Final Teaching Practice (TP) so far

So, 2 weeks down, 4 to go, and now IT'S HALF TERM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So far tp has been ok, better then I thought it might be. Planning is so much easier for this one, because all the Year 2 teachers do it together, which is great. Last week one of them said - let's do the world cup the week after half term. The ironic thing is - I said no let's not do it, because those that aren't really into football wont be interested and it will hard to enthuse them about it. However, I was overruled, and have since loved doing the final planning and making resources for it. Sheets that I have come up with are going to be used in the other Y2 classes, which will look good when my tutor comes in again. He came in last week when we were having a Japanese day and observed me teaching all Y2 (and my year 1) children how to say 1-10 in Japanese, which he really loved, and he told me that he isn't worried about me at all, which is nice to be told.
Must be off now and continue making resources for our World Cup week.

Westlife live - it ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who decided that standing in the pouring rain for 9 hours on a Saturday was a good idea? Ah - that was a certain Miss Gemma Goodhand (a great friend of yours truly!). Yesterday Gemma, Louise (a friend of Gemma) and myself queued up to watch Westlife Live (at Sincil Bank - home of Lincoln city FC) from about ten past 3, even though the gates opened at 5. The reason was that they wanted to get a good spot on the pitch, and be as near the front as possible. While we were waiting it decided to tip it down with rain, so we got soaked. We then ran onto the pitch when the gates opened, and once there we didn't move until about 11 or so, except to move further forward when other people left, and right at the end we managed to get onto the front row - man Gemma and Louise were sooo excited! Liberty X, Lee Ryan and Journey South played before Westlife came on. They were all totally fab. I have to say Lee Ryan - OH MY LIFE, he is SOOOO good looking. It also decided to start rain while Journey South were on, which was just great! Then Westlife came on. They were BRILLIANT!!!!! I'm not much of a Westlife fan it has to be said, but they were fantastic. We finally left the football ground at about quarter past 11 or so, and then walked back to my car. Now my legs are killing me, and I have just about got my voice back from all the girly screaming and singing I was doing!

DVLA warning

A friend of mine sent me this just before Euro 2004, but judging by the amount of flags on cars I see today I think it's still applicable.

The DVLA at Swansea is sending out warning letters to drivers as follows:
"In order to assist other motorists in identifying potentially dangerous drivers, it's now compulsory for anyone with a lower than average driving ability and intelligence to display a warning flag. The flag (comprising of a red cross on a white background) will be attached to the top of at least one door of their vehicle. For drivers of exceptionally low ability, additional flags are required."

Having said that, 2 years ago I had a George Cross attached to the top on one of my doors, and in a couple of weeks time I will put it back on! (I just think it's a bit too early to put it on now).

FA CUP!!!!!!

Oh my life! What a game. Why did they do it to us again? I am of course talking about the FA cup final on Saturday. There was a slight sense of deja vu from the Champions league final last May, except that Liverpool only went 2-0, rather then the 3-0 down, and it did take until the announcement of how much extra time was going to played for Stevie G to equalise. I'm sure most England fans will join me in saying to him- You can score like that as many times as you like this summer (as long as its not a Jaime C style own goal, and while we're on the subject - Jaime C, please don't do that again this summer!) I do feel sorry for West Ham, they were so close to winning it - like 4 mins to be precise. I was soo happy when Renia saved that final pen, I was screaming so much, jumping about, waving my scarf around, being really stupid it has to be said. Well, I had good reason to do it. Roll on next season.

You'll never walk alone

When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high, and don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky and the sweet silver song of the lark. Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain, though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone, you’ll never walk alone. Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone, you’ll never walk alone.

Little Miss Reliable!

What is it about me that when people need volunteers for things they always ask me? Ok, I usually say yes I can help out, if I'm free, but still - there are other people to do things! I always get worried when Simon (children's church leader at church) either phones me or comes up to me at a children's church leader's meeting or in church, as I know he will try and get me to do something. I know I could say this word beginning with "n" and ending in "o", but it's just not in my vocabulalry.
Also if people need something like a tissue, hole punch, stickers then they always ask me, and expect me to have one! (ok Gemma G- I know you were joking about being annoyed that I didn't have a hole punch/stickers, and Claire - I will buy you some tissues!).
Do I have a sign above my head saying "here is Little Miss Reliable, who has all resources that everyone needs, and will also help out at any event she can, becasue she doesn't know how to say "no"?

Good bye Trigs

This is a long overdue "Good bye, good luck and thanks for the memories" message to a certain Mr Michael (Mickey) "Trigger/trigs" (who eats too many of the sponsor's products according to Gary Lineker) Evans. He has been a great servant to PAFC over the years, and has now left the club. We will all remember his Div 2 championship winning goal against QPR in April 2004 (as predicted by yours truly! - both that he would score and that we would win), and his cheeky goal against Swindon, when he got a free kick for back pass, and then whacked the ball against the Swindon goal keeper, who tried to save it, but it went in! I'm sure there are other "Trigger" moments that all Argyle fans will remember him for, but those are my particular memories of him. Good bye Mr Evans, you will be sorely missed.

YEAH - covered in paint again!

Have now been on 4 preliminary visits to my next placement school. 2 out of those 4 days I have come home with paint on either my hands (yes I did wash them before I left school before you say anything!) or my clothes. I just thought - hang on a sec, this was missing from my last placement. I never came home from that school with anything more then board pen on my fingers (where I had been rubbing it off the board with my fingers rather then the board rubber). I am now a lot happier that I can not go to school without getting messy - I feel like I'm back where I belong.

England Squad

Ok, so having said that the England squad was a whole 0ther post - here it is. So, Sven chooses a 17 year old unknown, Theo Walcott, who actually hasn't played since January, and who hasn't played in the Premiership, over Jermain Defoe, who admittley hasn't been playing that much recently- but at least he's had Premiership and England experience. I'm not going to start slatting Walcott, I haven't seen him play either - but don't you think that Sven should have at least seen him play? He's almost certainly going on Arsene Wenger's recommendation, and Wenger does have a good track record when it comes to buying players, but still - why call up a player that you haven't seen play yet? I wish Walcott well, and I hope he proves us all wrong and shines in the World Cup - and hopefully score the winning goal in the final! (we can but dream)
Sven also has put Andy Johnson on the standby list - WHY? He was rubbish the times I've seen him play this season against Argyle. Why didn't Darren Bent, proven goal scorer in the Premiership get a look in?
Ah well, we can but wait and see what happens in Germany this summer.

Planning, planning - oh and more planning!

This week is a chance to get some medium term, weekly and individual lesson plans all sorted ready for next week when I start my final teaching practice. Therefore, I have basically been sat at my computer for nearly 3 days solid doing lesson plans, and then sorting out my weekly plans, making sure they fit with the med term planning that I've been given. I am now getting this whole planning thing down to an art. Any time I can pinch lesson plans, I do, and any worksheets or other activity ideas - I basically do. I see it as using my intelligence (such as it is). I do also share my ideas with Gemma G, when we're actually doing work rather then discussing either her boyfriend, or football, such as Theo Walcott's inclusion in the England squad when Sven hasn't even seen him play yet - how rubbish is that, but that's another post! Anyway, so got a tutorial with my placement tutor soon, which I slightly worried about, not sure why, gut instinct I think. Then, starting on Monday - still worried about that, am getting this bad feeling when I walk into the school. Ah well, will keep you updated on how it goes.

Denim skirt vs jeans debate

So this is how much of a girly girl I've become since hanging out with Claire and Vicky. On Saturday I was going to watch football with Gemma, after having breakfast with Claire, Vicky and James (decided at 8.40 that morning - but I couldn't stay for the rest of the spontaneous day. Next time James, give me at least 12 hours notice!). As it was so nice and sunny on Friday, and kinda looked promising for Saturday, I thought, great let's wear my denim skirt and kinda be controversial for a football match! However, with rain forecast for later in the afternoon, I thought not such a good idea, but jeans will be just too hot. I was just glad that I wasn't the only one facing this dilemma, as Vicky, Claire and Gemma were all debating about whether to wear a skirt or jeans . Gemma and I came to the same compromise - cropped trousers. Last summer I probably would have not even considered wearing a skirt, but now skirts are totally acceptable. I'm sure there are many more similar dilemmas to come later this year.

Pitch invasion

So, the last game of the season for Leagues 1 and 2. Gemma G and I decided to go and watch Lincoln vs Rochdale. Again, weird as I didn't really care about the result, as long as Lincoln got a draw then they were through to the play offs for the 4th year, at the expense of Peterborough, technically I home team now, but as I was supporting Plymouth before my parents moved up here, I don't support them (not that I support Lincoln, but as Gemma wouldn't have had anyone else to go with I decided to go with her). So anyway, Lincoln got the draw and got through to the play offs. Gemma had warned me that at the end of the game everyone invades the pitch and the players and manager say a few words and stuff like that. The end of the game came, and as she predicted, everyone flooded onto the pitch, and the manager said "thanks for you support and we'll try and win the playoffs this time". It made it a great end to a good season. I have been to 4 last games of the season at Home Park (in fact this was the first year that I hadn't been to the last game of the season since 2002) and 2 of those had championship presentations, but at HP, we're not allowed to go on to the pitch, and the most the players do is wander round and applaud the fans (like they do at the end of most games). Before the game at HP the players often parade round with their kids, which is quite sweet. So come on Argyle, let the fans invade the pitch at the end, and properly thank them from turning up in all weathers to watch them play.

Lectures OVER!!!!!!!

Last Thursday saw, potentially, the last lecture of the course. It's kinda weird, it feels like the course is over, however we're still got 6 weeks of placement to go, plus a couple of planning weeks. Tseason's over, and when it's happened before, I've usually known what I would be doing in September. This year, I don't. Yes I have plans, like starting a job near here come September, but then last year I planned to stay in Plymouth, and now look at me, roughly 280 something miles away from Plymouth! As Robbie Williams says (or even sings), God laughs at our plans. Only if our plans match up to what God wants does it happen, otherwise, it's up to God.
It just feels like everything's coming to an end, and I can't look forward to the next chapter of my life, because I still need to work it out. Just recently I've been feeling quite deflated and slighlty down about it. I'm also quite worried about my next, and final, placement, as I can just see problems with a lot of things. As well as that, James, who I've become close to, and who has helped me work through a whole heap of issues, is leaving to go back to America in July, and so we're starting to think about what will happen when he goes back, and life after him, which is also not the happiest of topics.
Will post some happier news soon (I hope)

End of season blues

So another footie season draws to its close, and the beginning of the end of season blues starts. This season I seem to be worse then usual, probably because I haven't been as involved in it as usual. Ah well, will just have to get used to it. Have already thought about which away games I'm going to next season. Potentially I'm going to: Birmingham, Hull, Norwich, QPR, Sheffield Wed, Sunderland,and West Brom.
I would say at least this summer we have the World Cup to look forward to, but well after Saturday we'll be lucky if we get out of the group stages. I was watching the Chelsea Man U game, and you could tell as soon as Rooney went down that he was out, and also that he knew it as well. I just hope JT hasn't injured himself too badly and that he will be fit. Would any English people who can kick a football please report to the FA! Also, please can Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Paul Robinson, and David Beckham be wrapped in cotton wool for the next few weeks. Rafa - I don't care about the FA cup (well I do), but please please please keep Stevie G, and also potentially Jamie C injury free.