Sunday, May 23, 2010

Spring Cleaning the Centre Before Maternity Leave!

One of the things I really needed to do before finishing was tidy up the centre. As we have been updating the sign-age and furniture this year it hasn't been possible to get the last posters up etc on the walls until recently and of course I'm a bit useless at clambering around now. Also we had run out of storage space and I wanted to clear out things we simply don't use and have everything labelled so that my admin assistant knows where to find everything and knows what needs to be re-ordered etc and I can do that part of the training with her next week.

In addition I had arranged the new furniture in a certain way, but after using it in that configuration realised it wasn't the best so I wanted to move it around. It wasn't great as it was a really tight squeeze to have 3 students on this one desk (especially as it is where I use the lap tops so senior students use it and are hence bigger) let alone trying to be able to squeeze in beside them and teach them. I really felt that it was important for my tutors and students that are having to use that bank to have a comfortable teaching environment. As it is now in the middle of the room, both sides of the desk can be sat at freeing up elbow space and meaning there is space betwenn all students to be able to stand or pull up a chair and explain something.

Fortunately on Friday night I had a really good sleep - amazing I know - waking up once only and feeling really refreshed at 6.30am. As I knew I would just lie there thinking about all the things I had to do I asked Al if he was OK to get up and head down early. He very kindly agreed (as he gets up at 5.50pm every morning I think this was very generous of him) and at 8.50am we arrived at the centre ready to get started. By 12 noon the furniture had been moved and I had done a good deal of the sorting, so we decided to head round to the nearby pub and get some lunch. It was lovely to sit out in the sun with the breeze cooling us down enough to make sitting out pleasantly warm.

In the afternoon, after buying some storage solutions and prizes so I could re-stock the prize box, we headed back and I got the last of the organising done while Al got the posters up for me. The posters I wanted up most were my maths language words that are so so useful. Around the maths symbol I have all the words that tells us that, that type of sum needs to be done. The students use them all the time and really missed them not being up. It was great having him there as I just can't lift anything heavy, bending down is a sight to behold and as for climbing on chairs and desks....! Anyway at 6pm we had finished and I'm really pleased with the results.

The 'Reception/Waiting' Area.


The Centre from 2 Different Angles.



We made the executive decision we deserved dinner out too as we had worked so hard, so had dinner out on the way home. It was such a nice evening and we were able to sit by the big open doors in the restaurant and get the breeze.

When we got home I was pooped and hoped I would sleep like I had the previous night but no.... last night was not great and I feel wiped out today so I am being a 'very good girl' and putting my feet up so that I can complete this week which will involve the following:

Mon: Get prepared for training Senior Maths tutor amongst other general organisation.
Tues: Continue training Admin Assistant + continue with completing my own tasks.
Wed: Train Senior maths tutor + own tasks.
Thurs: Continue training Admin Assistant and ensure she is OK for next week when my Senior students and tutors re-start after exam leave.
Friday: Get prepared for final staff refresher training and team 'bonding' that I'm doing on Saturday and complete organisation tasks.
Saturday: Staff training
Sunday: RELAX and Pray I don't go into labour from the sheer relief!!!!!!

Needless to say, although it kills me to say it, exercise will not be high on my priorities this week. Hopefully I can get out on Monday and Friday for a gentle walk or swim, but gentle will definitely be the order of the day and will be more about stretching me off and stepping away from the work in order to come back to it with a clearer mind!


No comments:

Post a Comment