Long summery days :)

For once,  I feel justified in boasting about the weather!  23 degrees yesterday, 21 today...not dark until 11pm, light again at 4am (ok, that one is a bit annoying...6am would be a bit more reasonable).  Tucking a blanket around the window before going to bed is becoming a normal thing to do now :)  Before I get too caught up in summery-ness, here are some lovely pics of the cherry blossoms outside the church.  They were there such a short time but so beautiful!



Beautiful Blossoms!

Hilton Parish Church









The Lighthouse Cafe







So, what has been happening I hear you say? Well since you asked, it's been a pretty full-on two weeks.  I've been teaching 3 days a week for the last two weeks at Kilchuimen Primary, and will do again this week.  It's so good to have some continuity and really get to know the kids and school. 
It takes about 45mins to get there, but since the drive is along the edge of Loch Ness I'm not complaining! For those of you who are teacherly, I just have to put this out there: Class teachers in Scotland don't do playground duty! All duties (including before and after school and eating supervision) are done by senior staff and classroom assistants...yep, 'lunch hour' actually means a full hour to have lunch!!!!

So far, the schools I've taught at have been great. Once you are at a school for more than 5 days, the pay goes up and you are then expected to take on curriculum planning and have greater involvement in organising resources etc.  Having a longer stint at Kilchuimen has been a really good opportunity to get my head around how things work here.  I've been teaching a class of 14 P45 (gr 3/4) students who are all so polite and lovely....yay! 

Well, enough about school stuff...this weekend has been all about relaxation and enjoying the beautiful sunshine!  On Friday I'm off to Switzerland for 5 days to visit some lovely swiss friends, so will write about that next post!  Have a wonderful week and make sure to keep me up to date on what's happening for you :)


Today's adventure: Horseriding with my
lovely housemate Bregtje!

 


My latest cute thing - Heilan Coo, and my latest
hobby - crochet!











My trusty companion Moss and I in
Loch Ness (obviously not a deep part...wouldn't
want to get eaten by Nessie)
What an experience!

And finally, on a beautiful sunny day - my favourite place
for relaxing: the lovely/weird window in my room.
(Thank you Claire for the paper garland!)