The End...

All that was left today was tidying up my desk and saying goodbye to the pupils and staff. My only scheduled period of the day was a first year class who were sitting a test. This gave me a chance to put up some more of the homeworks that had come in late. I then nipped down to see Ray Lesso and borrowed his digital camera in order to photograph the colourful corridor display.

I am pleased to report that many of the pupils noticed my musical christmas tie....well I am not going to be here next week so this was my only chance until this time next year! The Advanced Higher class...both of them...were subjected to the combined musical tastes of Ollie and myself...christmas tunes abound. I think this brought new interest to the statistics work that they were doing. Period 4, myself and Sharon (the other PGDE student from Moray House) were asked to meet with Paul Raffaelli for a chat. Coffee and tea with caramel shortcake were provided and it was nice to have a chat with Paul about how we had got on, what we felt about Moray House and the placement process and how his life has changed since taking over from Don Ledingham. After this meeting I took Sharon up to Colin's room for a quick play on the Smartboard. I sometimes forget just how alien this technology was to me when I started here. We are both keen to come back for the staff 'christmas do' on the 21st...in fact I dont think either of us want to leave!

After a couple minutes of tidying up I went downstairs where myself and three other new teachers were introduced to the fantastic work that Anne Johnston has done in the refurbished library. The wealth of resources and possiblities for library work are astounding. Thank you to her for this sneaky-peek into what is possible. Thank you also to whoever provided the food....there was lots of it and it was all delicious.

Well that's all folks. I will try to keep up the inputs throughout the rest of the course as this weblog has really benefited my self-evaluation and reflection on a daily basis...and its fun! All that is left to say is a massive thank you to everyone at Dunbar Grammar School; pupils and staff, especially Angela Hepburn and Paul Smith for the lift in the morning...I hope I didn't drool on your upholstery all those times that I nodded off in the car. Also a mention to Ed Offer for his words of advice and hints as to what to expect in the future from a PGDE at Moray House. And of course a special mention to Ollie for all his help, encouragement and complete and utter insanity. The guy is a force of nature and I am amazed that it only took me one week to find his enthusiasm inspirational and not knackering. Seriously though a big thank you to him, Suzanne and Colin for all their help over the past 6 weeks. I hope I was able to help, not hinder, their work with these children. I honestly do feel very sad that working here is not a permanent arrangement but I am glad I had the chance to experience a superb department and a superb school. Even if my next two placements are hell on earth I now know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you.