I was dancing the night away on Hogmanay. What can I say? Our party had fun. Take That songs were blaring and there was even a Robbie tribute act. It all seems so long ago and as I write this, we have survived the first week back and I have been reading and commenting on teacher’s evaluation blogs on how we have started off and their initial thoughts on this term. Take That are on as I take a minute to realise that week one of the new term has come and gone and “Shine” sums up how I am looking at things just now.
Despite a slight power issue that resulted in school not being open for pupils on Monday, everyone quickly settled back into the routines of school when we finally all got together on Tuesday. The teachers had the opportunity to work together on Monday (in the warmth of the Town Hall) and we used the time well. Lots of huddling together with stage partners and wider groups took place and there was also time to catch-up with everyone which as a staff doesn’t always happen because support staff are on duty when the teachers have lunch and the awfully clever DHT and I don’t grab a bite until after school has settled for the afternoon. Thus having a blether over a coffee with everyone was a rare treat and I think it actually was really good for us. As a settled staff we are at ease with each other and we share the news from home so we were eager to share the family time we had all enjoyed. As the title infers I believe that the core staff and our relationships are crucial to the continued self-evaluation, reflection and continuous journey of our learning community. I’d love to see an in-service day at the beginning of the three main terms of winter, spring and summer which are totally in-house and focussed on the term ahead. We got planning glitches and queries ironed out in double quick time because we were all there. We talked about the school developments and the ones we have been beginning to think about for next year. We also talked about Christmas hiccups, surprises and luckily no one had really bad news to share. It was a good day even though at 6.30am when the phone call came I wasn’t struck by the potential!
Change is all around and we deal with it, use it and manage it. That doesn’t mean to say that we don’t change; we develop, we always, always think about what we need to do to help our young people improve and develop their many skills and knowledge. However, there is strength from being comfortable together. This doesn’t mean complacency in any form but rather it gives confidence and courage to voice opinions, challenge aspects of our school policies and routines and offer alternatives. This was also a theme that the awfully clever DHT was thinking about and discussing with me throughout the week. He was musing over school cultures and jolly interesting it was too. I am really enjoying this post graduate study he is doing. We still had to discuss really important things like accessories ( me actually -soft furnishings), how much Christmas cake was left and whether it is better to watch catch-up TV or buy the box set (what if you never watch it again?) Oh yes, we have a wide topic base! Seriously though, it really is getting grey cells a nudge that had definitely gone to sleep as we take on-board the daily running of a school. It is permeating into assessment meetings, evaluation blogs and collegiate times. It is reaffirming my belief that we benefit from professional debate and consideration in an ethos of self- evaluation and improvement. The excitement of learning and teaching doesn’t go away for me or, I hope, the people I work with.Now that last slice of Christmas cake has gone ( I am not a quitter) I am ready to get going again and as a learning community we are going to keep shining.