Weekly write up no. 7

Hello!

I may have missed a few weeks! To be honest I doubt I will keep up the weekly write ups. So this may be my last one. I would much rather put my time and energy into making outfit posts!

I will just do a quick round up of the week. Half term has been lovely. It was nice to have a lie in each day, and even better that I got to spend time with my mum and brother, which is very rare.

Monday - Me and Paul went into school to start sorting out my new classroom. I like things set out in a certain way, so I wanted to get started on it. We were there for a few hours and had dominos with the SLT! 

Tuesday - Travelled to Bath which took ages (the M4 was closed so we had to take a detour through lots of random villages) but when we finally got there I got to have lunch with my mum and brother. We looked around for a bit, then my mum had to leave, so me Paul and Karl (my brother) spent at least 6 hours sat in his living room watching random films and tv shows. At about 10:30pm we ordered another dominos!

Wednesday - Me and Paul went to Bristol and had to wait ages for a park and ride bus. When we got into town we had a lovely Nandos then looked around the shops. I bought a few things and spent far too much money in Primark! In the evening, me, Paul and Karl dressed up and went to a rock club in Bath called Discord for a fun night of drinking and dancing. Some mosh pit action included!!

Thursday - We travelled back home and in the evening me and my friend Becky went to London for the Company bloggers style the highstreet event. It was great! We had a few drinks, ate snacks, watched the fashion show and left with a goodie bag! I'm going to do a separate blog post on it very soon. 

Friday - Me and Paul went into school again, and I spent about 5 hours sorting out my classroom. It's still not done! I would have liked to stay longer but school shut at 4. I have a few more display bits to put up, but I'm feeling much happier with how it looks now.

Saturday - We went to Bromley for a small shopping trip. I wanted some trainers in Primark, but no luck. I did buy a few pieces which I will blog about today. I spent the evening doing some work, so at least I feel a bit more organised about the week ahead.

Sunday - I placed a huge New Look order on Friday and it was delivered today. Sadly I decided to return most of it, so we went to Bluewater to do that. I also went to the gym on the way home. I should be going 3 times a week, but I never manage it when I lack a work schedule. Hopefully I will get back on track soon!

So that's a round up of my week. Like I said, I may not do any more of these posts but we'll see!

Greta xx

Stuck in stand still traffic on the M4.

Entering one of my favourite cities!

Karl and me ready for Halloween!

 

The zombie butcher

My new New Look cape and fur scarf

Weekly write up no. 6

Hello!

This will most likely be a short post from me today, as it's not even 7pm yet and I'm knackered!

Last week I worked 3 and a half days - my busiest week yet! I was at the same school for 3 days and it certainly was a mixed 3 days. I taught year 5 and 3, both of which seemed to be lovely year groups/classes, but I also taught year 4 which was a nightmare. I taught 2 different year 4 classes, both of which were very difficult. I had to deal with a racist incident in one class before I'd even taken the register! I told my agency never to send me to year 4 at this school again! It's amazing how different it can be between year groups even at the same school! I'm going back there this week for one day but to the nice year 5 class so hopefully it will be a nice day. I also spent another day last week at an infant school, in year 2 and Reception. I am definitely finding KS1/EYFS easier in terms of workload. I even left the school at 3:10! Unheard of! I don't think I am suited to teach KS1 full time, but it is nice to be doing it for experience this term.

Yesterday I went out in London and had at least 5 drinks, but managed to not get too drunk. My boyfriend had his work's leaving do and we met up with him at about 11, and he was very drunk. It wasn't an amazing night but any night out is better than none!

I really need to get back onto my diet/exercising routine again. Last year I managed to drop 2 dress sizes, but since coming back from holiday in August I have had no motivation whatsoever to loose weight. I dread weighing myself! I just need some motivation to get started!

Right, I'm going to try not to fall asleep before 9pm tonight! I may spend my time browsing on Twinkl - I really want to sign up for the premium account but not sure if it is worth it - opinions please?!

Greta xx

Drunken selfie

Weekly write up number 5

Why do I bother saying this will happen on a Sunday?! I never have time! I honestly don't know how I will maintain this blog. Even though I have only been working part time over the last few weeks, I feel like I barely have time to create any content. I've always loved the idea of having my own blog, but I don't feel like I have the discipline to keep it up :( I am going to try, but I really doubt it is going to be a fashion/beauty blog as I never have time to take photos! So far this blog has been far more work orientated. But then that has been my life recently!

So, big things have happened for me in the past few days. On Friday I received an email from my old head teacher asking if I would consider coming back to cover a maternity leave. I went in yesterday to discuss it, and decided that I was going to return. Now it was my intention to do supply for the foreseeable future, to try and find a nice new school to work in. However, I have not enjoyed all of the supply work I have done so far, and I just don't think it's right for me. I wanted to look for a full time position starting after xmas, but when I was offered this, it just seemed so easy. No interview/application, I know all the people/routines and it is so close to home. My boyfriend is no longer working so having a guaranteed income again is definitely needed! Whether it was the right thing to do or not, I won't know until I start. So I only have 3 more weeks doing supply now. Annoyingly I had the most amazing day today in a year 5 class - typical! Just after I thought I would hate supply. 

Last week I only worked 2 days, both in a Reception class. Boy that was interesting! There was an amazing TA who led phonics (I had no idea!) and I taught a rather interesting PE lesson! But they basically spent all afternoon playing and I didn't know what to do! I actually got bored and was clock watching for the first time in my teaching career. It got to 3:30 and there was no marking to do, and I didn't know what to do! I quickly learnt that I could never be a Reception teacher though. I can't deal with the fussing, crying and not being able to share! I know they are young, but I am definitely a KS2 teacher! 

Finally, on a non work related topic, last week me and my friend Sophie went to Thorpe park. We made the most of going on a school day and there were barely any queues! It was such a lovely day and we managed to go on all of the rides we wanted to, some several times. 

Bye for now

Greta xx

2 days late Sunday catch up

So, no Sunday catch up from me this week. And that was really the only post that I was doing well at! Well the reason I didn't do a Sunday post will be explained below.

1. Last Monday I went to London and attended a supply teacher meet up. I was nervous as I am an incredibly shy person. I did enjoy it though. It was nice to talk to other people who are in a similar position to me. I did feel very shy though, and didn't chat as much as some others, but I'm proud of myself for trying something new.

Train selfie! On the way to London.

2. I worked 3 days last week. Tuesday was a lovely day in year 2. It was last minute, and I swear the TA worked harder than me! I had work booked for the rest of the week in the same school. I went there on Wednesday and it was a disaster. I was sat by the office for ages as no one knew which class I was supposed to be in. I got taken to a Reception class, got set up, then just as the kids were coming in I got moved to year 5. 5 minutes later, I got taken back to a different Reception class. Disorganised is the word! Teaching Reception was lovely, but I was only there for 45 minutes, then got put back in year 5. They were an extremely challenging class and I hated it. The final straw was at lunch when another teacher came in and had a go at me because she didn't get given the same worksheet as me! I just about coped in the afternoon, but called my agency in tears asking not to go back there. I was really upset as I've been to 2 schools now in 2 weeks that I hated. And I keep thinking - "It's me. I'm a bad teacher" However both of the schools have been in the same area which has a reputation for being difficult, so I'm trying to put it down to that. On Friday I taught in a year 6 class in a much nicer school, and had a positive day. 2 firsts for me - The first time I had taught year 6 all day, and the first time I had taught top set year 6 maths!

3. I went out with a friend on Friday night. We go out together lots, which keeps me sane! We went to Spoons like we normally do, but only ended up having 2 drinks each! Very unlike us. We ended up in KFC at 11pm and ended up going home early! We then went to Bluewater on Saturday for a bit of shopping. I love having someone to hang out with around here. Moving to a new area and working full time has made it hard to find friends, but I feel like I have a much better social life than I did a year ago.

4. We also went to the cinema on Wednesday to see Lucy. It wasn't very good! I did however help her level some writing samples during the trailers!

5. On Sunday the weather was lovely and me and Paul (my boyfriend) planned on having a picnic. We went to the gym first and god knows how I did it, but I stupidly knocked my glasses on the boot of the car, which scratched them. We were only in the gym for 20 minutes as I was worried about them. All of our plans went out the window and we went to Bluewater to see if they could get rid of the scratch. No luck. So I now have a scratch on my left lens which I just have to put up with until I get new glasses (which wont be for at least a year). Silly G!

I will try to post my Sunday catch up on time next week! It's now Tuesday and I haven't worked this week yet so I'm going to try my hardest to post another blog post on something random!

Greta xx

Weekly write up no.3 (or a reflection on my first week of supply)

Hello!

Well there has been a definite lack of posts during the past week! Mainly for 2 main reasons. 1, I have been very busy, and 2, I have been a little bit down. So, to summarise my week -

I worked 3 days of supply this week. And god it has been tough!

So on Tuesday I went to a school I had never heard of in an area I've never really been too. The morning wasn't too bad but the behaviour of the children was more difficult than I expected. But then the afternoon was a disaster. I was put in a year 5 class who haven't had a teacher this year and for part of last year. I tried to teach them the water cycle which I am confident with, however it was such a challenge. 3 tables seemed eager to learn but there were 2 that literally did not listen, spoke over me and fiddled the whole time. And there was no real behaviour system in place for me to follow. I tried waiting, taking minutes off playtime, but they just didn't care. Rewards didn't seem to work either. I felt like the children walked all over me. Luckily, school ended at 3 so I only had 2 hours to cope with. As soon as the kids left I cried. I felt like I had no control and it was a shock to the system. I have been teaching for 4 years, and although I have of course dealt with difficult behaviour before, I at least know the children in my class and can talk to their parents. I don't have this option on supply, and it is bloody difficult to build a relationship with a whole class in the space of a few hours. Relationship = respect = good behaviour. I guess I need to get used to the fact that behaviour is not going to be great while I do supply. But it is tough, as I like to think I can control a class and focus on learning rather than crowd control. I called my agency and asked never to go back. I also spent most of Tuesday evening sobbing and eating maoam and chocolate orange.

On Thursday I got the early morning call to cover a year 5/6 class. It turned out to be a school someone I went to uni with teaches at, so that was nice. The morning went well, and behaviour was fine. But then again the afternoon was a nightmare. There were 6 very challenging pupils in my class. I ended up sending 2 of them out, but it could have easily been 6. I really didn't enjoy my afternoon.

Finally on Friday I went to a school that was just down the road from the school I used to teach at. I was expecting to cover KS2 all day, but when I arrived I was sent to year 2! I haven't taught in KS1 since my first year of teacher training (about 6/7 years ago). But I absolutely loved it! This class seemed to be much more settled than any yet, and had good routines in place. The easiest thing was the school had a brilliant behaviour system in place that was easy for me to follow. We spent the morning doing art and maths. I really enjoyed it. There wasn't any planning for me to follow so I did feel a bit scared but it went well. I would like to be able to work with KS1 more in the future. I guess that's a benefit of doing supply. In the afternoon I was put in UKS2 and had to do a big write with year 6 and maths with year 5. Not the best subjects to leave on a Friday afternoon if I'm honest! Getting year 6 to work silently was a challenge but year 5 were nice, and again the behaviour system was easy to follow. I wasn't sure about marking though. I marked all of the yr2 work and yr5 work, but went back to the yr6 classroom and the teacher had gone home! I didn't really want to mark 30 big writes so did about 10 then left. To be honest I didn't think I should mark them but I know I would have liked it if a supply had marked it for me when I was teaching full time. I really liked this school and would work there full time if I could. The only issue was the staff didn't seem as friendly as the other schools. Maybe I'm being too picky?!

I have been feeling quite down this week. I am starting to wonder if I made the right decision leaving my last school. Sure it had its downsides, but every school does. I have to keep reminding myself that over 20 teachers have left in the past few years, and there are important reasons why I left. However on Tuesday I found out that the head teacher is leaving in April. Typical! I have spent a few days this week feeling really miserable about life and not knowing what I'm doing. I thought I had a great career ahead of me, and after teaching for 4 years I am still not in a school or job that I like, and who knows if and when I'll find that. There are other things making me feel down at the minute, but they all boil down to money/work/housing. Basic things that make me worry. I need to start focusing on the small things as I know I don't any power over the big things at the minute.

So, a very work based post this week but that's all I seem to have focused on this week! I have no bookings yet for the coming week, so who knows what will happen. I am planning a trip to Primark and Thorpe park this week, so those things should make me feel a little happier in amongst the stress of behaviour management.

Do you have any tips for managing behaviour in a supply situation?

Greta xx

Weekly write up no.2

Hello!

Time for another Sunday catch up. I'm not sure where this week has gone - it has gone so quickly despite the fact that I haven't really done much. There have been some ups and downs this week, and I don't particularly feel like I'm in a great place at the moment. Things can only get better right?

1. I feel like I am unemployed at the moment. Yes I am a supply teacher and work is going to be patchy for the next few weeks, but I have gone from working 50 hour weeks to not working at all. And it feels weird. I have managed to do lots of things that I never would have had time for, including starting this blog. I've even done some ironing! I am really hoping that work picks up this week as I am going to have absolutely no money next month. My boyfriend hates his job at the minute and will most likely be leaving soon, so the prospect of having no income whatsoever is a little scary.

2. My first afternoon of supply! It was about what I expected. I was very very nervous! The school was only 5 minutes away, and I arrived extremely early. I had to teach RE, which I haven't taught since training! It was RE all afternoon, and being a CE school the children probably knew more about the topic than I did! I tried to be more strict than usual, but an hour into it I felt like they were testing me. The lesson itself was ok, but I got extremely fed up with being asked to go to the toilet or get a drink. When I had my own class I had strict rules about this, but being in someone else's class, I wasn't sure of the routines and didn't want anyone to wet themselves! The kids were also quite noisy but then I guess that's to be expected. I guess I'm focusing on the negatives a lot, which is what I always do! I did enjoy being back in the classroom but it has also made me miss having my own class. I guess I just need to enjoy being free while I can. I'm sure when I'm back with my own class again I will be moaning about having no free time! The nice thing about my afternoon of supply was it took 15 minutes to mark and then I could just leave. I haven't been able to do that in a while! I have a full day booked this week and I'm really hoping I get more than that, so I will see how this week goes.

3. Shopping this week - I ended up at Primark again. Twice. I went on Monday and bought some lovely thin winter jumpers for work (I get hot very easily) and a lovely black pinafore and burgundy hat. Then on Saturday my boyfriend wanted to look for a suit so we ended up there again and I got a pale blue coat, grey bag and some black mules. I needed some backless shoes as I had scuffed up the back of my feet the previous day wearing some uncomfortable River Island shoes. I am totally in love and addicted to Primark. If I go a week without shopping there, I am guaranteed to find something new I love.

4. Last night I went out in London with lots of the people from the school I used to teach in. Overall the night was brilliant. I drank lots of cocktails and felt like I made a new friend who I have a lot in common with. We danced, chatted, ate lovely platter food and had some random conversations outside the club. However, the last hour of the night was not a good time for me. Yes I was drunk, but I sobered up rather quickly. My new Primark shoes turned out to also cut my feet. So with at least 6 cuts on my feet I decided to take them off, which meant walking the streets of London bare foot. I don't really want to go into much detail but I heard something that upset me and the remaining part of the night just wasn't a very nice time for me.
 

This has been a rather long post (again) and at the minute I think I am the only one reading what I'm putting out there, which is probably why I am being quite personal. I am writing these weekly write ups mainly so I can read them in the future. I love reading my old diaries so this is my online version. If anyone is out there reading this, then well done!

Greta xx



 

Just some of the cocktails that were consumed last night!

Last night with 2 wonderful ladies!

Weekly write up no.1

Hello!

So I've decided that on my blog I am going to write a weekly round up each Sunday to talk about how my week has gone. I already keep a personal daily diary, but since I have a blog now I thought it might be nice to reflect on here as well. For the past 4 years my Sundays have been a working day, where I would normally spend at least 4 hours glued to my laptop planning. I potentially have Sundays to myself again for a while, so what better time to post a review of my week!

Here goes -

1. It has been a very quiet week. It's been quite unsettling knowing that all my old colleagues have returned back to work and I'm sat at home doing nothing. Primarily, I'm worried about money. Not having a job is very un-nerving and although I've been told by many people that I'll get supply work soon enough, I still worry. I do have one afternoon of work booked for next week, so hopefully I will get some more booked in and this time next month I'll be wondering why I was worrying! (fingers crossed!)

2. I am still getting over a cold I've had ever since my birthday. Stupid immune system! Luckily I have been able to stay in bed this week whenever I've needed to. I guess in that respect it's good that I haven't gone back to work this week.

Here is an obligatory after gym selfie!

3. For the past 10 months I have been a regular gym bunny. However this summer I have been down to Cornwall and on holiday to Mexico which has meant I haven't been to the gym as often as I normally would. Plus with this cold, I haven't got back into the swing of it yet. I went on Thursday and today, and it sure is difficult getting back into it when you have taken a break. I'm hoping I won't loose motivation as I don't have a holiday to look forward to anymore. 

4. Even though I'm worried about money, it's been lovely this week just to wonder around the shops in Bromley or at Bluewater. I need to cut back on the amount of clothes I buy, but last autumn/winter I dropped at least 2 dress sizes so I am still trying to replace my wardrobe. I'm loving the autumn/winter fashion that's coming out at the minute, especially in the berry and green colours that seem to be in lots of shops.

5. Finally, I have recently discovered how amazing the vanilla sugar pretzels are from Mr.Pretzel. I always used to buy them from Aunty Anne's in Bromley, but I decided to try one from Mr.Pretzel's and it was delicious!! I think I have eaten about 4 of them in the last 3 weeks which is a ridiculous amount of dough and sugar to eat! I will have to try and limit myself to one a month - good luck Greta!

Greta xx