Danes Hill vs. Cleves

I went for an introductory lunch at my new school, Danes Hill, today :). I'd gotten a letter a few weeks ago asking me to come in, so I called in sick and headed on out with no idea what to expect.

I won't go into too much detail because it'll take forever, but WOW, is it ever going to be different working at Danes Hill compared to anywhere else I've worked! Well, with the possible exception of St Paul's...but that's a bit different because St Paul's is so small and on such a limited site.

Let me elaborate a bit. First of all, I'm the only non-Caucasian person on staff. At least, I didn't see a single other non-Caucasian adult in the school today. That in itself is a HUGE change from the school I'm currently at, where every base teacher in our wing is non-Caucasian. Second, the new teachers were served wine before exiting the school through the central French doors onto the terrace, where the school was enjoying a BBQ. Remember, every Wednesday in summer term is BBQ day :). In any case, children were lounging all around the lawn in small groups or sitting at picnic tables laid especially for them, while cooks/kitchen staff waited to serve newcomers at individual tables laden with hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, and salads/vegetables. When the new staff member in front of me reached for a paper plate, the server gently stopped her and said, "Staff eat off china."

That's right, staff use different plates and utensils, and have a separate table set up for them that has freshly baked bread, cheese, and drinks. Staff also have separate picnic tables set up for them on the terrace. You know what else? The staff room has an espresso machine, coffee machine (think the kind you see at Tim Hortons), tea facilities, and a selection of fruit, biscuits, and pastries. Apparently, after school, there're sandwiches. And there's a staff dining room for normal days that aren't BBQ days.

And wait, it gets better. The following page is in my staff handbook and details how children are supposed to behave in regards to staff:

"- Pupils should stand when an adult enters the room.
- Pupils should stand back for adults, hold doors open, and not speak to adults with hands in pockets, etc.
- Pupils should display good table manners and be courteous in the dining room."

The first two were standard practice at St Paul's, so they're not as shocking (though it'll be LOVELY to have children do those things again). The third one is hilarious to me, though. It comes up a couple of other times in the handbook and boils down to this - staff can reprimand children for having bad table manners. How prep school is that?? lol.

What else was funny? Oh, the child who apologised to my mentor in the corridor for missing her class this morning because he had to go to the airport to pick up his au pair. And the fact that the afternoon was taken up by what was called the "Upper School Swimming Gala". I was so curious about this that I followed my mentor down to the outdoor pool after our chat and watched as the children competed for their houses in formal races. In the outdoor pool. Did I mention the outdoor pool??

Oh! And there's a new Art/DT building. The DT technician, who's also new, was telling me that there's a kitchen for every 2 pupils. And each pupil in that kitchen has their own kettle. LOL!

Did I mention the school has a zipline?

Anyway :D. That's enough laughing about all of this - it almost seems too good to be true!

I learned a couple of other useful bits of information today. First, I'm going to be a Year 6 tutor. That basically means that I get my own little tutor group (about 10 kids) and I'm responsible for their well-being. If they act up in class, who does the class teacher come to talk to? Me. If their parents are concerned about their marks, who do they contact? Me. Who hands out and writes their reports? Me. Who has to check their homework diaries to make sure the children are writing their homework down correctly? Me. Who has to sign said homework diaries and check that their parents have signed them too? Me. You get the picture :).

Secondly, I'm going to be teaching 1 Year 4 English class, 2 Year 5 History classes, 4 Year 6 History classes, 1 Year 7 History class, and 1 Year 8 History class. So...9 classes. Plus my tutor group (who I teach PSHE and Citizenship to). 10 classes. 10 sets of lesson plans. From scratch. Ooh, fun.

My head is kind of bursting with information. I'm going back for a full day after term has ended to sit down with my Head of Dept and talk about what's going on in more detail, but we've got to sort that out separately. In the meantime, at Cleves, I've got Year 5 SATs exams (x5), Report Cards, Parents' Evening, Sports Day, Upper School Disco....and something else I've forgotten. *sigh*

Exactly 4 weeks to the end of school! :D