• Wondering best way to communicate to parents that for their kids to participate on Spanish exchange they will need to be CRB checked. #
• RT @SchoolwideNews: http://www.schoolwideblog.com interesting poll- “What is the most likely result of testing pressures?” #
• RT @alfredtwo How one teacher uses Twitter in the classroom http://is.gd/PkQf #
• Really touched at the kindness and support about blog misrepresentation from @stuartridout @4goggas and @geobart. Thanks guys! #
• http://3.ly/X8 England is looking very blue! #
• Reading: Top 10 Technology Tips for New Teachers http://3.ly/7w #
• RT @mirandanetter “Teachers as Bloggers: 19th June MirandaMods at http://www.wlecentre.ac.uk/. Register http://is.gd/M3wU” #
• RT @joedale: Sign up now for MFL Show and Tell 09 at Foxford School and Community Arts College Coventry Sat 14th Nov http://snurl.com/jiy1k #

• My school is looking for sponsorship for much-needed design technology equipment. Can you help? http://bit.ly/aP4HB Pls RT! #
• I love this! RT @bethanyvsmith Draw a map of what you perceive the Internet to look like http://bit.ly/wAU4r #

 A fantastic opportunity to make a real difference has just come up.

Westfield is a community comprehensive in West Watford, Hertfordshire UK with roughly 1100 students. We are a specialist technology college working hard for the young people in our area.

As a school we would like to develop the opportunities for learning about technology which are available to our students by purchasing a laser cutter for the Design and Technology Faculty. This would dramatically improve the scope for creativity for the young people at our school and it would develop the use of our CAD/CAM facilities.

Students could use the laser cutter with textiles, resistant materials and graphics for cutting, engraving and etching.

Unfortunately the laser cutter is beyond our limited budget, which is where you come in!

We are looking for funding through sponsorship from businesses and individuals who would like to get involved in supporting our school.

If you would like to discuss sponsorship, then do get in touch with us and ask for the Principal, Emma Aylesbury. Various sponsorship packages are available which can be tailored to your requirements!

You know that feeling you get of not quite being included and on the same level as everyone else if you join a group activity half way through? It’s all to do with a sociological phenomenon called entry. It’s the first thing that happens human beings join a group and build relationships with the other people in it. If it goes well, the group is more likely to co-operate. If it doesn’t, the group is more likely to fracture. Managing entry is vital for adults and young people in educational settings as it sets the tone and expectations for how the group are going to work and behave.

Read the rest of the post at Schoolwidefundamentals.com where this post was originally published on 3rd June 2009.

• Guess who kept asking the difficult questions at county learning platform training today…? #
• Such as… why is it that after two years there aren’t any herts schools that have implemented it effectively across more than a few staff? #
• I try to resist sharing these but this one is just great “Firefox has a new add-on” - http://cheezburger.com/tw/?v1-149408 #lol #ichc #
• Read new ESL blog post from me on the Schoolwide Blog: http://is.gd/NpMI #
• RT: @icpjones: A GCSE in a foreign language should be requirement for university entry http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8079605.stm #

• Mid week barbecue? Absolutely. #
• Education folk and new twittering teachers- if you aren’t following @russeltarr then you’re missing out on great links and ideas. #

• Said goodbye to year 11? New blog post: Making the most of Faculty gained time. http://is.gd/LuYu #
• RT @moodleman: Looks like sketchup but for video - http://tinyurl.com/lyjo7c <– Very, very cool! Thanks @mwclarkson #
• RT @BohoBoxmoor: Hemel’s Longdean School is one of 22 around the country piloting ‘happiness lessons’. http://tiny.cc/XroVd #

Senior Leadership have asked Faculty Leaders in my school to direct and monitor the use of gained time now that Year 11 have left. Gained time has been a subject of some contention in previous schools for me and as a consequence I really wanted expectations to be clear for everyone.

I gave it considerable thought and wanted to find a good way to get all of my team engaged and involved in the resource review and development process; whilst allowing them choice about which projects would most appeal. Tyring to be empathic about it, I felt that in their position I would be happier if I had a choice about what I could work on, and also would prefer not to be subjected to arbitrary deadlines. I would also have wanted to create something meaningful that I could put my name on and have ownership of - the sort of thing that gets talked about glowingly in job interviews!

Each teacher has gained 1100 minutes between now and the end of term. We have 100 minute lessons currently and are moving to 60 minute lessons, and homework is at the top of the school agenda at the moment, hence the top two sections. I created a table of the tasks that need doing which have come out of previous Faculty meetings and the current school change agenda, and have allocated a time value to each task in order to contain it within gained time and prevent it becoming a burden. There is scope for developing and elaborating these.

I sent out an email to my team explaining the system and they are now signing up. They will set their own deadlines and we will agree together what the success criteria are for each project.

I hope that this system will help develop a sense of ownership for Faculty improvement across the whole team. I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Gained time MFL Faculty Summer sign up sheet

• Returned home from Madrid after a great trip. I must have at least doubled my very limited Spanish vocabulary in four days! #
• RT: @courosa: Open source software won the first battle, but now faces a threat from cloud computing - http://bit.ly/K8HRC #
• RT @edtechroundup Tonight’s Edtechroundup Flashmeeting will not take place as Flashmeeting is down. At short notice is there an alternative? #

• Having a fantastic time in Madrid. Have enjoyed some superb tapas and really enjoying the city. Tonight is Botin - not one for veggies! #