Spanish head’s non-communicative organisation on a Monday morning!

It’s Monday morning and the last full week before the Christmas holidays, so I was feeling quite upbeat as I start the morning with my year 2s. We do the usual routine of taking the register and discussing their weekends and then I explain what’s in store for them today and later in the week with all the Christmas activities.

First up, phonics with the focus today consisting of paired reading followed by a guided write. Structuring sentences based on the storybook we have been focusing on. We begin with practicing the sounds, high frequency words, discussing the meaning of certain words in the text etc before I model how to use these skills to read a page from their focus phonics book. Then in pairs, the children each read another couple of pages whilst I take a moment to ensure the lines are ready to go on the board for the writing part before circulating the room listening in on pairs read.

Once each partner has read they follow the still-in-progress of class organisation I wonder if we’ll ever achieve of closing their reading books, placing them back in their desks and retrieving their writing books and pencil cases. All that they require for this lesson is in their desk drawers. So they don’t actually need to move! However, 20-odd children still need to discuss book swaps and pencil case retrieval, and 20-odd children still need to scrape their chairs back from their desks in order to make their book swaps!

After two or three minutes when I can see that they’re ready with their writing books, I begin the writing part of their phonics lesson by dictating and reciting a sentence from our class storybook. A made-up sentence with words to coincide with our sound focus and high frequency words in phonics. We have a bit of fun by reciting it together and to their partners in silly voices like robots, or whispering, or high pitched and even singing. After we’ve recited the sentence a few times we go over the elements needed to write the sentence accurately, i.e., capital letters, punctuation etc. I model writing this on the board step by step with the children prompting me, and then they write the sentence in their books. I then write an incorrect sentence on the board for those who have finished to copy and correct in a different colour whilst I circulate around to certain pairs in the class again.

Everyone is getting on with their tasks and working well. Then, all of a sudden there is a rattle of the classroom door followed by a bang to push it open. Required as it sometimes sticks. And I’m told only happens in the Wintertime. It is the Spanish Head making her entrance!

‘Good morning!’ She blurts out in her broken English. You would think this would be followed by an excuse me, or sorry for interrupting, but no! But alas, I am more than used to this by now! She struts into the room in her clickety black shoes tapping on the marble floor, stands in front of the class and begins reeling off her list of instructions to the children. In Spanish of course. So I find it difficult to catch the gist of what she is saying to the children. I managed to pick up musica. Then, she turns without a word or second glance at me and struts back towards the door. Her heels tapping on the marble floor once more as she heads out of the room banging the door making her exit just the same as her entrance.

‘Right, hands up, who wants to tell me what that was about and what you’ve just been asked to do?’ As I had to idea! Was she asking for something to be done during my lesson time with the class? ‘We go to musica room ehmm 11 to ehmm practice ehmm Christmas song for ehmm Navidad.’ One of the girls at the back to the left informs me. This is just as the morning would be finishing for morning break. Morning break was usually 30 minutes so I imagine the first half of their break was practicing their Christmas song! ‘…we no know it.’ Another child on the other side of the room continues to inform me. ‘So, I have to walk you to the music room at the end of our lesson where the music teacher will be waiting for you to practice your song?’ The music room is over in the secondary department, so usually we’d walk our classes over if they had a music, cookery or PE lesson.

‘No! We walk only us!’ The majority of the room bellow back at me! ‘Really?’ I reply with a slightly raised eyebrow, as this isn’t usually the norm! One of the boys then adds some further information, Si, but only girls go!’ ‘OK, thank you.’ I then reply. I assume to myself that at some stage it will be the boy’s turn to practice as they are doing a boy/girl chorus!

I also therefore assume that this will interfere with our lesson plans and class Christmas activities if the children are being pulled to perfect their singing part of the Christmas Carol. Especially towards to end of the week before the actual show to parents on the last day.

Ok, so they might need a little more practice. And this is fine. It would be the norm back home too for the Christmas plays and performances. We’d cut some lessons to practice and have dress rehearsals. But, surely Spanish Head could have let me know beforehand instead of making her entrance earlier! At least then I would have had an idea of what was going on and what to expect the rest of the week. I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next dramatic entrance and unexpected announcement to the class partway through a lesson to know what’s going on! But this appears to be the new norm of being informed about school organisation and matters compared to back home! At least there’s not the constant annoyance of emails pinging, and each head’s entrance and exit can be quite entertaining!