Open Day this week: we run two sessions during the day so prospective parents can see us in action. Both the presentations were packed- but the morning was standing room only with parents even having to sit on the gallery steps as we were so short of space. Year 7s, who have been with us only 3 weeks
, acted as guides, showing just how quickly they have settled in and how knowledgeable about the school they are. I overheard one boy speaking with great authority to a group of parents about the detention system. Had he experienced that already?
This year we used the Website as a live link to illustrate the presentations. It’s a rich source of information and we put a lot of time into keeping up-to-date. In theory anything you need to know should be featured- and more besides.
Phil, our technician, strolled in half asleep just before we started, hunting for leads, loading his computer and pressing buttons. “My computer’s just crashed,” he whispered reassuringly
as I stood up to speak! My reply is unprintable.
But it worked. Once on line, we were able to click onto photos, bulletins, policies and systems. What a treasure trove. How did we function without it? In these re-cycling aware times, it’s great not to have to print any paper. No trees died as a result of Open Day this year. As for the Prospectus, if size mattered, it would be a disaster. In fact, if Martin Burt reduces it further, we’ll need to give away a free microscope with each one.
The Internet has changed our lives. A colleague tells me that 12 years ago, when he began teaching, he used his new head teacher’s Christian name and was firmly rebuked: ‘Mr’ was the correct form of address. Now, staff can send and receive emails at all times of the day and night. Sometimes an issue, that might have taken several meetings to resolve, has been sorted on the over-night email trail. From the formality of surnames to the immediacy of email speak- quite a shift in culture.
As for the prospective parents and likely new students, none of us can predict the changes in education that technology will bring by the time they reach Year 12. We won’t return to paper, that’s for sure. The Learning Gateway will be a big feature. What else could we possibly want the Internet to do? Our Website is, literally, all-singing, all-dancing. Ralph Wickenden and John Whitehead see to that. The treasure trove will grow.
, acted as guides, showing just how quickly they have settled in and how knowledgeable about the school they are. I overheard one boy speaking with great authority to a group of parents about the detention system. Had he experienced that already?This year we used the Website as a live link to illustrate the presentations. It’s a rich source of information and we put a lot of time into keeping up-to-date. In theory anything you need to know should be featured- and more besides.
Phil, our technician, strolled in half asleep just before we started, hunting for leads, loading his computer and pressing buttons. “My computer’s just crashed,” he whispered reassuringly
as I stood up to speak! My reply is unprintable.But it worked. Once on line, we were able to click onto photos, bulletins, policies and systems. What a treasure trove. How did we function without it? In these re-cycling aware times, it’s great not to have to print any paper. No trees died as a result of Open Day this year. As for the Prospectus, if size mattered, it would be a disaster. In fact, if Martin Burt reduces it further, we’ll need to give away a free microscope with each one.
The Internet has changed our lives. A colleague tells me that 12 years ago, when he began teaching, he used his new head teacher’s Christian name and was firmly rebuked: ‘Mr’ was the correct form of address. Now, staff can send and receive emails at all times of the day and night. Sometimes an issue, that might have taken several meetings to resolve, has been sorted on the over-night email trail. From the formality of surnames to the immediacy of email speak- quite a shift in culture.
As for the prospective parents and likely new students, none of us can predict the changes in education that technology will bring by the time they reach Year 12. We won’t return to paper, that’s for sure. The Learning Gateway will be a big feature. What else could we possibly want the Internet to do? Our Website is, literally, all-singing, all-dancing. Ralph Wickenden and John Whitehead see to that. The treasure trove will grow.
"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."
But we’ll always need technicians, and they’ll need sleep, so we’ll never eliminate the possibility of human error. Can someone just give Mr Widdeson a nudge?
No comments:
Post a Comment