Emergency! There is a bird in Pre-School!

When something goes wrong, I am the first person to be called. I never know what I will find when I am called. It could involve a roof with a leak, a wobbly toilet seat or a gate buzzer that doesn’t buzz. These are some of the interesting things that crop up on a daily basis. I always think that you couldn’t make up most of my jobs. With the animal world,  I have dealt with bats, hares, sheep, a very angry little cockerel and toads. Today, a little robin in Pre-School was the problem. It is amazing how brave you suddenly become with a fishing net in hand and I would almost consider myself an expert in small animal removal. The robin is safely back outside and the net has been put away for another day and another crisis!

Father Smith came to see me two days ago and we were discussing the boilers. Every time I venture down to the boiler room, I am always accompanied by at least ten toads, who live down there.  I can only describe the boiler room as dark and damp with many pipes. At university, I wasn’t taught about boiler rooms and it always makes me smile to think how little I knew about such things this time last year. I am self taught in this department but when there is a problem, only an expert will do! Father Smith has now put an instruction manual down there and he has the ability (and know how)  to drain the frog spawn in order for the water to clear. You have read that correctly! We now have a system of checking this potential problem and I have added it to the list of interesting jobs that were not present in the job description.

After the publication of our recent OFSTED report, a family came to thank us for all of the hard work and energy we put into our school. I was told that “St.Francis’ is like a private school but without the pay.” I thank all of you who have made such similar comments. It is very humbling to hear, especially as we enjoy each and every day in school. As a teacher, it is a bonus to work with such truly amazing children. I will blog again tomorrow with some anecdotes about the first week back. Happy New Year and welcome back!