andyram

Zebra was there in black and white!

Oh I always find it a bit boring after aardvark

Good morning one and awl. I would like to start with a heart felt thanks for all of the kind comments and supportive pm's I have received since my last post, it has been really and truely appreciated. At the moment there are many thoughts running through my head as I weigh up the many pros and cons about the deputy head job. Since the dreadful visit from the "expert" on Wednesday thing have remained very bumpy. He is a gent we have hired in to act as a curriculum advisor. He is an ex headteacher (of 12 years experience) and has been / still is an Ofsted inspector. Therefore in the eyes of the school, and our head, he knows his stuff. That said I do not know how much experience he has of teaching in infants. Considering his age (at a guess only a few years older than me) and his gender, I guess his first hand experience is limited. I also guess he did not teach for much more than a decade before going into headship. But who knows because he has never spoke to me. However he seems to have me in his sights and rating me as a carp teacher. Without wanting to sound arrogant - I know I am not that! At the current school I have battled on, but I am struggling with my motivation and confidence at the moment. I did get a slightly better night's sleep on Thursday (about 7 hours) and that meant I started the day well, but soon other problems flared up with hinderence from other staff and my mood took a distinct downward turn. I have replanted next week's block of work and sent to the head for approval. I wanted to see if my rearranged plan was more in keeping with what the advisor and he are looking for. The response was better but..... Last night Sarah was out at the Forest match and she, and Amber, we're staying at her mum's. I went out for an enjoyable curry with an old mate. Normally he is the one who needs picking up and cheering up. The boot was definitely on the other foot. The evening was much needed and he also gave me plenty of advice. Sadly it got cut short as the curry did not mix well with a dreadful guest ale in the nearby pub and I ended the night feeling quite bloated. As for the new job - I am still weighing up the pros and cons. They have not replied to my email regarding my limited experience with the older age. Their response could be a major factor in my final decision. I have spoken to my fellow deputy at school, she is concerned my interest is a knee jerk reaction and is advising against any move. More to think about. Enjoy your Saturday.

Good evening all and happy birthday GDB. I hope you have had an enjoyable day. My best wishes to you all. I wish I could write a positive post, but sadly I cannot. Definitely at a very low ebb right now. Another mauling by the local authority "expert" who clearly does not rate me has left me feeling very low. I am regretting not filling in the headship application now. That said, I have seen a better paid deputy role advertised at my previous school. I went to visit today, and it left me with plenty of things to mull over. It would be more money, closer to home and a better amount of allocated time for the management tasks. However it would involve teaching a year group I have little experience of. That may count against me. I still do not know if I want a change, although I have been at my current location for 17 years which is a fair stretch. What I do know is I am struggling to fit the paper work in amongst the home life and a lack of sleep is leaving me extremely tired. I reckon I have mustered a total of 6 hours sleep across two nights. That is not great. Oh well off to do battle with the attempts to sleep again. Night all.

Eloquently put.

Really? That is a great ale.

Really prefer the darker real ales eg Hobgobin, Old Peculiar, Bateman's Mocha, Adnams Broadside etc

Have to say putting anything in whiskey is a waste of good whiskey.

Yuk. Never put any ice in whiskey

Except when the ice is thin.

Have to say too much of him is bad for your heart

Nor is it Bertie Bus

Paul Futcher also donned the black and white of Derby County during his career. Such a sad loss. As for the Rams it seems that Stevie Mac is working his DCFC magic again. A hard fought win against a decent, but out of form, Norwich City side. Suddenly only two points off the play offs. I somehow doubt if Mr Pearson had remained we would have been anywhere near the top six.

Now that must be Bertie Bassett

Evening all. Thanks for the kind comments. It has been a difficult few weeks. The time spent at home with Sarah this weekend has been very welcome, as was last night's night out and full night's sleep. Today we went out to one of the out of town shopping outlets in the morning. There was a 20% off everything sale, which included the Hornby concession. This is due to close in the early part of the new year so I hoped for some bargains. I did pick up the track that I needed for the new project. I was also tempted by a weathered Thompson 01 which was already reduced and then, with the additional 20% discount, looked a steal. Once home I opened the box and found the contents to be a weathered Churchwood 28xx. A nice enough model, but not what I bought. I have contacted the store and hope that they will still have a weathered 01 in stock. The woman on the other end of the line did not sound very knowledgeable.

No. It is always open to new topics or Kit Kats, Twix, Snickers, Mars or Twirls

Except..you forgot Aston de Ville

Heard it is more of a black and white beehive style.

You will notice LE is turning into Cruella Deville!!!

Ermm you at a Dalmation breeder??

Morning all. I hope you are well on this Sunday morning. My apologies for being away for a period of time. Once again I have lost track of the happenings in the lives of fellow ER's so generic congrats and commiserations all round. My absence has been mainly work related. Things have been extremely busy. The model railway exhibition was a success, raising £972 for the school. Sorry if I have mentioned that before, I can't remember when I last posted on here. The date for next year's show was set prior to the opening of this year's event and I have already got various layouts provisionally booked for 2017. However it looked like the show would not happen! A very difficult period at school has led to me questioning my career recently. The pressure thrown at us teachers is getting worse and not better. I seem to have born the brunt of the criticism recently. Whilst some of the criticism may be warranted, it has been caused by situations beyond my control - other staff members not pulling their weight and systems put in place that may help the older classes but certainly not the younger end of the school. The first working day post exhibition I received one particular email that was almost the last straw and I started looking at the job pages. Things got as far as me booking an appointment to look around a school about a possible headship post. After the viewing I decided not to apply as things momentarily improved. However those questions are still lingering at the moment along with the frustration of not being allowed to do my job to the best of my ability. At present I am battling on, and as a result I am continuing to plan for the 2017 show. My modelling has paused too which is a shame. Sleep has also suffered. The little one has been full of cold and waking us up constantly in the night. I doubt we have had more than 4 hours sleep per night. I had landed the illness too which has left me run down. On a positive note the little one is on the mend and had a sleep over at her grandparents last night allowing us a night out. We had a very nice evening at an Indian resturant and 9 hours sleep last night. I almost feel human again!

. You trying morse code now??

As this thread is in section of RMWeb which is for none railway related items I do not see how it can be considered irrelevant. What an irrelevant comment!

I wonder if it was Corey. He was always very keen on model railways.

What was the pupil's name? I did notice a trio of ex pupils around in the afternoon. A few of my class were around and seemed to enjoy themselves. I think they get surprised by how big the classroom is when all of the tables are cleared away. Was strange for me as this year's show was the first time my layout was not in there.