Felt quite relaxed after the day off yesterday, though it was a fairly early start today for the excursion to Bath. Managed to get the students on the coach eventually after the WSO went back to the rooms to find 2 missing ones. We had to check everybody's name off the list, then gave them a brief talk on what to expect, and reminded them to wear their seatbelts. A bit of a struggle, that last part, but the other activity leader went down the aisle and did his flight attendant act. Raised a few laughs.

Having never been to Bath before, I was grateful for the excursion information sheet. Managed to give them a passable walking tour, then let them have some free time, before ushering them back on to the coach. Luckily, they were paying attention and came back to the meeting point on time. The younger ones were fast asleep about 10 minutes out of Bath, so hopefully, it'll be a fairly quiet evening back at the centre. Good to have an early night myself, and also a lie in! Not on duty until midday.

Got woken up early by some rowdy students, but got back to sleep again. It was a toss up as to whether to get up for breakfast, or stay in bed, but in the end it was no contest. Luckily there were some biscuits in the staffroom that I scoffed, then went into the common room to do some free time supervision. They just mooched around, though one Spanish group came up and chatted to me for the best part of the hour, Quite entertaining really.

Had a quick lunch before having a last look at my lesson plan. Took the advice of the Director of Studies and made my stages shorter. She said that afternoon lessons can be more of a challenge as students are tired from the morning activity. So went into the classroom with my biggest smile and told them a very childish joke, which they loved - after they'd worked out what I was saying, that is. The lesson after the break was a different story - some sulky students who were too "cool" to take part, and some young ones who thought it'd be a good idea to follow their lead. In the end, I paired them off and got the older ones to act as the teacher to the younger ones. Worked well too.

Dinner, then helped the other activity leaders prepare the Welcome Party. Nothing too complicated - drinks, snacks and some board games and music. We went around and made sure that students weren't just sticking to their own friends. The Italian students were really good at mingling, and got even the shy Chinese ones laughing. Also helped clear up as some of the leaders had to go and do lights out duty. Another lie in tomorrow - there are advantages to teaching in the afternoons after all!

Changed my mind about the lie in. Went into town instead to do a bit of shopping then came back to do my laundry, before heading off to the staffroom for some last minute photocopying and planning. Lucky I did as the Senior Teacher had forgotten to tell us about tomorrow's excursion, so we hadn't planned an excursion preparation lesson. Fortunately this same Senior Teacher, perhaps out of a sense of guilt, had prepared a multi-level lesson so just a simple matter of talking us through it. Also attended the training session on teaching mixed ability classes which was very useful. Wouldn't mind leading a session myself - must ask the DoS. Something to put on my CV.

Lesson this afternoon was a bit better as we had new students in the class who brought some sparkle with them. Excursion lesson went well - very active and fun. Did the dinner duty - fairly uneventful, apart from sending a cheeky group of younger ones to the back of the queue for queue-jumping. Thought I wouldn't notice, and I probably wouldn't have if not for the loud protests that the people in the queue made.

No duty this evening, so might go off and chill with some of the other teachers. After I've prepared the lesson plan for my observation on Thursday, that is! Shouldn't take too long as it's a lesson I know well.

Another mad rush to get all the students on board the coach for the excursion to Swanage and Corfe Castle. Had a feeling that some of them thought "Not another castle!", but I took a group around and tried to make it interesting for them by asking them to imagine what it would have been like 800 years ago. I found it interesting at least! Then we took them into Swanage where they had a little bit of free time (mostly to buy tacky souvenirs!) before heading back on the coach and lunch at the canteen.

Had lunch duty to do and then looked at my lessons again for the afternoon. Quite a long day today, with an evening activity and lights out duty thrown in for good measure. Still, it allows me more free time during the rest of the week.

Lessons were good today - I LOVE TEACHING! Though it's difficult not to be the star of the show everytime. Must remember that for my observation tomorrow - learn to take more of a backseat in class. Had a chance to go through tomorrow's lesson with the Senior Teacher who gave me some tips - very useful.

Talent Show was a blast - some of the staff got a band together and played a few songs. Students had a great time, I think, and it was a unanimous decision on the winners - an all-singing, all-dancing group of boys pretending to be girls. Lights out was interesting - an impromptu pasta party that we had to disperse, though we did allow them to eat up - we're not that heartless! Had a taste myself - delicious! Perhaps they should give the recipe to the canteen!

A bit of a struggle to get out of bed today after the long day yesterday. It wasn't helped by the fact that the activity in the morning was a rounders tournament, so I not only had to summon every last bit of energy I had, but also to dig down deep into the dark recesses of my brain to remember the rules. Once we did some warm ups and had a run around the field, I was feeling a lot more awake, and so were the students!

Was slightly nervous about the observation to begin with, but it was OK in the end. Not the greatest lesson, but certainly not the worst. I lost track of where I was at one stage and had to improvise a bit until I could peek at my lesson plan. I'm sure the DOS noticed, though I don't think the students did.

Did some more planning in the evening ready for next week, and sat and nattered to a few teachers in the staff room before lights out duty. No pasta party this time (shame!) but a curious incident of a boy climbing up a drain pipe in the girls' block. I don't think we factored that in the risk assessment! Got the Group Leader to sort it out as the student didn't speak much English. Will have to write out another incident report.

Got feedback on the observation. It was actually quite alright, despite my misgivings. A few points to work on (not talking too much, praising more and keeping the whiteboard more organised) but she said she enjoyed the lesson.
Last lessons for the week. Had a prize-giving ceremony for the leavers - a few tears, and that's just the staff! We Were told to be extra vigilant on lights out, and extra troops were called in. I wasn't on duty, though heard some commotion at the start, but quiet after that. Day off tomorrow and am I looking forward to that! Only thing is though, I have to get up early to see the Brazilian group off as they insisted on me being there. More tears!