Today at work - first day proper....

Today was the first day with the pupils back in. And it was good.
It's such a different feeling being around primary school children, completely different from Smiths Wood. (no fights, no swearing, no shouting, no mobile phones on loud playing some shite r'n'b tune down the corridor).

Got in at 9:05 thanks to sitting behind a huge lorry transporting one of those mobile homes on the 1079. Set up the computers and then had my first support lesson. 2 hours of Year 4 doing Internet research on the Vikings and writing up their Christmas received lists to practice saving, formatting and bullet points. So amazingly nice and very keen to get the work done. Fantastic.

But some of the Christmas lists were amazing. My favourite was over 20 items long and started with 75 pounds. It appears we didn't get Molly too much stuff!

Next it was break, grabbed a cup of coffee and started to get the last 4 computers in the ICT suite hooked up to the network. Did 2 and then it was time to get Year 2 sorted. They were doing a little work on indexing using a program on sea-life. Had a lovely chat with one lad very keen on Dolphins and spent a great half hour helping them out.
Only downside to that lesson - the dog-shit that one of the lads brought in on his shoe. A quick clean up and everything was okay, didn't even mind doing that - nice to be able to help.
Again, a lot different from Smiths Wood where the lad would probably be smearing it on the walls.
(I know you think I'm being harsh on the pupils at Smiths Wood, but you weren't there and have no idea of what it was truly like).

Then have a go at the network again, sort out the printer cartridge order and the printer cartridges recycling.
Lunch was coffee and a sit down for half an hour.

Then Year 6 in the afternoon. Again, lovely kids. Working on the water cycle. Science knowledge actually came in handy as well!

Then a quick tidy round and out the door at 3:17, home by 3:27, drop the car off and pick Molly up from her first day at school after Christmas. She had a lovely day, but was even happier that I'd had a really great day as well.

So after the trials and tribulations and worry of the day yesterday, it was lovely to actually realise that working with primary school children is exactly what I hoped it would be.
Obviously the problem with the job is going to be that I spend so much time working with the pupils that I have absolutely no time to sort out the ICT problems, but I think I may just cross that bridge when I come to it. For the time being I will just enjoy my job.
Nice to be able to say that.