Off the boil

Had a very long parents' evening tonight with Year 10's, a tough crowd.  My roughest encounters weren't with the kids who weren't going to do well on exams.  For the most part, their parents had realistic expectations for them and knew their child's strengths and weaknesses and behaviour issues better than I do.  It was the boy who could be doing so much better, but who can't be bothered to do a good job on his homework or to revise for tests, mostly because he spends all his time playing on his Xbox or whatever handheld machine kids have these days (it's been a long time since Donkey Kong).  These things are evil.  I now sit across from my DH who is sitting slouched and crouched over our blessed new iPad, playing this obsessive game called Angry Birds.  While there is some Physics in it (trajectory and elastic potential energy), I cannot see the appeal.  What is it with boys and these games?  I like a game of scrabble and quite enjoyed a go at the formula 1 racing game, I do not feel the urge to hit RESTART over and over again to get to the next level.  What should that parent do? What should I do?  The parent decided that a ban on games would be necessary until after mock exams (oooh, a whole week away - too little too late?)  Husband? Better keep drinking the wine.  I am wearing my new black boots...

iPad frenzy

Today my family invested in the ultimate gadget, the iPad. I am typing on it right now. OMG, I love it. We have been fighting over it already, and that is just me and DH. The battery is already down to 50% and that is mostly because of me and Paul. The children have taken to it like ducks to water.

Symbiosis interruptus

Today, DH came to my school and delivered a great interactive lecture on nuclear power. The pupils were well behaved for the most part but I still feel exhasuted by the experience of being in charge of the entire class of year 11s. This lovely family/professional symbiosis was interrupted by the year 6 teacher beckoning me out of the theatre to try to tear me a new one because she thought I was responsible for all the toing and froing with sets and ladders etc. from the play which had its last performance the night before. I was in there during the lunch hour when I was in the theatre trying to get my laptop set up in my only free 15 minutes of the entire day because I was on duty. The juniors, however are back in lessons by then and were using the theatre for a music lesson, including my DS1. Anyway, I had one of those classic regret moments when she asked rhetirically whether I had people waltzing through my lessons. I didn't think of a good response till later that indeed I did during musical season when for two weeks straight I teach around fully made up and costumed characters walking right across the front of my classroom so they can get to the stage right entrance! We all have to be flexible. Anyway, she apologised after school because she had finally processed the message that I had only been in there to sort out my laptop as previously arranged with her. I am not sure, however, if she is stilled livid with the English teacher and his set breaking... All in a day's work I supposed. Just emotional stress I didn't need.

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Walking and the Big Society

I walked to work today for my 9:30 start for the first time in eons. The planets were aligned to allow me the gift of a small burden which fit into my college backpack and pretty clear skies. On way way, I ran into half a dozen people I knew: the husband of a babygroup friend, another member of said babygroup, my cousin on his way to work at the university and the owners of several local shops I used to frequent regularly. We stopped and chatted and caught up ans commiserated and celebrated. It was better than trollong through updates on facebook! It was great to see a live person face to face. Needless to say, I was almost late for work, but these real social interactions put a smile on my face for the rest of the day, not to mention how good it feels to get some exercise. On my way home from work, I dropped into every local business and asked if I could put up a flyer in their shop window for my choir's imminent local christmas performance. Every single one said yes. It made me realise what a great community we are and how our social connections can so easily be reinforced but also taken for granted.

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Cats cradle

When my auntie was here over half term, we found ourselves upstairs at the children's old nursery.  There was an eight year old girl trying to figure out how to do cat's cradle - by herself.  An impossibility.  I went over to help her, but found that it was impossible to explain to her what to do because I couldn't demonstrate it.  Her IQ and my explanatory ability aside, what happened was amazing.  Auntie jumped in the fray and the two of us became 12 year old girls playing a steaming match of cats cradle.  Three generations in one place playing a lovely traditional game.  Wonder if I will be able to get DS1 or DS2 to do it with me.

Climbing up the walls

Took the senior girls wall climbing last night after school. I did it too and had a ball. The harness is ever so flattering...unless you are into s&m. Anyway, it gave me the ides for the DSs' joint birthday pary next year: a spiderman themed wall climbing party. They will love it. Will ask Kat if she'll paint faces. Can bring or get food there. So psyched and relieved to have sorted that annual worry out. Now if I could just get rid of worrying about letting out the other house by selling it, that would be great. Hope current tenant passes his phd, gets a job in the vicinity and earns enough to get a mortgage.

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On the go

I am trying to think of things to downlad (for free of course) to my android phone from the marketplace and I just realised that there must be a special interface for mobile blogging.
Am now chowing down some Thai food before getting a fascial on my afternoon off. The bread of this relaxation sandwich is so hectic, however, with cars needing to go to the shop and the transport implications, not to mention teaching and parents' evenings today, i'm not sure if I'll alctually get much out of it. Boohoo me.
Choir was good last night. Spent most of the time on Ceremony of Carols and started Elgar's Dream of Gerontius (with a hard 'g' I have been informed) for January's course which I am not sure if I can do, what with plans moving forward with our move to Vancouver. It is starting to feel more real and like a real possibility now. Calling in favours right left and centre to get jobs and the kids into schools. Fingers crossed.

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Bugs Alive

Colleagues and family are falling like flies.  Runs and voms here there and everywhere. Just waiting till I come down with it.  Wonder if I will have to take the day off school.  Double edged sword. More of a pain to organise and mark cover than it is to just come in when sick and teach the damn material.
Plugging along with life and work. The DS's are polishing their shoes with DH. So cute.  DS1 is still turning off at school, but then telling us all the things he was supposed to have learned at school.  Teacher told me he wasn't doing any work because he wasn't doing the writing portion of his work, but he had participated in the reading comprehension and the discussion. That is still work!  Yes,  it won't count on an exam, but he is still processing the information and learning. Gosh, the exam obsession has already started!
Not much else to report other than I am dying under the marking load.

Easy Street

Something's wrong.  Sundays are getting easier and I am less stressed.  Just like everyone said they would be.  Just think how nice life will be come May when the Year 11's leave.  I have nine periods of Year 11!  That's like an extra whole day off a week!.  Yes I will have to cover and invigilate, but that's not the same as TEACHING, waving my arms around, jumping around like an idiot trying to make Physics memorable.

DH and I are feeling more and more justified not supporting Operation Christmas Child through the school.  We originally decided not to when we found out that religious literature was included inside the shoebox as we are very anti-prosletyzing.  Then this weekend, my fellow teacher trainee forwarded us an email from the atheist science teacher at her school denouncing the scheme and making everyone aware that the scheme is led by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, who has made anti-Muslim and anti-Hindu comments on record, and is also that person banging on about how Obama was born a Muslim, like this should somehow preclude him from being President of the USA.  How to tell my school about this???

Accomplished a lot towards our planned move to Vancouver.  I sent my letter to my mentor about my dream job.  I scanned DS1's school report and wrote a rough draft for the school statements.  Not sure what to do about DS2's schooling as he will only be ready for pre-kindergarten, AKA pre-school in Canada!!! There are only half day programmes available unless we put him in, eeggads, DAYCARE. I hate that word.

Anyway, must get off my duff.  Luckily my hip has healed and I can sit for more than half an hour without stiffening up.  Better go watch some TV before bed.

I've turned into one of those mums

When a teacher has to call a parent because of their son's poor behaviour, the parents are usually shocked to hear their son's actions.  "But he is always a gentleman at home, so helpful and polite."  This week, I was called in to see DS1's teacher and had to listen in horror to what he had done on the playground to one of his friends.  Apparently, he had his friend up against a brick wall and was punching him.  Now, both boys take karate together, and I can only hope that they were acting out their karate fantasies, and were not actually fighting with malice, as they are best friends after all.  Anyway, DS1 was put on formal warning, which lasts a week.  I will speak to his Sensei and a lecture coming from him will get through better than any number of tellings off or quiet, kind, encouraging chats about how to best behave.

To top it off, DS1 is also not completing his work during lessons and needs constant prodding to get on with tasks.  OMG, I cannot believe I may have one of those children!  So I asked his teacher if she would let us have his workbook for the weekend and we would see that he caught up.  He has 16 pages of half finished work to catch up on.  We wasn't allowed to watch TV or do anything fun until it was done.  I was very careful not to give him too much attention (I just gave him instructions on what he had to do on each page, and then went to sit in the living room with DS2 to cuddle and watch TV) because the teacher is afraid that he will prefer to do the work at home.  Anyway, he managed to catch up on all the work within about an hour in total.  This could be an interesting term.

DH and I are sitting next to each other in the living room, each with a laptop on our lap and the X-factor on the TV, but muted because they are all so horrendous, but I feel it is my duty to know who Cher and Wagner are because all the kids talk about them at school.

Nice day with the fandamily today.  Went to the kids' swimming lessons today for want of anything better to do having had my back cracked and my hip re-located after a sofa-sitting injury last night that left me in agony and unable to sit through my friend's amateur theatre performance.  I haven't been able to sit down for more than 10 minutes at a time today without it stiffening up, so I was very tired after a trip to the park with the kids and a long walk.  Luckily napping doesn't hurt my hip too badly although I can't sleep very well due to the discomfort.

Must consult on letter with DH
Night!

Breaking the Dam

I broke the dam this morning when I did catchup work for my job rather than taking the time off.  But I had to because I fell asleep in front of the television last night before I got around to do any marking.  Now I am in the coffee shop and just made a starter for next week's year 7 lesson. Yay wifi.  I'm blogging on the run. Must go back to school now to be Mrs. B and see DS1's entry in the big boat race.  He and DH made it over the holidays.  I think it will do well.  Well designed.  DS1 is looking more and more like his father every day, it is scary!
Just made an appointment to get my roots done. Hope I can tolerate two more weeks of gray hairs.
My PGCE student is improving exponentially. She is really taking on board everything I have been saying and I am able to give her tons of encouragment and positive feedback as well as the criticism.  Yay.

Must run and be Mummy...