If you're still awake

[mineofuselessinformation]

Who's on their knees after their first week back?
I am, have had a full week. On the wine and hoping to sleep in late tomorrow....

[Doomhutch]

I am absolutely knackered. But me and the kids have been on it and got all the start-of-the-year things done, bar some laminating.

I just want to teach an actual lesson! I pulled some maths and English out of my arse today just so we could do something which wasn't admin.

[Doomhutch]

(we've only been back 3 days, so it's mostly been getting-ready things and no one's done any planning yet!)

[mineofuselessinformation]

I had no planning time until today (just as well I did some beforehand...) - every day has been full, including a extra lesson after school yesterday.
My room is all ready as I went in over the holidays....
I managed to plan for next week in an hour (thank goodness for the lesson bank I've built up!)

[Lowdoorinthewal1]

We've done a full 4 days of actual learning. Hit that honeymoon period while it's sweet!

This week's zen-like calm and ninja-like learning will be all to pot next week though as I have meetings left, right and centre so my class will be totally disrupted.

[Doomhutch]

This is only my second class, so it's the first time I'm having to adjust from being really familiar and bonded with a class six weeks ago, to a room full of little strangers! At least I know the names! Apart from two who have yet to come back from holiday

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

No planning time for us this week as we were asked to use time on the training day instead. Which seemed fine at the time, but has meant for a long first week back with the kids. And my ppa falls at the end of the week, so I've got to have everything ready for next week too.

No nasty surprises with my class (so far) and we have even got stuck in to our topic and done some maths as well as all the fire drill/sorting reading books and other admin.

I've learnt all their names, but do find myself calling 2 of the boys by their older brother's names, after teaching them a few of them in the past. About half of my class are siblings of children I've already taught. :)

[Mumof41987]

Why the weird face for two kids who have yet to come back from holiday ???

[ASauvingnonADay]

Several of ours still on holiday 🙄🙄🙄 that face because term has started!!

I'm on my knees. Great week but a couple of mega stressful days and there were even some tears! Feel reassured having seen 'my kids' again.

[MsAwesomeDragon]

I'm utterly exhausted. I've been teaching proper lessons since Monday and I'm already downing in marking! Apparently it's a great idea to make all the year 7 classes do a test at the start of the year, give incoming year 12 homework on induction day that I now need to mark, give year 7 tables tests as well (and give certificates to those who do well), and start the year as we mean to go on by setting 2 pieces of homework per week per class. All of these things ARE actually good things to do in terms of the kids learning, but they are terrible things for my work life balance!!!! I have brought home 2 piles of books and a set of tests, as well as my sixth form planning. Oh, and deadlines for UCAS references from subject teachers is next Friday (for Oxbridge applicants, of which I have 4 to write), but the inset to tell me how to write them is only on Wednesday, so I can't really quite them till then and it only gives me 2 evenings to write something half decent about these kids.

So, I'm pushing all thoughts of school out of my head until at least lunchtime tomorrow and mumsnetting tonight, with some quality time for dd2 tomorrow morning (we're going to try out our brownie activity for this week so I can test how long the brownies will take to do it).

[mineofuselessinformation]

Awesome, ask around colleagues for previous examples of statements for UCAS. It might give you a starting point which you can then build on, but you have my sympathies!

[greathat]

Me! Lost PPA time too this week, got a year 13 tutor group for the first time this year. The thought of writing their UCAS references and getting their personal statements right is filling me with the fear

[goingmadinthecountry]

I'm exhausted - no real reason for it, just getting back into the routine I guess. I need a day to myself to sort everything out but that's not going to happen anytime soon!

[noblegiraffe]

MsAwesome dear god that's awful. We just need to check Y12 did their induction homework, they mark it. Y7 tests not for a couple of weeks, only one piece of homework per week which they mark in class. We decided marking homework was pointless as parents help, kids don't do it, they copy and so on. We now mark exit tickets instead, give whole class feedback and have topic tests for written feedback.

Talk to your HOD about workload?

[MsAwesomeDragon]

Thanks for the sympathy. Mine I do have some examples of UCAS subject references from colleagues who have done them recently (it's 8/9 years since I last had to write any), so I'm starting them tonight and may well "borrow" appropriate phrases from these examples.

Noble I'm not sure talking to my hod about workload would help as there are other people in the department who work significantly harder than I do and they don't complain at all. My hod does a lot more work per class than I do (and yet we get comparable results out of them so I'm not going to worry about it), but is totally on board with us managing workload however we can, but he is constrained by school policy about homework. Tbf it'll be fine once all these tests and UCAS references are finished and I get into a routine for planning/marking. Mostly I get the kids to mark one set of homework a week themselves in class. I may well plan for KS3 to mark both pieces of homework in lessons this week.

[Mrstumbletap]

Noblegiraffe I like that homework idea! It's true parents probably do help, what do you with the homework after they have marked it?

[noblegiraffe]

We have to check that they've done it (before marking in class!) but once it's marked, we don't have to do anything with it. Look at stuff as we go around the class, maybe take their books in for a general flick and comment.

[indyandlara]

Week 4 for us. September weekend holiday so 2 four day weeks ahead. Thank god. Walked 9.5k in school today 😳