Whenever I have an extended break, re-entering the school environment is a bit like spacemen must feel when re-entering the earth's atmosphere - a bit hairy, but pretty exciting. So I was pretty lucky that my re-entry path took me first to Hallam Primary School in Sheffield, after I'd had a fab Christmas break. The Year 1 children that I worked with were awesome - we zoomed off to space to find Rotten Sprout, the worst villain in the entire Universe. Once located, we managed to overcome him to free Sweet Pete, the innocent victim who'd been held against his wishes in Rotten Sprout's disgusting dungeon. I'm always amazed at how willing Year 1 children are to suspend disbelief and really go with whatever I tell them. In fact for one poor boy it was a bit much. He burst into tears declaring that he didn't want to go to space - he appeared to think that I was suggesting we REALLY fly there in a REAL space ship! (as opposed to the one that I actually had with me made from cardboard and tinfoil!). Several other Year 1 children cried too, which is a bit of an unwanted record for me, but it turned out that that was because in the great sweety hunt that began each session, they'd not managed to find any.
I also had a fun hour with Year 2. 2 B were delighted to discover that Sweet Pete had visited their classroom whilst they were in assembly and left them some chocolate biscuits! After a few poems from me, they quickly wrote some letters and poems that were given to me before the end of the day. They did them in about ten minutes, which was pretty impressive. Here they are...
Dere Sweet Pete
Thank you for the biscits and sorry you hat to go in to the smelly dungin.
I fort yor sweets was verry teystee.
I wish I was you with all them sweets.
I layct your body with all them sweets but thank you for the mesig on the bord.
Anon
My silly sister eats sweets at bedtime
It makes a big crunch crunch.
When I pick her up from school and oh no
She picked her nose then she wipes it on me
She laphes ah ah you have bowgey and tells on me
Maia G
The Treats
Oh the treats
A delicious feast.
Nothing better to eat than muffins
At least.
Yummy scrummy
I love sweets.
Muffins, chocolate, sweets
All will make a scrummy feast
At least.
George
Dear Sweet Peet
Thank you for bringing burbon biscuits for 2B it was really kind of you. We et them on 10.1.14.
From Ethan
These were brilliant guys. I'll pass on your messages and poems to Sweet Pete - he's currently living in his house in Sweety Land and having a great time. And the best news of all is that there are NO rotten sprouts there - which he's very happy about.
See you again soon!
Conrad
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Saturday, 30 November 2013
THE SEVEN HILLS RAPPERS
How could I forget them! Billy and his cohorts were UNBELIEVABLY good with their performance of one of my poems, 'New Terms, New Germs.' This is one of my harder poems to perform as it has quite a lot of tricky words in it, and is also pretty long. Most children shy away from it, but these boys didn't. They put it to a rap, added some beat boxing, and overall busted their way through to a wonderful ending. Thanks for being the celebrity guests at the poetry competition, and here's hoping that we can get you onto my website with your video recording of the poem.
Who knows...one day you lot could be famous!
Who knows...one day you lot could be famous!
SEVEN HILLS PRIMARY - MORLEY
And so, at eight minutes to midnight, a fantastic week at Seven Hills Primary in Morley has finally finished. Well, actually, it finished at round about four o'clock, but two films and a Nando's later, and now it's nearly tomorrow!
This has been one of my best weeks in a school ever. It really has. And made all the more memorable because, mid week, school got the dreaded call...yup, Ofsted were on their way in! And did I run away? Did I hide in the staffroom? Perhaps I felt like that, but I didn't...I got involved. In fact, I even got GRADED!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't expecting that. But going through an inspection with the staff has really made me feel part of the team there, and so any of you Seven Hillers reading this - thank you! Thank you for making me feel so welcome. And Sue, THANK YOU times two for the beer! I might not have looked VERY professional carrying around an oversized bottle of Becks all morning, but I was SUPER chuffed that you gave it to me.
And the children? They were AMAZING! Really, capital letters AMAZING. The poetry contest at the end of today was fab. Choosing a winner was pretty hard work, but eventually Mason was crowned champion, and he was delighted. A year 2 child beating off competition from much older children. He took it all in his stride and made sure to remind his class that they should all thank him, seeing as how all his sweets are going to be divided up into party bags for them next week.
A mention also to Bethany from Year 4 and Malachi from Year 3 who came second equal in the competition. And to everyone else in the final - WELL DONE! - and maybe you'll win next time.
And I couldn't write this whole blog entry without a special thanks to all the office staff - thank you ladies, for buying my lunch every day (!), opening doors with your magic fobs, and being generally lovely and smiley. I'll see you on Friday for the Christmas fayre (thanks for sorting THAT out too...it seems that I have you to thank for most things that have happened this week!).
Thank you all at Seven Hill - it's been really fab. I'll leave you with my Ofsted poem, inspired by the real-life inspectors. Just remember...she's gonna getcha!!!
This has been one of my best weeks in a school ever. It really has. And made all the more memorable because, mid week, school got the dreaded call...yup, Ofsted were on their way in! And did I run away? Did I hide in the staffroom? Perhaps I felt like that, but I didn't...I got involved. In fact, I even got GRADED!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't expecting that. But going through an inspection with the staff has really made me feel part of the team there, and so any of you Seven Hillers reading this - thank you! Thank you for making me feel so welcome. And Sue, THANK YOU times two for the beer! I might not have looked VERY professional carrying around an oversized bottle of Becks all morning, but I was SUPER chuffed that you gave it to me.
And the children? They were AMAZING! Really, capital letters AMAZING. The poetry contest at the end of today was fab. Choosing a winner was pretty hard work, but eventually Mason was crowned champion, and he was delighted. A year 2 child beating off competition from much older children. He took it all in his stride and made sure to remind his class that they should all thank him, seeing as how all his sweets are going to be divided up into party bags for them next week.
A mention also to Bethany from Year 4 and Malachi from Year 3 who came second equal in the competition. And to everyone else in the final - WELL DONE! - and maybe you'll win next time.
And I couldn't write this whole blog entry without a special thanks to all the office staff - thank you ladies, for buying my lunch every day (!), opening doors with your magic fobs, and being generally lovely and smiley. I'll see you on Friday for the Christmas fayre (thanks for sorting THAT out too...it seems that I have you to thank for most things that have happened this week!).
Thank you all at Seven Hill - it's been really fab. I'll leave you with my Ofsted poem, inspired by the real-life inspectors. Just remember...she's gonna getcha!!!
Ofsted
Inspector
Ofsted
Inspector
She’s
gonna getcha
You
just betcha
She’s
gonna getcha
Enters the room
Like a cloud of doom
Eyebrows raised
Finds it hard to praise
Looks through books
Giving filthy looks
She’s got a stare
That’ll curl your hair
School Inspector
Misery collector
She’ll arrive when you
Least expect her
Ofsted
Inspector
She’s
gonna getcha
You
just betcha
She’s
gonna getcha
Just one sigh
Makes the teachers cry
They stay up late
Trying hard to be great
Dream of being
Marked as outstanding
But this inspector
Is far too demanding
Constant objector
Anxiety infector
Devilish director
Dark-side defector
Ofsted
Inspector
She’s
gonna getcha
You
just betcha
She’s
gonna getcha
Getcha! Getcha!
She’s gonna getcha!
Getcha! Getcha!
She’s gonna getcha!
Getcha! Getcha!
GOTCHA!
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Poetry Fun and Flockton First School's Christmas Fayre
Christmas is on the way...which means one thing...SCHOOL CHRISTMAS FAYRE'S. Now, in all honesty, they're not always fantastic. Some schools aren't overly well supported, some schools have stalls that look rather tired.
Not Flockton! It boasts just 80 pupils and yet was busier than school Fayres I've been to with four times that many pupils at the school. I was kindly invited by the school to read some of my poems to the children in a morning assembly, so I blasted them with 'I'm a Superhero', 'Mabel Mobbler' and 'The Biscuit Burglar.' Then I returned to school this evening for the Fayre, and ran a poetry competition for any children who fancied flexing their poetic muscles. What a great response! We even got some of the high school children involved, though they didn't win...sorry!
But there was a winner, and here she is...
It's a poem by Caitlin, in class 2, I think?!!!! Yes, it is. You'll see how I know when you read the following poem...
At School I am in Class 2
And it's right next to the loo
It sometimes smells
And I can tell
Who has been to the loo...
...IT IS YOU!
Written by Caitlin
Well done young lady! Enjoy all your goodies that you won (and mum - don't eat ALL the jelly babies...at least not in one go).
So, new friends made at Flockton, and a successful Christmas Fayre all round.
Night night. Time for me to get my head down...
Not Flockton! It boasts just 80 pupils and yet was busier than school Fayres I've been to with four times that many pupils at the school. I was kindly invited by the school to read some of my poems to the children in a morning assembly, so I blasted them with 'I'm a Superhero', 'Mabel Mobbler' and 'The Biscuit Burglar.' Then I returned to school this evening for the Fayre, and ran a poetry competition for any children who fancied flexing their poetic muscles. What a great response! We even got some of the high school children involved, though they didn't win...sorry!
But there was a winner, and here she is...
It's a poem by Caitlin, in class 2, I think?!!!! Yes, it is. You'll see how I know when you read the following poem...
At School I am in Class 2
And it's right next to the loo
It sometimes smells
And I can tell
Who has been to the loo...
...IT IS YOU!
Written by Caitlin
Well done young lady! Enjoy all your goodies that you won (and mum - don't eat ALL the jelly babies...at least not in one go).
So, new friends made at Flockton, and a successful Christmas Fayre all round.
Night night. Time for me to get my head down...
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Eva's Brilliant Butterfly Poem!
Before summer, I went to Middlestown Junior and Infant School to help with the Christmas Fayre. It was fab! I also ran a poetry competition, which a number of children entered. I promised a lovely four year old girl called Eva that I'd put her poem on my website, because I REALLY liked it...and then...the summer holidays...and then...back to school...and then...and then...and...well, I'm afraid it never actually made it onto my website. But, thanks to a gentle nudge from Eva's mum when I returned to Middlestown on Monday, here is Eva's (long awaited) poem!
Butterflies are
So beautiful
Bees collect pollen
Both fly away
In the night sky
Eva, well done, keep writing poetry, and I'll see you again in January when I come back to Middlestown for a two day visit.
Butterflies are
So beautiful
Bees collect pollen
Both fly away
In the night sky
Eva, well done, keep writing poetry, and I'll see you again in January when I come back to Middlestown for a two day visit.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
But I can only write in the title section, because the blog won't let me write any text. Which is annoying. But I'm back! And if you've looked at my site recently, you might have wondered quite what had happened to me. Busy? Yes! Children to look after? Yes! New poetry book to launch? Yes! But that's all behind me now...so here I am.
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