Tomorrow we are interviewing for the Music teaching post at school. I intended to keep a very low profile.... maybe meet the candidates informally over coffee at the beginning of the day, but otherwise leave the decisions to Lovely Colleague who is taking over my job. Of course things rarely work out as planned. A short demonstration lesson is part of the interview process and my Year 8 classes have been taken as 'guinea pigs'. As a result, I've now been pulled in to watch the lessons with one of the Senior Management.
There's a strong field of four candidates. One is an experienced teacher who has run her own department in another part of the country. I'm guessing that she has moved to the West Midlands for family reasons and is looking for something local. One has been working in another school in the Borough for 12 months while the other two are just finishing their training.
Oh well.... I guess it will be interesting.
Last night was Year 10 Parent's Evening, where each consultation followed very much the same lines - "Your child is working really hard and achieving really well. I'm sorry that I've got to leave these classes in the middle of their course. I will EVERYTHING in my power to make sure that the hand-over is seamless and that your child feels fully supported." There were 36 appointments - one every 5 minutes for 3 hours. It was a bit of an ordeal to be honest. I'm immensely fond of the Year 10 classes and will genuinely miss them.
Apart from the rigours of that crazy appointment schedule, school is generally going quite well at the moment. The Lovely Lady Supply Teacher has settled in well and has agreed to stay with us for the rest of the Maternity Leave period. Hopefully this will now give us real stability until the end of June. She's exceptionally good company and we laugh and joke our way through the days. It's quite a contrast to the very difficult weeks immediately before half term, and a far nicer way for me to work out the last few months of my notice.
I've formally handed in my letter of resignation now - effective from the 31st August. This means that I will have one more month of salary than I expected, which will is always helpful!
Jx
Ahrgh, parents evening! My husband had it yesterday too!x
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I decided against teaching - I wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes!
ReplyDeleteHope everything goes well today and that the right person gets the job. I remember handing in my resignation, it makes everything seem very final all of a sudden.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all your plans.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your plan is coming together which will hopefully make you a little more relaxed about it all. So your notice is in my goodness I bet that was a bit of an emotional day. It;s the right thing for you and by the sounds of it you will make sure that the lady who is taking over will be able to support the students.
ReplyDeleteI hope all has gone well today Jan, and that one of the candidates was the right ' fit' for the department. I'm certain that you are going to be a hard act to follow.
ReplyDeleteI'll just bet that one of the school higher-ups is going to ask your opinion on who you think should be hired.
ReplyDeleteHanding in your letter of resignation is a Big Thing, I expect it all feels more concrete now. Well done on being so brave. x
ReplyDelete