Hurray for the Holiday!

I've finally made it! I'm on holiday! I'm not quite sure that it's sunk in yet ... I was still busily beavering away in the office at 5pm last night, trying to decide what to take home and what to leave. It's all because the Call has still not come ... Frankly, I think it's rather unfair of Ofsted leaving us hanging on like this ... The short, sharp shock of inspection is supposed to make it easier, so that teachers are not planning for weeks on end for their inspection, but instead we've been on 72 hours notice of an inspection since September, and it's going to loom over our half term too. Anyway, at least it is the holiday, and although some teachers are running classes and going in over the holidays, I am not one of them. I've even been good at not bringing home all my boxes of marking this time. I've only got my Year 11 end of unit tests that I should mark today so I can update their predicted grades.

So, what are the plans for the week? Well, some are unfortunate and mundane tasks - after finishing the washing up and the laundry I need to arrange to get a new windscreen, since there are two rather large cracks in it ... a by-product of pupils throwing stones, perhaps? I can't be quite sure, but I suspect they may be the culprits. Only noticed it as I arrived home last night. I can be sure about the providence of the scar along my glasses, though ... you're not supposed to use the edge of your top in order to clean your glasses. Especially if that top has small diamontes sewn on. So that is my next chore, to book an appointment with an optician. Especially since I've not had my eyes tested for about 18 months, either. I'll probably try to book that for Monday afternoon, so I can go straight there after my dentist appointment. Another unhappy visit, I fear. The last time I saw him, my dentist told me I'd need to have my wisdom teeth taken out. They've been fine recently, it's okay, they can stay there ... So I'm not particularly looking forward to that.

The next category of things to do involves my research. I must complete my questionnaires, both for the pupils and the teachers. My tutor is having a look at them this week, to see if they look suitable. I should also try and use this opportunity to complete my Methods and Methodology Review, and it would be great if I could get started on my Literature Review, which is due in after Easter. I also need to write the Marriage and Family Life Scheme of Work, which needs to involve lots of Assessment for Learning.

This leads me onto my next category - school stuff. I am jointly responsible for the next Year 9 SoW, Jesus in the Gospels. I need to do some work on that, in conjunction (via email) with a colleague. I think I will also try to make sure that there are at least three lessons planned for Year 7 (Reconciliation) and Year 8 (The Paschal Mystery) in case the colleagues responsible have not managed to complete those for the first week back. I will also try to write a SoW for Year 10 ... Living the Christian Life. And I should plan a few lessons for my A Level classes too. So, as you can see, my main aims this week, school wise, revolve around one of my favourite parts of teaching - planning lessons. But it's been such a long time that I've had to write one that I'm worried they'll all be rubbish! I also have some admin-y things to do, too, such as checking over the SEF and making sure the handbook is up to date. So all that should keep me busy.

Finally, the most important category ... H and I having a lovely holiday, using the opportunity to visit museums and galleries, or simply wandering around the shops, or sitting at home getting some reading done. Relaxing. Resting. Enjoying life, and each other's company. I'm looking forward to it. Hope I can manage to fit in some of those other things around this most important task!