But I Smile Anyway…

Well, hello there, Peeps! How are you? I may sound full of beans, but they aren’t highly caffeinated, if that is the case, so energy is still pretty low, but…

Are you ready with your drink?

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that school is still here… I have to admit, there were moments I thought we weren’t going to manage, but with a couple of our SEND pupils off sick, it made the classroom a much calmer place. Never in a million years, would I wish ill on anyone, especially a child, but this really highlighted how much of a difference having these children in our provision makes. The average child was granted so much more attention, and I was able to jump in and do some spur of the moment interventions with some of the children who really need them. There has been staffing ups and downs across the school, too, which means that adult wise, we were robbing Peter to pay Paul, adult wise. Not easy, but we coped. I wasn’t in on the Friday, but couldn’t help keeping an eye on what was happening, as it was Children in Need, and the children were dressing up. Had I been in, I would have been dressing up as Pudsey, as per usual! The next thing now, is trying to decide what we are doing as a Nativity! I do love Christmas at school!
• If we were having chai I’d mention another thing, school related. Apparently we have a ghost! The building is over 200 years old, built in Victorian times, and there has been sightings of a white figure, but a few people, over the years. The part of the school we are based in is the original building, and below, in the basement, there is even an original Victorian stove! But, back to last week. My nursery teacher was in the Nursery at lunchtime, and he heard a funny noise from the small storage cupboard we have there, which has a staircase leading to the basement level. He heard knocking! And when he asked a ‘spirit’ to show a sign they were there, something fell down! Eek! And another member of staff was in the toilet, and someone knocked on the door. She hurried and opened the door, and no one was there! Double Eek!
• If we were having chai I’d say that, aside from school we had a special week, at home, as it was our twentieth anniversary. This was the reason for my day off on Friday. We celebrated with a lovely meal, and exchanged wonderful gifts, too. I got a specially commissioned piece of art for us, and he got me a car! (Along with flowers, and chanpagne for me, and a coffee machine for him!)

• If we were having chai I’d update you on Project House. The handyman was in, again. Blinds are all done. Yay! Amazon failed witha deliver of a curtain pole and bathroom heater, so that will be next week. Security cameras done. So pretty successful, I’d say!
• If we were having chai I’d also tell you that Pops had an operation on Thursday, too, for a very severe hernia. He will need another op after this, but thankfully the first appears to have been successful. We also had a funeral within the family on Friday, (not in this country) so there was a lot of emotion, up and down, all through the week…
• If we were having chai I’d say that I found a new yummy treat from the makers of Jaffa Cake… Jaffa Cake Donuts, or Jonuts!

• If we were having chai I’d share with you that Sonu Singh has been unhappy with us, for cutting his food down a little, but it’s for his own good! However, he still wakes us early, to miaow for his brekkie!

This week will be a little busy, with one member of staff isolating. I am lucky to have such a great team, and they have all already got set to chip in, to ensure the children have the least disruption to their week! We also have a twilight, which is when we have to stay until 6pm for training, on one evening. And Sonu is having his heart check, today (Monday) so we are a little nervous… Other than that, life is pretty much the same as usual… And I’ll be back on Monday to let you know!

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Week two of term two done… Boy, was I shattered!

So, have you got your drink handy?

• If we were having chai I’d tell you that, as usual, school was a bit crazy, what with staffing up in the air, we were all running from pillar to post daily, like headless chickens. We had interviews happening for one to one positions for some of my specials, as well as a lunchtime supervisor down, so me needing to be on the playground for part of my lunchtime, to support. The children had a good week, with a few crazy days thrown in. I have incomplete paperwork coming out of my ears, and the threat of Ofsted, possibly ringing at any time… it’s a nightmare… We also had the nurses in to administer the nasal flu sprays for the children whose parents signed up for it. On top of all that we had parents evening on Monday and Tuesday. I was shattered, by the end of the week, I’ll not lie. So tired that on Friday, I got home and fell asleep at 6.30pm, waking at 8pm disorientated, and worried that I hadn’t fed the kids!
• If we were having chai I’d mention that we have also decided on a Team Christmas meal (at a very unChristmassy Indian restaurant!) I feel that the team have been such troopers through a crazy couple of terms, that we need a team building evening. Oh, and talking of teams, Covid numbers are going up, and we are going to have to be a much stronger school team, as members of staff, or their families are beginning to test positive, again… We were all lucky to get our double vaccinations, however, jab two was in March, and it’s been over six months, and none of us have been offered any booster jabs because we are younger… yet slowly, people are getting ill again…

• If we were having chai I’d say that, on Thursday, it was Remembrance Day. We shared some videos with the children, and taalked aabout why we mark the 11th November as such an important date. It is fascinating to hear what the children think. Some have obviously been talked to at home, by consciencious parents. Some really didn’t have much of a clue, but they were all aware of Poppies, and the heros we will never forget by the end!

• If we were having chai I’d update you on Project House. So, we now have blinds in each room, though one set needs replacing, and the pelmets need to be attached (they forgot to send the relevant attachment!) We have roller blinds in the bathrooms. Lil Man’s shower extractor fan is working, again. The kids all have wardrobes, instead of clothing rails. All that is left is the dining table and sideboard, but we are leaving taht until the Christmas sales! Phew! Hubby Dearest has been a fantastic project manager for all of this. And on the way, we have found a great handyman, who knows how to do so much. He is Mauritian, and is trying to build up his ratings here, in the UK, where he has no recommendations, yet. He has been brilliant with all that he has done, and the experience he brings from working on similar jobs back in Mauritius, is blatant. Honestly, everyone needs a decent handyman, and I think we’ve found ours!

• If we were having chai I’d say that I spent a long time reading and relaxing, this weekend, even though I had work to do. I couldn’t focus, so retired to my reading nook, and finished a book I had been struggling with for a good ten days, due to tiredness, and then finished a whole other one!

• If we were having chai I’d share with you that Sonu Singh spent most of his Sunday hiding in a box under the coffee table. He had a vet appointment on Saturday for his annual check aand jabs. Yes, as we are aware, he is overweight (Please, Hubby Dearest and Lil Man, listen to me when I say that you don’t feed him every time he miaows!) However, we have also been advised to get a heart scan ECG for him, as the Vet thinks he detected a heart murmur. It could have been more anxiety based, as he had been in his carrier, and he hates it, but stoll, we are all a little worried, right now…

This week will be, as always, a busy one at school. I have no doubt. We are a lot of staff down, for various reasons. And I am off on Friday. (The Academy we are a part of, have offered two paid days off, during the year for each member of staff, as a reward for hard work.) It is actually our twentieth Anniversary on Thursday, so we decided that the Friday would be a good day to have off, to celebrate properly. I look forward to letting you know how we get on!

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!