I met some of the classes that I will take over today and they seem on the whole fairly nice, one of the year10 groups in a bit chatty, another has about 4/5 likely lads in but generally they all seem ok. However one of the science teachers is due to be off for a long(ish) term absence, and there will be a new technician starting monday so it all feels a bit wierd and the fantastic atmosphere there was yesterday feels a little bit flat!

However its now the weekend and my little boy should be home soon and although its only been 3 days I really have missed him.

Just had another really great day today at my new placement school. The people are very friendly and the whole staff have a real buzz about them as they are a school on a mission to improve the teaching and learning.

Had a goo workshop on the use of data for predicting target grades etc. using MIDYIS and FFT. MY new placemnet school do not seem to be as far down the line as my previous placement school was with using data to inform teaching but recognise its value and it was really interesting to see what uses it potentially could have.

I am starting to get together in my head what I will be looking at as part of my action research project. I am planning to split a class (match pupils as far as possible) and use a questionaire to assess motivation and attitudes to wards marking. I then plan to split the class in 2 and match pupils where possible and use 2 different marking startegies, one purely formative and one summative and then re-question pupils using a questionaire and some filmed interviews about what they prefer and why. The plan is to show that by using a comments based approach to marking it should motivate students. Anyway thats the plan. I also plan to use Emotional intelligence quotient, and look at how that might affect motivation.
Can't wait for tomorrow as I will meet some of my classes for the first time!

My lovely husband is taking me out tonight to Ickworth house Restaurant Nr. Bury St. Edmunds http://www.ickworthhotel.com/treats.php and I can't wait.
Although I miss Morgan while he is away at Grandparents I think it is so important that Simon and I maintain our relationship. Its vital for us, and Morgan and I can't imagine not having any just simon and me time. Don't get my wrong I love having family time as well but when you have children alot of my friends have lost (or misplaced) that special sparkle between you that made you want to have kids in the first place!

Forgot to say that as predicted we are currently experiancing a negative NAO, which is why so much snow has fallen in Europe. Hope this means we are now entering a 10-15 year cycle of mainly negative NAO. It made our ski holiday in Austria fantastic!

Lots has happened since I last posted some good, erm Christmas, New Year a skiing holiday and some awful, a close friend died in a car crash and my gran who was very ill with altzeimers also died.

If you want to see our ski photos check out si's blog and also info you want any geeky info on the new plasma, si's blog is the place to find it, all I can tell you is that its GREAT!

Today was the start of a new term at my second placement school and I already like it alot. My new mentor seems alot more clued in than my previous one and the whole PD day was focused on Teaching and Learning. (some aren't, amazingly!) However there is a very clingy person at the new school who seems very full of great advice, and my gut instinct is to stay well clear. Fortunately I won't be taking over any of her lessons and therefore it shouldn't be a problem.

Morgan is currently at Simon's mums until friday ( and I am missing him already) although it does mean that we will be having some nice adult time (always a bonus!).
I have just booked Si and I another (shorter) ski trip to St. Anton for 4 days skiing during half term which is according to some Teachers only 5 weeks 2 days away. So I must find someone to babysit. I am a little jealous as I have spoken to our friends who we usually go skiing with and they are off at the weekend to our usual ski venue of Puy St. Vincent, and i enjoyed skiing so much this year I just wish we were going again so soon. We really must move somewhere which makes skiing at weekends a viable option, or buy an apartment near an airport which has v cheap flights from Stanstead so we can go most weekends!

Its a bit late but I thought I would add my New Years Resolutions:-

To try and be more tolerant of people in general
To improve my fitness by going swimming and/or to a gym twice a week.
To make most lessons intesresting (WOW factor)
To walk the dogs everyday

Its half term this week so I have not been pondering my future career as a teacher. This week I have been mainly thinking about skiing and how much snow there will be in Europe.

So I know that most weather forecasters are predicting a negative NAO (northern Atlantic Oscilliation) which is associated with lots of lovely snow in Europe. However I have noticed that we should in theory be about to enter a negative phase of NAO usually about a decade where most years its a negative phase NAO, with the occassional postive phase NAO. It has also occured to me that the hurricane phase is changing, so I looked into it and what do you know the decades that have the most hurricanes also have Negative phase NAO's. When you do a bit os Stats on the data if 2+ major (cataogory3+) hurricanes make landfall in the USA then it is 3 times more likely to be a Negative NAO. Just wondering whether the amount of hurricanes and the strength of the hurricanes might correlate with the strength of the Negative NAO, and if so does that mean that a negative NAO caused more hurricanes or is it just co-incidence.

Anyway I am off to look at the years which had the strongest negative NAO and whether they are also the years that have the most hurricanes recorded. You can take the scientist out of the lab, but they are still stupid enough to try and do statistics and any data available.

Forgive me if this is already known by all of you and a recognised phenomenon but it has only just occurred to me.