Holiday reading...

     I am a week into the glorious summer break and now wrestling with suitcases and packing. As ever, it's a David vs Goliath type battle as I try to condense a mountain of items to fit the airline requirements. I am going on a month-long vacation abroad with my family and as usual, I am taking plenty of reading matter.

     In my trove of literature I have the much talked about 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins; John Green's 'Paper Towns' (because I surprised myself by enjoying 'The Fault in Our Stars'); the intriguingly titled 'The Hundred-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared' by Jonas Jonasson and Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird' (not pictured) and 'Go Set a Watchman'.
     The eagle-eyed among you would have spotted two DVD box sets. I am using the time away to catch-up on series that I neglected during term time. I discovered Supernatural and Arrow way after everyone else so will be playing catch-up until the series come to their respective ends (perish the thought!). I will be packing season 2 of Arrow and season 8 of SPN.
     I don't know about you but I find un-cracked book spines and pristine box-sets irresistible. I can't wait to crack and unwrap! 

Starry eyed...

The end of the academic year is tantalisingly close! When I'm in the midst of the continuous whirlwind that is teaching, I wonder how I'll make it to the end. Yet make it I do, as do countless others, again and again. It's at this time of the year that the Gold Stars come out. Our Principal invites us to take as many as we want, to give to other staff members. They're big enough to write a message of appreciation on or can speak volumes when given on their own. We constantly praise and reward our students but it's nice for the staff to acknowledge this in one another too. I received a gold star from one of my incredibly thoughtful colleagues, with a cone of popcorn attached! Since I can't eat cakes or chocolate (food intolerance), she made me something that I can ingest. The effort and thought that went into it is what makes it really special.

Letting your colleagues know that they are appreciated, inspirational and fabulous is a small but monumental act. A massive thank you to the one who put a huge smile on my face with the above. Consider this idea stolen!

The post with the most...

I'm a huge fan of Post-it notes in the classroom. They are a quick and easy way of getting a snapshot of the students' ideas in relation to a particular topic. In this activity, I asked students to write down what they learned about a character in a novel we've been reading. They had to stick their ideas inside the outline; a nice reflection of the internal aspect of a person. The students needed to be succinct and precise. This meant that I could reel off each comment quickly, praising and correcting misunderstandings where relevant. There are so many uses for the humble Post-it note in the classroom - I'm sure you'll hear plenty more from me on this subject!