Hello! Wow it has been a while since I wrote a blog and I am quite happy to admit that everything has managed to get on top of me- that’s right, it happens to the best of us! Along with school commitments, I have battled to find time for my masters. I managed to get the one assignment complete and now I have another to complete. This time of year is always hectic with GCSE and A level exams. We then have the added pressure of school reports and parents evenings! Oh to be a teacher zzzz. I really had to prioritise my work since Easter and the pupils’ success was number one for me, even though I take my postgraduate study seriously. I have felt like any time for me has been crammed in here there and everywhere and by the time Friday comes I seem to take a breath and its Monday morning again.

So there are my excuses…. In all fairness, this year has been somewhat difficult physically and emotionally and I cannot wait to get my assignment complete so I can finally take a break. I booked a holiday yesterday which has made me excited for the summer….I can already feel the sand between my toes and the sun on my face whilst sipping my favourite cocktail Banana Mama mmmmmmm :-)

The week leading up to the half term I spent in Snowdonia with 35 pupils out of Year 9. It is the most exhausted I have felt for a while as we are on duty 24 hours a day and with early mornings and late nights it soon starts to take its toll. It is an absolutely fabulous opportunity for the pupils, giving them the chance to experience activities such as abseiling, kayaking, rock climbing and orienteering. It really is rewarding watching them overcome fears, learn new things and work as a team. As a pupil, they get the chance to see us teachers outside of school and we build really positive relationships with them. I have been fortunate to go on this trip five years running now and despite never actually managing to throw myself off ‘Eagle rock’ (60 foot drop - doesn’t sound much but it seems like miles when standing at the top!) this year I plucked up the courage and finally did it, overcoming a fear I never really thought I had in the first place. I really never could work out why I couldn’t do it! I have attached a couple of photos of the trip… as normal they are of me messing around!

Getting kitted out!

Ready to go!

Plans for this half term…. completely relaxing for the first few days. I will get my head around my next assignment and try and complete all of the research necessary to write it. I just need to spend a few hours on it again so our ‘rocky relationship’ can be sorted! Once I get researching there is not stopping me, it’s just those first few steps to actually doing it. Once I have managed to do this, I am hoping to go away to Carlyle for a few days with my other half to see friends. I have never been anywhere near Scotland before so it should be fun, not really looking forward to the journey up there but hey, I am not driving!

I hope that you all get assignments complete and out of the way and no matter what…. Everyone has times when they think “Why am I doing this?!” It is absolutely normal and I think these sub-conscious questions make you stronger and encourage you to go on. Just think it WILL be worth it sooner than you think J Enjoy the final term and have a great summer, Gem x

Hey! Hope you all had a good weekend. I really cannot believe how cold it has gone again these past few days. Despite the layers and the fluffiest pairs of socks I can find, I am still cold!

I am sat writing this in front of the fire and I feel sooo relaxed. It is Saturday afternoon…I went to ballet and tap this morning which normally I love, but this morning I just found it impossible to get myself motivated! After a super busy week at school, I decided that this weekend was going to be all about doing my work at home and completely resting - apart from going out tonight but that is not until later thank goodness. At this rate I may actually go against all beliefs of what is considered cool and go out in my slipper socks and baggy tracksuit bottoms :-)

This week was jam packed with meetings, work, masters lecture and not to mention parents evening. I don’t think I had one early night last week and next week does not look much better. I felt so much better after my lecture on Tuesday – my mind was put at ease as to what I had to do.

So….plan of action for the next five hours of my Saturday – plan my lessons for next week as the week nights are busy again with another parents evening and marking. I am then going to have a warm, butternut squash soup which I have just found in the fridge..yum, yum. If I still feel a bit peckish I may open the pack of jammie dodgers in the cupboard and dunk them into a mug of hot chocolate. Clearly, healthy eating is not on the agenda today! I will attempt washing my car as no one has offered to clean it for me lately and if I am completely honest, I have not washed it since September and I feel a bit bad! I will go outside and sit in the hot tub for a bit in order to relax. I will then have a bit of a pamper session and go out for a night of fun and laughter. Tomorrow has been officially set aside for me to get on with masters. In reality, it’s not that bad. At the moment my life seems pretty hectic and at times, I literally feel like I have no time for myself but it is January, it’s freezing cold and there is not where I would rather be than in the warm at home.

Enjoy your week, make sure you get those thermals out! ;) Personally I think I would rather freeze! Gem x

Hello!!! Happy New Year to you all and hope you had a great Christmas! It was sooooo good to be able to have a few more hours in bed each morning! I was able to finally do my Christmas shopping which I was starting to worry about as most of my friends had finished and wrapped! I was also able to catch up on my MA which, due to my workload at school, I had to put to one side. It was hot chocolates all round with marshmallows and cream along with a selection of chocolates and sweets. Nothing better than doing my work by the fire in my pj bottoms and my brothers comfy G Star jumper- but ssshhh we can’t tell him that! ;)

As well as getting a massive chunk of my work completed, I was able to just have some ‘me’ time. I spent time with my friends and family, not forgetting eating my weight in chocolate!

The weekend we broke up for Christmas I was due to go to Manchester to see a friend, however, the sky decided to bless us with four inches of snow which resulted in me and my friend getting stranded in the centre of Birmingham. We were freezing to the point I actually thought I was going to lose my toes! Eventually we managed to get on a bus and spent what would normally be a 30 minute journey a whopping three hours on the bus! We gave up at this point and figured tottering down the road with suitcases would be more practical! Good old Dad had to come to the rescue with a pair of boots and a coat to replace my fur coat which at that point made me look like a drowned rat! Needless to say my trip to Manchester had to be postponed until further notice.

New Year turned out to be a success - well what I can remember! We decided to go to Stourbridge as there were some inviting promotions on cocktails and the music was relatively good. I have to be honest and admit to my sometimes terrible taste in music. Don’t get me wrong a bit of R ‘n’ B and dance music is great on some nights out. However, every so often I have a need to dance to something cheesy - sad maybe, but sooo funny! Much to the disgust of my friends hahaha!

So….it's January; back to work and I think it has hit me like the Orient Express! I felt relaxed and ready for work and I just have not stopped in the past two weeks. I have taken on some extra responsibilities at work including monitoring attendance across the school so that is adding to my workload. What can I say? I just love the challenge! I start my module in Research Methods in the next couple of weeks which I am looking forward to, however, this weekend, I must make sure that my assignment for my other module is virtually complete. Even though it is not due for handing in until April, I do not want a collection of assignments and deadlines for the same time, especially with my pupils sitting their GCSE and A-Level.

I think this year in particular has made me become more efficient with managing my time. I have realised that I am not super woman, although the thought would be pretty cool! I can only do what I can do, which involves me prioritising my work and sometimes accepting that certain things have to wait til tomorrow. There is always tomorrow and burning myself out by cramming work in is not going to benefit me or my pupils. No good can come from someone who is physically and mentally exhausted!

My advice to you… try and enjoy the rest of January, sub zero temperatures or not! Good luck with the work! Gem

This is my Nan who passed away 03.01.2011. She was proud of what I had achieved and is my inspiration for me to continue.

Well, I have to say that this term has been really hectic and frankly, I am exhausted! I have been terribly busy with school work including assessments, exams and reports. I have also tried to get on top of my research for my MA, however that has had to take back seat until I finish on Friday so that I can sit down properly and get my head around it!

I cannot believe it is nearly Christmas, I have not started my shopping and refuse to listen to any Christmas songs until I relax a bit and can actually start to enjoy the holidays!

I have, however set my sights on holidays for next year in order to work towards a week doing nothing but sipping cocktails and lying on a beach - bliss! Me and my friend are thinking about Goa during the Easter holidays as it is somewhere none of us have ever been and a place that really is beautiful and of course hot! During the summer holidays, I love going to Javea which is in Spain, not far from Valencia. I went last summer with my two friends who are also teachers and it was amazing…we loved it that much, two days later after returning home, we jumped back on a plane and stayed there for a further week!

This Christmas, I think I am going to do the whole family thing which I am really looking forward to - helping my mum cook the dinner, drink sherry with my Nan and of course give Toto his presents from Santa - he is soooo excited! Haha

On Wednesday, I am taking Toto to London to this boutique that is especially for dogs! (I know it sounds sad but I can’t help it ! He looks adorable in little jumpers!) I have set my sights on a beautiful cashmere jumper with a pom pom and a santa jumpsuit. There is also the hat and scarf set which will come in handy for the predicted snow! Woohoo... My Dad told me, however that he refuses to walk Toto with any garments on him!

Mr Tibbs… my other little man!

Apart from the sheer amount of work that I have been doing and the AMAZINGLY ADDICTIVE Corrie, I have not done anything different -  I was actually glued to the television for the whole week. This week I have staff meals for Christmas and on Friday it is our night out with staff into Brum which should be fun. I am going to attempt shopping on Saturday morning for when it opens, although this is dependent on my fragile head ;)

This Christmas will be good for getting myself back on track, with my Masters in particular. I can sit down in my pjs and hot chocolate and try and write as much of it as possible. I start a new module in January so with that will come more work. Hopefully I can do the majority of the current modules before January. Also Year 11 reports will be due on the Friday back so need to get writing those!

Even though I am not yet rocking around the Christmas tree, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that you enjoy the holidays! Make sure you have time for yourself, however don’t put all your work under the bed and forget about it until the day before you go back!

Wow! I can’t believe nearly two weeks have past since half term! I spent a large amount of my time doing preparation for lessons and school and then continuing with research for my Early Professional Development module (MA). I did manage to squeeze in some me time which involved going flying with my friend who is learning and dressing up for halloween. Me and my friends decided to follow the Alice in Wonderland theme and I was the rabbit! It was great to catch up with friends as the weeks leading up to the half term were sooo stressful at work.

I have a masters session this week so I need to ensure all of my work is ready to present to the group - they have asked for a draft of the first part of my essay. I have completed most of my research so rather than rush and throw together a draft, I will show a detailed plan of what I want to explore and analyse. In this case it is the teaching of A’ level. I want to investigate positive strategies to motivate and engage sixth formers in language lessons. This will then enable me to feed back to the school as well during a training session.

At school during form time, we are putting together shoeboxes for the ‘Shoebox Appeal’ run by the Rotary Shoebox Scheme. Pupils bring in items such as toys, stationary and gifts which are put into a shoe box and shipped to Eastern European countries. Ben Truslove a reporter commented:

“As the shoeboxes were distributed, there was a dazed look on the faces of some of the children but as they realised these gifts of toys were for them, there were beaming smiles and stilted thank you’s. I was left in no doubt as to how important your gifts are to those with so little.” 

It is so rewarding to put together these boxes knowing what effect it will have on a child living in such poor conditions. It definitely gives meaning to ‘you don’t give to receive.’ For some of these children, it is the only present they will receive.

I cannot believe how early now it becomes dark! I must admit however that in winter I love nothing more than to come home from school put my pjs and a hoody on and do work with a hot chocolate and marshmallows! But of course - I’m not saying I’m a swot of any sort! ;) Many of the summer distractions are not there! I find winter a good time to get on top of work, get loads done and keep cosy!

This week is hectic with meetings and GCSE controlled assessments. Apart from some soaps (yes I am a fan of Corrie and Eastenders) there is nothing keeping me away from the books! I had quite a jam packed weekend which involved going to a roller disco (sounds sad but was actually really fun!) going out with some friends and getting cast as a model for a fashion show! Good job I have a relatively well organised diary! Have a good week, wrap up warm and speak to you soon!

As always I have attached a pic from the weekend of myself in my roller skates! Unfortunately the snazzy skates did not match the skating where I seriously struggled to turn and almost took out three people! It was all fun though x x

Hello!  My name is Gemma and I’m 23. I am a postgraduate student at Wolverhampton studying Education and I am also a full-time qualified secondary school teacher in Oldbury. I started Wolverhampton in 2007 where I completed my BA in French and Spanish. Although my final year was very stressful, it was one of the best years in my life. I met some amazing friends which I will continue to stay in contact with for many years. I also got to know some fantastic staff; teaching and non-teaching.

I came to realise that at Wolverhampton, students are treated individually which means that learning needs are addressed and support is always there. During my degree, I was based at City Campus which I loved and found that resources were always available and the atmosphere was positive and friendly. This continued at Walsall Campus where I did my teacher training.

This half-term has been hectic! I am so glad that it is half-term which will give me chance to relax and get my thoughts together about next term. I can also start my research for my MA module. School has been busy and with a variety of classes; ability and Key Stage, it has meant a lot of time planning and reflecting.

One thing that I have learnt over the past few years is the importance to get the right balance between work and social life. Studying is stressful and takes up a lot of time, however if planned out properly, you can still do the things that you enjoy like a sport or going out. I started ballet earlier this year and absolutely love it because I can relax and have some ‘me time.’ I also have a little dog which is a ‘chweenie’ (half miniature dachshund and half Chihuahua) and is called Toto. I take him for walks and he loves lying in his bed whilst I do my work. I have attached a picture of me and Toto for you to see him as I will probably be talking about him a bit in my blogs J Enjoy reading week if you have it and speak to you soon!