Oh, it's been an exciting sort of week.
Last few students running in with bits of paper shouting; "mark it, please mark it now" ... "can I have the grade now, Now, NOW"!
Of course, you can; I've only been asking for this since .... Noah was young anyway.
Last minutes of college are bittersweet; for students and staff. That sensation of seeing the twinkling lights of the safe, welcoming harbour of diversion with a couple of weeks of CPD, planning and desk tidying.
Wondering how they'll do in their exams, nervously waiting for Results Day, the satisfying 'click' of sending the last SRF; a few moments of peace but you can't help but look at the enrolments for next year and wonder what they'll be like, how they'll cope, how you will cope with all the new changes.
Just how much Maths, English, Enterprise, Entrepreneurship, Equality and Diversity, Employability Skills can you embed in a one hour lesson and still include the main subject?
With a SOW that looks increasingly like one of those Self Help books from the hippy corner of a bookstore, dominating your thoughts, you tidy your desk and find all those bits of paper that were so essential, but so elusive when you needed them.
Too late now.
The place is quiet; the students gone. Staff roam the corridors like ghosts, looking for interactions. The canteen no longer smells of chips, the waste paper bins are empty, the car park has an amazing range of spaces to chose from.
The Sun shines down brilliantly making long shadows on the classroom walls. The smell of freedom is strong in the air and we reflect on our year, our learners and our teaching.
The longest term will begin soon enough; leaves will fall and crunch under out feet, our heads will spin with the demands of a new term, new learners, new challenges and our exhausted selves will again navigate the thin line between home and work.
But for now, it's summer; the holidays. Students have achieved, SOW's, Lesson Plans, CPD accomplished and the Staff Room echoes with joyful chat.
Enjoy everyone; savour the peace. Happy Summer to us all.
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