12.31.09
Posted in Uncategorized tagged adventure, family, work life balance, Yorkshire at 9:15 pm by headteacher
We had such a great family day out yesterday. We set off for Ingleton, Yorkshire (my hubby, myself and two daughters) and met up with my bro-in-law outdoorsbob, on twitter, who is a management trainer, team builder, outdoor pursuit’s instructor and generally a “good egg”. Having spent a week skiing in Andorra Robert was happy to take the family out for a jolly muddy scramble up a local beck. Yorkshire is such a great place with beautiful scenery and an amazing landscape. We started our mini adventure off by scrambling through a grim looking culvert that ran under the road- hence mud on knees and bruise on head.
The air temperature was about 2 degrees- not too bad you might think, but the wind chill was wickedly fierce making the temperature feel so much colder. Lovely snow all around, highly picturesque but a bit slippery as a layer of ice had formed over the top of the snow. Just as we emerged from the culvert it started to snow again – what great timing!
Even in my enormous Mountain Equipment extra fluffy duvet I was shivering. I bought it last winter from Ellis Brighams in Manchester. The shop staff admiringly asked me,
“Going somewhere special with that coat?” To which I muttered, “Yard Duty in Bolton gets a bit chilly.” And yes, I heard the sniggers as I sloped away.
Soooo pleased yesterday with lovely warm duvet as we clambered and scrambled up the limestone beck. Daughters are very intrepid and luckily for me they don’t mind getting muddy either. The craggy walls of the beck protected us from the wind chill and the snow falling all around was very calming. I only had one brief moment of minor anxiety when the Fearless Spencer Team had to negotiate our way through a menacingly snug looking hole in the rock created by water erosion. Typical limestone terrain, really. Wasn’t quite sure I would fit through after so many mince pies however where the girls go Mum will follow so onwards and upwards!
We muddily topped out next to a rather pleasant bubbling waterfall which would be a great little scramble in the summer but a tad chilly for this time of year. We descended back down the fell, engaged in a snowball fight (why is my aim so useless?) and headed off to a warm cafe for a mug of tea and some well earned lunch.
So, big deal you might say, after all we were only out for about two and a half hours. Not what you might call a mega day out, but the important question is, “Do you live to work or do you work to live?” I’m writing this article to remind myself later in the year that we all need a day off, we all need a work life balance and that sometimes the paper work has to wait. Everything has to be seen in perspective and there will never be a day like 30.12.2009 again. Life is too short; grab the opportunities while you can! Days like the 30th December 2009 are too few and far between for me and in 2010 I am determined to have a few adventures with my family before my girls are too old and too cool to want to spend time with me!
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12.22.09
Posted in Uncategorized tagged geeks, individualism, technology at 2:46 pm by headteacher
I have just been reading an article by Zoe Ross (www.zoeross.com) called Truly Innovative Leadership In Schools…. and it has certainly left me thinking. What a challenge! We have come such a long way from my days of schooling – when I was at high school we did have two or three computers, unfortunately only the top maths set had access to them and that wasn’t me! Not that this concerned me – I was very happy with my books, and if truth be told, I still am.
So, why do we believe that innovation is so slow coming into schools? Well, I am going to take a risk and be a little bit contentious. Just for the sake of argument, of course. Who are the sorts of young people that we are encouraging and priming for our education system? Take me for example; I enjoyed school, felt reasonably safe in school, was successful in the current school regime and learnt best with the traditional systems in place. I was the (nearly!) perfect student who followed the rules and always completed my homework. I never had to think creatively or solve unexpected problems at school; the curriculum was prescriptive and predictable. What reason would I have to create a different learning environment? One that takes me out of my comfort zone and lands me in a hi-tech world that is often obsolete before it reaches the school building? How do I learn to sift the genuinely innovative and effective technologies?
Is this not the same for many of our educators? My argument would be that if you are bright, but didn’t enjoy school learning; if you weren’t happy or successful in the school environment then you are unlikely to choose that avenue for your adult career. We are unwittingly re creating the same learning ethos again and again as new, highly committed and well meaning graduates choose the profession. Small wonder that we perpetuate a system in which we are inherently comfortable (I am not saying complacent – I don’t know of any complacent Headteachers) even though this means that we might never reach our full potential.
I do believe that we perpetuate our own systems; we rely on past knowledge and tried procedures. As a new Headteacher I search back to the five Headteachers that I have worked for over my career and I try to learn from each of them. Each and every one of us knows at least one outstanding teacher and it is a natural process to try to assimilate and learn from them. The key, I believe is to find a balance – building on tried and tested structures but also allowing the space for individualism and innovation. How do we balance that pace? The schools that are embracing technology are leaping ahead in terms of pupil engagement and learning skills. How fantastic is it when our Year 6 pupils are talking to the DHT in their spare time, advising the DHT on new technologies and programmes that they have found? And yes, this IS happening in our school.
My DHT has many innovative ideas – some of which I’m just not ready for. And I don’t feel ashamed in admitting to this. Change is challenging and it must be hard for the few innovators to keep motivated in the face of reluctance and genuine fear. The national educational climate has been so full of advice and guidance over the last ten years that many of us don’t know whether we are coming or going! But the so called “geeks” in education are the innovators whom we must cherish and encourage. Remember that every new success brings more success. OK, so I’m not quite mentally ready for the Nintendo DS lessons this week – it doesn’t mean that next week I won’t see the value and the purpose of it. The key is that we ARE having this dialogue and that we keep on supporting each other in acquiring the best possible life chances for our children.
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12.21.09
Posted in Uncategorized tagged creativity, global, HGJohn, NPQH, rainforest, Reception Class at 6:50 pm by headteacher
I’m completely new to blogging, having been coerced into it by my new DHT (DeputyMitchell on twitter) and John Sutton (HGJohn on twitter). Three years ago on NPQH training I learnt a little bit about blogging but never really ran with it. It didn’t seem to me at the time to be the right tool for the job of being a DHT. I just couldn’t get my head around how it was to be used for the benefit of the learning in school. Likewise I avoided a mobile phone for as long as I possibly could and my texting was the joke of the school! And I really didn’t care!
However I hope I’ve moved on from that position - I feel as if I’ve found a whole new community of people who don’t talk about Literacy and Numeracy hours and phases in phonics. Instead they talk about engagement, creativity, enjoyment and most importantly of all children.
Our fantastic Reception class teacher is doing a sterling job over the holiday setting up the Reception Class blog. I would be really interested to know how other schools are using blogging to reach out to be global learners. How can we develop this so that it is appropriate and meaningful for our youngest class? I’m thinking about our children talking to real children out there in the real world about things that really matter to them. I’m also thinking about how our children in Bolton, who come from a wide variety of cultural and religious backgrounds, (China, India, Pakistan, Africa, UK) can develop a real and meaningful sense of empathy and global understanding. Surely it will be this engagement with the international community that will enable our children to really fulfill their learning potential. So, if you know of any schools with young bloggers, contact Heathfield and let’s share some thoughts and good ideas.
Our Year 5 class is about to embark on a rainforest project. We would be so thrilled to hear from any research folk/ scientists who are out there in the field and who can answer questions about the rainforests, talking about personal experiences and the challenges of working out in the field.
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Posted in Uncategorized tagged John Sutton, learning journey, Reception Class blog, twitter at 2:21 pm by headteacher
How do I know when things are going well at school? Well, within a week of John Sutton coming to visit our school to help us to set up our school blog, staff are already experimenting with their own class blogs. Talk about extremes- we have engagement from Reception Class to Year 6. Year 6 are posting Literacy work that is being viewed all over the country. A teacher from high school wants to use a piece of our writing as a stimulus for a writing project. Year 6 children don’t want to take part in Activity Day on the last day of term, instead they would rather edit their work so that it can be published on the Y6 blog.
How has one afternoon of training for one member of staff been so successful and had so much impact in such a short space of time? Why are teachers still happily talking blogging to each other during the Christmas holiday? It has a lot to do with being open minded, sharing great ideas and supporting each other on the learning journey. Interestingly it all began with the same members of staff engaging with twitter- rediscovering if you like, the power of communication , not being scared to say, “I don’t know” and the great twitter resource bank of techno knowledge. It is so stimulating to “talk” to like minded people who are enthusiastic, creative and innovative. So, we have staff in their twenties, thirties and forties all “having a go,” and fully expecting to utilise the skills of the pupils in this learning process.
What’s the most exciting aspect of blogging for me? Well, I just can’t wait to see our Reception class lift the lid off their classroom – just watch this space!
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12.20.09
Posted in Uncategorized tagged cold weather, wild life at 5:13 pm by headteacher
Some of you might already be aware that I care a great deal about local and global wildife and nature. During this cold weather please take the time to think about the small birds that live in your garden. The birds cannot access the worms and small insects whilst the ground is frozen and so a little bit of help from you wouldn’t go amiss! We buy lard, nuts, raisins and seeds, add some grated cheese, bread, bacon rind and any left over meat. We mix it into a high protein lard cake – the birds love it!
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12.19.09
Posted in Uncategorized tagged charity, Reception, Wellspring Centre at 4:08 pm by headteacher
This year we have decided that each class will support a particular charity. Reception Class are supporting The Wellspring Centre for the homeless. Many thanks to all our parents who donated hats, scarves and gloves and wrapped them so beautifully.
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12.18.09
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Bolton Hospice, Headteacher, Heathfield, THRILLER at 3:06 pm by Mr Mitchell
A big thank you to all all the staff, children and parents at Heathfield Primary School. It’s been a great term, sports successes, performances and finally, end of term parties.
During the term we have supported a number of charities, local and national, including Bolton Hospice, Winter Watch and Children In Need. Some of our pupils were even filmed in full costume on NorthWest TV performing the THRILLER dance. I hope you all have a great holiday and a well deserved rest. Keep watching – I will be developing this blog over the holiday!
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