witch

As long as you haven't got too much to carry, walking from Canning Town isn't too bad either- avoids the crowded train anyway

We have Kinder Surprise all year - they arent really Easter eggs, just egg shaped!

Heard this sad news on the way to work. Did wonder initially why Radio 4 was playing Is There Life on Mars Quite upset - his early stuff was the soundtrack to my teenage years and I was always fascinated by his ability to change himself into a different person and perform different, yet still stunning, music

i have had help from the southern salesman but he has struggled to get answers. I bought the kit from my usual guys but they don't normally sell Lenovo so they got it from a distributor. Noone is taking responsibility and the story I am getting keeps changing

Still no resolution - and here we are in 2016 I have been offered a replacement for the monitor and computer that they have - so that "it isn't away too long" - two months not too long then? They utterly FAILED to mention the other issues I have been having up until this point. I had to reiterate it all to the sales manager who sent it up the line to the next guy. From him, I got the same "we will send you a new computer" which I had ALREADY BEEN TOLD and once more, he obviously had not gone back to the beginning and seen the video I sent and the other issues I have had. To add insult to injury I was asked for AN INVOICE to prove the kit was bought - when they have already replaced some monitors and indeed right back at the beginning an engineer came out. I had a hissy fit and no more was said, but one week on, NO computer or monitor has arrived. Currently I now have two that won't turn on AT ALL (maybe that's good and they have finally broken) but I can't identify if it is the monitor as if I swap it out, sometimes it starts working and sometimes it doesn't. I still have the flashy green light issue such that 3 or 4 will not switch on immediately but will come on after 10 minutes or so. I really really have had ENOUGH and if Lenovo are at BETT, they had better watch out

Do you have any idea who might have taken them? Is there any way of putting out a message - via a newsletter or twitter, facebook or whatever to say that you DO have the means to trace them but will allow an amnesty of X weeks for them to be returned, no questions asked. I know it is unlikely to succeed but on the face of it, with no other alternatives, it could be worth a go

Absolutely - it is just that back in the day, the SATs were advertised as testing the school, not the child, as indeed they should be and yet the pressure on the children is tremendous now. I agree, a lot of sites like RM Maths and Mathletics do test this sort of thing and if they can do it without pressurising the children then great, but somehow experience makes me doubt it

...and what??? I'll take the hugs though

Found this that might help - 10 Rules of Email Etiquette for Teachers and this: Email etiquette: Top 10 tips when sending work emails | Page 1 - Real Business As for the "no email" Friday - in a busy school I don't think that is possible

Did anyone see the program "Trust me I'm a Doctor" on BBC2 last night? Very interesting bits about workouts and health. Probably not a scientific test but they did find that men burn more fat if they exercise BEFORE a meal, and women AFTER a meal

Never could do pull-ups I was shocked at how much fitness I had lost over the 2 weeks of Christmas. I never weigh myself so I don't know whether I have put on anything and my weights work was fine, but the cardio! I couldn't even finish the 10mins warmup on the bike or the 1 min fast row between sets

sounds good but be careful about eating too much fruit - it can be quite calorific. A handful of nuts would be better than a cereal bar as most of them have a lot of sugar and fat and aren't much different to eating a chocolate bar.

So..Saturday then???

Um....

TBH if it is under warranty - send it back and let them sort it out

I agree with all that except the last bit - if something is illegal, it is illegal and no amount of telling by the Head is going to make me do it

The whole point of learning tables is to facilitate multiplication,division etc. If you know your tables, you can make leaps when working out calculations, because the numbers are just in your head - for example if you need to divide 76 by 8, you already know that 9 x 8 is 72 without really thinking about it and so only have to think about the remainder. It is a shortcut.

A blanket "No" will never get you where you want to go. If someone asks you to do something - then I am sure you tell them that you will look into it. When you have, and found that it isn't possible, you go back to the person, say "No" but then explain, hopefully in simple terms, why you cannot do as they ask and what their options might be. As for getting them to accept it - if you have done your research, then that is it, you can just quietly say that you can do no more. Then, and it isn't easy I know, you just have to keep repeating yourself - or go up the chain if you have to. As for taking the word "No" myself - if someone can explain at least a bit of their thinking then fine, but if it is just a "No" for the sake of it - I certainly don't take it well

1. 100K ??? 2. Not if they don't use it properly 3. Don't offer any external support of any kind 4. Not if they are trying to do it - it's amazing how they can force things into the wrong sockets or just plain not connect something important - such as the whiteboard! 5. Not that I have seen

Yeah, but I'm hijacking as I run windows 8 on the tablets the children use and I have this problem ALL THE TIME

Well yes, but that isn't going to happen anyway even if they have a laptop as many use their own computers at home. And I think it could be set up to be pretty safe...?

What about Windows 8.1 though?

But if I tried it I would get cries of "He/She's got a laptop, I want one"

This one! All my kit - cable testers, screwdrivers, the lot, are mine. I have never been given any school equipment in any of the jobs I have had in education. The staff laptop question is fascinating. Every option from staff getting a laptop AND a tablet at one end to staff not getting anything at the other has been covered. Both my schools issue laptops but I want to go over to fixed PCs in the classrooms. The DH argues that they need a laptop to do their job but I reckon that in this day and age you can presume that someone has a computer of some sort - much like you would expect them to have a phone. I would like to see remote working and more use of cloud-based stuff. What REALLY annoys me is the number of laptops that are just left in school, proving that the teacher DOES NOT need one. I would like to do a walk-around and see which ones are left and then put a fixed PC in those classrooms.

@mattx - you might have to look at the longer term planning because of Uni etc. But i am sure you have got things you can do and need to look at jobs that slide you across into something else. I am here if you need any help. I can't believe your boys are that old now - well, I can, because you are around 10 years behind me in both age and children - but it seems to have gone so fast