Yay!

Yay! I was soooo happy to see (Gasp!) 10 whole comments!!! Thank you so much! Natalie-especially,for sending so many along!

When my husband heard me (yes I admit I shrieked out loud:-) He LOL as well and asked me with a smile (do you feel loved now? Hee Hee -that was a dig at me-I am always asking "Do you still love me?" I have given up asking "Does my butt look big in this?" as the deafening silence hurt!

It (my response to your comments)just made me realise that we do look for affirmation from others- I guess that was a big reason I became a teacher. I LOVE being able to boost poor self-images (battled with that myself) and make even my "weak" pupils feel good about themselves. I guess journalling is a bit like that too. I have always loved writing and I suppose this is the closest I ever get to publishing (grin).

For now I am spending more time doing what I also LOVE doing -reading- your journals,that is! SOOO if I don't write as often , you only have yourselves to blame -for writing so well!

PS We don't celebrate Thanksgiving (obviously:-) but I trust you all enjoyed the break! See ya!

I think I must have known when I started this journal, that it would be in "bits".What started out as a pun(did you get it???) has backfired on me as the pun is on me(weak I know:-) I have tried to be regular(in my journalling that is) but before I know it, another week has flown by! So I have decided to keep the name as it turns out to be most appropriate! I initially wanted to contact other teachers to compare but have read so many different journals that I spend more time reading than writing my own!

Thank you to my dearest friend Caroline, for sending a link to my journal!!!I have found the remarks sooo encouraging THANK YOU !!!

We had our prize giving at school today and it was so very rewarding to see the little faces beam when they received their certificates! Our school has 500 pupils and each child receives a certificate.This is really nice, as next year (grade 4 and up) only those with merits (85% overall 8 learning areas or in a specific subject!)will receive certificates.I had a really great surprize this year as my class won ten of the 16 trophies!(None I can take credit for!!!) They were for outstanding courtesy,best Afrikaans speaker,sportmanship,cricket,swimming,tennis and basketball!What a blessing to see the smiles-and best of all-the friends' that were smiling too(no sulks because they didn't win!) This is an area which we as a staff have addressed strongly(as well as "making mistakes" is OKAY!!! That's how we LEARN!!!) That's my own personal hobby horse :-)

Gotta go-reports to finish up-one more week before closing so admin is at max!!!  

Assessment is over

At last!!! Assessment at school is over for the year! With two weeks left before we break for six weeks,I can get down to just relaxing with my children and do more fun activities than usual! Lots of Christmas things YAY!

I have no children that need to be retained this year-this makes me SOOO very happy! It never is an easy task to explain to a little child why they have to repeat a year! They usually take it well (depending on how the news is told and how their parents react!)

I had a girl that really battled the year through and I prayed her through most of her tasks! I could only have done it with Gods' help! She has passed! Some of the boys' in my class have been a challenge this year-poor parental supervision has led to undisciplined behaviour but what they truly need is routine and structure and LOADS of love and attention! This required pray too! My class received a compliment from our headmistress for being a well-behaved class! They beamed-especially those "naughty" boys! Not enough positive reinforcement at home I guess! I have 31 in my class this year, but will have 35 next year.Think I'll post a photo of my class next time.

It would be nice to hear from different schools across the waters!

I have been SOOO busy with reports, admin etc etc that I haven't journalled for so long, that I had considered giving it up! Just couldn't do it! We are a prep school so we are busy rehearsing for the Grade 3 final assembly and also our annual prizegiving.

My boys are calling-better go-think I'll journal when they are asleep!!! :-)