An interesing week

This seems to have been a particularly busy time with lots of development in the situation at school and the opening of the Academy in Sept. Having resolved my position last week and had that confirmed this week alongside salary, other staff have now received letters confirming where they are currently placed in the new staffing structure which means lots of interviewing for posts where there exist more than one natural successor. As well as that stress, a number of staff have been placed in areas where they are unhappy as their experience and skills have not been recognised which means there have been more than a few tears here since Wednesday.

The communication has been appalling at times and some of the problems could have been easily avoided with a little more consultation and sharing of information. It seems weird trying to balance the needs of my present position in a school I love being in against the needs of the new school which I have no great enthusiasm for, at least at present. However, communication is now progressing more positively and I hope I can improve morale and enthusiasm, not least my own.

Last night was an auction of promises in which I ended up with two large bottles of single malt whisky and £1500 was raised in total which is going towards the costs our final day at school which will be a celebration of the work that has been done over the past 25 years.

Tonight I am taking glen to football training swiftly followed by a trip to Bournemouth Airport to drop Sandra off on a flight to Dublin before flying to States tomorrow. In the morning Glen has a last match of the league season at Shaftsbury at 10 followed by the first cricket match of the year in Bournemouth. So I will need the long weekend to relax after the business of promotion and relegation from the Championship is decided. Plymouth are safely playing without fear of promotion or relegation but Saints need a point at least on Sunday to stay up. It would be such a change in fortune for a club that survived with a struggle in the top flight for years and then was doing so well with cup final and high league finish just a few years ago. To think they could be playing Bournemouth in a half empty stadium!

The big fella at the back will remember a cracking game we watched a few years back at St Marys in which the Geordie fans were great but Saints won 3 - 2 with Kieron Dyer being taken out and some would say, he has never truly recovered. It might be a while before that type of game is at the stadium again although our under 16 team has reached the Hampshire Cup Final and have been given permission to use the stadium free of charge on May 16th in what should be a fantastic experience for the boys. Not sure we'll fill the stadium though.

Good luck to Bristol again once the play offs start. Hull look to have the impetus but there doesn't seem to be any great quality amongst any of the sides involved so it should give any of them a chance.