Watch this! And what do you think about it?

http://blog.petflow.com/this-is-a-video-everyone-needs-to-see-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-im-speechless/

Flicking through Facebook and have seen this video. 

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Are we missing golden opportunities by constantly been connected to our tablets/phones/laptops? Or are we doing some good as we can branch out and network some more? Or maybe it's a bit of both? I don't know - but what do you think? 

Inquiry

As a line of inquiry, I am feeling something along the lines of….

‘Is it fair that a child with a SEN statement should be expected to achieve national average targets when taking their SAT’s exams?’

‘How is it fair that Ofsted can compare a school with few SEN pupils to a school with over 60% pupil premium students and a much higher number of SEN pupils?’

What are you're thoughts on these? Feel free to post comments below. 

Thanks 

:)

Task 2D

Task 2D – Inquiry

What in your practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about?

On looking deeper into myself and really thinking about the above question, I guess the answer has to be ‘The Children’. This may at first seem a little odd, however I find myself thinking ‘if I were not enthusiastic about the children I work with, then why would I be a teacher?’ Working as a HLTA and a SEN ATA, it really is the children that get me enthusiastic about my role. Let’s look at my role as a SEN ATA and how the children have made me more enthusiastic on a daily basis and make me want to research some of their own thoughts and ideas.

            On undertaking recent assessments on ‘Provision Mapping’ with my SEN children, Bertie came up with some very interesting points for me to write down.

Quote from my journal

‘Bertie, can you tell me what it is that you like about school at the moment?’

‘Meerkats’

Looking back at Bertie’s last PM from Jan 2013, the thing he enjoyed most about school at the time was ‘Minions’.

This got me thinking – ‘Why Minions and why Meerkats?’

On the day Bertie’s assessment was done in January, I had just made a ‘pointer’ with him for his reading, from a lollypop stick. He had painted this yellow and made it look like a Minion. For the entirety of last term, Bertie was Minion mad. Quick writes were about Minions. Minions would appear in his Viking tales, there were allegedly at the Viking Village we had visited. They were EVERYWHERE!  Equally so, on the day of Bertie’s latest assessment, we had been learning about Africa, and all the animals we will be seeing on our trip to the safari park later this term. He became fixated on the Meerkats!

This really got my mind spinning with thoughts and ideas about why Bertie becomes fixated on one thing for such a long period of time. I was eager to find out more. Surely there had to be some reason as to why this was a common theme amongst my SEN children? I want to know why this fixation happens and I want to know how, if at all it can be broken.

This lead nicely into the next question…….

‘Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?’

On wanting to know much more about Bertie’s (and others) fixations, I arranged to meet with my SENCO, Lisa. After a lengthy discussion regarding Bertie’s Provision Mapping, we decided to look further in to this. My admiration for Lisa is, I think, because of her wealth of knowledge about SEN children. I often fine myself reaching out to her for inspiration/ideas or help. Our research on reflection of previous years Provision Maps has provided most of the evidence we needed to get Bertie put forward for a statement. Although Bertie shows NO other signs of Asperger’s, the theme we have identified is a fixation on one single thing for a long time, which is one of the biggest leading factors for a diagnosis of Asperger’s. (Bertie has only been at our school since the summer term of 2013. Research came in the form of contacting his previous school for their Provision Maps from foundation stage to KS2)

Fixation on One Activity

Many children with Asperger's syndrome are preoccupied with a single or a few interests and focus on them for hours on end. As Circle of Moms member Karen R. shares: "The most common report from every parent I know . . . is that their kid fixated on something (their cars, their blue toys, their books) and played or attended [to] that thing for an outrageously long time."

My line of enquiry will be something i will have to ponder further. 

Task 2C

Well, Reader 2 really did blow my mind. Without even thinking about the Reflective Theory, I realised that in so many ways I have been using reflective practice for many years now. Whether it be at work, home or even on a journey, I am always ‘reflecting’.

Realising that there were so many different theories of Reflecting, yet again I decided that the best thing I could do was link my own way of reflecting at work with several different theories.

When I very first started to work in a school, I was under the impression that everyone fell under the umbrella Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic learning (VAK, Gardner). This to a larger extent is true; however there are some who sit outside this umbrella. My feelings  were that I was a Visual learner, show me how to deliver a lesson and I will copy – jobs done! I did not realise that my lessons were so different from my mentor. Yes, I have a taken mass instruction from her and used her wealth of knowledge to base my lessons on, however after every lesson, I evaluate (or reflect) and then start to think…….’what went well?’ ‘What went bad?’ ‘How could I do this better next time?’ Looking at Reader 2, I really feel that the way in which I work falls best under Honey and Mumford’s Four Stage Model (1992) adapted from Klob’s four point cycle.

Let’s look at an example

Having an experience.

I have a child with severe SEN needs, however in the modern day we live in, he is still expected to be at National Average when the dreaded Ofsted come knocking. So, its exam week at school, I have been assigned the task of levelling Bert (name changed there). Bert cannot sit in a regular test environment as his concentration span will not allow him to. After this first half an hour of him sat in such conditions he had not even managed to write his name on the paper, let alone open the booklet and start reading. (I feel I must point out here that Bert did not have a cast iron Statement so has little in the means of ‘help’ on a 1-2-1 basis due to funding etc)  Frustration set in for myself as there MUST be something I can do to help to get Bert a level. THIS WAS MY EXPERIENCE

Reviewing the experience.

With these test been internal and for ‘setting’ next terms classed, I pondered on how on earth I would even ‘level’ Bert. Talking to the numeracy leader we reviewed Bert’s work from the last few assessments, and started to draw a conclusion.

Concluding from the experience.

The conclusion was plain and simple – Bert could not sit in regular assessments with his peers, however he has to be assessed, but how………

Planning the next step

This took several hours of research to find an answer. We planned to take Bert into a room where there would be just me and him. We would work through the curriculum with me using such things like teddies, counters, 2D and 3D shapes etc. If the curriculum stated ‘level 1A, Sort shapes in a variety of ways, colour, sides and angles. Rather than having to draw lines from shapes to the set they belonged to in a booklet, we would see if Bert could do this using aids. Such was the same for counting up, one more one less, ten more and ten less. To record the results, I would highlight the things he could do. To evaluate what we had recorded, this would be assigned to the numeracy leader, for her to conclude a level of where Bert was.

I have also noticed that I have been using RIA and ROA (Schon’s Reflection IN action and Reflection ON action) are also things that I use on a daily basis. SO, reflection IN action happens when you reflect/respond to what is happening as it is happening. For example, my Year3/4’s have just done  a Viking Musical called ‘Hey! Hey! We’re The Vikings’. Dering rehearsals I had done extensive planning of the script and choreography, however, when it came round to blocking the staging and learning the choreography, this was not an easy task. Responding to what was happening right NOW, was the result of me tweeking/changing/re blocking some of the numbers and scenes. Without even knowing I was RIA’ing! 

Task 2A and 2B - Keeping a Journal

Keeping a journal…….

Well this is something that I have never done successfully before. On reading that I had to start a journal, initial panic set in. I always feel that by the time I get home from school, get things sorted in the house (Dog, tea, cleaning, washing etc etc) that I will have forgotten about what I have done during the day. My thoughts on what I should do didn't materialise until about day four, more on that later.

I started by following the ‘list’ set out in the BAPP Handbook, I started on Day 1 with Method 1 ‘Description’, followed by Day 2 with Method 2 ‘Initial Reflection’ and so on and so forth.

Here are some quick thoughts on the various methods.

Description

This I found easy to do. Writing about one, two or several events that happened during my day, I found the events easy to recall and easy to write about.

Initial Reflection

This method I found a little more difficult. Trying to recall at my feelings, thoughts, mood and if anything unexpected happened at the end of the day was a harder task for me. I did manage this but it took longer than day 1’s task.

List

Making lists is something that I love to do, however this list would prove to be the longest list I have ever written, and by far the most complicated. My list became very complicate because as I write it I added bit here and there, then added some more, and then maybe another bit here…! Oh good lord, it looked a right mess with arrows and circles round different sections, and far too difficult to follow! It looked more like an extract from the Graph and Chart day coming up. An epic fail on my behalf.

Graph, Chart and Diagram

After yesterday’s list disaster, I decided to try these methods next. I found this a real challenge as making a graph or diagram is something that does not come easily to me. I started by writing my thoughts down and trying to think about how I would relate them to my thoughts from yesterday.  I chose three aspects of my day and compared my stress levels on these three different occasions.  It wasn't as successful as I would have liked.

Evaluation

This came easy to me, as I have to evaluate every lesson/group/performance of my day. I generally find this an easy task, and I must say that this method was by far my favourite one.

What if…….?

Good lord, this one went on a bit. After choosing an particular difficult incident of my day to this section, I did find that I rambled on and on and on, and then on a bit more….! The outcome was totally unrealistic and I got far too carried away.

Another View

I pondered this for a day before choosing an object that was with me for the whole working day, saw everything that I did and was something that was a little ‘off the wall’. I chose The Whiteboard. Didn't work very well, partly because I felt silly writing about my day from the perspective of a Whiteboard, and partly because I couldn't think of what the Whiteboard would have seen from myself and others in the room. All in all not very successful.

As I said earlier, I did have a slight light bulb moment about day four. Why don’t I amalgamate two or three of the styles of writing my journal that I find the easiest to write and that I feel will suit my day best. I decided to blend the styles of Description and Evaluation together.

                This work so much better for me. My journal is easier to follow, I can update with short bursts during my day and the elaborate later in the evening. I found it easy to write lots about one or two incidents during the day and also include feeling in these. Feelings are something that I do not normally write about in my daily evaluations and this took a little more thought and patience than I expected, but once I got going it became almost a second nature when writing my daily journal. 

Task 1D -2D Images

Here is the address for my Instagram  www.instagram.com/oliverhajba1985

There not very exciting images....... but there relevant to me today :)

Reader 1. Task 1B

Task 1B – Reader 1.

“WHAT?! Oliver, what on earth are you doing? You have no idea what this is all about so stop it right now”…… is what the little voices in my head were saying after reading through Reader 1 for the first time.

This really was a challenge as I have never done any form of written Uni work before and I didn’t know where to start. I remember a conversation with Paula going something like “you can all learn from each other”, so let’s see how the others are getting on. WOW guys, after reading your blogs you really did put me at ease; it wasn’t just me that was blown away with Reader 1. Taking my time to re-analyse Reader 1, watching recommended YouTube videos and making a mind map of my Web2.0 usage was where I needed to start.

So my day begins with a regular visit to Twitter or Facebook. These sites are ‘a must’ for me in the morning, as I don’t get time to really watch/listen to the news much. I like to check these sites for ‘what’s going on’ in the world, as well as celebrity gossip and also ‘what did my sister/friends/colleagues get up to last night?’  On seeing a status or tweet from a fellow Web2.0 user, I will comment, like or even re-tweet, letting all my Web2.0 followers know that I have interacted with someone whom I would otherwise not communicate with at such an unearthly hour in the morning. After my morning exercise (consisting of a dog walk, cup of coffee and several cigarettes) I will normally post/tweet something about my day ahead/the weather/the news or what antics Frankie (that’s the dog) got up to on our ‘walkies’, thus again interacting with a few hundred followers from not only the UK, but worldwide, and again with whom I would not normally call/text/email or write to daily, telling them that my dog has just found the world’s biggest stick! Is such Web2.0 usage normal? And what on earth did we do pre-2007? Where would I be now without Web2.0? Would I still be in touch with past friends who no longer reside in the same country as me? Who knows – the answers are entirely based on ‘what is’.

Next comes my best buddy ‘Google’. (As I am writing this I am asking myself, ‘Oliver, where would you be without Web 2.0’?) On setting up my classroom for the day, I will log onto my school laptop and ponder for a moment what I should do with the kiddywinks in registration time. Will I google a ‘talking’ topic/discussion question, find some interesting pictures/sayings/phrases/questions for us to talk/write about. Google helps me have these resources at my fingertips, but more importantly, other Web2.0 users have left their comments on how well the session/registration/discussion or quick write went for them. AWESOME! I can use Web2.0 to actually help me decide on what to select.

Now I can see just how I use Web2.0, it might be easier to explain my new found ‘knowledge’ of what I know about Web2.0.

On a daily basis I use Web2.0 to communicate with others that I would not usually communicate with. I would not send a text to my entire phone book to tell them that I have just read a newspaper article about some teaching idea and I think that they might be interested in reading it too. This is not the way in which the world works anymore, instead I ‘share’ or ‘retweet’ the link, in the hope that someone who follows me will find it interesting. I also find that the discussions around things shared/liked by using Web2.0 can bring up fantastic and stimulating conversations with colleagues/family and friends. It can open up a whole new adventure, ‘let’s try eating there’ or ‘‘let’s try making/doing this’ places that you would not normally think of eating at or things that you would not normally make/do. It’s just reminded me of a quote from one of my favourite authors,

“Oh the more that you read, the more things you will know. Oh the more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!(1978)

Work and Web 2.0

On a daily basis, be it morning or evening, I will use Web2.0 to access the views of others for their ideas and feedback on what they think is good/bad/ugly about a certain ‘thing’ been used for a lesson. In this example I will use a discussion based registration class of Year 3 and 4 students. On searching the WWW on what is a good/relevant discussion to have on this particularly cold February morning. I will, without knowing, enlist the help of other Web2:0 users. Selecting google as my search engine, I type in “Discussions for year KS2 about ‘is telling a white lie always OK?”.  First I glance through the top few results, glancing over what other Web2.0 users have written, select the one I wish to read further into, and there you have it. A whole discussion on what worked, what went well/not so well. What they would do differently, or how they would enhance the discussion.

I guess that the title Web2.0 did make my heart sink a little as I really did not have a clue what Web2.0 was, however look at me now…… without even knowing it, I am a frequent and somewhat knowledgeable (if I do say so myself) user of Web2.0 , ‘Oh the places you’ll go’……..!

Until next time,

Adios Amigos

x

I have to go update my status about my blog!!!!!!!

Profile and a little bit of work history

I am an approachable and diverse people person with excellent customer focus, training and development, support, administration and investigation qualities. I am able to manage time and recourses efficiently, meet and exceed targets and deadlines effectively. I am an excellent communicator with superb planning and organizational skills and have the ability to liaise with people from many different backgrounds and cultures. I posses the ability to work well under pressure, and I am also highly motivated and able to prioritise and follow a task through successfully from start to finish. I am reliable, friendly, honest and very hard working. I give over 100% to everything I do. I am a well disciplined, punctual employee who is confident and persuasive with a good sense of humour. I feel that my personality and enthusiasm to learn and help others has been a big strength within my career and I would be an attribute to working for your team.

I am currently studying for my BAPP . Once I have gained this qualification I hope to undertake such a programme as a GTP, SKITT or Schools Direct commencing in September 2015.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Easingwold Community Primary School – September 2013 – Present
Relief HLTA/GTA/GTA SEN

·          Supporting of Teaching Staff.

·          Supporting Students within a classroom environment.

·          Supporting specific students with a SEN statement.

·          Leading Intervention Groups.

·          Playground supervision.

The Highwayman Café – August 2012 – August 2013
Chef/Assistant Manager

·          Opening and closing Café (key Holder)

·          Cash Handling.

·          Staff Rotas.

·          Working with the public.

·          Ordering Stock.

IBM UK LTD – February 2011 – August 2012
Cross County Payroll Practitioner – UK, Ireland and Belgium

·          Accurate data recording and data input.

·          Working to meet P&G SLA’s

·          Accurate sickness recording and input.

·          Collating relevant tax documentation from current employees, expats and pensioners.

·          Accurately maintaining files and records of employees NI, Tax, Government endorsements, HMRC, and Bupa.

·          Produce Payslips for UK and Ireland, on a weekly, bi weekly and monthly basis for current employees, expats and pensioners both within UK, Ireland and abroad.

·          Double checking team member’s data input

·          Delivered performance statistics on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to team leaders and In Country teams

Immigration Manager – UK Immigration

·          Accurate data recording and data input.

·          Supported assignees with UKBA guidelines.

·          Monitored the assignees’ immigration status, and highlighted non-adherence, following a ‘chase’ process governed by the UKBA and IBM.

·          Collected visas from assignees, recording all data accurately, for reporting purposes both within IBM internal controls and UKBA external audits.

·          Accurately maintained files and records of assignees’ UK immigration status

·          Produce Certificates of Sponsorship (COS) using the UKBA Sponsorship Management System.

·          Double checking team member’s data input

·          Signing off team members work as ‘checked’ before they could create and apply for CoS and Visa on behalf of an assignee.

·          Delivered performance statistics on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to Project Managers

·          Responsible for budgeting of assignees COS’, Visas and travel costs, keeping with in company budget and strict budget per head count

·          Liaise with different world wide IBM offices to arrange relocation of assignees

·          Responsible for contract maintenance between IBM and various projects.

·          Responsible for tracking teams SLA results on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, then feeding results into various different projects within IBM.

·          Collating and tracking all active UK assignees’ whereabouts whilst in the UK. Also gathering reports from various different countries as to where the assignees were and what immigration status they held.

·          Sole responsibility for executive business trippers entering in and out of the UK whilst working for IBM

Orange PCS Ltd September 2003 –December 2010

Retentions/upgrades Agent

Customer Services Team Manager - Secondment

Team Administrator, Sales and Loyalty Department

Retail Pilot team
Department Support/ Admin
PA to Call Centre Manager - Secondment

   Team Administrator, Sales and Loyalty Department

·          Diarised sickness and disciplinary meetings, arranging dates, securing rooms and producing relevant documentation.

·          Accurate note taking in disciplinary and sickness meetings and completion of follow up paperwork and notifications.

·          Piloted an analysis tool highlighting differences between two key systems which in turn saved the business on average £17,000 per month.

·          Supported and promoted the new way of working for Telechannels Admin Team within North Tyneside.

·          Monitored the Work Force Management System and highlighted non-adherence to core activities.

·          Collated overtime for the department, quality checking overtime forms against statistics, ensuring that the correct amount of hours and rate of pay were claimed.

·          Accurately maintained the holiday request programme for sales advisors and sales managers, approving and denying requests in line with company policy and business needs.

·          Attended regular team meetings at sites across the North East to address any issues within the team, site or workload.

·          Delivered performance statistics on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to Sales Centre Managers.

·          Ensured leavers details were actioned immediately to prevent any financial loss to the business or the leaver.

·          Ensured employees personal information was kept up to date and confidential.

·          Accurate recording of cross site sickness and delivery of information to managers,  updated personal records and highlighting of trends.

Customer Services Team Manager - Secondment

·          Managed team performance, sickness and KPI’s for frontline team players.

·          Developed and managed a team of new starters to the level of an established team within 3 months.

·          Ran incentives to motivate and enthuse the team on a key focus area. 

·          Liaised with higher management to feedback on team performance and to discuss and agree plans for improvement.

·          Scheduled plans for team coaching and development.

Customer Services Representative

·          Dealt with incoming calls regarding customer queries for billing, handset faults, registrations, general helpdesk and upgrades.

·          Adhered to company schedules and performance management.

·          Maintained customer and company relationships to achieve a high level and standard of satisfaction. 

2014 Getting started and a new chapter!

WOW - how weird is this......! It's over ten years since I graduated from Northern Ballet School and now I find myself enrolling onto the BAPP Course. 

So much has changed since I was at NBS, with the invention of Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, Blogger and various other social media sites, I find all this a little daunting. 

So where to start.....?

Well my name is Oliver Hajba, I am on the wrong side of 25 but I am just on the right side of thirty years old. I started out dancing way back in the early 90's at various different local dance schools in York. By the age of 14, I had completed most of my syllabus exams and I was hungry for something a little more that 'Elsey Bloggs Dance Academy for Tap and Hula' at the local church hall. so I decided to pop on the train to Leeds and have a go at auditioning for NSCD's Youth Dance Project. Success :) and little did I know what I had just done. 

Starting to train with NSCD's Youth Dance team opened up so many doors for me, I went on to join Phoenix's Youth Academy and did various different projects with Phoenix and NBT. In January 2001 I auditioned for NBS in Manchetser and was awarded a scholarship on their 'G&T' list (Not gin and tonic, but gifted and talented). 

A whirlwind of three years at NBS passed by so quickly, with various different 'jobs' whilst at NBS, I worked for Granada TV on shows such as Stars in Their Eyes, Discomania, Christmasmania and An Audience with..... to name but a few. 

My time to leave NBS came in the July of 2004 and a move to London was on the cards, after appearing in several shows in the 'big smoke' I decided to audition for jobs abroad thus landing me a job in Paris. The Glamour and Glitz of Paris was awesome but soon I became hungry for yet another adventure. Portugal was my next, and final, port of call. During a technical rehearsal for a new show in the casino I was dancing in, I fell and shattered my left hip. OUCH! Now, a return to York was on the cards. Several months of recovering, crying and wondering followed my return to York. NOTHING was ever going to satisfy me as much as performing did. I was right, several jobs in retail, sandwich making and bar tending left me feeling empty inside. Again a new star was on the cards.

A move to Gran Canaria followed and soon I was loving my life in the sun. Working several different jobs out in GC, I soon realised how lonely life in the Canaries could be. Knowing what jobs faced me back in the UK it was a tough decision to make, I opted to move back to the UK and set up home somewhere new. Newcastle was the city of choice not only because of the people I knew from there, but one massive contribution factor that there was the promise of a job there should I return to the UK. Working in a call centre was not my ideal job, but it was something to get my teeth into and at least I could apply for promotions and start to work my way up. One of the roles I undertook whilst in Newcastle was that of Trainer at the call centre I was working at. By accident I had yet again fallen into something that I had loved, working with people and training them to do something new. After a merge with another big telecommunication company, I found myself facing redundancy. I tried and tried to find a job that satisfied me as much as my last one did but the responses were always the same, 'no qualifications in this field = no job'.

At this time, my partner (Mr S) who is a maths teacher, mentioned about me looking for work in a school as a GTA. Good Call Mr S, by far this is the most fulfilling job I have ever had. I LOVE working in education :). My aim now is to complete my BAPP, then some form of QT such as a SKITT, PGCE or Schools Direct. 

Well after the initial  fear of  'what am I going to write' and 'how do I introduce myself' I do feel much better that I have made a start and I have finaly joined the 21st Century and become a 'Blogger'................ until next time, 

Adiós Amigos 

Oliver