The first term as a job share teacher

Well, it is the holiday now (yippeee) and the first term working 3 days a week has come to it's end.
How has it gone?
Amazingly well...I have loved it. I have tried very hard to "get over" the classroom no longer being mine, but "ours" and stopped trying to squeeze a whole week's work into three days.
Of course I still felt shattered at the end of term, but considerably less so, and the whole build up to Christmas was so much more enjoyable having been there less! Early play rehearsals left me not knowing what was going on, but that didn't last long.
Have learnt that trying to split APP is a challenge; next term will do two subjects and my JSP will do the other and we will swap that each term. Found that there are quite a few things that didn't get covered this term...but that we know now exactly what we need to work on next term. In some ways I feel I know the class better at this stage of the year than previously due to the amount of conversations we have had about the children.
It has made me realise that we all, whether we are full time or part time, need to spend a lot more time talking to each other about what we do in our classrooms...staff meetings each week should focus on the teaching and learning rather than bogged down by bureaucratic discussions.
Next term we are going to do some observations of each other teaching with a view to this leading to some coaching... I am really looking forward to this and will write about how it goes.
Do I have any regrets about working part time? No! Salary taken a nose dive but quality of life is so much better. I have found some things harder, for example I run the class blog and have found it difficult to keep the momentum going with the class as my JSP is not a fan of ICT; one of my challenges is to try to change that (!) as well as try to keep my class enthusing about it when I am not there...watch this space.
Still going to the gym, caught up with friends more, been less of a stress head and had great fun taking part in various writing challenges particularly the 100Words one.
http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/5050-word-challenge-week24/

I am going to have  go at that later on today...

I know that I am lucky to be working with a colleague that I have known for years...we are both keen to make job sharing as successful as possible. Communication is key. Would love to hear from both experienced and new job sharers for how they make their partnership successful and continue to develop their roles.
Twitter has been (and continues to be) a wonderful place to share ideas, gain inspiration and support each other. Love it.

Here's to a great 2012...

Festive 100 word for grown ups

This week the lovely Julia has set a Chrismassy theme; choose a carol and use that as the basis for a Christmas dinner themed pioece. It has to scan so it can be sung along to the tune, what fun!!
Check out the details on Julia's blog here-

http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week23/

I have had a bash and here is mine- to be sung to the tune of "Ding Dong Merrily!"


It's Christmas Dinner Time!

Carrots , parsnips,  sprouts and peas,

Sausages,  bacon  and turkey,

Will you have a glass of wine?

Go on, after all it’s Christmas...

Cra-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ackers

Go on and Pull my cracker!

Cra-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a—a-a-a-a-a-ackers

Let’s get this party started!

Cranberries, gravy and bread sauce

Add to my delights

Yes, I’ll have another glass

Now let’s have some pudding.

Bra-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aa-andy 

butter on  my pudding.

Cu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-ustard 

Calories? Who’s counting!

*  *  *

Last week I wasn't feeling particularly creative. This week, a little more so, so to make up for it, here is my Ode to a sprout ...

Enjoy:-

To a Sprout

Wee green and white seasonal veggie

O’ what powers thee has to divide

Opinions round yonder festive table!

Rich in flavour , crunchy and wholesome

Yet,  discarded wi’ ne’er a care

Mercilessly  ridiculed beyond compare.

Wee humble sprout- I salute you.

Part of Christmas for e’er and a day

You’re always welcome in my home

And not just on Christmas day!






I'm going to take a look at the others now; find them at 
http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=120567&type=basic

100 words week 22

Goodness what a busy time it is at the moment. I can hardly believe there is just one more week in school to go. 
This week Julia's prompt has had me stumped 
http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week22/

This is what I have come up with this week... hope that next time I will be feeling a little more creative.  I am going to have a look at the others now; maybe I should read the other ones first ? 




100 words in 100 words

100 words , it’s not exactly an essay is it? So why can I not think of ANYTHING to write about? Perhaps it’s just that time of year when everything seems to go, shall we say, crazy? Play rehearsals, performances, lunches, menu planning, gift buying, staff dos, extra rehearsals, parties to organise. Oh yes, and teaching, assessing and report writing to slot in too. Is it me? Or are bells ringing to say time to slow down a bit? No chance- love this time of year and the buzz of end of term run up to Christmas.

 Now, what to write...

100 words for grown ups week 21

I have finally got round to this week's effort. Have still not come up with a great idea for the other competition, but loving the idea of randomly choosing a prompt. Is on my "to do" list.

I would welcome any constructive criticism on my 100 word pieces. If you like it/hate it/feel ambivalent please let me know! I very much enjoy the weekly challenge set by Julia (find it at http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-21/ ) 

 I hope to develop my writing; as a teacher I am constantly providing my class with (what I hope to be ) stimulating writing opportunities with follow up to improve work. I'd be very interested to have feedback to help me improve my writing.

The other entries can be found by clicking here- http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=117959&type=basic

I'm going to take  look now.

In the meantime, here is mine for this week. The prompt was a photo showing a view through a wooden window. I took this to be the shed in the garden that Kit had been back to in previous posts of mine (http://mrshalford.blogspot.com/2011/09/100-words-for-grown-ups-week-10.html )

SECRETS IN THE GARDEN

“You’ve got a nerve, turnin’ up after all these years!”

Kit spun round at the familiar voice, “I... was just...”

“Stickin’ your nose in. It’s been too long. Just turn round and this time, never come back.” With a dismissive sniff she turned sharply and headed towards the garden gate.

“Wait! Please. I can explain.” Kit’s voice was barely a whisper. “Mum!”

The older woman stopped as though frozen, quickly regained her composure and walked slowly back, her face set. “Don’t ever call me that again, d’you hear me? You’re no daughter of mine, not after what happened.”

Kit pulled the letter from her pocket.

Ramblings on writing...

I haven't (yet) written this week's 100WCGU...have been pretty busy with one thing and another. Is on my to do list for tomorrow.  One of the reasons I haven't written it yet is because a friend thrust a magazine at me last week saying,  "Read this and have a go!" I dutifully obliged. It was the details of a 100 word writing competition. "Ah-ha!" thought I, "No problem, I've been doing these each week for the last few months, sure I can think something up."
And that is where I am at. The weekly 100WCGUs set by the wonderful Julia over at Julia's place http://jfb57.wordpress.com/ have been great fun and I find myself eagerly looking forward to the next one. Some have been harder than others, but I have managed to put something together each week.
The difference with the competition is that there is no prompt. Nothing. Not even a clue. Write 100 words (exactly- no more, no less or instant disqualification) about ANYTHING fictional.
That is the problem...where on earth to start! Having a prompt, whether that be a picture, a phrase even a few words, helps get the mind going in a direction. Having  no prompt has been a bit of a wall for me.
I have a notebook with LOTS of ideas in it some of which may be worth continuing, some of which may not be. Time will tell. It has made me stop and think.
I enjoy reading the entries to the 100WCGU each week and leaving comments on them. But I can see the point raised by http://www.hermelness.com/ who has disabled comments on her blog. At first I thought, "Surely that is the whole point of a blog, to see what other people think!" After spending some time reflecting on that thought I could see beyond that. It is lovely to get positive comments on my blog, BUT getting those comments doesn't necessarily mean that what I am writing is as great as I would like it to be. I started my blog as a reflective space. Now that I am part time I do spend more time reflecting on my practise, and a blog is a great place to put ideas down...I hope that it will help me organise some of my thoughts for career progression and development. The writing side of it I hope will help to improve my writing. 
So, do I disable comments or not? The whole idea of the 100words is to share and feedback to each other. I love getting the positive feedback, but would also welcome constructive criticism from people- if I have written something that could be improved (and what piece of writing can't be improved somehow?) I'd be happy to hear suggestions. 
I am a very novice writer and have lots to learn. I read avidly and get impatient with books which don't hook me with great characters/storylines . Hopefully blogging can help me improve as a writer. I think that people worry about leaving anything other than praise as they don't want to offend. As a teacher it's my job to help the children I teach improve through a combination of praise and next steps...praise sandwich. 
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pleased with feedback I have had on my pieces for the 100WCGU, but this competition has made me realise how much support you get from a prompt. I for one would welcome some constructive criticism on my next pieces.

100 word challenge for grown ups week 20

This week's 100 word challenge was straightforward. Julia Skinner's prompt was to include or be inspired by one or all of the following: 

the powers that be/the apple of his eye/the writing on the wall

You can find further details for this weekly writing challenge at  http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-20/

and a link to the others at 

http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=117531&type=basic 

I used to begin by reading all the others; but this was putting me into a state of panic so now I have a go at mine first and read the others at my leisure over the coming week. There are some fabulous writers out there and I always enjoy the diversity of their writing. I am trying to encourage the children in my class to take part in the childrens' one but not having as much success with that as I'd like. Am loving working part-time (went to the gym, had my hair done, caught up with a friend today and did this!) but am realising that it is almost impossible to have the same impact on the children when you aren't there all the week. Early days yet- not even been a full term so I am sure that it will continue to evolve and develop. In the meantime, here is my effort for this week's 100 words for grown ups. 

She's the one that I want.

She was the icing on the cake, the apple of his eye; yes she was THE ONE.

Fred had been waiting for this moment since he’d been knee-high to a grasshopper. Fate, destiny or luck? She would be his forever. He wouldn’t let the powers that be stand in his way any longer, the writing was on the wall. Now there’d be no turning back.

He fastened his helmet and kick started the antiquated Harley. There was plenty of life in the old dog yet. With a final backward glance he sedately rode out of the hospital grounds on a journey of a lifetime. 

100 word for grown ups week 19

This week's challenge was to use the prompt, "are you sure it should be that colour" in dialogue. So here goes. Qute different to what I would normally do. Well done Julia, you've come up trumps again with a fab idea. You can find the prompt at 

http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week19/

I am going to take a look at the other entries which can be found here http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=116550&type=basic

Here's mine.

“O... M... G...!” gasped Shaz as her Mum came downstairs.

“And a good morning to you too. If you open your mouth any wider you’ll dislocate your jaw.”

“But, I mean, Mum, Um?”

“What are you gibbering about?”

“Have you actually looked in the mirror this morning?”

“Yes of course . Why?”

“You have? Hello? Earth calling Mum.”

“Shaz, I’m starting to lose patience with this.”

“Just go and look in the mirror OK, and I mean really look in the mirror.”

“Fine.”

Mum walks to her room and returns with mirror in hand. “And?”

 “Mum, you’re scaring me now, I mean, how come you’re not like really freaking out?”

“Freaking out? Why on earth would I do that?”

“But Mum, your face!”

“Oh that, well I told you I was having that treatment, you know the one : nomorelines’r’us.”

“Yes, but are you sure it should be that colour?”

“Only for a day or so...”