Christmas Holiday Greetings

Schools on the last day of term before Christmas holidays are like parallel universes... Teachers are told at the last minute that they must teach their normal 4 morning lessons, but each lesson will last just 35 minutes, instead of the customary 50 minutes. You are also warned that lesson lengths might vary and we should only "move on the bell". My games of "Qui a tué Père Noël?" (like Cluedo) had varying degrees of success, but were invariably interrupted by the aforementioned bell, which resulted in madness and hysteria.

Two older members of my tutor group were in charge of providing the music for our party (11.30 - 12.05). I was relieved I had thought ahead and brought some crappy, cheesy 80s music when my tutees' selection included Eminem and other swearing gangsters. We have a vertical tutor group, which means I have students from Years 7 to 11 and Eminem's "cause I still don't give a fuck" saw me heading for the off button, images of Year 7 parents and their inevitable phone calls in my mind!

The staff then spent hours in the staffroom and the local pub, saying goodbye to the three leavers and generally all looking very tired... could be due to our staff Christmas party the night before, when we went to a casino. I left at 1ish, but apparently 3 members of staff got back from clubbing at 5am... and enjoyed a champagne breakfast! Makes me glad I don't drink anymore. I felt rough enough from lack of sleep without adding a hangover too.

Now I can enjoy the 2 weeks off, with just a little marking and planning to do.