Half Term Break - Day 1

One of the benefits of teaching in the UK system is definitely these half-term breaks!  I officially have two weeks off to rest, relax and get prepared for the next half-term.  In addition to the forementioned, I will also be organzing and furnishing a house and all the adventures included in that.

Unlike over the summer, where timetables were not finalized, I now know the classes I will be teaching and the students (or most of the students) enrolled in them.  Now, I can use some of my time off to get all of my planning and class ideas completed, on paper and prepared before the next half-term begins.  Hopefully, if all goes as planned, I will be able to get fully prepared and planned until Christmas, then I can use time during the half-term to get ready for after the holidays. 

So, here is my to-do list for the break:
1) Organize my new flat so that it is livable (right now there is no large furniture in it except the bed)
2) Catch-up on all of my marking (this is complete, except for one class-set of books!)
3) Prepare all lesson plans for my ten classes from now until Dec 21st
4) Have all lesson plans and class documents organized for inspection (occurring after the term break)
5) Have at least one lesson a week (for classes I see three times a week) and one less every two weeks (for classes I see twice a week) that goes up and beyond the regular "explanation then worksheet" set-up.
6) Decorate my flat!

Yes, it is quite the large list, but as I have two weeks and nothing but whatever I feel like that day planned, I think (and hope) it is do-able.  I will update you all on how it goes!

As Day 1 is coming to an end here is what I have accomplished:
- Caught up on sleep (even though my alarm went off as if I was getting up to go to school!)
- Domino's Pizza tastes just like home :)
- Marked one set of class tests
- Began initial/rough planning for one of ten classes

Not much, but hopefully tomorrow will be more productive!

Food for Thought

Author: Unknown

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. Th...

ey agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Furniture and Furnishings

Wow there is a lot of stuff you need to remember when moving into a new place - especially when the new place is in another country and all you have brought with you are clothes and shoes!

Here is our basic list of the necessities that we will need to purchase/find to furnish our new place:
- White Appliances (fridge freezer, cooker, washer dryer, dishwasher)
- Bed (frame and mattress)
- Sheets, duvet and duvet cover
- Pillows, pillow cases and pillow protectors
- Pots and Pans
- Tableware , glasses and cutlery
- Couch Suite
- Table and chairs (although we do not seem to use them now)
- Microwave
- Towels
- Desk, chair, power cords
- Lights (floor and desk)
- Mirror
- Cutting boards, knives, measuring cups, bake ware
- TV, TV stand, phone, broadband, cable, TV licence
- Coffee table & decor
- Wardrobe and chest of drawers

Now, I do realize that we do not need to completely furnish our place as soon as we move in, but most of these are items that we will need at some point.  Luckily, there are a lot of second hand shops around as we do not need to purchase all of our items new.

Am I missing a crucial item?  Let me know!  Also, post your own "Starting House" lists and compare it to others.

Renting and Moving

Now that I have had an opportunity to get to know the area and figure out where I would like to live for the next two years, we have looked around and found a new house to move into. 

The adventure of looking for a new place in a new city is a lot of fun but it was also very frustrating.  There were lots of properties available, but most of them were outside of the main area.  My partner and I began looking at all rental properties in our price range but none of them seemed to match what we are looking for.  We wanted a two bedroom flat in town and close to many amenities, and of course, one that would not break our budget.

As we continued our journey, we found a lovely third floor two bedroom flat.  What was even better about this was that the white appliances were included.  It was above a shop on Sea View St. and the stairs up to the flat were metal and outside.  The flat was set up as a square (all rooms entering from the hall with the front door, but it was a lot more spacious than one would have guessed.  Unfortunately, this one was taken before we had a chance to let them know that we were interested.

Funny how things play out; we were "down in the dumps" about losing the flat that we fell in love with, but the next flat we looked at was even better.  This two bedroom flat fell right in front of the bus stop and has two huge bay windows off of the second floor.  No, they are not just regular windows, these windows look right onto the sea front!  The view is magnificent.  The white appliances are unfortunately not included, but we can find those! The more that we are getting ready to move in, the more excited that I am getting.

Where are we finding all of the items for our new place?  All over the place:
- Fridge: British Heart Foundation
- Bed: Clearance Bed Store by the Market

Well, the list is not that big, but it is all that we have so far!  Hopefully we will have more items to fill the place soon :)

Bulletin Board Tree

Have you ever needed a good bulletin board idea? Here is one one of my colleagues did. It is a question tree.

Have each student in each of your classes to write one question they have on a post-it leaf. This can be a question about anything of the course material try have looked over one the first couple days of school.

After each classes have made their leaves, place them up on the bulletin board. Each day that you have that class, get a student to find their leaf at the start of the class and in the last ten minutes of class answer the leaf question.

I have attached a picture to show you what my colleagues looks like.

Hope this will help in making your classroom bulletin boards full of learning and beauty!