Another week has passed and again, so much has happened.
It feels strangely normal to have students back in school (even if they are generally only seen on the 4th floor and it feels like they have been here for much longer than a week).
I have spent much of my week with a smile on my face at just how proud of our students I really am. Every morning they arrive with broad grins and cheerful greetings. Even when I grouch at them about remembering to keep their distance, they respond with smiles and good humour. They are happy to be here and the concerns that I, as their Head Teacher (along with many of our staff) had for them regarding their transitioning back to school appear to be generally unfounded. Our students are wonderfully resilient and are much better able to cope with change than we adults are!
I have been in class for most of today with a most delightful group of Y5 students and it has been truly wonderful, a true reminder of how amazing they are. They laughed at my (terrible) jokes, tolerated my stories and anecdotes and were just as delightful as they were when I taught some of them in Y2. They were also rather shocked when I told them that we were in my first Y5 classroom where I taught the now Y12s. Still, over two hours after I bade them goodbye, I am still feeling the adrenaline rush that teaching gives me and it reminds me of my days as an NQT when I told everyone that I ‘had the best job in the world’ and, nearly 20 years later, I still do. I just don’t go round shouting about it in the staffroom (maybe I should?). We also had a few giggles with the dial-in assembly PSHE session during which they were able to share some of their likes and dislikes of being back. (Mask-wearing does not go down well by the way.)
WE did this. YOU have done this. It is no accident that we have these wonderful students, it is down to the hard work and determination of dedicated staff (and not just us teachers) who have made it happen. Please feel free to pass on to those who you also feel deserve the praise.
In amongst the emails, I received one from one of our parents which really lifted my spirits. Every now and again I have some lovely Seesaw messages shared with me too (although they are much more difficult to anonymise for public thanks) which your parents have sent through.
“Today, I am writing this email because I want to share the great work of … All the teachers in BISS are great, but among them, … is really amazing. As a parent, I was able to watch … teaching for the first time through online classes. … excels at motivating each child. The greatest thing about … is that … gives good lessons so that my daughter can enjoy literature. You can imagine how difficult English literature is for students who learn English as a second language, not as a native speaker. Especially, BISS is the first to study English properly for her…Nowadays my child writes poems and presents them to her father, writes novels, and publishes them on YouTube. When I saw my child truly enjoying literature, I was so happy and grateful that I wanted to share it with you. Of course, my child still needs a lot of effort to speak and write in English as a language. But … makes her feel English is no barrier”
I’ll be honest, I haven’t had many opportunities this week to find any inspiration of what I would talk about, however the energy I have received from the children inspired me to look for something. So here are a couple of articles for those of you who would like to read more about resilience. The first is a blog from the Institute of Positive Education, the second an academic article written by a guy I saw speak at ResearchED York a few years ago.
I would like to leave you with some words from Viktor Frankl.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
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