Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'll be beginning my long trek back home to the U.S.A. Completely unbelievable. I could say that this trip has flown by, but that's saying the absolute least. There's never been a quicker month in my whole life. I'm going to try not to ramble on in this post, but this will be the last post I type from Derby, United Kingdom, which is just really crazy.

On Saturday, I had the most wonderful opportunity to visit London, England. I went with Laura and Dawn and her husband, Andy. We were able to pretty much see the entire city in one day, and I couldn't have asked for better. We first arrived off the train to London St. Pancras, and, of course, the first place we went was Kings Cross Station 😍, the home of the Hogwarts Express. We made our way to Platform 9 3/4 to head to Hogwarts to meet Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione... Basically. We were all completely overjoyed. Sooooooo cool. I got a lanyard to wear for school and a ticket from the station with the platform printed on it.

From there, we rode on the tube (underground train) to the famous Leicester Square. (All the big movie premieres are held here!) Fortunately, since we were there pretty early in the morning, there wasn't too many people! We had breakfast in Leicester Square before moving on. 😊

Next we walked over to Trafalgar Square, which is famous for the four lion statues that you can climb onto. I had seen the lions lots of times in movies and pictures, etc., and really looked forward to seeing those and getting a picture. I never thought those statues would be so high off the ground!! They sit about 5 and a half feet up on top of a big marble monument, and because there are no stairs, you have to climb up and jump down! Not the easiest thing to do and somewhat scary, but we did it anyway. :) Laura has those pictures, so check Facebook!

The next thing we did, which took up most of our time, was a long double-decker bus tour that took us all the way around the city of London, pointing out all the main things. I'm not sure I've ever been so excited!! I just couldn't keep the smile off. All the historical stuff you see in movies and nursery rhymes and books...

The bus drove across the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, tok us to see Big Ben and Parliament, the Prime Minister's home, the Tower of London, the Thames River, the site of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, and many more things before Buckingham Palace, where we got off the bus. Buckingham Palace is just as cool as you'd think it is. The guards in the red suits and the fluffy black hats... the whole thing. Just really cool. I'm not sure how they get close enough to the guards to try and make them laugh in movies and stuff because there really is not a way to get that close...

We also saw the fountain in front of Buckingham Palace and the huge statue of Queen Victoria, which was really really cool and I really like the picture of it that I took! (beginning of the post)

On Friday night, Laura and I watched the VE Day coverage on the news. VE Day is a day that commemorates the ending of World War II. Being able to watch that on Friday night and then see the places in London the next day was really exciting. Also, the national anthem of England is "God Save the Queen" which is the same melody as the "My Country, Tis of thee, sweet land of liberty... from every mountainside, let freedom ring..." song that we have. Just so you know!

I couldn't have asked for a better day in London. I absolutely loved it!

Sunday was honestly not a super exciting day. Haha! I hadn't done any packing and really needed to get that done. I was also just extremely tired from the early morning on Saturday and the late night Saturday night. So, we pretty much had a lazy Sunday despite going to town for just a little while. After tea, Lauren and Scott took me to Darley Park to go and walk around in the park. Everything looks really nice here in the Springtime and it wasn't too cool. I took a few pictures and then we came right back home so I could finish my packing.

The overwhelmingly best part of this trip has been the people I have met and the experiences I have had with friends since I've been here. This has been such a perfect way to end my college career while seeing another part of the world. I've gotten to do so many unbelievable things while I've been here, and I'm just a simple girl from Kentucky. I feel so lucky and am grateful to everyone who has allowed me to travel here and create my sense of family while I've been here.

1. I've definitely kept a sense of my family since being here. I could never go too long without FaceTiming or texting with Mom and other family back home. So very thankful for my family.
2. Lauren and Scott: Thanks so much for inviting me into your home and for being so SO hospitable and fun to be around. I know what a crazy leap of faith it was for you to have me, and I'm so glad you did!
3. Dawn and Andy: Thanks so much for your wonderful weekend trips!! I'm so happy y'all allowed me to come along. Thanks for being willing to let me and Laura be "tourist-y" :)
4. Patrick: Who would've thought we'd end up in England?! Good gracious... I'm glad we were both here.
5. Laura: Thanks for being such a buddy. Who would've thought we barely knew each other before leaving?! You've been so fun to travel with... and you should expect me in Gallatin. :)
6. Thanks so much to everyone who has been so supportive of my coming here. I know some of you have been keeping your eyes peeled for my blog postings, and it means a lot to know you care so much! I'm lucky to have you and I appreciate it.

I can't even tell you how cool all this has been. Still kind of feels like it didn't actually happen. I never thought I'd actually get to come to England, much less stay here, teach here, meet people here, travel here... It's just been so cool. And I really hope it's not my last time...

Now, to go home and GRADUATE COLLEGE!! 
I become an official teacher on Saturday!!!!!!!!

Forever grateful and amazed at this,

--Haley

Just wanted to quickly post about the last week I had at school here in England. I still have one more day (tomorrow) at Long Eaton, but I have completed my time at Shardlow primary. I'll post again really soon about my last weekend here. :)

For the safety of the students and the rules of the school, I'm not allowed to post my pictures online, but I can assure you I will keep them and hopefully have them in my future classroom. It has been so cool to be able to see how school works in another country and meet some really great teachers and staff. Upon going to England, I didn't know I'd have the opportunity to go to a primary school for my experience, I assumed it would all happen at Long Eaton, which is technically a secondary school. Being at the primary school proved to be so helpful for me and really gave me a better experience than I would've had otherwise, so I'm really grateful!

The students of Shardlow are going to grow up to be such sweet people and are learning so much at their school. The teachers there really care about the students, and because of its tiny, TINY size, (only four classrooms) the whole school feels just like a family. Everyone knows everyone and calls them by first name. All the students are polite and friendly to each other, are willing to share, and are truly comfortable. I hope to bring some of that into my own classroom.

I was given the opportunity to teach all afternoon on both Thursday and Friday of this week! Thursday, I taught a book and a play to a class of 28 Year 1 &2 students (Kindergarten and First grade). I had taught the book before, because its one of my absolute favorite children's stories. It's called "One" by Kathryn Otoshi. I wrote the book into a script so that students could perform it to classmates. The book teaches the importance of friendship and including everyone, and the students really loved it.

On Friday afternoon, I taught a lesson about the differences in my home in Kentucky and their homes in Shardlow. This was in the Year 3s and 4s class (2nd and 3rd grade). I gave the students opportunities to ask questions and learn more about school, hobbies, and generally anything they wanted to know. Then, the students wrote letters to "my American friend," asking them questions and telling them how school works in England. Hopefully I'll get to bring these to one of my former Student Teaching placement classes and share them! Loved this lesson and students did too.

Something different about this placement as opposed to the other two I have had back home at Alvaton and Richardsville... When the students say "Will you come and visit?!" ....... 😞 
It's a little more difficult!

Some main differences to remember (neither negative nor positive... just differences)

• "Registration" and housekeeping terms for things... I could go on for days. When I read the kids' letters, the American students won't have a clue what they're talking about
• Assembly: every day before lunch
• Uniforms of course
• Subjects studied: Literacy, Numeracy, phonics, Religion... lots of differences there
• School theme
• Teachers teach all subjects including Art and P.E. and Music

 
Every once in a while, a few students will be recognized at a school assembly for acquiring a pen license or "exemplifying Shardlow spirit." (Students receive a pen license if their handwriting proves to be at the exemplary level, and the student gets to write in pen instead of pencil!) Parents will come and students are absolutely thrilled when they are recognized. :) The headteacher called a school assembly on Friday afternoon and gave some pen licenses, recognized some students for good work, and gave out some "Shardlow Spirit Awards" for confidence, motivation, independence, and open-mindedness. The last recipient of the award was... me! And I was able to get all four awards! Such a sweet thing of the staff to do. I was too flattered to even know what to say. I've learned so much and will miss all the students and the staff.

Although I didn't have as much time actually in classes at the Long Eaton School, I have learned so much from the students and the teachers. Everyone has been so helpful and welcoming. Since I can't drive here and Shardlow is too far away to walk, someone from Long Eaton has taxied me to and from every day. Really great! They've also given me lots of opportunities within the classrooms I've been in, and just generally been lovely to see every day. I've made lots of friends and I will miss them!

Some main differences to remember (neither negative nor positive... just differences)

• Extensive and mobile timetables (schedules): This allows students to take more classes per term and have more choice, but possibly less of a relationship with the teachers, just because they don't see the student as much
• LOTS more classes offered: everything from technology and business to food to construction to hair and beauty to drama to music... lots and lots of choices
• GCSEs, A levels, and sixth form... This is hard to explain, but nothing like it at home. Lots of pressure on these students at an early age
• Driving to school: virtually no students
• Uniforms: a definite
• Teachers have free periods sometimes to plan (?!)
• Students are allowed outside for breaks and lunch and social times

Special thanks to both schools for giving me a great experience and lots of opportunities! You've helped my teaching career in so many ways. 

Alright then! I'll be back for a weekend post soon! :)

--Haley

Weekend update #3! I know this is a little late because it's nearly time for my next weekend destination, but I have had a very busy and quick week! This past weekend, although it was three days rather than two, went by VERY quick! I was able to go to Chatsworth House on Saturday and Stratford upon Avon on Sunday, and then shopping and to a cookout on Monday. A very full and fun weekend! 

On Saturday, I was able to visit Chatsworth House, which is a very old and beautiful tudor home in Derbyshire. I went with Laura and her hosts Dawn and Andy. The house has been owned by the same family in England since 1500s. It is an absolutely huge and beautiful place and it has been used for lots of movies, such as Pride and Prejudice. It is famous around the U.K. for being the most beautiful country home. 

When we first arrived we went to a market on the Chatsworth property. The market sold all kinds of homemade and homegrown foods from produce to sandwiches to chocolate, all kinds of things. Laura and I both got a cheese and rosemary scone, which was more or less a giant cheese biscuit but they were really nice!

Inside the house there are several pieces of priceless furniture and art and everything lavish you could think of. Every wall is painted with old detailed paintings and it was really like being inside castle in a movie.

The house was beautiful and very historic. Also, the grounds of the house extend for miles and miles. The property stretches as far as you can see, but the gardens surrounding the house were soooo pretty too. (see my Facebook for more pictures of this!)

After seeing all the parts of the house and the grounds that we could, we went into one of the restaurants at Chatsworth for fancy afternoon tea. ☕️

Each of us got our own type of tea, just for fun, so I had Earl Grey and really liked it! The sugar was in little cubes set on the table. We each had our own little black tea pot. We had sandwiches (salmon, egg salad, cucumber and cream cheese, and ham and mustard). I must say, I only ate the ham sandwiches... which is awful I know, but I don't like eggs or cucumbers! I did at least try each of them. We then had "scones" which are the little biscuits, with clotted cream and strawberry jam (my favorite part). Then, for "pudding" we had tartes with some type of fruit jelly, strawberry sponge cake, and a mint chocolate brownie. It was fun being all English and fancy having afternoon tea!

Shortly after the tea, we went back to Dawn's house to rest before the big day of Shakespeare on Sunday!

Although Saturday was great, Sunday was my favorite day of this past weekend. I definitely did not expect to love Stratford as much as I did, but it was so fun! The town looked like a small and peaceful town with lots of historical buildings, but the best part was the gardens!

We visited William Shakespeare's birthplace, his daughter Susanna's home after she married the town doctor, and Anne Hathaway's home, who became Shakespeare's wife.

At the birthplace, there were all kinds of actors dressed up in clothes that people would wear in Shakespeare's time, telling information about the building and life in the 15-1600s. They would also offer to recite or perform Shakespeare on the spot if you had requests... which we didn't. Haha

After going through the house, we stopped to look at the gardens outside. One of the actors was about to do a performance with members of his audience (which was about 10 people at most, including the four of us). He had a few bits of costumes to dress the characters in, which were young kids. Laura and I were assigned to be hungry scary lions who growled on cue... that was fun... Haha! Grrr!!

Sunday also turned out to be a really nice sunny day, which added to why it was my favorite day. 

Dawn, Laura, and I also bought matching rings from Stratford that say the Latin words 'PENCES POVR MOYE DV'  or "think of me, God willing." A ring just like ours was found in the ruins of the Rose theatre, which was a playhouse in Shakespeare's time.

The gardens really were the best part. In the one nearest Anne Hathaway's home, there were Shakespeare quotes on plaques in front of flowers and trees that are featured in his writings, which was neat. There are also several artworks and sculptures in the gardens. (see Facebook for more pictures!!)

It was a wonderful day, on of the best I have had here.

(You'll recognize the lack of picture for Monday because... we forgot to take one... Oops.)

On Monday, Lauren and Scott and I met up with Dawn, Andy, and Laura and went to Patrick's host family's home in Leicester for a cookout! Several other teachers from Long Eaton were there too. Patrick's birthday was on Monday so we all got together and had cheeseburgers, sausages (not hot dogs...), and birthday cake! It was good to get together with everyone and... it didn't rain! 

I've had several people ask me if I'm ready to go back home next week. I'm trying to be indifferent about it so I don't seem eager or disappointed! There are pros and cons. 

Pro: I really miss my car! I've had about enough of the train and walking everywhere.
Pro: I really miss my guitar. I;m used to playing just about every day and it's something I really enjoy. I like figuring out how to do new songs for myself.
Pro: Graduation is next weekend!! Ahh!!!
Pro: I want to go back and tell everyone how great it is over here, including my two past student teaching classes.

Con: I'll miss it so much... Tomorrow is my last day at Shardlow Primary... I've loved getting to know the staff and the kids there, and at Long Eaton.
Con: Real-life starts again and the job applying process starts back...
Con: I've made friends here and I hate to leave them!!
Con: 4 weekends is just not long enough to see everything here!! (but I've done the best I can and I'm very happy with it all.)

I'll update you again soon! 
-Haley

This week has been very full of excitement and lots of fun times! I think I will have to separate it into two posts, so this one will be for Monday-Friday, and then I'll do another one for this weekend!

Monday, I was scheduled to be at Long Eaton with my new form (class) of Year 7s, or sixth graders. They are turning out to be a great group of kids to be around, and I'm getting to see lots of ways to differentiate learning, which will be great when I begin teaching myself!

I won't go into too much detail about Monday because the day ended up being very trying for all students and staff at Long Eaton. The school received the news that a Year 11 student passed away over the previous weekend. The school delivered the news to all students at the Registration (homeroom) period at the end of the day. All the students and staff have been affected by this, but they've all pulled together so well and it's been great to spend time with this "school family," even in a tragedy.

Several primary schools feed into The Long Eaton School, where students go at the start of Year 7. I've been spending two days a week at Shardlow Primary, which is an abnormally tiny, very English school, quite a bit away from Long Eaton. Tuesday, I had the opportunity to visit another primary school called Brooklands, which almost directly connects to Long Eaton by bridge. It's a "large" school for the area and has about 400 kids. I spent time in a classroom with Year 6 (fifth grade) students, and had a fantastic day!

The day started off with me observing a grammar lesson taught by a male teacher. This teacher had taught in the U.S. before and was very enthusiastic about my being there. He asked for my help in teaching the lesson, which was great. The students were immediately floored by my accent. :)

Next, the students had guided reading. Much to my absolute pleasure, the students were reading none other than... Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Hearing English kids read that book aloud was just really enchanting and a really cool moment! 

Later on in the day, two of the fifth grade teachers gave the students time to just ask me whatever questions they wanted to about myself, school in the U.S., etc. They always surprise you with the questions they ask! 

"What football team do you support?"
...English people are obsessed with their football. I always have to explain how "football" to them is not "football" to me. I'm not really a fan of either one!

"What inspired you to be a teacher?"
I was surprised at this one! I wouldn't think kids would care to ask this, but I guess they did!

"Would you rather live here in England or live back home in Kentucky?"
This is difficult to explain to young kids, but without question, I love home. I will always be someone who loves the comfort and privacy that you feel at home. And I couldn't deal with not being near my family. As much as I do love it here in England, it's not me, for permanent. Describing what Kentucky even looks like is something kids here don't understand. Seeing big open fields and houses so far apart, riding school busses to school, not being able to walk everywhere: completely foreign. Being the only American person around is so different than anything I've ever done before and its' taught me a lot. Being American and being Southern is really cool and something I really like. (I know my Mom and Dad are glad to hear that! Ha!)

Later on in the day, the students went to "assembly" which is something the primary school kids have every day. It's just a period before or after lunch where the whole school gets together and has a lesson together. They have usually been about what students in the U.S. would have in Guidance class. The ones I've seen have been about changes and overcoming fears and things like that. The one at this school was actually kind of like a Sunday School lesson. Here in the UK, they are required to do some sort of religious education, which is, of course, 
completely different to us in the U.S.

At lunch, one of the teachers said that I sounded like Dolly Parton to her. Ha! And I'm not as country-sounding as lots of other people! It was overall a great day and I loved that school.

Oxford: one of the most famous universities in the whole entire world. I had been excited about this trip since hearing it was happening when we first arrived. 

Several students at Long Eaton will have the opportunity to apply to Oxford, so the school organized a visit for a large group of students, and they invited us to come too! It did not disappoint. Absolutely beautiful and very academic-looking buildings. I got to meet several students, tour two libraries, see a dorm room and student housing, and see several little famous things that you should see when you go there. Such a cool experience. 

The students were all surprisingly very normal! I honestly expected them all to be walking around with backpacks and glasses, riding bicycles full of textbooks, and so brainy, but they were really nice and just like normal college students. In England, all the universities cost the same amount of money for students, so things are more merit-based. You get really great grades and have a great interview to get into Oxford, but they do choose their students based on their potential, not their background.

Some of the Harry Potter films have been shot places in Oxford, and there's several little things to notice there. One of my favorites was the door from Narnia, from the title of the post. In the book, Lucy opens the door and looks over and sees a lamp post: in Oxford, you stand at the door, look over, and see a lamp post. So cool!

Also, there is a tree in one of the gardens at the "Corpus Christi" part of the university that inspired Lewis Carroll to write "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

See my Facebook for lots more pictures! They're hard to upload on here. :)

Thursday and Friday were both fairly normal days at Shardlow Primary. I helped with Year 1&2 in the morning on both days, and then Reception in the afternoon on Thursday, and Year 3&4 on Friday. I have gotten to know the staff better each time I have been and they have been so fun and nice to be around. I'm excited to be able to get pictures with some of the kids next week and teach some more of my own lessons. It will be fun. :)

I can't really remember what day it was, but I've now been to two pub quizzes!! Those are really fun. At a pub quiz, you form a team, and the announcer asks trivia questions every so often. You keep track of your answers and then hand them in at the end. Whoever wins gets a cash prize or some free drinks or something of that nature. The ones I've been to so far have been really hard and we've done pretty bad, but they're really fun!

That pretty much does it for my week this week! I'll post again really soon talking about my weekend because it has been very nice too. :) It's a long weekend and we're of tomorrow too!

Hope everyone has a great week!

--Haley

Back again with an update! I must say, this weekend was absolutely unbelievable. I have sooooo many pictures and memories and overall feelings about this weekend that I hope to never forget! If you're wondering about the title of the post, you might reference the great Disney movie 'The Lion King' ('Everything the light touches is our kingdom') Haha! Laura quoted this this weekend when we were looking at the skyline of Edinburgh while the sun set on top of a huge hill. 

So, this weekend, Laura and I traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland to visit her cousin and her cousin's husband, who live right in the middle of the city centre of Edinburgh. I was not at all expecting to love Edinburgh as much as I did, but it is an absolutely gorgeous place! 

To get to Scotland, Laura and I flew with her host, Dawn, who was to be in Edinburgh for the weekend anyway for a ball game. Because the flight was so early and the airport was three hours from Derby, I had a sleepover with Dawn, her husband, and Laura on Friday night. 

Friday evening, for 'tea,' Dawn and Andy took Laura and I to Matlock, a town nearby that most closely resembled Gatlinburg to us. You can get on a chairlift there and there are lots of little shops, places to eat, and things to do. It was a very cute little town! We did 'British' things like eat fish & chips by the river and feed the ducks. We took a walk around the town and just had a relaxing evening before heading back to watch Gogglebox and eat McFlurry's!
****Gogglebox is a hilarious British tv show. It selects random families in England, places a video camera behind their tvs, and films them watching popular tv shows like Master Chef and Britain's Got Talent. SO funny! USA definitely needs Gogglebox. :)


So, bright and early Saturday morning, we headed to the airport in Stansted. After a quick flight, Laura's cousin, Rachel, met us at the airport and took us back to her flat to drop off our things, then we were right back out the door to look around Edinburgh!

Of course, the first place we see and want to go is the unbelievable Edinburgh Castle. If anyone reading watches the show 'Reign' or knows about Mary, Queen of Scots, the Edinburgh castle is her REAL castle. The show is filmed in Ireland. :)

Edinburgh is a very steep place. Everything you want to go to is either STRAIGHT uphill or STRAIGHT downhill. So, at one point, we felt like we were directly below that castle looking straight up and would never ever reach it. Really crazy!

The castle is just absolutely huge, immaculate, and very very old. It doesn't even look real when you're looking right at it!

We also saw the crown jewels and several rooms inside the castle but you were not allowed to take pictures of those :) Also, at 1pm every day other than Sunday, a gun is fired to notify ships on the North Sea of the time. This is a big ceremony every day, so we stayed to watch that too. I just loved the castle.

After leaving the castle, we went walking around the city and saw the St. Giles Cathedral which was very fancy and humongous. There was a fee to take pictures in there, but Laura's cousin paid them for us. :) 

{We saw so many other fabulous things in Edinburgh it's hard for me to even describe. I have about a zillion more pictures that I will upload to Facebook because it's easier to upload pictures there.}

Also, as I was walking down from the castle with a huge throng of other people, a taxi cab came up behind me from NOWHERE and hit me in the shoulder! Taxi cab drivers, I'm convinced, are of a different breed.

We also tried the local food (haggis, steak and gravy pie), of course, which I can't say I was too big of a fan of. But I did try it. We did go to a shop called "Hotel Chocolat" though and... I sure can't complain about that. :)

Sunday evening, after we had arrived back in Derby, we went out for tea and a few drinks and went to a pub quiz! I think Lauren and I were half the age of all the people there... but it was fun nonetheless. Our team was called 'Teachers R Us' and we were pretty awful... but still fun! 

I'm very tired today after the really exhausting weekend walking miles and miles in Edinburgh. Couldn't be happier though! Never would've thought I'd love Scotland as much as I did! 

Tomorrow I'm visiting Brooklands Primary school to get a perspective on another primary school here in Derby. Then, Wednesday, OXFORD!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Haley :)

Hello again! I haven't updated since the weekend, but I've just been settling into a routine and nothing has been very new and exciting since the weekend. I wanted to update before this weekend because I leave tomorrow night for Scotland! Very excited about that.

Monday was my first full day at Long Eaton, and I was given a student to attend all classes with him for the next two days! He was a Year 8 student, which is 7th grade in the U.S. I went to Math, English, Spanish, Science, and Registration with him and experienced a day in the life of a seventh grader! Some of the students were "lovely" as they say over here, but I can assure you that thirteen year-olds are thirteen year-olds across the Atlantic. There's no difference at all!

On Tuesday, I spent time with that same student and went to pretty much the same classes, except for Cooking as well! They have a very interesting schedule of classes here (they call them 'timetables') that allow students to take more of a variety of classes. That also means that students do not have the same routine everyday. Teachers may have a student once every two weeks-- which is wild to me! I really enjoyed cooking class because I have become friends with the Cooking teacher! She is the one who Lauren and I went to Nottingham with. She also regularly gives us "lifts" to the train station which is very generous!

Also on Tuesday, first thing in the morning, Mr. Calvert took the time to meet with Patrick and Laura and I to discuss the differences in the British and American education systems. We went on for two hours! It's so interesting to me how the systems work and how the teaching profession differs throughout the world. Some things were the same, but I could go on for days telling you what we discussed. One of the major differences was how dynamic the teaching career is here. It seems to me like teachers at home keep the position of "teacher" for years and years and never really change. Here, teachers have lots of opportunities for leadership positions, which are paid, and teachers can receive promotions and added responsibilities and titles, which is neat. Also, I could go on for days about how different university experience is here. Get this: Colleges all cost the same amount of money, or less, no matter where you go. Oxford and Cambridge cost the same as Derby Uni. Blew my mind! Colleges actually accept you here based on merit. What a dream!

Tuesday night, Lauren and Scott and I watched "Walk the Line," the movie about Johnny Cash. During the whole movie I felt wowed about being in England. Who would've ever thought I would watch a movie mostly set in Tennessee about a country musician-- in England-- with an English person and a Northern Irish person and an American, all in the same room?! So crazy but brilliant at the same time. I also got to catch up a little with Rebecca, my friend who is in Italy for her student teaching and discuss how unbelievable it all is. Great to hear from her. :)



Wednesday, Sarah (our liaison) and Mr. Calvert (Head Teacher at Long Eaton) arranged for Laura and Patrick and I to experience a day in the life of a student at Derby University! Trainee teachers at Long Eaton all attend Derby University, and we got to hang out with them for a day. Some of them are exceptionally nice and friendly and great to be around! We went to a lecture with the trainees and got to see how they are assessed and their standards. Very interesting!

Later on Wednesday afternoon, Laura and Patrick and I ("the American invasion" Ha!) got to spend time with the NQTs (first-year teachers) at a training session put on by another teacher at the school, Mrs. Ford. She is fantastic. The whole session was dynamic and she is hilarious. It focused on grouping practices for students and I got lots of great ideas. (Although I am an elementary teacher and this is a secondary school, I find that almost everything can be adapted and translated and I'm having NO issues with that.) 

Today, Thursday, was a Shardlow day! I was able to spend time in Year 1&2 (Kindergarten- First grade) this morning, working on fluency reads with the kids. I love this class and this age group, they are the sweetest! I got to conference with each one and make sure they're reading at home and challenging themselves in their reading. Some of them were so talented and were reading long novels, even that young!

This afternoon, at lunch, I decided to eat outside with the students in the courtyard. If students had packed lunch, they were allowed to sit outside. It was a sunny day and I've learned here that suns something to be appreciated, cause it rains all the time! I also find it funny that when the teacher takes the lunch count in the morning, students either say "sandwiches, please" which means a packed lunch, or "dinners, please" which means a hot lunch that's been brought in (no kitchen in the school!). I spent time with Reception, which is the four and five year olds! I love this group too. They are so funny, and the teacher is so great. I also did conferencing with them, and we spent the whole afternoon outside with them, which was nice. One student told me his "mummy" was having a baby in his sweet little accent. He wants the baby to be named "Tom," definitely. I asked him what would be her name if it was a girl, and he didn't have an answer for that one! Hadn't thought about it! :)


On a side note: Found out today that I am NOT keen on "Irn Bru." It's a drink they like in Scotland and Ireland. It tastes like bubble gum flavored medicine!
I've tried several things but that's the one thing I haven't liked at all. Other than butter on sandwiches... but that's just odd! ;)

Tomorrow is another day at Shardlow. I like not being in one set classroom there, because I've been able to meet almost every student in the school and really have a presence there. I'll also now be able to say I've had experience with every age of student, which will be great for future employers, hopefully! Also, tomorrow, I'm staying the night with Laura and her host, Dawn, because we're leaving for Scotland for the weekend! We're going to Edinburgh, where Laura's cousin lives. I've heard it's really nice there and the castle looks very pretty. :) 

Thank you to all who are reading! My Mom says that she doesn't think I realize how many people are waiting to hear about my adventures here-- and I don't! Please leave me a comment to let me know you're reading; I'd love to know! I love that everyone is supporting me here and wants to hear about what goes on. Thank you all so much. :) Let me know who you are!

I think that's about it for this week! Expect an update from me after my weekend in Scotland! Glasgow folks, I'm meeting up with our Scottish founders! Haha! 

Hoping everyone has a great weekend! :)

--Haley

I've reached my first weekend here in England! We Americans all had separate plans, so we all kept with our hosts for the weekend. Lauren and I decided to take the train up to Nottingham for Saturday and meet Rachel, who is also a teacher at Long Eaton and is a friend of Lauren's. Rachel lives in Nottingham and knows the area! She also has a really nice apartment that we went and visited.

Before we left we got our nails done and we stopped into Marks & Spencer to buy sandwiches to eat on the train. They have packaged sandwiches in the grocery stores where we would probably get fast food through a drive-thru. And the sandwich was really, really good!

Nottingham has lots more shops and is a little bit bigger of a city than Derby. I've heard so many great things about Primark, which is a store here similar to Forever 21, but has lots more stuff, so I really wanted to go there. Derby has a Primark, but the one in Nottingham is bigger and better. I ended up getting a nice dress for pretty cheap and Lauren bought a ring in a little jewelry shop.

After doing some shopping we went up to Nottingham Castle, known to be the castle from the "Robin Hood" stories. Sherwood Forest is close by too. It was a really cool place to see and, as you see, I had my picture made with the statue of Robin Hood! Here's a couple more pictures of the castle:

After visiting the castle we sat outside and ate and had drinks at 'Bella Italia' Italian restaurant. I also had to have my picture made with my first sighting of a red phone booth :) 

I was really tired coming back so we just came in and watched Britain's Got Talent. Nice to see Simon Cowell again!

Today, Sunday, Lauren and Scott took me to Elvaston Castle in Derby. It was so pretty! It's more or less a medieval castle with a park around it where people walk and bring their dogs. England is just so much older than the U.S. is, so the buildings and castles and everything are much older and neat-looking. 

We were able to walk up to the castle and search around the park until we came to it. The path leading up to the castle had really nice scenery and it was good to be out of the city a little! There was an old well and an archway made of rock and a little pond. 

Then after we got up to the castle there was a grave yard and a little maze made from the hedges. There was also a temple and the big church next to the graveyard. The castle itself is being worked on but still looked really nice and there is a little cafe you can eat in. 
Really nice 'English' place. :)

After lunch we went into the Shardlow village and ate lunch at a little pub there that they like. It was very cute and good, inexpensive food. 

Now we've just had 'tea' (supper). I'm excited to have a full day at Long Eaton tomorrow! Haven't actually been there a full day yet because of running back and forth from Shardlow! It'll be nice to be reunited with Patrick and Laura and get some other weekend trips planned :) 

Still loving life in England!

--Haley

Good evening from Derby! 
I didn't write last night because jet lag definitely took over... I was in bed at 7 pm! Also, because it was my first day with the little ones, I was just completely worn out. I've felt much better today and have had a great first "school week" altogether!

I started off yesterday going to the elementary school that Long Eaton has partnered me with which is called Shardlow Primary School. (I feel so thrilled that Long Eaton has done this because having all the different experiences are just wonderful and way more than I expected or could have asked for! Very thankful.) I didn't take my camera to school today but I will definitely be getting pictures and will post them later. A little background about Shardlow, just to show you how different it is...

• The entire school has 99 students. 
  
• There are approximately 10 members of the staff.
• The school itself has FOUR classrooms, a small library, a tiny staff room, and a main office upstairs. That is it. No gym, cafeteria, none of that.
• Almost all the students walk to school with their Moms and Dads, and they're all there to pick them up at the end of the school day.
• The school is located in the TINY "rural" Shardlow village, which is far from "rural" for what I'm used to, but is considered that
• The youngest students are the 4-5 year old class which is called "Reception" and the oldest students are 10-11, years 5 and 6.
• There is one class and teacher per every 2 grade levels or "years"
• The students all wear uniforms. Blue gingham dresses with blue sweaters, or gray jumpers with white shirts under them and a blue sweater, or collared shirts with the school sweatshirt over that for boys.
• The building itself looks very classically English and like something out of a book.
• The students' accents are just perfect, can't get enough of how they say "Miss Hagan" or "Miss Haley" :) and they're all so, so polite and well-behaved!

So yes... Very different! I'm blown away by how small it is and really have never seen anything like it. I also love the names of the students because they sound like classic, old names. 

Something else great about being at Shardlow is they are letting me bounce around between all of the classrooms and age groups-- which will mean I've had experience during student teaching with EVERY age of student! Awesome!

Yesterday I began the day with the "Reception" class, which is the 4 and 5 year olds class. Fun! There's fifteen students in there. They started off with phonics (letter sounds), then they did some "maths" as they say, and then they had play time. I love that there is play time here! It's really nice that the students get a break during the day, and teachers do too! I have found that a lot so far, it's a little less cram-packed with content than other schools I've been to. The Reception teacher is an "NQT" or a first-year teacher. She is wonderful! I love watching her and how positive and loving she is with the little ones, but she's also just a great teacher with great questions and ideas.

There are four main teachers, one for each classroom of two grades. Then, there is the Head teacher who is like a principal, but is also serving as receptionist because there is no one else to do it! Then, there are several teaching assistants who rotate through the classrooms throughout the day. They are wonderful because when teachers go on break, they already have the tea made! Two of the assistants also serve as self-proclaimed "dinner ladies." I think they just basically do everything, and they're the funniest and sweetest people. 

Lunch, which is called "dinner" is brought in from somewhere (not sure where exactly?) because the school doesn't have a kitchen. There is also no cafeteria, one of the classrooms is cleared out in time for lunch, and all the students go in there. There are 2 really large classrooms, so it works! (The other large classroom is multi-purposed for the arts classes and holds a piano and instruments as well as tons of art supplies for art. I don't know how they do it!)

For the second part of yesterday, I stayed in the Year 1&2 class, which is made of 29 students ages 6-7. Lots of energy! I love this class though, already. They are so overly sweet and polite. The first lesson I observed I knew was going to be "Maths" and was thinking that Math is a pretty universal subject, so I shouldn't have any problem, right? That was until I saw that the students were supposed to "make change"... 
Not in dollars! I had to fake my way through that one because even the coins and bills come in different values in pounds, so that one didn't work out so well for me!

Also, the way I'm being transported to Shardlow is by car with Sarah from Long Eaton and then brought back by a teacher at Shardlow. It's really weird being taxied around but they seem very eager to do it! English people are just so polite and want to cater to your every need, I think. But driving here is a whole different topic for a whole different bog post.

Today, i was back at Shardlow and started my day in Years 5 and 6. Mr. Wilson is the teacher for that class, and the students range from age 10 to 11. I am obviously a hot commodity around here and everyone just wants to hear me talk, but Mr. Wilson let the students have a question and answer session with me, which was really nice. They came up with great questions and were absolutely wowed with whatever I had to say. School in the UK and school in the US is so absolutely different that they can't imagine it, as I couldn't have imagined this without coming. I helped this class with writing short stories, which was neat. The language they use is so prim and fancy and just charming to me.

After "dinners" I went back to the Year 1&2 class to help with art, which was really fun! The students did printing where you sponge paint on something and then stamp it onto paper, but the students used fruits and vegetables to create patterns. They turned out really great! I loved how Mrs Power taught this too because the kids were so entranced by it and really tried hard to make great pictures. She let the students watch a video of other students doing the same thing, and complimented how nice it looked. It got a little crazy as I couldn't fill the paint trays and wash out the sponges fast enough but it was so fun. The students were also so sweet to each other and constantly complimented each other's work which was precious. 

That's about it for Shardlow! I'll be back there for next Thursday and Friday.

I really am having a wonderful time already. I wouldn't say that "I feel right at home" because barely anything is the same as home, but everyone here has made me feel so comfortable and welcomed. I couldn't have lucked out more with my hosts, they are absolutely perfect. Lauren and Scott are so hospitable and nice to hang out with, and have really made such a difference in my experience here. You never really know how your host is going to be, and I feel very lucky and thankful to have gotten them!

Something a little funny: Lauren made my sandwich yesterday for me to pack in my lunch! She's like my Mom taking care of me! Well, at dinnertime when I was eating it, I was trying to figure out what was spread on the bread... couldn't figure it out! The staff at Shardlow saw me taking my sandwich apart and all kind of looked my way. It was butter! Apparently here, they always butter the bread before making a sandwich, no matter what is on it-- and this was a turkey sandwich! Weird! :)

Another very long-winded blog but I'm still introducing things, I'm sure they'll get shorter. Like I said-- I want to remember everything! 

Going to Nottingham tomorrow for weekend fun!

--Haley

I have so much to say today; it was a big day! But I want to be thorough, because I want to come back and read it again. Such a day to remember!

This morning I woke up and had a "lovely" cup of tea. ;) Then, Lauren (my hostess) and I got a ride from her boyfriend Scott to the train station to catch our train to Long Eaton for school. Lauren's apartment is in Derby, which is just a town away from school. It was just about a 10 minute train ride and then a really quick walk to school!

After arriving at school I met with the Head teacher, Mr. Calvert, and the ITT coordinator/ Assistant Head at the school, Mrs. Emmerson. They gave us a brief history of the school and important details to know. I'm so impressed by these two and so thankful for all their hard work in planning our experience here, they have really gone above and beyond ALL my expectations. I really could not be happier. 

Following that, we had a discussion with Mrs. Emmerson about how the grade levels and forms work and other general details about the British education system. We also found out about our general schedule for the time that we are there. I will do three days a week at Long Eaton, but because I do elementary education, I will be going to Shardlow Primary school on Thursdays and Fridays to get an elementary experience. :) 
So exciting! And as I said before, although Long Eaton is a secondary school, I will be working with Year 7 students who are about the 5th-6th grade range.

Sarah has also arranged a trip for us to OXFORD. As in Oxford University. Oh my goodness I can't even tell you...Amazing!

We went on a thorough tour of the school and it is IMMENSE. Huge building and so much ground space, especially for England where things are pretty squished together. There are also such a variety of classes students can take!! There are joinery classes (carpentry--I had to ask what that meant!), art classes, graphic design, all kinds of technology, and even hair and beauty classes! There is also a special unit of the school for students with autism, and a "sixth form" which is for older students and is kind of like independent study.

Later on in the day I got to come and watch one of Lauren's technology and business classes. The class I watched was Year 9 students, so they were about 14. Immediately when they came in and saw me, Lauren said "We have a guest, so best behavior!" and one of the students said "You're from Kentucky, like KFC?!" Funny!

The British accent is so musical to me! They have so much inflection and it seems like it heightens in school. And they call teachers either "Sir" or "Miss." They don't use last names! It's just very charming. i.e. "Miss, can she please sit next to me while I write my questions?"

We walked through a shopping center on the way home from the train station and I went in Primark for the first time!! Definitely excited for that. Also, just looking around on the walk home, I'm in a traditional Harry Potter-looking British town, which is exactly what I hoped for. :)

I went on my first grocery shop this evening, too! We went to ASDA which was an experience in itself! I was pretty surprised at how little of the food is the same, but everything has been great! 

Also, Dinner=Lunch so there is a dinner break at school. And "tea time" means "supper time" :) There's several little things they say that are just funny. And Lauren's accent is Irish which is also completely different from British! I am loving it. The teachers and students are loving my accent too, telling me I sound like Reese Witherspoon from "Sweet Home Alabama."

:)

Very long post, but I'm having a wonderful time and this was an important day. Got to FaceTime with Mom and Dad too! This will be a day I want to look back on for how great the introduction was and how great everyone has been so far.

Loving every minute! 

--Haley

After the following flights:
     Nashville to Chicago (1.5 hours)
     Chicago to Amsterdam (8 hours)
     Amsterdam to Midlands, UK (1.5 hours)
...and a little bit of trouble with the Border Patrol...

I have made it to England. 

I met the Headmaster of the Long Eaton School along with the supervisor of teachers-in-training at the airport, where we drove to school to meet our host teachers. Thanks to Facebook, I had already been getting to know my host teacher and was very excited to meet her! She is just a year older than me and is from Belfast, Ireland! She is already proving to be so genuinely nice and a great hostess! I'm typing this from my bedroom in her apartment in Derby, UK.

All three of the flights went really well! It really doesn't seem like 2 days have passed and tomorrow is Wednesday? I was able to sleep for a while on the flight to Amsterdam and most of the flight to England, so jet lag isn't really hitting me yet! Tomorrow might be completely different though.

Tomorrow will be my first day of school at Long Eaton, where I will be staying with Lauren (my hostess) for the day. Tomorrow is mostly a day for us to become acclimated with the school and being introduced. Although Long Eaton is a secondary school, may of the students fall into my elementary age range. However, I found out today that I will be spending two days a week at the primary school located really close by, which sounds awesome!

I'll get more information tomorrow and have a clearer picture of what I'm doing, but I'm here.

Since everything is so close by, Lauren and her boyfriend Scott and I walked to a pub nearby where I had fish & chips, just to be traditional on my first night here. :)

I'm overwhelmed and anxious, but I'm here and I'm comfortable. Lauren has already told me that the students will be excited to see a "real-live American" tomorrow! Ha!

Looking forward to a great first day,

--Haley