Pointless Question of the Week #2

[sqdge]

So, last week we learnt what hidden talents we all had (and I feel we are all better off for it).

 

This week I was wondering what one thing about your school, that isn't ICT or Staff/Student related, you would change if you could?

 

For example, I would like to change the colour of the walls so that they were something other than stale-porridge-magnolia.

[_Bat_]

Ummmmm... I think the location, haha. Not gonna say anything about our current location as this is a public internet forum someone only has to google the school names now to find edugeek (my own stupid fault for trying to SEO our school websites using this forum, now I have no idea who is watching me).

 

However, I'd love to work in a school near a beach somewhere. This is why I get jealous each time Localzuk posts cos he lives in Somerset, haha. It's not fair

[Jake]

I would change the concrete (?) playing grounds into grass fields like schools around here used to have when I was a kid. I can only assume that the schools swapped away from having grass fields because maintenance is cheaper for concrete ones. I always feel that the kids are missing out by not having a grass playing field, I used to have a great laugh on our playing field in my youth

[amyr]

not being right next to the m20 motorway - the constant hum of lorries going up and down is very distracting. also the colour of the walls - i agree the stale magnolia colour is not a good colour....would prefer a pale blue or a bright colour like orange or purple i think..oh and more car parking spaces - there's never enough!

[Kwyjibo]

Well I've got the beach, just wish I could see it! All I want is a window in my cupboard, sorry I mean office. Other than that it has to be magnolia walls.

[Ben_Stanton]

WE STILL HAVE THE DAMN HEATING ON!

 

So, that is what I would change. Nothing more I hate than beads of sweat running down your arm!

 

Arghhh!

[Geoff]

fields full of cows here.

[witch]

I've got the beach about 4 miles away - can't see it though!

I would change the wall colour as well

This school is in separate blocks - I would put in joining corridors - especially in the winter!

(not that we have much winter down here)

[Halfmad]

Pretty nice views here and we're getting a new school built further up the hill so they'll only get better. Mostly fields, hills and mountains as we're right on the edge of town (and civilisation).

 

If I could change one thing about the school it would be more air con units in the rooms. There's some rooms here that just get stupidly hot the instant the sun shines, partly due to Mr sun but also due to our ancient storage heaters!

[Ashers]

The joining corridors definately, and a new cupboard without the seven servers making so much noise that I have to turn the radio up loader as the day goes on, and an outside window, I forget what daylight looks like! and finally a cupboard that doesn't open in to a class room, nothing better than having to walk through a class when the teacher is trying to teach and then two minutes later walking back through with a PC in your arm and their bas all over the floor.........

 

Not too much to ask surely.......

 

And no I haven't been thinking about this too much, Honest!

[enjay]

We're a long way from the beach in Reading, but the view from my office window is awesome - our school is at the higher end of the town so I look out over the houses for a few miles and then on to rolling fields and trees.

 

On the downside, the primary school next door has a small playground so staggers the break and lunch times - this means that it is constant playtime outside my office window from 10am to 2pm. Not fun!

 

I agree with the people who are suggesting a more pleasant working environment. I would like to see brighter or cleaner colours (we are also largely magnolia), more natural light (most classrooms have the blinds down so turn the lights on) and some more plants.

 

The yellow strip lights are hideous - having recently swapped the living room light bulb for one which emits a natural white light (which forced me in to doing all the others at home too!), I am amazed at the difference it makes. I know that sun-glare is a problem in classrooms, so if the blinds must be pulled down, at least have some decent lighting to replace them, not banks and banks of yellow neon. Our new maintenance supervisor is actually in the process of doing this, however it is slow and expensive.

 

I would also like to see a greater environmental responsibility - we recycle paper which is cool, but lights are left on constantly, lots of kettles needlessly boiled, windows opened while the heating is on and so on. Also, our cleaners of course use the cheapest products available which no doubt contain all sorts of nasty chemicals which do untold environmental damage.

[Ben_Stanton]

Wish I had a nice place to work. Here are a few pics of what I have to put up with...

 

[Norphy]

At the moment?

 

An office that is bigger than 12m square for three or four users and a desk that doesn't come up to chest height when you're sat down. Not only is this place incredibly cramped, I'm getting pretty bad back pain too.

[enjay]

I'm getting pretty bad back pain too.

I have been recently too, which I can attribute to a bad sitting position (which I can't avoid due to the nature of my desk). Speak to your Health & Safety Officer - they are legally required to sort it out. I did that a couple of weeks ago, and I'm having an office re-fit in half term :-)

[sqdge]

I'm getting pretty bad back pain too.

 

Today I was grumbling about how I had to move a lot of boxes and things, and wouldn't it be nice if the school had a sack-barrow or something. I'm sure my back is not thanking me every time I do it (and I'm the H&S officer would frown somewhat as well).

 

So, it turns out that the school does have a sack barrow. It lives in the caretaker's room - which is strange because he categorically denied having one. I mentioned this to him, he shrugged his shoulders and said that I couldn't use it because it wasn't for the ICT dept. (the same reason that I, having be trained to go up a ladder, can not use any of his ladders).

 

So, I will be sending him the bill for my osteopathy sessions.

 

I know I said that it shouldn't be staff-related, so another thing I would change, is to have a freely available sack-barrow or flatbed trolley.

[webman]

sqdge: Did the caretakers pay for the computer they use from their budget? If not - TAKE IT AWAY! :twisted:

[sqdge]

sqdge: Did the caretakers pay for the computer they use from their budget? If not - TAKE IT AWAY! :twisted:

 

The only time the caretaker uses a computer from my budget is when he flicks the main power switch at 4:30pm so they all shut-down abruptly. He used to do the same thing to the server, which caused no end of merriment for me.

 

As you can tell, I have something of a soft spot for our caretaker. Sort of. Well, not really.

[webman]

It sounds as if he has it in for you

[localzuk]

Wish I had a nice place to work. Here are a few pics of what I have to put up with...

 

 

One word - git

[sqdge]

It sounds as if he has it in for you

 

He has it in for everyone. He's been there since the school opened in 1972, which might explain why the place is falling to pieces.

[Norphy]

I have been recently too, which I can attribute to a bad sitting position (which I can't avoid due to the nature of my desk). Speak to your Health & Safety Officer - they are legally required to sort it out. I did that a couple of weeks ago, and I'm having an office re-fit in half term :-)

 

I've already spoken to my new manager about the desks, he is working hard to get them replaced. He has already got some quotes and we should be seeing something soon hopefully.

 

Now to get a bigger office

[Andrew_C]

The location is fine; http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/Andrew_C/DSCN0055.jpg

 

Shame about the vile 12 mile, 40-60 minute drive each way, five days a week! Saturday it only takes 20 mins, so I want the whole school moved closer to home, scenery and all!

[linuxgirlie]

hmmm, our building has nice views of the port and sea, with fields and trees in-between, so I wouldn't change the view, and the building itself is a copy of dover castle (also seen from the school) so I wouldn't change that either....

 

A bigger office would be nice, but that is staff/student/ict related so I think it would have to be parquet floors and more colours in classrooms, like sky blue, cheery colours. I suppose parquet floors who be horrible to clean but they would look smart. I would also change all of the horrible dark brown cupboards we have in ict to something nice...mine in my office are covered it stickers and cutouts at the moment so don't look particularly pretty!

 

Jo

[linuxgirlie]

1972 thats young our school celebrated it centenary last year!! rofl

[sqdge]

1972 thats young our school celebrated it centenary last year!! rofl

 

Our school was a big experiment in 'modern' design. It looks like an airport (with a control tower and hangars and everything!) and spent the first ten years of its life with open-plan classrooms (you can probably imagine why that didn't last).