Thursday, December 20, 2007

End of Term approaches !!!

For the past 19 years the end of term at Cefn Fforest Primary School has been the usual round of Christmas Performances, Parties and Christmas Craft activities.... usually just about leaving the classroom in a decent state for the return in January. Not so this year, yes the Christmas rush is the same, but of course.................. I will not be returning to the school in January, as I will be embarking on a new career and new challenges with the International Baccalureate.
Something that I hadn't expected happened on Monday evening when I was duped into attending a 'Staff Meeting' which was actually a surprise party in our Infant Hall..... gullible .... moi! (yup)
It was absolutely fabulous not only to see current colleagues but also a host of previous colleagues .... to say shocked and stunned would definitely be an overstatement. In my usual naive way I was hoping to make a quiet exit ( I am good at those!). Ha!!! not so lucky. I did my usual getting emotional bit, it really makes one appreciate the friendship that builds up with colleagues over the years.... and yes it is always the cue for the 'stories' to start, and we are no exception - there are events that have become fokelore in and around Cefn Fforest over the years.
Friday afternoon approaches when I will close my classroom door for the final time at CFP, I am not sure how that will feel yet.........

I am very much looking forward to the challenges which lie ahead with the International Baccalaureate, if it comes close to the feeling I had at interview it is going to be an excellent experience. I am looking forward to meeting up with my online buddies at Ewan McIntosh's TeachMeet 08 at BETT on Friday 11th January........ more reflections to come when Friday is over.

This blog will obviously evolve in 2008, however I will still be looking for inspirational products which can enhance teacher's own learning and for tools which can be used within classrooms..... so for now Many Thanks for following the ramblings of the Old Welsh Dragon, I hope still to be of service into 2008 and beyond to the wider edu-blogging community :-)

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Paul,

you will be hugely missed, I've no doubt! Your creativity and enthusiasm are inspirational even from afar, so what they're like actually in the classroom isn't worth thinking about (hey, jealousy's a bad thing at Christmas!!).

Enjoy your brak, free from even the contemplation of marking a book or tweaking a lesson, and I look forward to hearing about all your new exploits from the IB very soon!!

Moturoa said...

You had better be on hand to help the Web 2.0 community. We expect it of you.

It is all very exciting. Have a great Christmas.

Allanah

David Noble said...

Congratulations on the new career move. I hope that you have a great holiday and I look forward to reading your TeachMeet08 posts.

Catch you soon.

Anonymous said...

Hi Paul,

Having met some of the people in the International Baccalaureate team I'm sure they will be keen to use your online expertise. Though I'll lose my best example of local developments in the Primary Sector - hope you have primed some of your colleagues to take over :-)

All the best for the future, I look forward to seeing you in your new role.

Anonymous said...

Hi Paul, seson's greetings. Sounds like a great new role you've found. I look forward to reading all about it on your blog! See you at Teachmeet.

Funki Jimpow said...

Good luck with the new directions!

See you at Teachmeet @ BETT.

James.

A dear friend

It seems very apt to be writing this blog post in tribute to a dear, dear friend. The world has lost a true global educational  IT innovator...