Apple muncher's number crunching

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I'll not be returning to work before September, I think. Govt says only 1/4 of y10 and y12 students can go back at any one time. So it'll take 4 days just to get them all through the door. My sch says it'll be core subjects only. So not me, then...

I have almost learned how to use kahoot, thanks to dd. So I should now be able to do some light-and-fluffy-but-educational-too classes.

Dh admitted to causing some pretty bad damage to the car. He did it in the underground car park at aldee, on a pillar. I don't care - I'm just really glad that it wasn't a crash and that he himself isn't injured. He has had a non-stop 2 days, and needs a break...

A friend of my mum's, who became a great friend to me + my sis after dad died and mum went downhill so fast, and was just a wonderful lady, has died. Peacefully. V sad, but good that it was peaceful. Still v sad though.

I have been emptying out the paddling pool over the last week, using it to water the pots and plants. Today was the day to clean it and deflate it.  The forecast rain had jolly well better come now!

I am feeling like I want to get things done this month, so have started a list for June. If only things like washing, shopping, cooking, worketc wouldn't get in the way so much, then I might actually do some of them!

I tried on a pair of levis that I got for £1 yonks ago. They were too small then and certainly have no chance of fitting me at the mo! So they are on a hanger on the wardrobe door, for me to try on weekly... I have put a line on my leg to show where they currently come up to. It is laughable, so there's work to be done!

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After yesterday's staff meeting, I gained a rather long list of things to be done! I have trundled through some of it but some is still hanging there, taunting me... Sometimes it feels like whack-a-mole...

Went out for a little jog this morning, and have just returned from a walk up to the localish PO, arriving 10 mins after it shut! My steps are nearly at 10,000. It was surprisingly warm outside, although the rain tried to fall whilst we were out, but it wasn't very successful.

One good thing from the walk was that we went past the local plant shop who are now doing local deliveries. I have 2 friends' bdays v soon and I'd much rather get them a plant than a bunch of flowers. And I have my eye on a couple of things too - purely to reach the min order of £10, you understand...

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Finished whacking a few of the dratted moles today, so I can start on some others tomorrow. ..

I ordered my plants over the phone at 9am and they were delivered by 6.30pm. Result! Honeysuckle (late bday present), rosemary, 2x toms, 2x bell peppers, 1x chili, 1x thyme, all for about £23.50. A couple are for friends' birthdays in the next couple of days (they both got me flowers last month, but I wanted to get them something different). Talking of birthdays, I also made 2 dozen coffee fairy cakes and iced them, so they'll get a batch of them too.

Took dd down to the nearest PO as soon as she finished school, and got things sent off. She and I also did a smidgen of tidying up of our gubbins.

Dh sorted out the tricky paperwork today, for which I am extremly grateful. He also rang a garage and they said we should claim off the car insurance for the damage, as we can't tell if it's done anything to the engine as the 'dent' is pretty deep. Then, we thought the fridge-freezer had broken as the light suddenly stopped working, and when we fiddled with the thermostat, it did nowt. So we shut the door on it and ate lunch. Fortunately, it was just the light bulb, which has now been replaced. Phew.

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Since it is going to be compulsory to wear a mask on the bus, etc, I have had a go at making some and currently have 2 successful ones. From Mickey Mouse fabric and lined with old net curtain. Go me!

Dd and I are off out once she has finished school and done a short rehearsal, we shall trot off to catch some buses to drop off stuff at a friend's house for her bday. (the car is too poorly to risk driving...) So I am grateful for the bus app that lets me know buses for the next 30 mins (cue Stingray music...)

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4 buses all done and dusted. 3 I had to pay for, 1 was still middle boarding. There + back in under an hour. Result.

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I didn't set my alarm this weekend. And woke at 6.37 and 7.15. Must try harder...!

Got today's 3x Chloe Ting workouts done. Tomorrow is measure day after 25 days... I can safely say that I am proof that you cannot out-exercise a rubbish diet!

This coming week is 'assignment week' at work. My classes have already done theirs, so I'll just be chasing the stragglers, hopefully... It means a hugely lighter week... Just 2 live sessions to do. And then all the reports - but I'd have to do those anyway, so they aren't extra. And we've been told that if the kids don't do the assignment, we just put that on the report - result!

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Ahem. If the child doesn't do the assignment, I have to email them + their form tutor + their parents. But I can still mention it on the report...

Chloe Ting 2 week shred day 2 completed, along with the optional section. I can feel that it is working me harder than the previous days, but that could be because the previous days gave me the strength to push it harder now...

Yesterday I had 3 online meetings and made sure that I set an alarm for each one. Once I close my laptop lid, I just forget about them... I'm also writing more detailed to-do notes on my phone, so that I remember to actually do things...

Cor, is it only Tuesday...?

If I am not physically back in work until sept, then I need to do 2 things (well, 2 things that have just come to mind...) Firstly, 'life without levels' for ks3 grading. Secondly, considering how to teach a mfl online. We currently are not allowed to have any cameras on when we do meetings with classes (safeguarding stuff). Yet dd's school insist on them having their cameras on (safeguarding stuff). Both are right. But I cannot continie without seeing them (and them seeing me) for the speaking element... Ponderations required...

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Shred day 3 has 4 workouts in it! Add in a warm up and cool down (both essential if I am to still be walking at the end of the day) and going up twice to wake dd, and it took me about an hour to finish it all. Ooph.

Just back from a 6-bus journey where I didn't have to pay on a single one. Come Monday that'll all change though... I had to go to a particular sainz as it is the only one that sells dd's breadsticks. I counterbalanced all her expensive food items with a reduced-to-20p-lettuce...

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I have finally used the carton of silken tofu (organic,no less...) in a gf df cheesecake. Dd has just told me that she probably won't have any of it. Oh dear. More for me... uh oh... It is totally deelishus...

Day 4 shred done. Another ooph.

Live lesson done, used kahoot, and it went well. The timetable is shifting next week to only 1 lesson per week, but for longer; and I don't just want to set more work but useful + enjoyable work. With the y9s, I may separate out what the opters and non-opters get set...

It's odd to think that normally, I'd be working  on marking speaking and writing exams now, with tight deadlines and quality checks. And earning and extra 2.5-3k. I'm so fortunate not to be dependent on that income as I get zilch this year...

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Summer school catch up, eh? Who will organise it? Each kid will have different gaps in what they have missed, so it needs to be highly individualised and taught in small groups. Ooh, that requires a lot of teachers - ones who know the kids and know the subject matter well. Will kids actually go when their mates are on holiday from school? Where will it be run? Will they feed the kids too? And then the same kids have to carry on and do the longest term of the year... And who will teach it? Because I, for one, have not stopped working darned hard. Lockdown has not been a holiday, a break from work. It has involved intense and continued learning and planning to be able to deliver what I hope has been quality education to my pupils. And I'm lucky in that they are mostly doing the work, have devices to access it and relliable internet. I'm still learning and adapting now, 3 months on...

'Blended learning' seems to be phrase for September. That is what we have now isn't it...?

Hmmm.