Returning

 How has it been for you?

School has been rather overwhelming in many senses but I am getting on with it.  In this first week, I taught some 540 pupils since I cover PPA for classes. Did my very best to distance from the children.I've begun with teaching Tudor dance to years 4 as usual but also Year 3, since they usually learn the recorder and I just want to leave it a half term to see how things go before beginning that particular can of worms!

Kids have been adhering to the one way systems around school and generally being fine with each other.

In years 1-2, I did short singing activities and used claves which I then wiped after the children used and touched them- this means that the lessons are shorter than usual because of needing to hand in instruments and clean them and make sure the children have sanitized their hands in and out of the room. In year 5, we were listening to Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and discussing words to describe the timbres of those instruments. In year 6, we were learning about chords and so I made sure all the glockenspiels and beaters were wiped down between classes.  Because of spacing lunchtimes and playtimes out for different year groups and no assemblies plus shortened lunchbreaks and lunches eaten in the classroom and ending the school day 20mins earlier to ensure the children are all out in positions in bubbles before the parents are let in to collect their children, the mornings feel incredibly long and the afternoons super short for the older children- it was hard to teach year 6 in what was essentially was a 40minute lesson as well as cleaning things!  Most parents are wearing masks/face coverings (like us teachers) when they pick up children though I did spend one day after school politely and nicely asking various adults and teenagers who pick up siblings to wear them tomorrow.  One woman bolshily told me she was exempt from wearing one- I couldn't see why! Shouldn't there be some sort of pass?

Not having any music clubs and assemblies has helped me avoid being too exhausted and run down quickly but it feels strange without them- the children who were in those clubs were asking me when they would start again and I had to explain there would be no clubs for half a term.

The journey to work and back every day has felt very long- doing it every day.  The trains are getting more crowded, especially certain morning and evening ones as there are a lot of kids who commute on the same train as me, but generally, I've not had to sit or stand close to anyone which is a relief- quite often, I have left my bike unfolded to preserve some space beside me.  Generally people are wearing their masks on the trains though I've yet to get on a train where there isn't some twerp who has their nose out, mouth out or is not bothering to wear one.  On the train platform, it's really annoying to see people/teens not wearing their masks- if the rule says wear it on the platform- bloomin do it!

I started to get a sore throat at the end of most days- it's been hard to go back to so much talking! I still need to make sure I'm drinking more water, which I don't always remember/manage to do though on one day when I did- the 1.5 hour long lessons x2 in the morning felt VERY long to wait for the loo!

I've sampled a few more things from the school allotment- chard, beans, Cavolo Nero cabbage since otherwise they will go to waste! I'm not sure if the gardener has been picking them over summer!?

One thing I've felt really sad and bittersweet about is my school music blog. I asked the children who had used the blog and it really felt like no one used it- the most children in any class who said they'd done the work was about 4 in one class. I worked SO SO hard on that blog dilligently pretty much every day through lockdown and returning to work in June and it feels pointless since so many seemed to have no idea it was there (the countless messages sent to parents fell on deaf ears clearly).  I look back and think about how much reading, gardening, making cards, playing my flute, walking I could have done and not wasted my time working my school hours and more- my time feels redundant.  That said, for those who DID access it-I hope it was worth it for the few. 

The thought of Autumn coming is making me gloomy- I do not like Autumn!

The things that have been lovely are how glad lots of the children were to see me and how excited and glad they were that they would be having music lessons.  Actually being able to leave their classrom bubble and come to my room must be a nice change.  All the classes I had worked really well and seemed to really enjoy their lessons- the horrendous Year 4 class from last year have been mixed up with the other two classes and touch wood, I know it was week 1, they seemed much better and less aggressive and winding each other up. They WERE in their classrooms behind desks though!   I was a bit worried about the new year 1's but I am now thankful that I gave up two of my PPA sessions to offer them a music lesson last year as they knew me, had been in my music room before, understood that they weren't to touch things.  They seemed fairly enthusiastic so far.

I've rearranged a few things in my room to maximize on space and to organize things for the children better which is good and introducing masking tape lines on the carpet to ensure they physically distance themselves from each other helped with classroom management as well though one year 6 child, who is a bit of a twit, ripped off and moved his tape to sit right next to his friend. Luckily, before I noticed myself, another child dobbed him in! What an utter idiot! I told him off most severely.

CBC and I have been making a concerted effort to make ourselves lunches for work which is good and necessary with shortened lunchbreaks.  We HAVE been completetely knackered when we get home though and been playing brinkmanship with making dinner- neither of us want to (also, since I have a long journey compared to CBC, it's really annoying how I end up making dinner most of the time) and we end up eating late.

Anyway, I must be off to bed. I hope things are well with you.

xx