We British often say that every cloud has a silver lining and we have found more than one silver lining in relation to the current Secondary School situation. Student studies are continuing at a normal rate due to the fact that the Secondary team have been very flexible and supportive. I have spent the week tuning in to ‘where students are at’ with their English studies and, though it is a little bit more work than I would prefer to take on right now, I have realised that I learn far more as a team leader about the inner workings of the Secondary school when I am actually teaching within it on a daily basis (not that I’d like that to continue forever). I suppose this is similar to Japanese management training schemes when managers do placements in different sectors of the company in order to gain a better understanding of how it operates and in turn they become a better manager. I hope after the next ten weeks this will also be the case for me.
Duolingo increasingly seems to be an excellent learning tool and most students are making rapid progress with their learning. Students have been setting their own targets in terms of what level they would like to achieve by the end of the month. After the break I hope to add Miss Cerdan, our new French teacher, to the group so that she can monitor and perhaps even interact with the students. Additionally, Mr Savoie, a French Canadian, is also helping out every day and has been doing lots of French learning activities with students. Being much younger than the rest of us he has already become a popular and positive influence on the students.
It was my pleasure to observe Valerie and Michaela doing their Dance performances – as part of their PE IGCSE – today. There was real talent on display and their performance is testament to all the hard training that they have put in.
Please reserve May 5 in your diary as the Student Led Conference evening. We hope to see all parents their supporting there children as they discuss their learning progress and goals. You will receive a booking letter shortly.
If you are lucky enough to have a break next week I wish you a good one!
