Tuesday

Back to school.  Long weekends are very nice and perhaps, as a lead in to retirement, at some point I might think about going down to four days of teaching rather than five.  Our senior management seems very receptive to that sort of approach, recognising that a happy teacher is likely to be a better teacher and to give more to the job, I guess.  Something to ponder on anyway.

It's still  raining!  Not hard, but steadily, and everything is dismally dripping down onto the already saturated ground.  It's Tuesday, so my playground duty day: I just hope it's not too nasty by playtime.  I suppose it has to clear up at some point and we do still need the rain, if only to water those gardens affected by the hosepipe ban.  It's not really the purely or mainly ornamental gardens like mine I'm thinking of here.  I know of several families who are financially fairly dependent on produce they grow to eat in their garden or allotment and to have to watch these shrivel up and die or to spend hours they cannot really spare with a watering can must be a real problem.  Life is so fast and furious nowadays, paid employment sucks in so many extra hours, that the gentle, slow activity of filling a watering can and watching the sparkling droplets landing on the soil seems a lifetime away.
No problems that way right now anyway!

Yesterday was pleasant.  I didn't do much really - just a bit of this and a bit of that.  Very lazy really.  Back on the working wagon today!

Saturday (a bit early)

Sorry about this but I'm likely to be quite busy tomorrow morning and might not have enough bloggy time so here I am now.

It's been a great day.  As I indicated, we had two 'outside agency' meeting today.   They were very positive and helpful times and after each meeting we were left feeling most encouraged and satisfied.  What more could one ask?

This morning I sneaked (or, as our USA friends say, snuck) into family assembly as it was my class last year and it was their violin assembly.  I think I have mentioned before that all our infants are very, very lucky, as every single child has weekly violin lessons from a very talented music teacher who teaches her own system, called Stave House.  We have mini-violins on loan, plus violas and cute little cellos.  I was hoping to hide in a corner and not be noticed as I wasn't really supposed to be there, but there was no-one to play the piano for the hymn so I was pounced on.  At least it gave me a valid excuse to be there and watch!  It was all very, very enjoyable!  There's been considerable interest in Stave House and the work she has done at school from various Important People, such as Michael Gove, would you believe?  Watch this space!  :0)

And now we have a Long Weekend (nice) and a shorter working week next week.  It feels good. 

And now, just for Diane (and anyone else interested . . .)

The multi technique trees in blossom.

Painted tree skeleton, finger printed blossom and leaves printed using special foam 'brushes'.  And very nice they all look too!