Summer Term Part Two

Yesterday was my last day at Eaton House The Manor and I am actually very sad to be leaving. I feel like I really connected in with students and staff in such a small space of time and will definitely miss them all. Exams were a crazy busy time including getting everything marked and then reports written. I admit to having a bit of a cry in the middle when it seemed like I would never get everything done! It was very difficult writing reports for students I had only been teaching for five weeks and especially for the year 8s as this was supposed to be their final summary of time at the school. Obviously I could only comment on what I had seen but it was definitely a tricky task. We then had three evenings of parent interviews (some of whom were very full on). I'm not sure about having parents ask for full programmes of study for the summer for their 11 year olds ... seems a bit mean really!

Once all that was over school settled down a bit but we still taught another full unit of work in the last four weeks that had to be marked! The year 7s did a dystopian short story unit and I felt very depressed after marking their work. Out of 22 stories I think only two had the main character survive! We did manage to have some fun with class games of Taboo and a trip to see The School of Rock which I thoroughly enjoyed. The year 6s put on a play (a mix of Shakespeare and Shakespeare inspired skits) which I got very involved in and the students caused the drama teacher no end of stress! But it turned out well in the end as these things usually do.

Sports day was certainly a reminder that this is a private school. We had to have 'practice' for sports day a number of days earlier which involved a lot of marching around out on the field so everyone would know where to be. On the actual day we were at a local sports ground which meant out in the public eye with plenty of parents present. Staff all looked like we were out at the races in our best summer dresses and the men in suits and hats. Students were in their white PE gear with their blazers on to start the morning off. The school filed out onto the field to Chariots of Fire and then had their headmistress call for "School." Stand up straight. "Blazers". Hands on blazer collars. "Off". Blazers removed and all sat down in one smooth motion. Whole school in unison - this is part of what we practised over and over again earlier in the week. Looked very slick! Then two field events, sprints, 800m, house tug-of-war, house relays, and we were out by 12:30. Kids had the rest of the day off and we all went to the pub! A lot more formal than sports day in NZ though the end of the day was very similar!

On the last day it was very sweet to have a number of students bring cards and chocolate in for me and the students gave me a very big cheer at the final assembly. One of the other teachers asked what my secret was "I've been here two years and they don't love me as much as they like you! How did you do it?!" To be honest, I have no idea. I guess I really just liked them and liked teaching them (most of the time) and I think students can sense that. It has been a unique experience and one I feel lucky to have had but it is time to move on. My summer job starts on Monday which will certainly be a change and I am starting to look for a new place to live closer to the new school for September!