All change in September ... reflections on a year

Wow - what a year we have had since September 2012!

This year has seen our department work so very hard to improve on last year's GCSE results.  We have all subscribed to using Twitter to help us 'spot' new ieas and try them out, it has seen our children work so hard that we really could be no prouder - I really do hope that the summer brings them the results that they have worked so hard for.

Today was a sad day, as we said farewell to two beloved members of our department - one moving south to live with his fiancée and start a job ina new school; the other leaving the profession (she will definitely miss the children - true evidence of someone 'called' to the profession - evidence that teaching is vocational) to become a comedienne.  My two departing colleagues have given their all to our school and have been people whom the children have admired and respected.  Their fresh approach to teaching MFL often gave me food for thought and made me sit back and reflect - in fact, indirectly, I would argue that they have turned me into a more reflective clasroom practitioner.  Yes, in September we will work with new staff in the department, but it will definitely not be the same. 

What have I done differently this year?

• I've used the 'Wheel of Marginal Gains' to develop children's written work
• We've really honed our strategies when it came to preparing the speaking assessments, including much more self assessment following recorded snippets
• I've realised the potential of mini whiteboards in aiming for grammatial accuracy and drafting - the list of possibilities is endless
• I have tracked the progress of students more diligently across the whole department and have worked with the other teachers to develop methods of showing the children how we can help them to work out howw well they are doing by looking regularly at UMS points and what they mean - through this we have really improved their ability to set their own targets - they have been able to set targets with meaning and with purpose
• We've started our very own department twitter feed with two purposes (to help the children and to give them another avenue to ask questions; and to reach parents whilst we are on our trips abroad)
• We used to only use Tarsia puzzles to practise basic vocabulary - now though we see its potential and are using it for structures, to develop students' confidence with longer phrases, to work with questions and answers and to create a stockpile of information, on which there are then comprehension questions
• I have realised that the children can be inspired to learn a language, not just by discussions about future jobs etc but, more so by discussions about culture and heritage in TL countries
• In the quest to constantly 'do things better' or 'to do
• Embraced new technology - not completely and not always well!  But ... we have tried so hard and we have made in roads into exploring how to use tablets the technology that exists in the children's pockets

Most of all though, I've worked with great kids and a brilliant staff team - we haven't worked against each other, but WITH each other and we have helped each other and never held back with sharing ideas and conversations.  The team in which I have worked this year has made me proud to say that I was part of it.  The reception that the teachers were given at today's leavers' assembly made it so obvious that the children love the staff and vice verse.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?  I've worked all year in a team which has worked with the best kids - that's what has made me feel proud!