab trailer - 3 or 4 minute walk, next to the second to closest bus stop. Don't know if I want to try the kebabs.
One-stop convenience store - 5 or 6 minute walk, 2 short stops away on the bus if you are really lazy! I have only been there once, it was raining and no I didn't take the bus.
Will try and post some pics. Didn't upload first time. Trying to figure out why.
1 lounge - 2 sofas, coffee table, TV with Sky (selected channels - lots of sport), shelves and stuff
1 dining room - dining table, 3 chairs, clothes airer, desk, shelf
1 kitchen - fridge, freezer, oven, gas elements, microwave, cupboards, benches, sink
1 laundry in a cupboard - washing machine and drier
1 back garden - table, 2 chairs, small clothesline, grass, trees & plants, fish pond (I think with fish)
Upstairs:
3 bedrooms - 1 medium, 2 small, mine is a small one
1 bathroom - toilet, basin, bath with overhead shower (low pressure)
People:
no smokers
1 guy - Kevin the landlord: works at bookies, loves sports, has travelled a bit (Spain, NZ, Australia, South Africa, USA...)
2 girls - Kelly & me. Kelly moves out next weekend before going travelling. Watch this space for details of her replacement.
Pets:
no cats
no dogs
just fish and the odd pigeon - main they coo alot!
Vehicles:
Kelly brings home a different one every night. It's not what you're thinking. She works at a car rental place.
1 green bike - Kevin either rides or walks to work
TBA - perhaps I'll get a bike, Cambridge is not designed for cars
Other:
Less than 200m walk to closest bus stop, buses every 10 minutes Mon - Sat, only a 10 minute ride to the top end of the city
Supermarket - Budgens is about a 3 minute walk away, also a collection of other shops at same location
Kebab trailer - 3 or 4 minute walk, next to the second to closest bus stop. Don't know if I want to try the kebabs.
One-stop convenience store - 5 or 6 minute walk, 2 short stops away on the bus if you are really lazy! I have only been there once, it was raining and no I didn't take the bus.
Will try and post some pics. Didn't upload first time. Trying to figure out why.
Modern Architecture: Part Two
The sun was out again today so another beautiful afternoon for a stroll. The second six buildings on the tour had less character. Can modern architecture have character? Another question for Megan.
As we are now more experienced guides we did not go off track today. All buildings were found exactly where we expected them. I guess too that I am getting more comfortable at wandering through gates to see the real heart of Cambridge that is hidden behind the walls.
The most aesthetically interesting building on the tour has to be Parkside Pools. The local Cambridgites even voted it the best building of the 20th century. Check out the roof - it looks like a slice has been taken through a wave.
The most money wasted on architectural design is awarded to the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. I can barely draw, just ask the kids at Tawa College. But, seriously it's brick, it's tall and it's square. Apparently it respects and interprets its awkward neighbours. Yeah right! It even won the Sunday Times/Royal Fine Arts Society Building of the Year in 1993.
So, between Dad and I there are hundreds of pictures of the 12 buildings on "A walk around Cambridge - Modern Architecture". Some may even be better than what's on the brochure. If you're interested a slide show can be arranged.
You'll also be pleased to know that we have walked over 3.2 miles (5.1 km). So we have had some exercise. With sunscreen and sunhats we have avoided sunburn. Not a bad way to kill a few hours and didn't cost me a thing. Thanks Mum for the guide with the map.
As we are now more experienced guides we did not go off track today. All buildings were found exactly where we expected them. I guess too that I am getting more comfortable at wandering through gates to see the real heart of Cambridge that is hidden behind the walls.
The most aesthetically interesting building on the tour has to be Parkside Pools. The local Cambridgites even voted it the best building of the 20th century. Check out the roof - it looks like a slice has been taken through a wave.
The most money wasted on architectural design is awarded to the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. I can barely draw, just ask the kids at Tawa College. But, seriously it's brick, it's tall and it's square. Apparently it respects and interprets its awkward neighbours. Yeah right! It even won the Sunday Times/Royal Fine Arts Society Building of the Year in 1993.
So, between Dad and I there are hundreds of pictures of the 12 buildings on "A walk around Cambridge - Modern Architecture". Some may even be better than what's on the brochure. If you're interested a slide show can be arranged.
You'll also be pleased to know that we have walked over 3.2 miles (5.1 km). So we have had some exercise. With sunscreen and sunhats we have avoided sunburn. Not a bad way to kill a few hours and didn't cost me a thing. Thanks Mum for the guide with the map.
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Cambridge - Tour of Modern Architecture: Part One
Made the most of a beautiful sunny day in Cambridge today. Dad and I embarked on Part 1 of a walk around Cambridge to view some modern architecture.
We were our own tour guides and mostly managed to follow the map without getting terribly lost. Kind of difficult in places as some of the buildings are hiding behind large walls. Many streets are not named in obvious places, you know like on the corner. Often you get half way down some little street or lane before you come across a sign that either confirms or denies that you are in fact where you intended to be.
Anyway, back to the tour of modern architecture. Perhaps sister Megan can confirm what would be considered modern architecture. It doesn't make sense to me that a building established in the 1700's with a facade added in the 1800's is particularly modern. Oh well, perhaps I am behind or maybe ahead, I don't know, of the times.
With quite some difficulty we found the Mond Building. I really wanted to see the crocodile engraving by the front door. It came to be because Russian physicist Pyotr Kapitza nicknamed Lord Rutherford 'snappy'. Who knew the guy that was first to split the atom had a bit of a temper? Perhaps a crocodile should be incorporated in a banner or mascot for my favourite house at Tawa College.
The other interesting building in the 6 we viewed today was the "Judge Institute of Management Studies". We were down some little back street and came upon what we thought was a random (i.e. not on the tour, but interesting) building. It was bold, colourful and bright, geometric patterns, a ginormous mosaic of funky tiles. Took a few pics then headed off down the road. Dad realised we had missed a turn somewhere so back we went in search of building no. 5. Why go the long way around the streets when it is so easy to find a shortcut through. It turned out that what we were photographing was the back of the building we were actually looking for. We both agreed the back was more interesting than front. Will try and post a couple of pics and let you be the judge.
Tomorrow if the fine weather continues we might embark on the second half of the tour.
We were our own tour guides and mostly managed to follow the map without getting terribly lost. Kind of difficult in places as some of the buildings are hiding behind large walls. Many streets are not named in obvious places, you know like on the corner. Often you get half way down some little street or lane before you come across a sign that either confirms or denies that you are in fact where you intended to be.
Anyway, back to the tour of modern architecture. Perhaps sister Megan can confirm what would be considered modern architecture. It doesn't make sense to me that a building established in the 1700's with a facade added in the 1800's is particularly modern. Oh well, perhaps I am behind or maybe ahead, I don't know, of the times.
With quite some difficulty we found the Mond Building. I really wanted to see the crocodile engraving by the front door. It came to be because Russian physicist Pyotr Kapitza nicknamed Lord Rutherford 'snappy'. Who knew the guy that was first to split the atom had a bit of a temper? Perhaps a crocodile should be incorporated in a banner or mascot for my favourite house at Tawa College.
The other interesting building in the 6 we viewed today was the "Judge Institute of Management Studies". We were down some little back street and came upon what we thought was a random (i.e. not on the tour, but interesting) building. It was bold, colourful and bright, geometric patterns, a ginormous mosaic of funky tiles. Took a few pics then headed off down the road. Dad realised we had missed a turn somewhere so back we went in search of building no. 5. Why go the long way around the streets when it is so easy to find a shortcut through. It turned out that what we were photographing was the back of the building we were actually looking for. We both agreed the back was more interesting than front. Will try and post a couple of pics and let you be the judge.
Tomorrow if the fine weather continues we might embark on the second half of the tour.
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