Saturday, July 11, 2009
I've finally put up all the wedding week photos on Flickr
They're all out of order as far as events go and I still have to steal photos from other people to cover the actual wedding--but all in all I'm feeling pretty accomplished.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Evie's class has been studying Frida Kahlo
And today Evie's teacher gave her a spontaneous Frida Kahlo makeover at break time.
I included this photo even though most of the flowers had fallen out and according to Evie it was now 'rubbish'.
Frida eats a popsicle.
They've also been making their own Frida Kahlo portraits which have turned out surprisingly good--although I'm not sure what kind of examples Miss Hodgson has been showing them because Reuben's portrait has big bare breasts. Go Reuben.
I included this photo even though most of the flowers had fallen out and according to Evie it was now 'rubbish'.
Frida eats a popsicle.They've also been making their own Frida Kahlo portraits which have turned out surprisingly good--although I'm not sure what kind of examples Miss Hodgson has been showing them because Reuben's portrait has big bare breasts. Go Reuben.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Just found out I got paid!!!!!
About a week ago.
The bursar told me I was hired just after the county paycheck cut-off, so I'd have to wait until July when I'd be paid for both months. So I wasn't expecting anything, but I happened to stumble upon my own old pay stub when delivering the staff mail. Yay! Obviously we check our account frequently. Ahem. Also fun--finding out how much I get paid an hour. That was never spelled out for me and I wanted the job so badly that I didn't really care. (After a while it just seemed rude to ask.) Obviously it's a raise from what I was making working for Rani. And my National Insurance number came through and I'm feeling HUGELY legitimate. This means I get to have my name put on the bank account and get my own card! I get to be a real person now! Woo-hoo!
In other news--a kid came into the office suspecting his itchy head was being caused by nits. It was. Ew. I'm still itchy thinking about it.
The bursar told me I was hired just after the county paycheck cut-off, so I'd have to wait until July when I'd be paid for both months. So I wasn't expecting anything, but I happened to stumble upon my own old pay stub when delivering the staff mail. Yay! Obviously we check our account frequently. Ahem. Also fun--finding out how much I get paid an hour. That was never spelled out for me and I wanted the job so badly that I didn't really care. (After a while it just seemed rude to ask.) Obviously it's a raise from what I was making working for Rani. And my National Insurance number came through and I'm feeling HUGELY legitimate. This means I get to have my name put on the bank account and get my own card! I get to be a real person now! Woo-hoo!
In other news--a kid came into the office suspecting his itchy head was being caused by nits. It was. Ew. I'm still itchy thinking about it.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
A delayed post
I wrote this earlier and had a link to the Cherwell but then got really paranoid that it could be traced back that way and I couldn't remember if I tested the link or not--blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I'm going to be brave and post this.
Since this post one of Moira's closest friends has come down with swine flu. I told the kids they could get it this week but as soon as next week hit they'd have to stay healthy. We've already booked our tickets to the States and need to stay healthy. It would be horrific if we wasted all that money and even more horrific if we had to wait another year to visit.
Anyhoo, if this child-centric post were to have a really long title, it would be something like--Moira's day at Cherwell, swine flu, a trip to Germany, Evie's West Side Story, and an epic daisy chain.
On Friday Moira and most of the kids in her year at Phil and Jim went to the Cherwell school to get a taste of what life will be like for them in secondary school next year. Unfortunately, Moira has three friends who will be sucked into the spirit crushing world of private school and won't be joining her at Cherwell next year. (They'll probably all have eating disorders and on-call psychologists soon, but you didn't hear that from me.)
Cherwell allows you to put down the name of one friend you'd like to have in your class--a nice, comforting touch since the year 7 group is about 300 strong compared to the 50 Moira's used to in Phil and Jim's year 6. They don't 100% guarantee that you'll get that friend since they have to weigh ability and gender balance and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, this could become a really long story so I'll shorten it to--even though she didn't list her, Moira ended up with her best friend in her class. Yay! That day she also made friends with a girl from a different primary school who happened to end up in her class too.
She enjoyed the rest of her day getting to know the school and some of her new teachers. Not that she lacked any confidence heading into this new transition to begin with, but after yesterday she's definitely feeling good about secondary school. And I'm definitely feeling very old.
So Moira was off exploring her new school and I was back at Phil and Jim working reception. Late in the day a call came in from Cherwell explaining to me that there had been a confirmed case of swine flu in one of their students and that, while the child was not in school at the time, this was a courtesy call since our year 6 students had been at their school that day. Oh, ha, ha, ha. And did they know this prior to the visit or did they just feel like springing that on us a little late?
Other Cherwell news (as if you weren't bored at this point)--Moira got German instead of Spanish as her foreign language next year. Poo. It's a lottery for one or the other and you can't make a request unless you have a really good reason. But, honestly, you gotta love the language requirements.
Year 7--Spanish or German (2 hrs. throughout the week)
Year 8--Spanish or German (1.5 hrs. a week) in addition to French (1.5 hrs. a week)
Year 9--Spanish or German (1.5) but French goes up to to 2 hrs. a week
I'm assuming that in the older years (our high school equivalent) the time will increase. Aaaaand as part of German next year, they'll be heading to Germany for a school trip. WHAT?!? I know that Europe is so much smaller and this trip shouldn't blow my mind as much as it does, but really, how cool is that? I have to confess that when Moira told me this I got teary eyed. My parental guilt about not being able to provide opportunities for the kids because of financial constraints is definitely being assuaged as we live in the UK. (I'll remind myself of this as we pay off the school loans into our 80s.)
Friday was also Evie's class assembly. Every once in a while a class will take the whole assembly time to put on performances or tell what they've been learning. I think it's a fabulous way of getting kids over any sort of stage fright--it's just a normal thing for them to pick up a microphone and read or sing in front of the entire school. During Evie's assembly they not only talked about what they'd been studying but also put on mini performances related to The Tempest, West Side Story and a rendition of Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind. Seriously--you haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of first graders singing Bob Dylan with all the sincerity in the world. The West Side Story bit included a dance fight between the Sharks and the Jets, as well as a sock puppet rendition of I Feel Pretty--they thought it'd be funnier that way. ("Enjoy our hilarious song.")
The Sharks and the Jets (in which Evie and Connie take on Imogen)
(A few obvious things to point out--1. I couldn't change the zoom once I began filming and I often couldn't decide whether to focus on Evie or the action--sorry 2. little kids can't snap in rhythm )
Fiiiiiiinally getting close to the end of this post--
I think Sam was the first to teach the kids to make daisy chains. They've clearly put that knowledge to use.
And just because--
Since this post one of Moira's closest friends has come down with swine flu. I told the kids they could get it this week but as soon as next week hit they'd have to stay healthy. We've already booked our tickets to the States and need to stay healthy. It would be horrific if we wasted all that money and even more horrific if we had to wait another year to visit.
Anyhoo, if this child-centric post were to have a really long title, it would be something like--Moira's day at Cherwell, swine flu, a trip to Germany, Evie's West Side Story, and an epic daisy chain.
On Friday Moira and most of the kids in her year at Phil and Jim went to the Cherwell school to get a taste of what life will be like for them in secondary school next year. Unfortunately, Moira has three friends who will be sucked into the spirit crushing world of private school and won't be joining her at Cherwell next year. (They'll probably all have eating disorders and on-call psychologists soon, but you didn't hear that from me.)
Cherwell allows you to put down the name of one friend you'd like to have in your class--a nice, comforting touch since the year 7 group is about 300 strong compared to the 50 Moira's used to in Phil and Jim's year 6. They don't 100% guarantee that you'll get that friend since they have to weigh ability and gender balance and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, this could become a really long story so I'll shorten it to--even though she didn't list her, Moira ended up with her best friend in her class. Yay! That day she also made friends with a girl from a different primary school who happened to end up in her class too.
She enjoyed the rest of her day getting to know the school and some of her new teachers. Not that she lacked any confidence heading into this new transition to begin with, but after yesterday she's definitely feeling good about secondary school. And I'm definitely feeling very old.
So Moira was off exploring her new school and I was back at Phil and Jim working reception. Late in the day a call came in from Cherwell explaining to me that there had been a confirmed case of swine flu in one of their students and that, while the child was not in school at the time, this was a courtesy call since our year 6 students had been at their school that day. Oh, ha, ha, ha. And did they know this prior to the visit or did they just feel like springing that on us a little late?
Other Cherwell news (as if you weren't bored at this point)--Moira got German instead of Spanish as her foreign language next year. Poo. It's a lottery for one or the other and you can't make a request unless you have a really good reason. But, honestly, you gotta love the language requirements.
Year 7--Spanish or German (2 hrs. throughout the week)
Year 8--Spanish or German (1.5 hrs. a week) in addition to French (1.5 hrs. a week)
Year 9--Spanish or German (1.5) but French goes up to to 2 hrs. a week
I'm assuming that in the older years (our high school equivalent) the time will increase. Aaaaand as part of German next year, they'll be heading to Germany for a school trip. WHAT?!? I know that Europe is so much smaller and this trip shouldn't blow my mind as much as it does, but really, how cool is that? I have to confess that when Moira told me this I got teary eyed. My parental guilt about not being able to provide opportunities for the kids because of financial constraints is definitely being assuaged as we live in the UK. (I'll remind myself of this as we pay off the school loans into our 80s.)
Friday was also Evie's class assembly. Every once in a while a class will take the whole assembly time to put on performances or tell what they've been learning. I think it's a fabulous way of getting kids over any sort of stage fright--it's just a normal thing for them to pick up a microphone and read or sing in front of the entire school. During Evie's assembly they not only talked about what they'd been studying but also put on mini performances related to The Tempest, West Side Story and a rendition of Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind. Seriously--you haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of first graders singing Bob Dylan with all the sincerity in the world. The West Side Story bit included a dance fight between the Sharks and the Jets, as well as a sock puppet rendition of I Feel Pretty--they thought it'd be funnier that way. ("Enjoy our hilarious song.")
The Sharks and the Jets (in which Evie and Connie take on Imogen)
(A few obvious things to point out--1. I couldn't change the zoom once I began filming and I often couldn't decide whether to focus on Evie or the action--sorry 2. little kids can't snap in rhythm )
Fiiiiiiinally getting close to the end of this post--
I think Sam was the first to teach the kids to make daisy chains. They've clearly put that knowledge to use.
And just because--
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Oh, my accident prone children
Evie is recovering this evening from her after-school encounter between the ground and her face. The ground won. After determining that the damage didn't require a visit to the emergency room I was flooded with selfish parental relief that this had happened now, directly after class photos, and not before. Her ear is even skinned up and bloody. Add to that the scrapes on her hands and knees, and you can imagine the crumpled and defeated Evie who will be milking this situation long after the pain has faded.
Lying beside her on Mom and Dad's double bed of recovery is Moira. Suffering from a headache and post-fitness club foot pain (I'd give you the doctor's medical run down but it would bore you) she also looks pretty darn crappy. Did I tell you how last week she got a bad headache at school and then yakked in the librarian's car as the nice woman drove us home? I guess I didn't. Fear not, Moira was supplied with an official Phil and Jim just-in-case-of-puking bowl.
Anyway, this country has just done wonders for my children's health.
More kid news, Evie and I pulled off a major procrastination victory by researching Mexico, watching a myriad of YouTube videos about baile folklorico and tortilla making, writing out facts and creating a kick-ass poster all in one night. All this poor behavior was rewarded by mega-kudos from the teacher and the knowledge that Evie was one of only two kids who actually turned it in on time. YES!!! By the way, it is sooooooo hard to sit back and not butt in by designing and cutting and gluing when the kids do these projects. So hard.
In the work news . . . confidentiality.must.not.share . . . gasp! I'm dealing with a crap load of paperwork, as anyone who's worked abroad can attest to. For right now, I'm finished--but that's only for now. I'm sure the county health people will come back and say I have to get a tetanus shot. Hopefully everything will be cool with my National Insurance number app. and I got a pass from the headmistress today on the FBI background check. It was going to be 60 pounds !!! to get fingerprinted here. What?!? Meanwhile, it would take longer with the mailing and the processing than it would if I just waited to get everything done in the States during the school holiday. She was totally cool with this (having dealt with a similar situation herself) and it was SUCH a relief.
Today I worked in the office and did NOT screw anything up! VICTORY!!! Non-screw-up days are so rare--definitely worth celebrating. This is especially true after yesterday's whopper of a mistake. It turned out to be fine but it could have been bad and that was the point. The headmistress was super nice and funny while simultaneously giving me hell for it--didn't know that was possible. I got a lot of teasing for the remainder of the day and a lot of self-inflicted punishment and anxiety, but in the end all was well. Oddly enough, it was after this awful screw-up that the headmistress offered to renew my contract for next year if everything was cool with the budget, which she's almost positive it will be. Yay!!! That's a huge relief! I really dig this job.
Just made an appointment with my U.S. hairdresser--the holiday is nearly here!!! Tickets are for the 24th of July with a return on the 30th of August. Woo-hoo! Sadly, still no word on Ben's grades. Of course, the loans can't be processed without grade info since he can't go onto the PhD with less than a 66 (not the equivalent to a U.S. 66, by the way--lest you think he sucks) and without processed loans we can't move forward on housing for next year. Hurry UP, people!!!
Lying beside her on Mom and Dad's double bed of recovery is Moira. Suffering from a headache and post-fitness club foot pain (I'd give you the doctor's medical run down but it would bore you) she also looks pretty darn crappy. Did I tell you how last week she got a bad headache at school and then yakked in the librarian's car as the nice woman drove us home? I guess I didn't. Fear not, Moira was supplied with an official Phil and Jim just-in-case-of-puking bowl.
Anyway, this country has just done wonders for my children's health.
More kid news, Evie and I pulled off a major procrastination victory by researching Mexico, watching a myriad of YouTube videos about baile folklorico and tortilla making, writing out facts and creating a kick-ass poster all in one night. All this poor behavior was rewarded by mega-kudos from the teacher and the knowledge that Evie was one of only two kids who actually turned it in on time. YES!!! By the way, it is sooooooo hard to sit back and not butt in by designing and cutting and gluing when the kids do these projects. So hard.
In the work news . . . confidentiality.must.not.share . . . gasp! I'm dealing with a crap load of paperwork, as anyone who's worked abroad can attest to. For right now, I'm finished--but that's only for now. I'm sure the county health people will come back and say I have to get a tetanus shot. Hopefully everything will be cool with my National Insurance number app. and I got a pass from the headmistress today on the FBI background check. It was going to be 60 pounds !!! to get fingerprinted here. What?!? Meanwhile, it would take longer with the mailing and the processing than it would if I just waited to get everything done in the States during the school holiday. She was totally cool with this (having dealt with a similar situation herself) and it was SUCH a relief.
Today I worked in the office and did NOT screw anything up! VICTORY!!! Non-screw-up days are so rare--definitely worth celebrating. This is especially true after yesterday's whopper of a mistake. It turned out to be fine but it could have been bad and that was the point. The headmistress was super nice and funny while simultaneously giving me hell for it--didn't know that was possible. I got a lot of teasing for the remainder of the day and a lot of self-inflicted punishment and anxiety, but in the end all was well. Oddly enough, it was after this awful screw-up that the headmistress offered to renew my contract for next year if everything was cool with the budget, which she's almost positive it will be. Yay!!! That's a huge relief! I really dig this job.
Just made an appointment with my U.S. hairdresser--the holiday is nearly here!!! Tickets are for the 24th of July with a return on the 30th of August. Woo-hoo! Sadly, still no word on Ben's grades. Of course, the loans can't be processed without grade info since he can't go onto the PhD with less than a 66 (not the equivalent to a U.S. 66, by the way--lest you think he sucks) and without processed loans we can't move forward on housing for next year. Hurry UP, people!!!
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