Thank you, Parkrun; for making Xmas day and Boxing Day the only days I made it past 10k!

100 years ago, my great grandfather Mark met Sarah when he stopped over in Paris briefly on his way to emigrate from Poland to Palestine. While there, he received word that the ferry was cancelled due to a strike. He stayed longer, fell in love with Sarah, and married her, December 1925.

What a beautiful story www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

If anybody is going to be alone on Christmas Day and would like a quick call/zoom then I would be happy to do this - DM me if you want. I can talk about food, sport, tv or the weather. But most importantly I can talk/listen. 💕 If not me, I’m sure I can find somebody for you.

open.spotify.com/episode/2WzW... “Leadership isn’t about what you’ve got to do, it’s about what you get to do” Love this from @calmleadership.bsky.social @naht.org.uk

This description of an ‘experimental’ school from the Silver Chair is very interesting! “These people had the idea that boys and girls should be allowed to do what they liked. And unfortunately what ten or fifteen of the biggest boys and girls liked best was bullying the others.” 🍎🎓 #UKEd #EduSky

Oh.

How wonderful to have an episode with @dylanwiliam.bsky.social on #TheyBehaveForMe podcast with @amymayforrester.bsky.social and @adamboxereducation.bsky.social who did the whole interview with a tiny baby in a carrier. open.spotify.com/episode/3Wcj...

A little bit of theatrics for y10 ‘intro to Macbeth’ tomorrow, set to ‘O Fortuna’from Carmina Burana 🍎 🎓🗡️🩸

Three things I really liked about this blog. 1) The way @adamboxereducation.bsky.social frames hearing from every child as an ethical duty rather than because it will lead to good outcomes (although it will do that too). open.substack.com/pub/carousel...

My six year old has loved these books, which have cleverly progressed with her on her reading journey over year 1 and year 2 so far. She was very excited to progress to ‘Accelerated Reader’ and get to take this final instalment home! #BookSky #PrimaryRocks #UKEd #Literacy 📚 🎓🍎

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Amazing

Go Emma Sheppard @mtptproject.bsky.social on mother teachers and Jacinda Arden on mother PMs 💕 🎓🍎🤰🏻 #WomansHour www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

At the start of the year my year 9s were by far my worst class. On every level. They were rude, late; they’d scream and shout and not have a clue what was going on. It couldn’t continue. So I started selecting a few books at the end of each lesson to ‘mark’. 1/n

Most people have just left social media for work purposes There are lots of variables I find there are still a lot of people on Twitter, but engagement is hard work across platforms

That’s got to be an accolade worth sharing! They Behave For Me got my top spot.

This was a quite lovely listen 🎧 #CynthiaErivo #Wicked #SimplyMore #BookSky open.spotify.com/show/6yrhXK2...

Whenever I’ve tried to use AI to analyse or summarise data, it gives me results that couldn’t possibly be true.

"It makes me sad when I have experiences that are different now because the larger me deserved that same attention and love," www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

this is so beautiful <3 <3 <3 www.laretraite.co.uk/News/Alumni-...

I have been reading all the "students these days" threads from various sides and I have an essay's worth of thoughts -- there's a lot of complexity and heterogeneity that is hard to communicate on social media. There are a couple of things I will say here though. 1/

First cold day of the year Playing football outside at night I could see my breath 💨 Booked summer holiday! 😎

Fantastic write up of an Ofsted new framework pilot 🍎🎓 open.substack.com/pub/benerski...

Just used a lime bike for first time. Exhilarating! 🍋‍🟩 🚲

I’ve got one of these: “The child who, after difficulty and struggle and poor behaviour, gets back on track.” He is a blessing. In fact I was telling my husband and friend about him just today, how he always helps me with the books and is a model student in class 🙏🏼 #UKEd #Transformations #Blessings

Having taken a look at the Curriculum and Assessment Review, I’m feeling more reassured than I was with the titbits leaked in advance to the press. I haven’t read every bit of it yet, but here are a few things I’m pleased about and a few things that worry me (definitely not comprehensive)…

This is TOO exciting. Can’t wait to pick my kids up from school so we can start it! It’s got a full cast; scoring; a bunch of sound effects. Magical ✨ #HarryPotter #Pottermore #Audible

Good to be back, after a 2 week half term. Buzzing to be in school again. My y11s were totally shocked by the child prostitution in Blake’s London,. Nice genuine “reader response” moment. Also I used “6-7” in a lesson, to much hilarity. #TeamEnglish @teamenglish1.bsky.social #UKed #TeachingRocks 🍎🎓

Important things: AI is trained with all the negative aspects of society (like racism). AI isn't capable of the creativity or even intellectual lifting of human lesson planning. AI maybe can help with some efficiencies or proofing (although that's even questionable), but remember it's a robot.

Read all of this. Horrifying story and mortifying double standards in reporting. And an insult to ‘nerdy scientists’ everywhere!

Finally, a good article about 6-7 and about youth sociolect and social meaning in general. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Thoughts on inclusion and ‘fun days’ www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

Manchester in miniature #Photography #TiltShift

Thank you Manchester for the free bus ride! #MCR #FreeBus 🐝

My half term read has been ‘Annie John’ by Jamaica Kincaid (1985), since we have added it to our year 8 curriculum. A candid story not quite like anything I’ve read before… 🍎🎓 #UKEd

Today’s charity shop book haul: pic 1 for my kids age 6 & 8, pic 2 for the internal room at school. All for under a tenner 👍📚🍎🎓

Oh good, another new set of post 16 courses. We really needed some of them… 🍎🎓 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

For Black History Month & culture day today I wore my Somali Baati, my Jewish ‘tichel’… and my high vis. I also met an Egyptian Pharaoh. 🍎 🎓 #BHM2025 #BestJobinTheWorld #2WeekHalfTerm

Save the environment is a bold back up afternoon activity. Aim high. Love this though

Very much a fan of a week bookended by 2 x "snuggle up parties"

If anyone is looking for ideas of half term activities - look no further… 🍎🎓 #8YearsOld

Friday was another great English CPD day from the Harris Federation, planned & executed by the brilliant English consultants with some guest speakers/presenters including @trythisteaching.bsky.social, Holly Macguire, @mrsmacteach33.bsky.social & @neilbowen3.bsky.social who I didn’t get to speak to🍎🎓

SecEd’s annual 21-page guide for early career #teachers is out now, with advice & tips covering wellbeing, workload, #teaching, behaviour, #safeguarding, #CPD & more. With thanks to our friends @neunion.bsky.social for supporting this annual resource. Get your free pdf buff.ly/2FeSYa3 #edusky

At a federation conference INSET day; hearing keynote from @trythisteaching.bsky.social via Zoom - wish you were here in person! 🍎🎓

I’m going on record to call that a radical, pro-democracy action. Any educative act that supplants device-driven attention/reliance with an individual’s skills is democratizing and anti-technocratic. Boss moves, babe. Boss moves.

Hi Bluesky, reach out to your Jewish colleagues today please. 🙏🏼 #UKEd #UKTeaching

I started re watching Orphan Black on Netflix- that show is so darn good! Any other fans out there? 👁️ 👁️

This is a shocking bit of civil rights history I had never heard of before. Closing the pools…

In #MathsToday we introduced spreadsheets. Students who have never written a spreadsheet formula are always shocked to discover how powerful basic spreadsheets are... "Are you kidding me that's like actually low key sick" williams-bhs.github.io/spreadsheets/

I taught two year 11s how to read an analog clock today! ⏰ 🍎🎓