Friday 7th March 2025 - A Day of Problem-Solving, Teaching, and Finding Inner Peace with the Wim Hof Method

"With each breath, I find balance, peace, and clarity in my day."

Hello all.

Today was one of those days that truly embodied balance—solving tech issues, teaching programming, making website updates, and ending the day with deep relaxation through Wim Hof breathing exercises. Despite the constant movement and problem-solving, the day felt productive, rewarding, and even a little magical by the time I finished my evening routine.

The Morning Rush: Fancy Dress and a School Assembly

The day started with a drive to work instead of my usual walk. I had a box of fancy dress clothes to take with me, as a colleague at work was looking for some dress-up costumes for her grandchildren. I was happy to pass them on, knowing they would bring joy and creativity to the little ones.

Once at work, I helped stream the morning assembly so that parents who couldn't attend in person could still watch online via Microsoft Teams. This particular assembly was led by our Year Two class, and they did an absolutely stellar job. There’s something special about seeing children confidently present in front of an audience, especially knowing how much effort they put into their performances.

As soon as the assembly ended, it was all hands on deck to reset the hall for the next activity. I helped put away all the chairs used by the attending parents and quickly rearranged the space for the music teacher’s first lesson. This involved setting up tables, moving benches, and ensuring the room was ready for a smooth transition.

Tech Challenges and Problem-Solving

Next on the agenda was IT support—a couple of staff members had forgotten their printer codes, so I retrieved them to ensure they could continue with their work smoothly.

One of the major tasks for the day involved a big cross-check in the Teaching School Hub. The DfE (Department for Education) had introduced a new online system for tracking Early Career Teachers, and we needed to double-check that all our records were correctly migrated. I printed off our internal records, and our Appropriate Body team will be reviewing them over the next few days.

Another exciting addition to the school this week is our baby chicks! 🐣 The children are loving them, so I recorded a short video to share on the school's social media pages, allowing parents to see what their kids were up to with the chicks. It’s always great to create small moments of connection between home and school life.

Website Fixes: A Frustrating Discovery

Midway through the day, an issue with our school website was brought to my attention. We discovered that two different price lists for our daycare and holiday club had been published. This was concerning because we thought there was only one official version.

After investigating, I found out that when the trust took over our website, they had restored some old pages from a backup—pages we had deleted. This resulted in conflicting information being displayed. I had to go through the website, find the incorrect page, and update the pricing information.

I’ll admit, this job was frustrating. It wasn’t an internal mistake, but rather an issue caused by an external party interfering with our website. Still, the problem is now solved, and parents will no longer be misled by outdated information.

A New Server for the School

In the afternoon, the trust was on-site to install a new server. Our existing one was old, unreliable, and full of errors. The new server not only improves performance and reliability, but it also fits properly in our network cabinet, making the entire setup look much tidier.

Right now, both servers are running simultaneously while our systems are migrated. Over the next few weeks, the old server will be phased out, and we’ll have a more stable IT infrastructure in place.

Year 6 Programming: Creating a Pedometer

I was back in Year 6 this afternoon, continuing our programming lessons. Today’s challenge was to create a pedometer, program it, and download the code onto a BBC Micro:bit.

The students had to attach their Micro:bits to their shoes and test whether it could count their steps as they walked. It was a complex challenge, requiring an understanding of loops, conditionals, and input/output commands, but by working together, they successfully completed the exercise!

This marks the end of the computing curriculum for Year 6—just in time for their SATs. I’m incredibly proud of how much they’ve learned this year. Their problem-solving skills and resilience have grown tremendously.

An Evening of Sweet Treats and Quality Time

Back at home, it was just me and Fearne for the evening, as Juli had taken her son to his rugby match. With a rare evening just the two of us, we decided to treat ourselves—a quick trip to the shop for sweets and chocolate, followed by some awesome TV shows and just enjoying each other’s company.

Fearne eventually drifted off to sleep around 9:30 PM, shortly before Juli returned home. She went straight to bed since she had an early morning ahead—taking her son down to London for the England vs. Italy rugby match at Twickenham.

Finding Deep Relaxation with Wim Hof Breathing

With everyone asleep, I took the opportunity to continue my Wim Hof breathing practice. Tonight, I tried a new video with 7 rounds of deeper breathing and longer breath holds.

This time, I finally felt the sensations that many people describe—a deep stillness in my mind, an awareness of every part of my body, and a sense of profound relaxation. After finishing, I followed it up with a 2-minute cold shower, fully embracing the moment.

For the first time, I truly felt the benefits of this breathing practice:

✅ No restless legs
✅ No itchiness from my eczema
✅ A calm and centred state of mind

Standing in the shower afterward, I just soaked in the silence and stillness, appreciating the moment of being completely at peace with myself.

I’ll definitely continue this practice tomorrow to see if these benefits remain consistent.

Gratitude for Today

I am grateful for:

✅ The Year 2 assembly, seeing the kids shine on stage
✅ The problem-solving mindset that helped fix the website issue
✅ The Year 6 students’ success in programming their pedometers
✅ The quiet evening with Fearne, full of laughter and treats
✅ The deep relaxation from my Wim Hof breathing session

#RoutineMatters #TeachingLife #ProgrammingFun #BBCMicrobit #DeepBreathing #WimHofMethod #SelfImprovement #ITSupport #Mindfulness #DailyReflections