Me on Monday aka Memorandum Monday

SHE WHO LEAVES A TRAIL OF GLITTER ...

... is never forgotten, or so they say. I know that twelfth night isn't for a few days yet but this weekend saw us dismantling the Christmas decorations.  One minute they are on the tree looking festive, the next they're in their box looking sad.

Once the new year has arrived I'm always ready to pack everything back up and get the house back to normal.  But of course the house then has a trail of discarded glitter in every single room which means getting the hoover out and cleaning the house from top to bottom.  This has two benefits:

1. I've burnt off enough calories to justify eating a few more left over Quality Street this afternoon
2. It starts me off on the month long decluttering challenge set over at Apartment Therapy.  I did it last year and it was a good way to get into new routines for the new year.  Of course 11 months later I wasn't following all the rules all the time (otherwise I wouldn't have needed to sign up again!) but it's free and gives you motivation to get the house tidy and keep it that way.  Come join me - by February you too will be smugly enjoying a clutter free, tidy home. 

MEMORANDUM MONDAY

Well, Sian has re-invented Me On Monday to become Memorandum Monday with a view to share something we've learned over the weekend. So one thing I learned was not to assume that I can smugly write up a blog post and be super efficient and post it early!  Because on this occasion it meant I had to rewrite an extra paragraph.  Well the only thing that springs to mind is that I learned that I should not judge a DVD by its cover or the précis on the back of the case. 

There was nothing of interest to us on TV on Saturday night and my husband suggested watching a DVD he'd had for his birthday.  The Monument Men. 
'What's it about?'
'It's set in World War II'
'I don't like war films'.
'It's based on a true story about saving valuable artworks in Europe'
'Art?  I don't know anything about medieval art, this sounds boring.'
'It's got George Clooney in it.'
'I'll just get comfortable, put it on'.
And I was surprised to find that I did enjoy it. So I'm happy to review my ideas on War Films.  I do like them if George Clooney is in the lead role.
 

 

THE RETURN OF THE SECRETARY

 

So after two weeks blissful holiday, reality kicked back in and it was the dreaded back to work day.  Worse still, it's a CPD day and so although I normally only work until 12.30 on a Monday I had to stay there ALL DAY.  I know.  How unfair is that? All day in a cold school that has had no heating for 2 weeks.  Sitting on plastic school chairs in a hall.  The best part of the day was a mention that our newly retired Head of Science has been awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours List for services to education in the UK and Uganda.  She's the person behind our links to a school in Uganda and a really talented, inspirational teacher.  A much deserved recognition.  I must confess there was an interesting talk on Growth Mindset and the difference between saying to a child 'well done, you're really clever' and 'well done, you worked hard to get that grade, you deserve to have done well'.  Apparently children who are told they are clever or talented are more afraid to stretch themselves in case they fail.  If you acknowledge hard work, they are more likely to push themselves and keep trying harder and learn from their mistakes.  There you go, I learned something new over the weekend and on Monday.  Job done!