Wednesday 2nd October - Teaching and Adapting

Hello everyone.

Today was a day that reminded me of the importance of adaptability and the joy of both teaching and learning. It’s easy to feel grateful when things go smoothly, but today, I found myself appreciating the moments when things didn’t go exactly to plan—and how they still turned out just fine.

I had the pleasure of teaching our Year 6 class for an IT lesson this morning. The task I set for the students was designed to encourage teamwork, with a twist: they had to work on a fact chart about Brazil without sitting together, only communicating through their laptops. For the first ten minutes, it worked brilliantly, with everyone engaged and learning to collaborate via Teams chat. And then, as technology sometimes does, the internet decided to cut out! The challenge became more about finding creative solutions than sticking rigidly to the task, so I relaxed the rules a bit, allowing them to speak to one another. Despite the hiccup, the students showed they could use the chat features effectively to share information—a great success in my eyes.

After my hour of teaching, I returned to my office and shifted back into my usual responsibilities. Today’s mission was to contact a tech store and order some much-needed new laptops and devices for the Teaching School Hub. The equipment we’ve been using is starting to show its age, and I’m excited about the prospect of bringing in fresh technology to help our staff and students. Fingers crossed everything gets signed off tomorrow!

In the midst of this, a staff member from Day Care handed me an iPad with a broken charging cable stuck in the port. It was one of those delicate situations where a bit of precision was required, and after some careful work with tweezers, I managed to pull the broken piece out. The iPad worked perfectly afterward, which was a nice little victory.

The rest of the day was spent cross-checking information and setting up mail merge messages to send tailored emails to teachers and induction tutors. It’s the sort of task that can be quite methodical, but I always appreciate how these small actions contribute to the bigger picture of supporting education. My workday ended with a full staff meeting, where we discussed safeguarding updates and took part in group activities around this year’s school theme: 'Choosing the Jesus Way'. It was a thoughtful close to the day and a reminder of the values we strive to instil in our students.

After work, I picked up Fearne from her dance class and headed home, where I cooked a chicken curry—one of my favourite meals to make. I made a bit extra so I could enjoy it for lunch tomorrow, which felt like a small but satisfying act of preparation.

The evening wound down with some inspiration from home renovation programmes on TV. I find these shows a great source of ideas for modernising our home, and I came away with a few more concepts I’d love to explore. After putting Fearne to bed, I indulged in a late-night bath, which was the perfect way to relax and reflect on the day.

I had originally planned to clean the shower room today, but by the time I got home, my motivation had slipped away. I’ll tackle that tomorrow alongside the bathroom, and I’m grateful for the flexibility to shift tasks when needed.

Looking back on the day, I feel grateful for the variety in my work, the opportunities to problem-solve, and the little wins that came along the way. From technology hiccups in the classroom to rescuing a broken iPad, to cooking for my family and planning home improvements, today was a reminder that every day brings a chance to learn, adapt, and make progress in all areas of life. And for that, I’m truly thankful.