Sometimes it can all seem a little daunting.

As I begin to write this second blog I have just about grasped the concept that in fact "yes" I AM going to be completing my degree whilst working a full time job with crazy hours! - which I of course would not change for the world, the busier the better is my motto.


However as I received all my log in details to enrol online the other day, I thought I would do the right thing and get organised, by this I mean printing out all the relevant information and reading material getting a new folder to make it look nice and neat and presentable (It's like being at the start of a new school term!)


Anyway after a crazy day at work yesterday filled with teaching body conditioning, Arts Award Ballet and many other fun things. I decided in my informant wisdom when I got home to do some "light" bed time reading. If you have already downloaded the relevant material, you will understand it is far from light reading!


As I start reading the pages I get myself into a sudden panic. Just how on earth am I actually going to do this?! How am I going to distribute my time effectively so that I can still perform in my job and try to achieve the best I can out of my degree along side still having time for all the important people in my life.


To try and calm myself down, I decided the best thing to do would be to get a cup of tea (tea is always the best medicine!) and try and just sleep on it, and all would be better in the morning.


Surely enough on my commute to work this morning, while listening to Smooth fm at some ungodly hour of the morning I got thinking. Of course I can do this, all I need to do is to manage my time efficiently, stay calm and just concentrate on the task in hand and take things one step at a time as they say "you can't run before you can walk"


So really, all that happened last night is that I got myself into an unnecessary panic, all because I was daunted by all this bits of paper in the lovely new folder in front of me, the thing to do is to take time, calm down and put things into perspective. Things aren't going to be as daunting as they seem at first.

A new adventure

What do you need to know? Well I'm Laura 22 a fully qualified ISTD Ballet, Tap and Modern teacher and I currently work at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire in the every expending, struggling to fit in all the lessons that everyone wants Dance department.


So as I embark on this new and exciting venture, I thought I would take a little time to do some reflecting (I am new to blogging so here goes .... )

A lot has happened since last year. I completed my Foundation Degree, decided that in one year it would be an amazing idea to complete three ISTD DDE exams AND a DDI (luckily all went well!) and my biggest change is my new job as A graduate teaching assistant at an independent boarding school.

Now last weekend I went on my first residential trip as a teacher figure. Four members of staff and twenty one children embarked on the long coach journey from Stonyhurst in Lancashire all the way up to Glasgow at 6.30.am. Now of course the usual complications that when you are a pupil you take for granted(which isn't that long ago for myself)  and don't really appreciate how stressful it get can.

So of course we had the sickness on the coach which was dealt with effiantly with out "Sick Kit" provided by our health centre, and all the "are we there yet miss?" on the journey up, however all of us arrived in full force ready to embark on our weekend of fun with the scottish ballet. This included educational workshops and a ticket to see the ballet.

Now one thing that particulary struck me over the course of the weekend and something that as a student I did take for granted is the fact that you have to have eyes everywhere! the older ones sometimes harder to keep an eye on than the younger ones. Now in a teaching roll and prehaps a little older and maybe wiser I now apreciate how much goes in to the organisation of trip and all thats involved which I can say I never realised before being put in this position. I suppose you do never really know what to expect until you actually have to do it.

So despite one fainting child and room changes at some un godley hour of the night so that they could have a sleepover (We didn't find this out till the morning after!) all the children had an amazing time and wanted to know when the next trip would be.

Once I was back exhausted and on boarding duty it occured to me that it doesn't matter how exhausted you are or how much you have had to nag and moan as long as they all had a good time thats the main thing, and something that I will keep in mind now throughout my boarding and my teaching.

So as I embark on this "journey" I have an open mind and am looking forward to the weeks and months ahead.