Today was a hectic day.

For some reason I agreed to drop my brother to the airport at 4am. Now, this was not a smart choice as today is the day Summer Institute (SI) started.

Sunday 9pm

Due to COVID and lockdown, my sleeping pattern has been a bit messed up (I’m a terrible sleeper… but that’s a story for another time). Sunday night I was wrecked, it had been a busy day. I decided to try and get a jump on my 4am start by going to sleep at 9pm. This was not a good idea… classic me, I awoke bright eyed at 11:30pm. Not a great start. I then dozed the remaining hours until 4am in which I did the two hour round trip in relative silence to Heathrow with my brother.

Monday 6am

I had two choices before me now; jump back into bed and try and catch a few more zzz’s or stay up and get on with my day. Making the decision I decided to try for some more sleep. This ended up with my dozing without really getting any proper sleep until around 8am. I was meant to wake up at eight but of course… I slept through all of my alarms and awoke at 9am.

9am

I elected to keep my job throughout SI, this was only made possible due to the fact we have had a pandemic. With everything being online, and not quite full time I thought it best if I could keep my income flowing as well as complete the training. I ensured to check this through with my manager and she was unbelievably supportive. I am blessed by the people around me.
However, today was the first day back at school for me. We had created a little SEN hub for a few students, and I was there to support them today, as well as attend my Summer Institute sessions.

My Timetable

9:50am – Arrive at Work
10-11am – Engage with Students
11-12:30pm – Teach First Opening Ceremony
12:30 – 1:30 – Engage with Students
1:30-2:30 – Teach First Session 1

9:50am

I arrived at work. What a feeling, after being at home for almost 14 weeks straight – getting out and seeing some familiar faces was just what I needed. For our SEN hub we engaged in some social activities and games, this is such a great way to engage our SEN folk, helping them to tackle and gain some valuable social education. We discussed lockdown and our feelings towards it before looking at a social story explaining what we might have gotten up to over lockdown and what emotions the characters may have been feeling based on their expressions.

Time flew by – it was so good being with kids again. I love getting to hear their thoughts and ideas as they engage with the content.

11am

It was time for the Opening Ceremony. I logged on, and was joined by hundreds of our cohort as we were welcomed in to Summer Institute. We heard valuable stories from some incredible people. One of the things that stuck at most to me was one of the Teach First Ambassadors; he set up a club called RapClub.
I loved that this program engaged with students where they were at. It gave them a voice and provided them with an outlet that saved them from knife crime, gang violence and most likely jail. It built a positive community of young people that pride themselves on gaining knowledge and ridding themselves of labels that don’t define them.

Their mission was sensational and inspiring. I was ready to become a part myself – to see a life changed. A small bit of creativity and motivation can literarily transform a life, how inspiring!

12:30pm

The session finished and I was straight back in the classroom with my students. We looked at positive qualities and assigned them to ourselves. It saddened me the low self image some of my students have. Imagine if we had a generation of young people that believed in themselves and valued not only themselves but each other. I think as a teacher you have to bridge the gap. Positive encouragement and positive language could change that students future. If we believe for them and stay consistent, they will begin to believe for themselves.

1:30pm

I was back online for another session at 1:30. We met with our Development Leads and our class cohort. What I mean by this is the group of Teach First Trainees we will be completing our virtual school with. It was good to get know each other and have a little chat, being social doesn’t end just because we’re on a screen.
This session was informative and gave us a few tips and some good information in preparation for the weeks ahead.

4pm

By this time I was at home and trying to catch myself up on the day. I felt a little overwhelmed with all the moving parts of SI and so I was trying to piece it all together in my head. I completed the homework in preparation for my first day of university learning and I re-read every email to ensure I hadn’t missed anything.

Then out of the blue I got a message from my University tutor saying she would be in the classroom for a little chat if we so desired. I did desire. Plus I was a little curious at how it might all work. This was a good call, my tutor seemed fun and friendly and I got to ask a few of my questions which was so useful for me. A good hour was spent just chatting there and I felt even more comfortable.

So this was my first day of Summer Institute and what a day it was. With all my spinning plates, I felt very accomplished at the end of the day and even more prepared for the weeks to come.

I’m looking forward to keeping you all up to date.