Work and Home

Am I ever glad that week is over!! What a crazy, busy week. Here's what it was like:

5:45am wake up
7:00 leave house to catch train
8:10 arrive at school
8:10 - 6:00 clean/organize classroom, meetings, plan lessons, teach, etc.
6:00 - 9:00 look at flats, take train home
9:00 - 1:00am eat, iron clothes for next day, additional planning
1:00 to 5:45am sleep

Was I ever exhausted come Friday night!!! I slept for about 17 hours last night and today. I got up this morning and showered because I was supposed to go to a house that I looked at to meet the other housemates who weren't there at the time. Then I got a text message to reschedule it until Tuesday. The house is more expensive than I had hoped to find.. but Wimbledon is a difficult area to find a place in. It's expensive compared to east London. And there seems to be so many people looking that it is like a job interview! I did like one other place, but never got a call back. I suspect because I am Canadian. The house is all Aussie/Kiwi and they were looking for another antipodean to join them. I hope this place works out on Tuesday as I can't handle living where I am for much longer.

I am trying to do laundry right now... with little success. Washing machines are a bit different over here, but it's complicated to explain. Anyway... the dial broke off, and someone put the dial from the broken washer on, but it doesn't seem that the start position is in the same spot. So when I thought my wash was done and opened the door, a flood of soapy water came pouring out! After mopping up the water, I tried to set the dial to a position where hopefully it will rinse my clothes, drain and spin, but I am rather doubtful this will happen. UGGGGGHHH!!!

As for the school and teaching... I am rather dismayed to discover that in all my year 7, 8 and 9 classes I have more students than computers. That's a bit ridiculous. I am going to have to work with that problem somehow. If there isn't a class next door, I can send students there, but most of the time there is a class there. Chantal is the teacher in the next classroom. She is from South Africa and this is her first time teaching ICT. She taught Math at the school for part of last year. She's very nice and extremely organized! My head of department is fantastic. She is also a deputy head so has a lot on her plate. I guess partway through last year, the head of ICT said she wasn't going to do it anymore so Anita had to take over. Now there is just myself and Chantal (both new) as full time ICT/business teachers. One of the other deputy heads (also new to the school) teaches a few ICT classes and one of the Math teachers teaches a few classes. So there isn't anyone else in the department that could take over the role as head of department. Anita shouldn't be a head of department as her role as deputy head is demanding enough. But somehow she manages to do it all. Chantal and I are going to take over running the computer club for girls so that will make life a little less hectic for Anita. I took over the computer club at Sarah Bonnell for the last month of school last year, so I have a bit of an idea what it is all about. It's a government designed program to get more girls interested in ICT. There's a bunch of really cool projects for the girls to do. As for my classes... the year 7s have been great so far. My year 10 class is fantastic. The year 8 and 9s are a mix - some classes are good, some are full of chatty girls. My year 11 class is a bit of a nightmare. There are a few real problem students. Anita may switch one girl to her class. She figures she will have to leave her year 11 class quite often to come deal with this student misbehaving in my class so she might as well have her in her class. Hopefully that happens. I think if that one is gone, some of the others who were feeding off her might not be such a problem. We shall see...