#SoCS Oct. 8/16 – Coin

08 Oct 2016 23 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Coins, Linda G Hill, Socs

Linda’s SoCS prompt today,

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “coin.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Just the other day, I was setting up the playground for my class, and I came across a stray penny, hidden amongst the grass.

“Find a penny, pick it up,
Then all day you’s have good luck!”

I ran inside and gifted it to my colleague,

“Give your penny to a friend,
Then your luck will never end!”

I don’t know whether these little phrases originate from, or whether they have any truth in them, but I always make sure any stray coins I come across, are picked up, and handed to a friend!

“Look after your pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.”

That’s another coin-related saying which I find quite true. If you don’t spend your loose cash willy-nilly, you are more likely to be better off in the long run!

But then why am I giving away the pennies that I find?…

Right, I’m off to find some coins…!

#SoCS Sept. 24/16 – Bus

24 Sep 2016 43 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, bus, Linda G Hill, nightmare, Socs

Linda’s prompt…

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “bus.” Use it as it is, or find a word with the letters “bus” in it. Have fun!

It’s been aeons since I went on a bus.

When I was younger, my mum dropped my brother and I to school, from the age of three, all the way to 17.

I really wanted to ride the bus, and be ‘grown-up’, and I finally got a chance when I was around 16/17. I had an after school course to attend, and by then my mum had gone from being a SAHM (Stay At Home Mother) to managing my Pop’s dental practice. Granted, we lived above the practice, so it was no hardship to pop out and pick us up, but I fought for the chance to show my maturity!

It was a fun filled experience, with a little apprehension as my friends didn’t live in my direction, so I was going alone. The first few times I stayed downstairs, like a good girl, then I got the guts to try the top deck…

And what a day to decide to try being brave.

There were the ‘cool’ kids and trouble-makers from the local Comp school sat there, and I was sort of stuck in the corner. As the journey went, a man sitting a couple of seats ahead, unrolled what looked like a tool holder, to reveal a selection of rather sharp knives…

Eeeek!

Then I thought I would slowly get up and sit downstairs for the remainder of the journey.

Someone was coming up the stairs. A rather odd looking man.

A rather odd looking man.

Odd? I’m being kind! He was downright scary! Especially as he decided to pull a gun out of his pocket and point it at everyone!

Slowly, he waved the barrel around. There was silence. A couple of passengers risked it and slipped down the stairs.

My stop was the next but one, so I thought it would be better to leave the bus early and walk a bit more, to escape from the mad gunman.

I got downstairs and heard another passenger tell the driver there was a man with a gun upstairs. The bus stopped at my alighting point and I hurried off, breathing a sigh of relief!

Until I turned around.

The mad gunman was right there, behind me, off the bus too!

Double EEEEEEEKKKKK!

Was this the end for me?

Silently the man caught my eye, turned and walked off in the opposite direction!

I ran home. And I never insisted I wanted to go on the bus myself again!

Obviously, since then, I have used the bus and public transport, but never with such drama!

And this was a true story!!!!

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#SoCS Sept. 17/16 – ‘-est’

17 Sep 2016 38 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: -est, Best, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Colleagues, good, Linda G Hill, Ofsted, School, SCOS

Linda’s SoCS prompt this Saturday…

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “-est.” Base your post on any word you can add the suffix “est” to. Enjoy!

The Best!

Last night I went out for a meal with my colleagues. It wasn’t just a general get together, but a celebration of a fantastic achievement for our school, staff and pupils.

I don’t know if you recall, but just before the summer holidays, we were winding down,t hen got the stressful call regarding Ofsted coming to visit. Ofsted, for those of you that don’t know, is the inspecting body that the government has in place, who spring inspections of schools and then gives them gradings and constructive advice.

Two inspections ago we were rated Good. It would be nigh on impossible for us to ever get Outstanding, with the results we get. This is not because of the lack of effort on the part of the teachers and children, but the demographic of our kids is such that there are many from disadvantaged backrounds, or EAL (second language) children, so they are always wonderful,b ut not ‘quite there’.

Three years ago we got another ‘call’ and they came. This inspection was triggered by data regarding the then current Year 6 children, who were a very tough year group with many issues. We had new management in place, lots of new strategies, and a school full of willing and able staff and pupils. But we got Requires Improvement.

It wasn’t the worst. We didn’t get Special Measures, where the head gets removed, and the school could get taken over by an academy, changing the structure forever.

But it was disheartening, nevertheless. Everyone works hard but it wasn’t enough. We spent the last year and a half with various officials visiting constantly, and much restructuring happening, policies changing, and shuffle arounds of staff. And they came…

And we got GOOD again!

It was the greatest feeling, as many schools in our area have been receiving the lower two gradings recently, but we got GOOD!

We even had special chocolates!!

So yesterday, the head teacher arranged an evening out of music and food to celebrate all the hard work of the whole team, to get us to this level!

And, maybe I am biased, but honestly, I really do think we are the BEST!

#SoCS Sept 10/16 -View

10 Sep 2016 49 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Socs, View

Saturday SoCS prompt …

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “view.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

How do you view yourself?

Do others view you in the same way?

Or do you have an over/under-inflated image of yourself?

I think I’m an ok person. Happy, friendly, positive, approachable.

Others may view me as annoying.

At times I can be funny, the life of the party, but on other occasions, I can be a wallflower.

But I know I can be a tad stubborn, I speak my mind, I often don’t think before I speak too!

How do you view me?

#SoCS Sept 3/16 – Accumulate

03 Sep 2016 37 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Family, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Accumulate, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Linda G Hill, Memories, Socs

Linda’s prompt for this Saturday Stream of Consciousness..

Accumulate

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “accumulate.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Well, seeing as it is the day it is for me… my birthday, what better thing to write about than how I have managed to accumulate 41 years beneath my belt!

Oh, and by ‘under my belt’ I mean all that squidgy stuff I am currently trying to get rid of! You can hoard quite a bit under there if you aren’t careful!

Now, in 41 years, I have manage to accumulate a lot of stuff. From toys, to books, (you all know that!) to clothes and jewellery. From photos and physical momentos, to those memories held tightly within my heart and mind.

I wonder whether I am a hoarder. Should I not let go of some of this stuff? The physical stuff at least? But when I look at everything, there is so much emotion attached to each thing, I can’t do it! Ok, I lie. I manage to clear out my wardrobe with relative ease. I can whizz through the kids things pretty quickly, but it’t the other stuff, the memories, the photos, the momentos that I can’t bear to part with.

But I love them all. They take me back to a different time of my life, and bring back all the emotions from that time.

So for now, if you don’t mind, I am keeping my accumulations, and I’m pretty sure there will be plenty more added to the piles over the years to come!

Have a great day!

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