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

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

What's in my bag: supply teaching edition

Hello!

I read/watch a lot of 'What's in my bag' posts or videos and so I've decided to do my own - with a twist! 

I am just about to begin my fifth year of teaching (wow, scary!) and due to reasons that I don't really want to go into detail about, for the foreseeable future I am going to be a supply teacher! I will say that this is my choice by the way. I want to be a full time teacher again but with the way that applying for teaching jobs works, you don't really get to know what a school is like until you work there. So I made the decision to do supply for a while to get to know some of the schools in my local area a bit better. I'm hoping that in a few months time I will have something set up and be happy at that school.

So, in preparation for my new venture, I have my supply bag filled and ready to go! I have done a bit of research on what I might need, and these are the things that I will be taking with me when I go into each school. 

 

First of all - the bag itself! I ordered this online from the ASDA website and am really pleased with it. It's big enough to fit everything in with room to spare! I decided to get a picture from my recent holiday to Mexico printed on it, along with my name. Quite simply, I love it!

 

The first thing in my bag is a matching folder and pencil case, both from WHSmith. I love the quirky design! In my pencil case I have the standard - pens, whiteboard pens, a rubber/pencil and highlighters (although I'm not hoping to be highlighting any APP grids any time soon!)

In the folder I have 10 different sections, including feedback sheets, my DBS check, ideas for teaching in each year group and information from my agency. I haven't printed out any worksheets yet as I'm hoping I won't need any, but that is one thing that worries me about the job - going into a school and not being left any work! Eek.

Next up are my trainers, for if I have to teach PE. These are my old gym trainers so are a little worn out!

I'll be taking a whistle, again for PE or duty, along with this stamper that I bought. It looks great! Obviously I'll only be able to use it while i'm on supply, but I already have at least 10 stampers from when I was teaching my own class. I put a lot of time into marking and so in order to make a good impression in schools, I will use this too so that staff remember who I am! I was inspired by a teacher who covered my class last term, who was probably the best supply cover I have ever had. 

I have so many sheets of stickers I could give one out to 1000 pupils and still have some left over. Yes, I may have gone a little over board on ordering stickers back in my NQT days. And I may have just ordered some more! I can't resist the smelly stickers from PTS (http://www.primaryteaching.co.uk) and may have bought a few more sheets. My last class (year 5) absolutely loved them and I'm hoping they will help with behaviour management while on supply. 

So at the minute these are the items that I plan on taking with me on supply. Once I start, it may become obvious that there are things that I'm missing, but at the moment I feel prepared enough taking these things with me. The kids went back to school last week and it felt very strange for me not being there with my own class. But I am ready for this next challenge in my career and who knows where it will lead me?!

What do you think of my supply bag?

Which of my items will be the most useful?

Is there anything I am missing from my supply bag?

What do you carry in your bag?

Greta xx