Today, I think, has to have been the longest day of my life. Certainly since coming to New Zealand.

I have felt like I’ve been trapped in some educationally-bent episode of 24.

The following takes place between 8pm (the night

before) and 12pm the day of the ERO visit.

If I could do the tick-dum, tick-dum noise I would:

8pm (last night) My Prinicpal calls for a quick chat about the run through of the day, beginning with “You know they’re coming a bit earlier, don’t you?”

9.pm (ish) last night, I am reviewing some plans for the ERO visit. Running through the day in my head, checking the resources et al.

11pm-1pm Still running through the events of tomorrow while relieving my bodily system of dinner. I wonder if I ate something funny, I’m not laughing- that’s just great.

2.30am Son wakes me with news he needs the toilet- what a fine time for him to be trying to get out of the ‘overnight nappy’

3.30am finally manage to get to sleep (did I mention, my boy fell asleep whilst on the loo about 2.34am)

6am Woken by son saying – “I can’t go to sleep!” Probably has something to do with you having slept 11 hours I manage NOT to say. Anyway I’m up heading toward the day

7.03am I’m out the door for the $10 ride to school – It takes me 30minutes – 36 km but I measure in the cost of fuel now, not distance.

7.30am (give or take the logging truck I followed up the Taihape road) I arrive at School. Final prep for the visit – remember they are coming in early- I want to check the students desks – if they ask to see an example of the writing matrix in the students books I want to have every confidence that I can open any students desk without the fear of having my digits chewed off by any lurking rodents.

8.25am First bus arrives and I begin my mantra for the morning. “Have checked morning routine, do you have your writing kit out, sharp pencil, been to the loo, cut your toe nails, removed the boggies from your sleeves.

8.40am ERO due any minute, students appear ready and I struggle to find them extra stuff to do to keep them off the computer games (they are maths games- most can be found on my delicious account so its all educational stuff, but not a good first impression I guess)

9am Still no sign of ERO, call comes via the secretary, they’ve gone to the wrong school- That poor principal, just imagine ERO turning up on your door step, no warning just a friendly “Hello, we’re the ERO team come to inspect your school.” – ERK! Apparently they did not actually arrive at the school before they realized- but saying they did paints a much more amusing picture.

9.30am The Board begin to arrive, some earlier than others but all looking a little nervous- Funny that, I was nervous meeting the board for the first time, so where does that put me in the pecking order?

10.05am ish Inspectors arrive. They meet the board and we in the class are finishing up writing and heading toward fitness- I’m actually very disappointed they missed the writing lesson as the principal and I team teach it in a very inter-reactive way (if there is such a word).

10.10am We’re in doing Reading- Big book is on the IWB. Wish I’d printed it out to show then later but hey ho.

10.45am ERO appear in my room as I am mid flow with a reading group. Lots of positive feedback about classroom displays looking great and ‘feel of the room’ being directed toward student learning. Yippee.

11.00am Morning tea. I walk into the meeting one of the inspectors is having with the chair of the board. Oops! Then they have to leave the staffroom on account of my presence- Double Oops!

11.20am DEAR time in the classroom. Observation begins. I hate the few minutes at the start of the session while students prepare themselves for their learning. It always appears chaotic but in reality on lasts a few minutes (despite it feeling like an age when the inspector is right there).

11.42am Been working with a maths group and have set them off on an independent task. One inspector is now working with them. Not sure if it’s a good thing or not, so I head over to check. Everyone is smiling so I return to the individual kid I’m working with. With my current maths group numbers being 2,1 and 2 it is hard to argue that the learning isn’t personalized.

12.30am Lunch- I’m on duty so I sit and eat with the kids- We get into a great conversation about middle names, whose got one, who hasn’t. Then they spend the next 7 minutes trying to guess mine…. And succeed I have to add. These kids are not worriwed about our visitors. And rightly so, I’ve never met a group of kids so supportive of one another and clued in socially and educationally. These kids ROCK and I’m so happy to be called their teacher.

I’m going to leave it there for now but the afternoon was equally eventful. 10.32pm I’m signing off.

Jenny speaks about the difference between Breathe Technology and Sitech Systems.

“ When you look about the variety and depth of the presentations available this morning we really are competing with the Interactive Whiteboard conference in Australia, so thank you to those who put up their hands to present this weekend”

I am honoured, humbled to be working with such a humble company and such a fantastic group of educators from around New Zealand. Sometimes I think we don’t give credit enough to the teachers throughout the country who are impacting so positively in students lives.

This appeared in the paper yesterday and how it reads is somewhat disturbing. Considering the 5000 children quoted in the head line are ‘just’ Intermediate and high school that is quite a large number. Shortly, they will be adding in the primary school children and it got me wondering. What happened to all my students.

If I had kept all the students I had through the year my roll would stand at 31, but now I have 26. That includes a couple who left and have returned. So four students have left. Some of them said “We’re moving to Samoa” or “We’re off to Australia”. Now when I question them, they’re seven remember, ‘Australia’ is frequently translated for the New Zealand word ‘Auckland’ and ‘Samoa’ is the translated into ‘Wiroa’.

But it does beg a question; “Where are they ACTUALLY going?” Sometimes we hear the story “Moving to Australia.” so the school does not expect requests for records from such exotic locations. Well done government on the ENROL system. Not that that I understand much of how it works but it appears to identify those ‘lost children’ as they are refered. If so many are missing out on a sound basic education, what are the implications on our economy for the future.

‘Slipped through the cracks’ seems an inadequate term. Perhaps they are the same cracks that the water of Noah’s flood seaped through all those years ago!

We just had it confirmedfor our school that thelast day of this academic year is 20th December. There was some confusion over whether other schools in New Zealand are finishing on that day, earlier or later. I would really appreciate comments from anyone who knows the last day of their school year. I can’t believe their is ley-way in this. But maybe that isjust my UK background speaking.  Please leave comment or email me direct. Thanks.

ANZAC day today in Australia and here in
New Zealand. They choose this date as a day of Remembrance for veterans and fallen comrades-in-arms as it is the anniversary of the beach landing at Gallipoli.

We, as a family, attended a service in Havelock North and stood together with many others as the third and fourth generation. When I was explaining it to my kids in class yesterday it dawned on me that it is closing in on 100 years ago.

Kids nowadays, I thought, but then it is a long time ago and perhaps it IS on the shoulders of schools and community groups to fan the flame of remembrance.

The community constable spoke about his father being in the 2^nd World War as a merchant seaman…. ‘not so glamorous for a 7 year old boy into spitfires and hurricanes’ he said.

I found his talk most helpful though, as I consider that it was my Grandfather who parachuted into France on D-Day. My other grandfather fire fighting at
Manchester docks during the Blitz. My Great-Grandfather, I discovered over the Easter break who sat, rear facing in biplane, machine gun in hand during WWI.

Then I’m there with MY son, another generation further on and I’m going to be explaining about his Great-Grandfather and Great-Great-Grandfathers…. I’m not saying we should forget, all I am saying is it becomes harder and harder to remember, to explain. But we must.