I have the most amazing fiancé in the whole wide world...

... for many reasons, one being the fact he's just spent 2 hours helping me revise for my English uni audit test on Wednesday, and then testing me on everything!

Awwwww. :)

Today I met my mentor for my 2nd placement.... and she was really lovely! This placement is paired, and I'm working with my friend Luci, which should be cool. We're at an infant school not too far from when I live, in a year 1 class. I'm really looking forward to going back into school, although I'm going to miss my friends - I've loved spending this week with them! I've met a really lovely bunch of people, and our 'gang' of the 6 of us are really close - I hope we don't lose touch when the course finishes. At least I have girlie friends! :D I need to get some wedding invitations made this weekend so I can give everyone theirs next week... I don't think they all know we're inviting them so it's going to be quite exciting giving them their invitations!

I have an ICT portfolio due in next week (lesson plans and an essay) so I need to get working on that tomorrow, as well as quite a few other Directed Activities that have built up over the last 2 weeks. I've found it hard to get back into the routine of uni work (although have been quite happy to slip back into the 'socialising' side - hot chocolate in lattés?!) and haven't been working too much in the evening. But it's been good to have a bit of a 'relax', ready for the next placement to start in 2 days...

I'm still having a great time on the PGCE course, and I can't believe I will be qualified teacher in fewer than four months! I'm over half way through the course... and that means in the next few months I've got to start thinking about applying for.... (dun dun daaaah)... jobs....!

I finished my first placement last Friday which was really sad. However, the end was marred a little by me having to miss 2 days because of my back (see main weblog entry) and after struggling in on Friday, spending the whole day in absolute agony. But I'm glad I made it in for the last day... even though 8 kids were off sick! It was sad to say goodbye, and I had several children clinging to me saying "i don't want you to go!!!" - and i'm not in KS1, these kids are 8! :)

I start my next placement in under 3 weeks, so am looking forward to finding out where I'm based... should be early next week...

I'm coming to the end of my first placement now, and thinking about it gets me all sad! Despite the fact it has been bloody hard work, I've had an amazing time. The staff at the school are really cool, my mentor and I get on like a house on fire, and the kids are great. I'm going to miss them all so much!

Last week we had 'Arts Week' which was absolutely amazing. It's just how I think school should be all the time (well, to an extent, anyway). We spent the whole week doing art, music, dance, drama.... basically anything creative. I taught some music and art, as well as a creative writing lesson, and played my violin to all 150 pupils in year 3 during Monday assembly. I also led year 3 in a 'round' during the final performance on Friday. It was a really great week, and I wish we had it all over again from tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to seeing my 'uni friends' again in a week's time, but I'm not looking forward to getting back to lectures. They seemed pretty pointless before Christmas, and I know that now I've been in school teaching 'properly' they'll probably seem even more pointless. My PGCE course is a good one, and some of the lecturers are very good, but in school is where you learn the 'real stuff'.