Leaders in Language 2020. Placement 1: It's all downhill from here.... :-(

Time continues to fly by in A Coruna. I ended last week's teaching on a high after leading Primary 2B around the classroom conga style to 'When the band comes marching in' (think 'When the saints come marching in' but playing various instruments) as they learnt the song in preparation for watching a play this week. Everyone ended the lesson with a big smile on their face, me included! I love the animation and energy that you can bring to a primary classroom, which I have tried to channel when teaching toys and farm animals to Primary 1 & 2. Mock Cambridge speaking exams with the PET classes have offered the chance to work at a higher level and hone in on some common mistakes.

The weekend brought a welcome break from the high energy of the week as we sampled more tapas and vino - just to help the local economy you understand! We were taken on a tour of the A Coruna coastline on Sunday, undaunted by the strong winds that made taking photographs very dificult! Hopefully, I will manage to re-trace our steps this weekend now that the low pressure of last week has lifted and the the clear skies have returned. It was a crisp 4C on my walk to school this morning though!

I write this in my usual Wed lunch-break café as a break from lesson planning. The school will be closed Mon-Wed next week so we have picked up extra lessons on the remaining days to make sure we don't lose out on teaching hours. I have taught lessons to a couple of classes this week that I hadn't met before - another 60+ names to get used to! I enjoyed teaching the time to Primary 4 this morning and working at a higher level with the Cambridge First class of 15-year-olds working on "I wish I had......".

The school closure it due to the Carnival, which marks the start of Lent - a major public holiday in Galicia. Our school will be holding a party to celebrate on Friday afternoon where all the children and staff will wear fancy dress. They have been coming to school each day this week in a different part of their outfits - something around the neck on Monday, something around the waist on Tuesday and face paint today. If I get through the day without face paint on my top from hugs in the corridor I will be amazed! Kids in Spain like to hug! I can't wait to see them all in full costume on Friday.

To get everyone in carnival mood and to expose them to further Engligh the school was visited by a touring theatre group this week, which performed 'The Tin Soldier' to Infants-Primary 2 and 'The Emperor's New Clothes' to Primary 3-6. The actors were Spanish but performed the plays and songs in English and were suitably slapstick providing lots of audience participation. It's a great way for the kids to have fun whilst learning English and it was lovely to see them so involved and animated.

I really feel at home now in the school and have felt part of the team when being asked to step in to cover a couple of classes when a member of staff has been off work. It is nice to feel so trusted and to genuinely be of use. I have never been so disappointed to have 3 days off as I realise that I only have 4.5 teaching days left in the school. I am not looking forward to leaving this experience behind.