ELEVENSES HERE *****************************************************************************************

[MaryAnnSingleton]

think we've been deleted,so shall we put ourselves here in other subjects ?
Sleepless night fretting about T and loos and lunches at big school - how neurotic am I ?!

Oh no, sorry you are freezing hotcross, but great news about the car

I went on a school trip with Y5 yesterday. Chertsey Museum and Weybridge Synagogue. Very very interesting. At one point I was responsible for 10 kids - guiding them through the museum searching for propaganda posters and matching them with descriptions on their worksheet....eeek But actually I enjoyed every minute of it!

I can't do Monday the 15th. Dh is off that day and we are holding E's birthday party after school.

Better go and get ready for the school run, back later

don't be alarmed, but I've changed !

might managed Friday 12th,possibly...if we can't all make it we should do a cheering new year one !
School trip sounds great hippi - I never got to go on the ones to the Synagogue or Sikh temples which I'd've loved.

Love teh namechange MAS Will have to get my thinking cap on for mine!

Can't do 12th either - we are having a meal at Blubeckers that night to celebrate dh's 40th and E's 6th, so need to go to Reading Costco to collect the cake. Plus I need to pack a suitcase for teh dc as they are off to Lapland that night with grandparents (they don't know this, will be a surprise at the meal )
So will be in too much of a spin [fret]

Could we make it something to look forward to in teh new year? I am sooooo busy between now adn Christmas, I don't quite know where to put myself.
We have another 4 family birthdays to get through, plus E's party, E's carol concert, E's Christmas play, O's Christmas play, O's Cubs Gang show, E's Rainbows night away, the dc's trip to Lapland..... am a quivering wreck just thinking of all I have to do in the next 3 weeks....

Whereas the New Year stretches before me like an empty oasis of calm so that would be fab!!

no problem, you do sound frantically busy hippi !! and Lapland -wow !!
Let's look forward to a new year meeting then, if that's ok with hotcross

hippi - a name change just occurred to me hippiholidays - yes ? a bit American but jolly !

Love the new name MAS!

Wow - Lapland O and E will be thrilled I'm sure

No worries about meeting, we'll plan it for early in the New Year, when the dust settles.

good morning - hope you've both had very good weekends - ours was nice,didn't do much apart from usual cleaning,some Christmas shopping and finishing off making hearts and labelling them.

Quick hello before I collapse with a cup of tea!

I had some physio this morning for the whiplash and am now quite sore Thought they were supposed to take away pain... So am going to go and sit with a hotpack draped over my shoulder and watch TV. Should be ironing but nevermind eh?

Our weekend was OK. Friday B and I went to see them switch on the town's lights, which was fun, then Saturday we went to the blessing of the crib and to a carol concert. It all feels a bit early to be singing carols, but there were real donkeys there, so it had to be done Sunday I had a bit of a strop and went to bed I just felt it was all work for me, while everyone lounged around being waited on, so I got a bit cross! We'll see if it makes a difference.....

Hope you're OK?

oh poor hotcross - hope you are feeling more comfortable now. Forgot about our town's Christmas lights switch on !
T is off to the Nat History Museum with school today - hope it's fun..haven't been there for quite a few years,used to love it.
He is now learning a new song at singing lesson - Mairi's Wedding ? you'll know it probably - is really nice - he has the sheet music to learn it with so I employed my long unpracticed sight reading to it - also helps so much looking up things on you tube !

why will T not wear the new,light fold-uppable and fleecy lined raincoat I've just bought ? he has gone to school just in his blazer- he will freeze.

Hi MAS!

I think secondary school dcs have a huge aversion to wearing coats. We have a secondary at the end of our road and it really upsets B to see them all walking to school just in their sweatshirts. She is really worried about how cold they must be, and counts the ones wearing coats, scarves etc. I think it must be a peer pressure type thing, and they are perceived as wimps if they succumb to warmthPerhaps if a celebrity type person were to endorse the benefits of coat-wearing as 'cool'.... I also think the schools should be insisting on coats.... But maybe I'm an over-protective type?

Mairi's Wedding has always been a favourite of mine. Our choir sang it in about 20 parts and it sounded gorgeous. Lucky T

I'm shivering at home, but the plumber's coming tomorrow so hopefully not for much longer!

Hope you're having a good day? I need to pluck up courage to go and walk doggle.

trouble is,there's no place to hang or put coats,as in primary schools,so it has to be put away in a bag or locker,which is a bit of a faff..also the appearing cool thing (literally cool in this weather !)- silly really. F who calls for him just wears his blazer, though J has a light coat on in chilly weather...he'll come back as he did yesterday saying he's frozen and needs a cup of hot tea !
Am taking him out to have a hair cut later. Hope your heating gets sorted out tomorrow - wrap up warmly meanwhile

Hello you tow

How is your neck now hotcross, getting better I hope?

At the secondary I invigilate at the kids don't wear coats either. There is nowhere to store them and most coats are too big and bulky to carry around. Most pupils have developed the art of layering and wear t-shirts under their shirts and then a thick jumper over their shirt. Jumper then easily removed and stuffed in bag once at school.
But they do look freezing whilst walking to school

Have had a busy few days - streaming with cold too (yuck)
Met two old pals for lunch yesterday, that was nice.
Have painted the woodwork in teh bathroom, that was long overdue.
Tonight E's class are singing carols in the 'woodland enclave' so that will be nice (and cold!!)
Trouble is, I need to collect her at 3, then be back at school for 4.15, carols finish at 4.45, so back home. And then back to school at 5.30 to collect O from rehearsals. Argh, not looking forward to that!!

Quick, need some advice. I did apply for the lunchtime supervisor post and just had a phonecall asking me to come for an interview tomorrow morning. Now I am not getting my hopes up (I believe they are interviewing at least 9 others) but I do want to make a good impression.
Any tips or advice? What are they likely to ask me? What do I do to prepare?
Am ridiculously nervous.... [fret]

poor you having a cold - that's rotten.You have been busy though -impressed by woodwork painting
T will just have to wear his coat, it's much easier to whisk it off and stick it in his bag,than faff with a jumper - he has a vest under his shirt but I may add a long sleeved tshirt
Interview - first of all good luck - there's absolutely no reason why you aren't in with a good chance- I haven't had an interview in years so really can't think what to advise. Just be yourself, enthusiastic and keen will be good ! Will be thinking of you

good luck hippi, thinking of you today and hoping for the best outcome xxxx

Thank you

I am in the middle of a 'what to wear' crisis, and I have to leave in 15 minutes.

Am nervous and just want to get it over and done with really.

How are you today?

fine, thank you - just doing the washing then off to Sainsb. - my usual trek but must try not to spend too much this week.
Am getting very excited as my parents move tomorrow !! Am going to put a bottle of fizzy in the fridge now.MIL has sent me £20 to buy them some flowers so am going to the very smart florist in town tomorrow to choose something lovely. Dh is taking day off to help too.
What did you decide on to wear - oh,you must be there right now ! xxx

Oh, great news about your parent's move, and how lovely of MIL to ask you to get them flowers
I settled for black trousers and a duck-egg-blue jumper type thing (you know the type, with the collar adn cuffs of a shirt stitched onto it)
The lady beign interviewed in front of me wore black trousers and a black blouse type top, the lady after me a full navy suit.
So perhaps I was too casual, but hey ho.
It did not go too well anyway, I answered some questions wrong, froze at some of the 'what would you do in this scenario' and twice misunderstood the question adn gave a wrong reply.
I also thing I upset the parent governer as twice she said 'that is not what I meant', so all in all a fantastic disaster.

But hey ho, I don't really want the job anyway do I

They are going to ring between 1 and 2 today to say if we were sucessful or not. Am dreading that phonecal because I know what mine will say...

ARgh!

oh hippi - am sure you did better than you think and your outfit sounds lovely - suits and dull black aren;t the thing ! will you be relieved though,if you don't get it ? it's a funny thing though, you want to be successful in some ways, but not in others,iyswim ! When I applied for the various LSA jobs I was always in two minds, scared that I might get the job but upset that I wasn't even interviewed !
If you don't get it,then there's still the invigilating coming up and in the future - you enjoy that and it seems to lead to more work and is excellent experience anyway, so please don't be hard on yourself

btw, how did you get the invigilating in first place / I think you did say ages ago, but it's something that I might consider,not necessarily at T's school -there is the other secondary nearby and of course the v big college up the road.Should I approach them and how ? Would I be qualified suitably ? ( good general education,degree,have worked as a bookseller and illustrator and childminder (ish)...

I think you have hit the nail on the head. If I am not successful I will be relieved because I can carry on at my beloved secondary with teh invigilating. (Which I love adn my long-term goal is to be an LSA there, I have discoverd a love of teenagers)
But on teh other hand, if I am not successful I will also feel 'rejected' and 'not good enough' in some way.
Feels very odd.

I think I just want to know either way, so I can put it behind me and move on.

Ah yes, invigilating. I simply emailed the two nearest secondary schools asking if they used invigilators for their exams (which all of them do I now know as they are no longer allowed to use teachers). I also asked how they recruited these invigilators and would they consider me. (I then told them a bit about myself)
The school nearest to me immediately emailed back with a yes, we need you, come to this open evening for invigilators, and these are the exam dates, when are you free?
Teh other school did not even give me a reply.

Luckily the school which replied and where I now invigilate is the one nearest to me and teh one where I assume (and hope) O will be going, so I am pleased to have ended up there.

Email them, nothing to lose!

thank you, I shall !! would I be ok at it though (enough authority etc...what if I need a wee ? - that's rtather flippant, but I'[d fret about these things)

The wee thing is not a problem. There is time between each exam to pop to the loo. It is not recommended you go during the exam but if you are desperate just let one of the other invigilators know adn then quickly pop out.
The authority is not really an issue either, I have found the pupils to be pretty well behaved during exams.
And it is mostly the teachers or head of departments who come in, read the rules, start the exams, and then come in at the end adn finish teh exam, dismiss the pupils etc.

You will be fine, honestly

ha ! have just sent an email to T's school (he wouldn't be in any exams anyway) simply because it's the only email address I have already ! will see about the other two shortly. thanks for encouragement !