schools constantly asking parents for money

[saslou]

AIBU to resent being constantly asked for money by my childrens school. This week we have World book day, so I am just off out to get costumes as I am not very good at making things. They also have the book fair this week and an author coming into school who will also be giving children the "opportunity" to purchase her books while she is there. I am very happy to buy books but don't think that school is the right place to sell children things.
In addition my childrens school wants parents to pay the insurance and travel costs of compulsory school activities (they don't even ask nicely, just tell you that these are the costs). Recently I got billed for a lost library book that my child hadn't even brought home.
I feel mean because I know they have financial pressures but also feel I am being treated like their own personal cashpiont. It doesn't occur to them that not all parents have lomitless amounts of money.
Anyway, sorry for long rant...

I'm an IT manager in a school, so I know just how hard it is to get teachers' laptops off them, even to install the programs they keep telling me they really need on there....

(I also know that the most common cause of a SmartBoard losing its interactive function is the teacher plugging the USB into the network port, but I was too tactful to suggest that! )

Actually if you have admin rights on your laptop, you could probably download & install it yourself at home if it's SmartBoard, you just need the serial number of your board. It does take quite a while to download all the gallery though.

We were Ofsteded this week, and my IWB broke on the first morning! I nearly died. Had to do some hasty replanning and try to calm down pronto, it was hideous! (I still managed to get a 1 grade in both my observed lesson, and our school was graded overall goo, with loads of outstandings, so in the end it was fine!)

Overall goo? My brain is broken this week.

Ours aren't smart boards we have prometheans but I am sure I make daft mistakes that people are too kind to tell me about.

I was thinking the other day that I am sure I installed it myself. I may have a look Monday lunchtime. I think I have the disk in my cupboard.

Congrats Feenie, were were oftseded in Decemeber and can remember the feeling.

Cheers, twinset - it's mainly exhaustion right now!

Oh no, Feenie - that would be a nightmare for me. We are due an ISI inspection soon and that is the one thing I am worried about. I am able to think on my feet but it's not something I want to do in an inspected lesson.

We have been told that one of the big things the inspectors are looking for is the use of IT in lessons (but not just projecting a powerpoint). I know that I am good at using IT more than most staff, so if I were handicapped it could really reflect badly on the school - no pressure, lol.

I still can't believe it happened when in did - it's only a year old, and the newest in the school!

It can be really simple though - like the battery in my pen deciding that it could still light the LED, but not write on my board! It only took me a few minutes to get a new one, but not something I would want to do with an inspector in the room. At least I can be confident that it is OK for the next six months!

One of the issues when technology goes wrong is that the students become very helpful and start calling out solutions from all angles, much of which is irrelelvent, but that you still want to thank and acknowledge as a good idea, lol.

Well done for thinking on your feet.

I managed to grab someone else's classroom for a few minutes at the start of one of the lessons, so that helped!