Our First Family Holiday

Seven years in the making, but eventually the Norbury's are rolling out. Bags packed, car crammed, kids excited and parents knackered. Sounds like the perfect recipe for a holiday. 

As we approach Preston we encounter another first for our family. As our speed drops down from 70 to 0 mph, we realise that we are now in our first traffic jam. Fast forward 2 hours and about 40 miles and the traffic jam is now behind us. Just 1 hour to go and we'll be there, but that still doesn't stop those childhood cries from behind "Are we nearly there yet?".

Eventually we arrive and Wow! What a beautiful site. The caravan is situated in an amazing setting with chicken, hens, rabbits and even some cows wandering freely around the site. For the kids, within throwing distance and within sight is a set of swings and slides. 

At the end of our first day here it started to rain heavily. This was the first time the children had heard the bombardment of heavy raindrops against the metal roof of a caravan. Niamh, Aoife, Jacq and I found the sounds very calming, almost therapeutic. However, for Seán the loud constant irregularity of the noise caused great discomfort. 

The evening came and passed. In the morning we were woken by the call of the cockerel. An unusual yet familiar sound. After, cereal, toast, and eggs for breakfast (not all on one plate), it was time for a small walk. 

What a walk of nature, with cows, chickens, rabbits, bees, ladybirds and loads of wild flowers to pick, poke and persue. Fun was had by all. This is only the morning of our first day! Hopefully the start of lots of childhood memories for our children.

The following day we decide to venture away from the campsite, partly due to the fact that after a visit from Stuart and Emma, our car now has enough diesel to move. First port of call, Kirby Steven, followed by Appleby, Kendal, Bowness and then finally Bowness-on-Windermere. 

The final step of our journey brought back a deluge of memories of my own childhood. Many summers spent at 'Fallbarrow Park Campsite' taking evening walks along the the lake. Today, was no different. We parked up by the pitch and putt and walked alongside the church grounds until we were at the lake. 

Seeing all the swans, boats and ice cream parlours proved to me that this lovely tourist spot hasn't changed much. The only differences that I noticed was the large number of Chinese tourists and a lack of glass! As I child I recall every shop selling glass hand-made by the glass factory, but alas that factory/museum has changed and is now a restaurant. 

Sod the kids, even if they didn't enjoy the ice-cream, rock or picnic, today I had an amazing time!

Timetabelling

So I finally finished my first timetable and today we ran a transition day. The purpose of the day was not just to check that all pupils, teachers and rooms were allocated correctly, but because our school is going through some rapid growth and now requires a shift from 1 hour long lessons down to 50minute lessons.

Very quickly in the day it was clear that there were not going to be any major errors. For this I have to thank Keith Johnson and his amazing TimeTabler piece of software. 

However, the day did allow for sometime of reflection by myself. I was able to get feedback from pupils and staff, because of this I thought to write down my ramblings so that I may look back on them next year and ensure that I can prepare with hindsight. 

1. Ensure at option time that any subjects that may require double lessons are paired for ease on the timetable.

2. Ensure that all part-time staffing are correct and percentages calculated and clear to all in advance. 

3. With having years 5 through to 11 and the 6th form coming online in 2015, allocation of year 5 & 6 teachers is critical. However, the tendency is to use them as a filler. Consider how this can be avoided. Realising that this may be hard to do, as the 6th form timetable will probably take priority. 

The flipped maths classroom

With the half-term break starting yesterday, I have managed to allow myself time to reflect on the year so far. As with most teachers, I remember starting the year with such promise and direction. I was going to ensure I stayed on top of all my classes and I was going to try out new things.

I did start off as I meant to continue. I started to develop a sort of 'Flipped' classroom. Which was generally well received by students, but even better received by parents. Unfortunately, the year has taken its toll. With a change in our VLE and a responsibility for timetabelling the drive to continue was sapped out of me, and the status quo of the teacher at the board returned. 

I have not abandoned hope for the flipped classroom. Far from it! The idea and benifits of flipping far outweigh the gain in student attainment which is in itself massive. I will return to the flipped classroom. 

The educreations.com website is great for getting the lessons up on the web and reachable for the students, but I have found that the stability and reliability of hosting the lessons on YouTube to be far better. The only problem with this method is the inability to be able to check who has or has not attempted their homework. So thought has to be put into the setting of questions and the duration of the homework task in order to ensure enough monitoring can take place. 

In conclusion, I would recommend trying the flipped classroom as it will lessen the shackles within your own classroom, but be warned it does demand time in the planning stages. 

First takeaway

Embarking on this new journey has led me to develop my first takeaway homework menu. It is downloadable from the following link, but rather than reinvent the wheel I have adapted ones available from the TES. Feel free to use it yourself. I will be waiting to see how my pupils respond to the new style. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3pke3gcei8w5cg/Template%20Version%20Take%20Away%20Homework.pdf

Looking at other takeaway homeworks, I decided to add a little classroom management on to the menu. By adding in an extras column I was able to offer additional credit for things such as punctuality, being equipped, courteous, handing in homework early and other factors. I hope it has the desired affect. 

......…......................................................

So following on from my first takeaway homework. I have seen first hand the enthusiasms and pride from my pupils and their work. This has been fantastic start and has me eager to start this fully from September. 

With the correct structure and coupling this with the flipped classroom I can see a better balance between work and life. Although I am under no illusion that this will need a lot of preparation in the first instance. 

Here are a few pictures of the resouces that the pupils produces. They range from board games to videos, and incorporate poems and essays. 

Very proud of my pupils. 

Trying new things...

With GCSE exams clearly in the cross-hairs and the end of the year looming, now may not be the best time to try something new in the classroom. However, why not try it anyway, so that when you return fully recharged after the summer break you will have the energy to push with the aspects that worked and yet the wisdom to drop the parts that don't. 

I have decided to couple my flipped classroom with the new takeaway homeworks. I am trailing it with my year 10 class and I am considering pushing it to all classes after the half-term. 

I hope to continue this blog with example of my takeaway homework menus and the final products from the pupils. 

Feel free to follow me on twitter @garethnorbury or on g+.