Five on Friday

Following on from my post yesterday, I actually managed to speak to Head of Services and advise that I am retiring.  The good news is that, although officially I need to give a month's notice, they accept that I want to finish as soon as possible and will not penalise me in any way.  However, if I do that it means the majority of my schools will no longer receive any instrumental lessons as there is nobody to replace me; they need to recruit and train someone, which will take months.  At the moment it's been left that they will try to get a couple of the other tutors to take on some of my work and if necessary I will keep the two schools where I am continuing with the recorder lessons, until a replacement can be found for me.  It's not ideal, but I'd prefer to do that than leave my schools and pupils with no lessons at all.

Moving on to Five on Friday ... as it is the start of the school year for me and also my last year of working full time, I've chosen five things I want to remember about this time of year. 

One | I want to remember that feeling of walking in to the schools at the start of the academic year, when everything is still fresh and tidy.  When there are new displays on the wall, when the teachers are relaxed, and when the children still have that 'start of the year, scrubbed to within an inch of their lives' look about them in their clean and tidy uniforms.  When the schools buzz with the anticipation of what's to come.  It's an exciting place to be.

 

Two| I want to remember that despite the early mornings and feeling tired, I've enjoyed being back in the routine. It's good to have a purpose in mind for most days and I need to remember this in the future - days don't drag when there is a purpose, which I suppose is obvious! 

 

Three | I want to remember the enjoyment of seeing things from a child's perspective. It's been wonderful to share a child's excitement as he or she has strived to master a tricky combination of notes and to see how they view, and celebrate, their own successes.  How they can live in the moment and find wonder in the simplest of things.
 

Four | I want to remember how important it is for me to take the time to stop and admire the view.  Not to photograph it, but to just take five minute or so to breathe deeply, recharge the batteries, and calm myself before moving on to the next thing on my list. I've always scheduled time for this between each school so that I can leave the problems of one school behind and go into the next one with a fresh attitude.

 

Five  | I want to remember the joy of playing a variety of instruments throughout the week.  This week I've played flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, cornet and tenor horn.  I've never ceased to be amazed that I'm paid to play my instruments! 

Well, these are the main things I want to remember.  I could easily do a much longer list of the things I won't miss ... but I'm not going to. It's been a good exercise to sit and think about the various things that have given me the most pleasure this week, and I hope you've enjoyed reading them.

My thanks go to Amy for organising Five on Friday.