The Element of Surprise
They came. They saw. They ticked some boxes and wrote quite a few things down.
Aristotle said, “The secret to humour is surprise” and I was certainly surprised to receive a phone call at 8.30am on Monday morning from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) advising me that a team had packed their bags and were heading to the sunshine coast within 24 hours. I am not sure laughter was my immediate response though.
Facing an inspection as a teacher induces a range of emotions. From the initial sense of panic and worry that we have everything in place, to the reluctance of having strangers invade our classroom; and then the complete transition into actually being annoyed when the inspectors don’t come in to see our amazing lesson alongside the sense of pride at showing off our wonderful school.
Things happening when you least expect them is meant to be good, whereas waiting expectantly for something to happen can cause anxiety as well as disappointment. This is because, as humans, we benefit from being distracted. After a period of heavy concentration, taking a break is often the impetus for greater clarity of thought. Certainly, my most creative moments have been whilst swimming in the sea as the total absence of work ‘stuff’ has enabled ideas to just pop into my head.
When we are desperate for something to happen we can occasionally become befuddled or settle for a situation that is inferior to what we really wanted. So, we need to live in the moment more and embrace the unexpected moments when they come along. One never knows but we might be pleasantly surprised!
I feel the school has embraced this week as an opportunity and, whatever the outcomes, that makes me very proud. Having now said goodbye to the inspection team, I can say in all sincerity that I have enjoyed their visit and am pleased that they have scrutinised our school so thoroughly; it is important that they do.
Normal life has continued of course and the school has been abuzz with effort and industry in all areas. With the exams behind them the Year 8s have been tackling work themed around ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ and this has enabled some interesting cross-curricular tasks. For instance, a discussion around creating a theme park became very animated as the pupils exchanged ideas about the rides, the lay-out, accessibility, costs and much more that pulled together knowledge and skills learnt in Science, Maths, Computing and DTI. Project-based learning – fantastic!
Pupils have been busily rehearsing and auditioning for St Andrew’s Has Got Talent and we look forward to the show next week. Singing has echoed out of the Durlacher from those preparing for the Summer Serenade too. Another event for which I cannot wait!
The fields have been heavily utilised in the sunny weather and it was great to see so many matches and games sessions. Sports Day (for Years 3 to 8) was due to happen tomorrow of course but, a reminder, we have moved it to the final Monday of term in a bid to benefit from lighter restrictions. Whether that will be the case or not remains to be seen and next week we should know more. I will write with firmer details on the events of the last week when I can.
Activities are on tomorrow as normal. Happy weekend everyone!