SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

I have seen lots of knees and arms this week as we are all determined to embrace the fact that the nights are getting longer and the weather has been rather reasonable. Long may it last and then we can all get ready for snow in July and August. I wonder where I have put my skis?

The big TAFF Tidy Up took place on the right date and we are truly thankful for the hard work that everyone put in. Please take time to have a look at our garden before or after school. It is at the pre-school end of the path but well worth a walk past. There is a lovely seating area that probably has a posh name but I can’t remember it and you are most welcome to spend some time in there too. It is a known fact that being out in the open is good for everyone’s wellbeing and it certainly does the trick for me. Once the new soil is in place the children will be using the garden again next term because our topic is How Does Your Garden Grow? If anyone ever has any plants/bulbs/seeds to donate they would be most welcome.

We are preparing for our next information evening and I was talking to one of the lovely teachers who will be leading the event with a colleague. She asked me if I still felt nervous talking to groups of parents and my answer was absolutely. It might not look like it but I absolutely dread it and get very hot and bothered. I said I often feel that I have ‘imposter syndrome’ that I am not worthy of my job of HT and think I am not doing a good enough job. At Headteacher meetings I am quite quiet and leave others to say ‘strategic’ because I always feel a bit daft when I say it!

I have said before I am from what I would call a very humble background. I was the first person in my family to go off to university and got there by the skin of my teeth…no A* AAs for me I can tell you and I got what we warmly called a Desmond which is a lower second! We weren’t a well off family at all and didn’t go on any foreign holidays. I have very fond memories of Paignton, Devon and it felt like abroad to us. Fleetwood, Southport and Morecambe are brilliant too! I have said before though that my wonderful upbringing instilled an understanding that I had to work hard for things and we actually wanted for nothing. We were loved, fed and had an absolute respect for our elders. My lovely staff member said I should be proud and whilst I am, inside I have those niggling doubts.

I can hear the chairs being put out in the hall which means Mrs Chalcraft will have prepared the loaves and fishes for the children. I am going into last sitting today so that I end the week without chewed food on the sleeve of my dress or jacket. Some of the children haven’t quite learnt to not talk with a mouthful of food, and believe you me, fish fingers, chips and beans do spray quite a long way. If you are thinking ‘yuk’, spare a thought for the poor children and staff who are sprayed on a regular basis! Third sitting is the place to be. I said yesterday it was like being at a restaurant. I wonder what mealtimes can be like at your house? Actually Mr O’s table manners leave a lot to be desired at times because he eats so quickly. He says it is because they had to share a Panda Pop growing up and if you didn’t eat fast one of his siblings would steal your food.

Next week we will be trying to convince the children that some people believe Easter is not just about chocolate. Enjoy the weekend with your wonderful children and I will be on the gate by the pre-school next week because I was at the Year 2 end this week.