Would you sponsor me?

On 29th June I’ll be paddling a Dragon Boat on the river Severn in Shrewsbury.  Along with around 20 of my colleagues we are attempting to raise £1000 for the Severn Hospice – all support greatly received!

www.justgiving.com/shrewsburyhigh

you can also donate on my facebook profile page

Thanks!

Here comes the river…

The river severn was making its way steadily into SHS grounds on Friday, thankfully it peaked before it reached the car park…

See my Tabblo>

Timmer-Time

This was created by Lee the network manager at school – it seems he has a lot of time on his hands at the weekends….

Enjoy!

My Fair Lady in 30 minutes

Today was house drama day at school and I have really enjoyed it.  Each of the four houses had 30 minutes to play with and we got shortened versions of My Fair Lady, The Wizard of Oz, Narnia and Joseph.  All were excellent productions – the hard work at lunchtimes and after school paid off and not only did I not have to teach but I was entertained for free.  It’s a shame that other schools don’t have the time or resources to develop this side of things.

New Boy

Things have started really well in the new job. Everybody is very helpful and really friendly. The staff seem like a great bunch and the girls are keen and eager to please.

I am a year 8 form tutor this year and 8R are pointing me in the right direction and making life very easy for me at the start. During the whole school assembly yesterday morning, I was introduced to everbody and as I stood I received a spontaneous round of applause which was very nice but needless to say I went a bit red!

Today I crossed the river to visit the Junior school where I will be teaching a couple of hours a week, again everybody seemed really welcoming so that should be a good experience.

So, so far so good. I’m really looking forward to trying out some ideas that would have been difficult to implement before so it could be interesting.

The lunches are great, roast lamb today….

(the card was from Mum and Dad)

Last day at BRJ

It was a really sad day, but after 5 good years, my time at BRJ has come to an end. I guess the reality of the situation will hit me in September but I have to say a big thank you to all my colleagues and friends who have made my working life such a pleasure. The difficult days would have been much worse without all their support, patience, friendship and laughter – I hope to stay in touch with as many as possible. If the staff at SHS even come close to the friends I have at BRJ I will be a very fortunate man indeed.

Although sad, it was a day of good memories.  I had a party during my year 12 lesson and they pulled out all the stops with food, a cake with candles and a present which was great.  One of my form took some time out from work experience to present me with a bottle of champagne and a card which was really nice – good memories.

New Job

I have a new job! From September 2006 I will be Head of ICT at Shrewsbury High School.

I wasn't particulalry looking to move on from BRJ but somebody spotted the advert and suggested I should apply. I applied fairly reluctantly (don't like the idea of change!) and was invited for interview. I had a good couple of hours at the school – I had an interview, taught a lesson and had a tour of the place – as I walked out of the door I thought to myself "If they offer you this, you would be stupid to turn it down". They did offer and I accepted. It will be very strange leaving BRJ after 5 years but I am ready for this new and very different challenge. So in September I will be paid a little more, have an extra 3 weeks holiday but what really swung it for me is the provision of a free lunch… the menu is even published on the internet!