Ambassadors Conference Manchester

This weekend I am in Manchester at a conference for British Council ambassadors. There have been a number of useful updates. It is great to catch up with other ambassadors and here about how to apply for erasmus + funding. The changes to the International School Award applications have been really helpful.

Sandra Underwood's session on using blogs is enabling others to create their own blogs.

Comenius visit to The Czech Republic

In October I was fortunate to be the teacher representing our school at our first meeting for our Comenius project 'Virtual Museum of Monsters'.  It was an absolutely amazing experience.  I flew to Prague airport and was greeted by the Czech teacher Zdenek who had organised the whole program of our visit.  With his help I then travelled from Prague to Trutnov, a three hour train journey.  I love travelling by train and it was a fantastic way to see the Czech Republic.  When I arrived another teacher George was there to greet me and take me to my accommodation.  The Penzion Pohoda where I was staying was fantastic and affordable.  The room had free wifi, a tv and an ensuite bathroom!  Breakfast was in the restaurant downstairs (the cellar).

That evening as all the other teachers were beginning to arrive from, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Italy not the mention all the Czech teachers, I was beginning to feel somewhat apprehensive.  All the other schools had travelled with at least one other colleague whereas I as on my own.  When Zdenek called to say it was time to go to dinner I was relieved to be collected and taken to the restaurant.  As the teachers began to arrive I began to feel less worried as they were all so friendly and welcoming.  After a delicious Czech meal I was beginning to feel more prepared for the following few days.

Over the following days we got to know each other and were able to plan more aspects of the project in more detail.  Alongside this planning of our project we were also able to see some of the Czech schools and learn more about the education system both in the Czech Republic and from each other.

In all other European schools children are classed as preschool for longer than in the Uk.  The schools in the Czech Republic had beautiful artwork produced by the pupils with the support of specialist art teachers.  We were able to see how ICT is being developed with some of the older children demonstrating their lego robots.  The children performed dances for us and we were made to feel very welcome.

We also saw how beautiful it is in the Czech republic with a visit to Adrspach Rocks which involved a 5km walk around the rocks.  Some of which was quite scary as I don't like heights and we ended up climbing quite high.

 

 This is the view of the lake when we first arrived.

We had to walk up and down lots of very narrow steps to see some of the beautiful rocks and scenery.

The whole trip was an amazing experience.  It was so nice to get to know some of the teachers that we will be working with over the next two years.  We were able to plan how to ensure our pupils are collaborating and how the project is going to develop.  

The next visit is going to be in the UK so my job now is to ensure that I provide as many opportunities as we had in the Czech Republic to see both schools but also some of the places that you would never visit if you didn't have a guide from the country.

Guardian.co.uk - Children's authors attack plans for phonics reading test

Guardian.co.uk - Children's authors attack plans for phonics reading test

I wish I could be in the Olympics

I wish I could be in the Olympics

Phonics Check

Today for the first time I have had to administer a phonics check to all my year 1 children. Throughout the year I have done plenty of checks on their progress in reading and their phonic knowledge. The assessments I use do not continue if the child is beginning to struggle. They are linked to the different phonic phases so I know exactly where each child is working and what their next steps are. For some year 1 children I focus on comprehension and use running records to establish their reading strengths and weaknesses.

The check the children sat through today contained nonsense words for the first 3 pages. The children tried to make sense of what they were faced with and tried to apply their skills, out of context, in the head teachers office. I felt incredibly guilty administering this as the rest of my class were completing some creative writing which could have been hugely improved with the support of their teacher.

For the children involved in the check they were clearly finding the whole experience slightly strange and for others it was probably far worse as they probably came away feeling like they really didn't understand what they had just had to do.  My hope is that as it was 10 minutes at most per child they will hopefully have forgotten about it and just put it down to one of those strange things teachers sometimes do.

Now my aim is to ensure that today was not a complete waste of time. I shall look at all the words, place them in the correct phonics phase, analyse the children's incorrect responses and look at the strategies they used to try to make sense of what they were reading. Most importantly I will carry on teaching the children to read, to make sense of what they read and develop a love of books. Reading should be a pleasure it should be something we do to extract meaning and should provide us with enjoyment. I have interventions in place to help the children who are struggling with the complex skill of reading and will continue to support those children. I just hope this check hasn't damaged their self esteem and undone all that we have been doing all year.

eTwinning Conference in Nottingham 2012

This is the second year in which I have been fortunate enough to be invited to the eTwinning UK conference.  It is by far the best professional development I have received.  Often as teachers' we get sent on training courses in which you are sitting with teachers who are tired and jaded and do not wish to be there.  This is not my experience at any event organised by the British Council eTwinning team.  Instead I have spent this weekend with teachers who are inspiring and enthusiastic.

I began my first eTwinning project in October 2010 with a fantastic teacher in The Netherlands and I never for once thought it would lead to the fantastic opportunities I have since had. My very first experience was a trip to Lithuania in June 2011 in which I learnt about web 2.0 tools for the classroom and mobile technology.  I was absolutely terrified when I set off with absolutely no idea what to expect and was amazed by the fact it was such a positive experience.

I then attended the conference in Nottingham in 2011 and found that to be just as inspiring but far more daunting.  I discovered when arriving in Nottingham that most people already seemed to know each other and have lots to talk about.  I had no idea of who anyone was apart from one person I had met in Lithuania. If it had not been for her I may have decided to go home as I felt like I was a scared child again on her first day at a new school.  However, I stayed and I got to know some lovely people who I learnt a lot from.

This year my experience was completely different when I arrived I was pleased to see people I knew from training in Manchester and the European Conference in Berlin.  It was great to catch up with people and we were able to share ideas and discuss what had happened since we last met.   At the back of my mind though was the fact that there would be others this year who felt as I did last year.  I met a few people who were there for the first time and they all mentioned similar feelings that I had felt the year before.  By Sunday they were buzzing with enthusiasm just as I had been last year and have again felt this year.  I feel it is a real honour to be invited to such an event and can't wait now to go back to the classroom to put some of the ideas into practice.

Survey on the new Primary Curriculum

This is a link to a survey by a colleague for her professional enquiry for her MA.  Please help by filling it in.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Uni_Leicester_HonselWJ9FW23