History Matters

Yesterday a group of us devoted the afternoon to analysing our predictions for this summer’s GCSE results. You’re never safe until the results actually arrive in mid August, but, all being well, we might well have cause for celebration because we’ll be making history.
 
And even if we don’t quite make the very high targets we’ve set for ourselves (and I’m not going to tell you what they are, just in case we do undershoot) the confidence and hard work of students and teachers are still very impressive and worthy of a school which is on the crest of a wave.
 
Well, so what? You might ask.
 
Moorside’s outstanding – everyone agrees – just look at the successive years of massive improvement. And all this from a school where ten years ago they’d actually started the demolition process and the results were the lowest in the area.
 
All of that is true.
 
And not only that but parents have been clamouring d for places at Moorside for some years now which shows how well we’ve won over community confidence. So what’s my point?
 
Well, it’s this.
 
The Moorside name disappears at midnight on December 31st, 2011. From that moment we will be Consett Academy and Moorside will have closed for business. Well, it won’t be quite as brutal as that. Our new sponsors assure us that it will be business as usual, but you might still think that staff heads would go down.
 
And in some schools you’d be right.
 
But not this lot.
 
Staff enthusiasm for doing the very best for the students in undimmed, even though legal closure of the school is in sight.
 
And I know that because of the exam meeting I ‘ve just mentioned,  a quite amazing breakfast meeting of the Teaching and Learning group and the full attendance by Humanities staff and students at the exam revision classes after school.
 
And all on the last day of a long, hard term which, by the look of them, has left quite a few teachers utterly exhausted.
 
Anyway, I hope you get my point.
 
So the Moorside staff show that we can go on improving even though we’re near the end of our history.
 
And speaking of history, on Wednesday night at our year 10 parents evening I met a very nice guy called Eric Symonds. Eric taught technology at Moorside in the sixties and wanted to tell me that he’d taught Paul Brasington who passed away recently. Eric also gave me a historical nugget which, as a total rock music anorak, really took my interest. Apparently, Moorside use to hold an end of year dance and in 1969 they hired a young band from Newcastle. Anyway, who should turn up but a very young Mark Knopfler destined for international superstardom in Dire Straits in the 1980’s. Apparently, Knopfler and co blew the roof of with an incredible performance.
 
Well, I love the idea of one of the world’s best guitarists doing his stuff on the Moorside stage. And wouldn’t it be great if we could find some photos of what sounds like a great gig?
 
And on that theme, we are starting to talk about ways in which we can celebrate Moorside’s history between now and Christmas. The school opened in 1958 (I think) so thousands of children and hundreds of staff have walked the corridors over the years – that makes for a lot of stories.
 
So if you have any film, photos, mementoes and recollections of Moorside you’d like to share before the academy opens, just let me know.
 

Talent Spotting

 
The media have a lot to answer for.
 
I was out with non-teacher friends last night and they’d all seen the national news reports about the school in Lancashire where the staff have gone on strike because of bad behaviour. Then with undertaker frowns they moved on to Waterloo Road. I knew at this point that Jamie’s Dream School was going to be next on the list, felt the blood pressure rising, took a deep breath and managed to change the subject.
 
Apart from the legendary Kes back in the sixties, I’ve never seen a true representation of British school life on television or on film. I did watch Teachers on Channel 4 a few years ago, but that was for only 2 reasons:
 
1.   I liked to spot the surreal cameo appearance of a donkey in the school corridors in every episode
2.   I was a huge fan of Brian, the PE teacher.
 
So it was an entertaining programme but a million miles from what it’s really like. And as for the   print media, they  are only interested in bad news stories like the upheaval in Lancashire and not the great work that most teachers do, often heroically in very challenging areas.
 
Anyway, you’d think that with that kind of media exposure no one would want to be a teacher.
 
Well, I’m pleased to say that you’d be wrong.
 
You see it’s recruitment season at Moorside and this week I’ve been immersed in interviews for new staff for September. Many of the candidates were young and brand new to teaching and the quality was awesome. In fact, I wish that we’d had ten jobs because we could have filled them easily.  We were presented with  talented and diligent young professionals who will go a long way and who are determined to give something back to young people, despite the media distortions.
 
Everyone knows that it’s stressful being interviewed, but it’s pretty hard on the other side of the table too. I hate having to tell good people they haven’t got the job, for instance. But staff selection is  one of the most important things a head does. You have to be good at spotting talent and sizing up whether or not someone will fit with the rest of the team and the Moorside ethos.
 
Mind you, we collect plenty of evidence before we decide.
 
Apart from considering the written application and the references, we see candidates in different situations throughout the day. The most important event is the lesson observation, of course, because teaching and learning come first at Moorside. We also involve the Student Council who hold their own interviews and provide valuable insights from the pupil viewpoint.
 
And just to finish off and you’re a teacher looking for a job, here are some of my highly subjective dos and don’ts at interview.
 
·        Dress for business. Teaching is a profession, so dress immaculately and practically for your subject environment and keep dressing that way if you get the job. Jacket and tie for men, preferably suit and definitely tie. My female colleagues say there should be no visible undergarments with complete coverage of the chest region. If it’s PE, bring your sports gear to change into, but first sight of you should be in your best bib and tucker.
 
·        Do lots of homework on the school, so that you know the place already when you arrive. Make an informal visit beforehand if you can. One of the successful candidates this week somehow found out  how we use the learning passport and included it in her lesson and that was impressive.
 
·        Leave nothing to chance with your lesson observation. You probably won’t get the job unless your lesson is graded as at least OFSTED Good. If you want more information for planning your lesson, contact the school before the interview day and don't be afraid of asking for prior attainment data so that you can differentiate without guesswork.
 
·        Don’t chew (I’m serious), constantly text in the staff room (it’s annoying) or (you won’t believe this) repeatedly swig from a bottle of water when you’re in the actual interview.
 
·        And don’t complain that the questions are hard during the interview and don’t keep saying that you’re nervous. We know that you’re nervous and would be worried if you weren’t. We’re nervous too because we might give the job to the wrong person. So  deal with it by concentrating with a single mind on giving the best impression of you.
 
Anyway, we’ve appointed some great young teachers who will start before the end of the summer term and I can’t wait to work with them. They will strengthen the excellent Moorside staff even further and help us look to the future with great optimism.
 
And there are two more interviews next week.
 

America Day

A lot of people have been asking, “Are we having another Glastonbury Day?”
 
If you’re new to Moorside, you might not know about Glastonbury Day.
 
It was the most successful non-uniform fund raising event we’ve ever had. It happened last year on the first day of the real festival when we held our own version on campus with live bands playing on the field, a village of shops selling festival memorabilia which students had made in DT and lots of lessons on the environment and music tuition. It was a very happy and, believe it or not, highly educational day, brilliantly organised by the staff and student Council. Not only that, but we raised £1200 for Wateraid, one of Glastonbury's adopted charities.
 
In fact, it went so well that we’ve decided not to do it again. We just don’t think we can surpass it and we don’t want to spoil the memory by having a second go.
 
Sounds decisive doesn’t it?
 
But it’s left the Student Council and me scratching our heads to think about another idea. The thing about Glastonbury Day was that it proved to be a great vehicle for involving everyone, whatever their interests. So it’s been a challenge coming up with a substitute.
 
Some good ideas have been offered.
 
How about a royal wedding day? We couldn’t think of anyone to stand in for the royal couple and, if we did, what if we really married them by accident? Could be complicated.
 
Harry Potter? The flying could be a challenge and some kill joys might object to Moorside students practising white magic.
 
The Olympics? Great idea, but best saved until 2012, provided that having fun is on the academy agenda.
 
Then I was talking to some students about Glee which I’ve never seen. Somebody said, “Let’s have a Glee Day.” And then we came up with America Day because we  saw that every subject could contribute and that we could tap into teenage interest in all things American.
 
So ideas, please. Thomas Dunn has already suggested that we walk on the right in the corridors for the day so that’s a start.
 
Oh, and we’re going to stage it as near to the fourth of July as we can. That’s a Monday so we might have to sweet talk Christine Connolly into changing her carefully planned calendar.