Going to France

This week week's blog comes to you courtesy of the I-PAD. It’s Saturday. I'm sitting on a coach at 7.45 pm not far short of Scotch Corner. I'm with Mesdames March, Carr and Archer and Mademoiselle Wood as well as 27 tired but happy key stage 3  students. We are returning to Consett after a six day educational visit to Montdidier in the Picardy region of France.

 After a long career in teaching, the past few days have been a brand new experience. I've never taken students abroad before and it was a real eye opener. Pat March is a well seasoned group leader and I learnt a great deal from her meticulous attention to detail.

 First of all, every care was taken to ensure that the whole group was safe at all times. This was especially  true when we were travelling and also when we visited Paris where repeated head counts were necessary in one of the most hectic cities on the planet. Also, Pat saw many and various opportunities to increase students’ knowledge of French culture and history. Even when we were on the coach she would take to the microphone to point out features of interest we were passing by.

 But the main learning objective of the visit was to improve spoken French. I’m certain that this was achieved because my own very rudimentary French was enhanced by Pat’s tuition.

 (Now at this point  I can't resist the opportunity to complain once again about my secondary education. I passed French O level ...somehow... but the first time I actually spoke French was when, as an ungainly 15 year old and after several years of French lessons, I was ushered into the deputy head’s office for my GCE oral test with an examiner from the exam board. This experience was made all the more farcical by my somehow managing to steer the conversation to  the aerodynamics if the Concord. I wish I had it on tape and I’m still amazed that I passed with such pitiful support from my French teachers who placed so little value on actually speaking the language.)

 Anyway, Pat's influence helped me lose my self consciousness about speaking a foreign tongue and I hope that the kids feel the same. They certainly managed the shopping trip to Montdidier market on Thursday when Pat had set them the challenge of buying their picnic lunch with bonus points for making healthy choices.

 So many thanks to Pat March and the other adults for making the trip so happy and gainful. Oh, and to the students too for their enthusiasm and excellent behaviour.

 In a way, the visit was part of my signing off from Moorside. I'll always treasure the memory of standing in such delightful company at the top of the Eiffel Tower, with the magnificent Parisian cityscape spread before us.

Phones

I want to start by apologising for the negative message  about mobile phones on our home page.

If you are a parent or carer, you might feel that we’re telling you off. That’s not intentional , so don’t be too sore about it. As I keep saying, if you knew what we had to deal with, you’d probably tell us to ban mobile phones altogether.

And I regret to say that that might well happen if we don’t see a big improvement in responsible use of phones by students and, to be honest, parents.

Sounds like a backward step doesn’t it?

And, anyway, the toothpaste is out of the tube and don’t bother slamming the stable door – the horse cantered off ages ago. As far as mobiles are concerned that is - because they’re well and truly here to stay.

Let’s face it, whether we like it or not, they’ve changed society: mobiles are  everywhere and it’s  become normal for just about all of us to start fiddling with our handsets in any idle moment. They even go off at funerals which must be bizarre if you’ve got The Birdy Song as your ring tone.

So it’s not just teenagers who use mobiles irresponsibly. We adults should set a better example and schools should start giving education on how to use phones appropriately. Kids must learn that it’s just plain wrong to text your dad every time a teacher tells you off.

Right – the rant ends here.

Let’s go back to the home page because you’ll have noticed that we’re advertising something which shows the good side of hand held technology. We’re going to host a training day for teachers from other schools and it’s all about how you can use I-pads etc. to boost learning. Some of our people have made great strides in how to use these devices in lessons so we’ll be able to show how our students can use I-pods and I-pads to learn in exciting new ways. You can even paint with your fingers on an I-pad screen – a brand new artistic medium which Moorside students absolutely love.

Wouldn’t  be great if we could have an understanding with everyone involved that smart phones could also be brought into the classroom and used constructively?

Anyway, I must go and pack my bag for France. I'll report back next week on what it's like to accompany 31 Moorsiders to another country.

The News is Out!

You’ll know from our home page that I’m moving on at the end of term.

One of the things I’ve learnt over the years is that change is inevitable and that nothing stays the same. I’ve had eight unforgettable years at Moorside, but I’ve decided that now is the time for me to do something new.

Like Moorside, Marden High is a great school with great staff, students and community support. However, it offers a completely different set of challenges from those I took on here in 2003. If I tell you that Marden already has very high academic standards and that it’s full and oversubscribed, you’ll know what I mean. My job is to make it even better.

So you’ll understand that I’m very excited by the prospect of what lies ahead of me.

You’ll also understand that I’m very sad to go.

Especially, if you’ve read these blogs over the years. If you look back on them, a common message has been my intense pride of what Moorside stands for and of the great things which we have achieved through brilliant team work.

Well, those achievements will not change. Everyone knows what we’ve accomplished and they’re historical facts. What Moorside must do now is take full advantage of the transition to academy status and , knowing the people involved, I’m sure this will occur.

Anyway, another action packed term lies ahead. Year 11 are working hard, I’m glad to say, so we’ve high hopes of GCSE results. On Monday, there’s a meeting about America Day, date still unknown. I’ve already been asked to dress up as Abraham Lincoln – I’ll have to think about that one, especially if it comes with an invitation to the theatre. I’m accompanying the educational visit to France, there’s another football training camp in Spain, we’ll be meeting the students starting year 7 in September...I could go on.

Oh, and look out for my video blog about how we use new technology.