Journeying through July

July began with the end of term craziness and the end of a delightful friendship for Pickle.

With the postman.

She had got to know him quite well. He always seemed pleased to see her, even when, one day when he was sitting doing paperwork in his van, she hopped in the back, ready to come on his rounds with him. He even took to getting her to sign for the parcels he delivered...

Now, we have different posties. All quite pleasant - this is Guernsey, after all, where the community is small and friendly - but none have, as yet, begun to bond with this little Patterdale terrier....but she's working on them. Her friendliness is very hard to resist.... watch this space.

So... end of term. A week so crazy busy that I had each day planned down to the last half hour. Packing and cleaning were, for me, secondary to the demands of school, but Richard worked intensively to get the motorhome ready and the house cleaned ready for guests. Intermittently, I packed for going away and packed away unnecessary clutter, leaving the house clear.

Evenings were filled with prizegiving and concerts, interspersed with catching up with friends. We sat on the roof terrace of Wendy and Nicholas's flat overlooking L'Ancresse beach and common, watching kestrels swooping and hovering. There was even a visit from four goldfinches, who perched on the balcony wall. Wonderful to catch up on news in such an idyllic setting. Then, the night before we left, our wonderful neighbours invited us over. So relaxing to sit in the garden in the warmth of the evening.

Evening sky over Morningstar

And, of course, the week was full of finishing off and goodbyes to our Year Sixes before they moved on to senior school. I had cleared my classroom the week before, so we were able to concentrate on organising a wonderful Leavers' Service at church. The children wrote and read their own prayers: most of the year group stood up in front of 200 people, reading clearly and organising themselves beautifully. We were very proud of them.

Inbetween, I managed to put posies of hydrangeas and ox-eye daisies together for my some of my wonderful, supportive colleagues. Such fun, to write appreciative notes. And to reflect on how things have changed this year, and how far I have been able, with God's help, to come. A year ago, my blood pressure was dangerously high: now, the best it has ever been. And I am stronger in my spirit, in spite of all the attack last year. I can reflect and be thankful for God's strength and my friends' and colleagues' love and support. God is good, good, good - as the children sang, having chosen 'King of My Heart' as one of their songs.

Last day of term was emotional for children: last game of football together (boys AND girls!); last game of 'Empires'; final assembly. Lots of awards, but we finished with a spontaneous performance of George Ezra's 'Shotgun', which Year 6 have been mad about. The school joined in with the actions which the children had put to the song while they were away on activity week.


The end of term is, always, an anti-climax, so I was happy to jump on my bicycle, five minutes after the last child left and all the goodbyes had been said, to whizz down the hill to meet Richard at the ferry. We were off to France...www.travelswithpickle.blogspot.com here we come! In the words of George Ezra:
"I'll be riding shotgun, underneath the hot sun, feeling like a someone - oh yeah"

Of course, the rest of the month whizzed by in a heat haze...but one more thing must be said. Richard bought a SCOBY (which apparently stands for Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) and some starter tea for making kombucha, which is, basically, sweet fermented tea. Aarrgh!  What to do with this 'monster' which has to be delicately and carefully nurtured, using precise measurements of tea, sugar and hot water, precise temperatures for brewing and precise instruments and vessels. (No metal AT ALL - remove rings! - and brew in a glass container.)

How to do this in a motorhome?

Well, poor SCOBY. He got shoved into a plastic box, covered with a lid for travelling more often than was supposed to happen, jiggled around for hours in the van, rather than sitting sedately on a countertop; encountered direct sunlight (big no no) and was subjected to temperatures far above those recommended. Oh dear.

But guess what? HE THRIVED!  He grew enormous very quickly, birthing a 'baby' (yes SCOBY should be 'she' but there is no doubt that all its characteristics were, in my mind, masculine: sensitive fussy, needing to be looked after carefully....) and brewing kombucha at an astonishing rate.  It should take 5 - 21 days, at 21 - 25 degrees Celsius, but Mr Scoby manages to produce a delicious brew at temperatures well above thirty degrees in just a matter of hours: 24 - 48, to be precise.

I've separated 'baby' from 'mother' once - and he instantly seemed to double in size. What to do now....?

Whatever. Scoby has been a great travelling companion and I shall do my best to continue to keep him happy.... more updates next month.

End of term catch up

Summer accelerates.  The last term of the year is always incredibly busy and time rushes by faster and faster. By the end of the term, I feel like the cartoon character running off a cliff, its legs still running in the air before it realises there is no solid ground beneath its feet and it goes crashing down.

It’s a good metaphor, actually. Adrenalin keeps us all going and we manage to fit in the sports days and swimming galas, concerts and prizegiving, leavers’ service and parents’ lunch. 

This year, our two deputy heads decided we needed more training in essential subjects in the last week of term.  They benefit from belonging to a dedicated, professional, highly supportive and polite staff team, because this really was a big 'ask' in the last few days before the holidays.  Class teachers were literally frantic with ensuring that the children ended their year with satisfaction and contentment but there were no complaints, just faces growing ever wearier by the day.

Oh well. Holidays now. I’ll get to tidying up my classroom properly shortly before the new term, read through the new curriculum and create new planning for the new system and resources.

Not much to do, then.  #ironyandsarcasm   Now, I need to rest and recuperate.

But the best bit of the end of term was Cat and Andy’s visit. Arriving earlier than originally planned, we were blessed to have them for a whole ten days. TEN DAYS!  It went by in a blur, of course, but it was such a special time as we caught up with one another and just enjoyed being together. They saw our new house and entertained around thirty or so of our close friends who also know Cat – it is over nine years now since she left Guernsey.  Andy insisted on cutting hedges and lawns before he left: we know, already, that he is an extremely capable and kind man but were touched by his thoughtfulness and willingness to help.

Apart from sharing chocolates, chatting, hanging out together and drinking lots of coffee and tea, we went on an epic bike ride through the lanes of Torteval and St Peters; cycled into town to catch the boat to Herm; strolled round the harbour in the evening, wandering up the pier at Castle Cornet; and explored various cafes dotted round the coast.  

Andy and Pickle become acquainted with each other

Drinking tea and planning

Cat and Andy ran most of the cliffs, up and down countless steps; went shopping for clothes for his brother Jon’s wedding in Ireland later this week; and visited the ancient burial tomb of Le Dehus,  one of my favourite spots to show visitors.  (It is a many-chambered burial mound made of ancient stones, completely covered over with soil and turf.)

Guernsey cows

Slope soaring off Torteval cliffs

A restored World War II gun emplacement

Last brunch at L'Ancresse

Supper at L'Eree

We feel we have given Andy an overview of some of what Guernsey has to offer. Fortunately, the weather turned from rain and fog to bright, sunny and warm: for the first couple of days of the visit, our Guernsey summer had resembled winter in New Zealand – never a good thing.

Moulin Huet - after the cliff run.  #CatandAndylookingridiculouslyfresh

Fish and chips on the beach

On the Herm ferry  #rememberingouttriptoWaihekeisland

Herm

Herm

 Their visit was over all too soon. I can’t explain the depth of sadness I felt on waving them goodbye.

Sometimes, tears just aren’t enough.

Holidays! Holidays?

Phew - finished school last Friday. That last week of term was packed. First of all we had speech day. I have a love/hate relationship with this concept, particularly beloved of private schools. I hate that we can't recognise the amazing achievements of all the children - not least, that the children in my class have survived my sense of humour all year.  But I love seeing the joy and surprise on children's faces when they hear they have received a prize. Most notable this year was a little boy who arrived in my class with poor handwriting and literacy. By the end of the year he was producing exemplary work. (Note to self: what a good word exemplary is: wish I'd thought of using it in my reports...) And I love seeing how other children are delighted for their friends and classmates: the smiles, the whispered 'well done', the pat on the back...

Then we had farewell parties - 4 members of staff leaving; farewell assemblies; sorting out, clearing out and packing up as I moved classroom, with the willing help of the children; organising our discarded books to go to Tanzania; and then there was Gardening.

I started the two gardens we have at school, with the help of parents and children, a few years ago. There is a quiet garden with a willow tunnel, a reading corner and a fountain. There is a huge vegetable garden - almost allotment sized. There is an area planted with trees and bushes, set aside for wildlife. And now there is a refurbished flower bed, sporting a Tudor rose, the school emblem.

It all  needs looking after. Every year I am  determined to give up this enormous responsibility, and every year something happens to make me change my mind. This coming year, I will have allocated timetable time to manage it all.
Good. I'm looking forward to clawing back the time I spent recently on organising a watering rota for the holidays. Helping 140 children to harvest the potatoes they planted in March. Encouraging more children to help me plant a new silver birch, to replace a conifer which blew over in the March snow storms, rewarding them with an abundance of strawberries. Going into school in the holidays to water the new willow tunnel which, in the hot weather we are having, is beginning to turn yellow.

The week finished with farewells and a shared staff meal. Lovely. I have amazing colleagues and our staffroom is a supportive little community.

So that was school. But I haven't paused for breath. I'm not hugely houseproud, but the house has shouted its need for cleaning. So far, I have a sparkling oven; cleaned out kitchen cupboards; washed and changed all the bedlinen, including the mattress protectors and so on; washed bedroom curtains; refurbished the bathroom...

I've been into school several times, too - not just to water the gardens, but also to reorganize my new classroom, stowing files and books away neatly into the tiny cupboard. (Quart into pint pot sums it up.) I know I won't have time at the end of the holidays and, in any case, would rather get it over and done with. I'll be in again next week, too, if not before...

That's all good.. But what was better was the coffees with friends and colleagues and a particularly celebratory tea for my dear friend Renee, the day before her birthday. Special, special times...

End of term: some sadness...

The end of the school year - in some ways, much looked forward to - brings with it some sadness. For ten months, the children and I have worked together. They have matured and developed in astonishing ways. One child this year has made amazing strides - he is almost unrecognizable, a completely different child from the one who arrived in my classroom in September.

Me too. The children teach me, change me - usually, these days, making me MORE patient, though not always. They teach me - about surfing, sport, what's 'cool' and what isn't... they sometimes, even, let me gain a tiny glimpse into the ways their minds work.

So, as today was the last day of the school year, we all said our goodbyes. They will have changed again over the summer, entering the next school year even older and 'wiser'. I will see them...in passing, for the odd lesson or two, but it will not be the same. We will have lost our sense of  'togetherness' that we have had over the year.

And that is healthy. They are not, in any case, 'my' children. They have parents, families who, in their turn, will have to let them go into the world as adults.

As I have already had to do. But that is another story, with its own joys and sadness. Enough for today.