Yesterday was blisteringly hot and very humid, so I didn't get outside much. However, the effort of sitting in the sun for half an hour on Tuesday (which was also pretty unpleasantly hot) as a cure for jet lag paid off. I finally slept well!
Yesterday morning I did lots of admin and planning of lessons and experiments and, in the afternoon, I taught a yr11 (U5) revision lesson. Only 6 students in the class (I think there are only about 6 in ordinary year 11 as a whole, but they also have a 'pre A level group of year 11s who are not doing English igsces). The poor things were a little distracted by the thought of their IGCSE chemistry paper 2 an hour later, but it was fun and went well, nonetheless.
I
also gave various Wycombe abbey science resources and schemes of work to the
teachers here, they were very, very grateful!
After
dinner I got a guided tour of the swimming pool, so no excuses for not getting
some exercise in any free time I have now! Sadly I forgot the mosquito
repellent for my evening stroll so now I'm covered in bites, yuck.
Today
we tried out the Paper Pan project using the meths-types burners that they use
here in science instead of Bunsen burners (the Chinese government has banned
all use of gas in schools as I understand it). Sadly they don't get very hot
and it took 45 minutes to boil the water - about as exciting as watching paint
dry - so we've had to abandon that idea. The rest of the morning was mostly
spent planning alternative experiments - I have a few up my sleeves but they
don't have very much apparatus here yet and it's surprisingly difficult to get
hold of everyday things we take for granted - but I think it's looking ok for
the next two weeks.
This
afternoon I had another lesson with the yr11s (U5), mostly on Electromagnetism.
They were really appreciative and wanted another! So after a meeting with the
head of 6th form (who's also a house master) about UCAS and university
preparation, I gave an extra lesson to the yr11s going over everything
they found hard. It was really rewarding, as they seemed to get so much out of
it. I suspect I may see some of them again before their IGCSE physics paper 2
tomorrow afternoon!
The pupils here are very friendly, (perhaps partly because I'm a bit of a novelty!?). They all say hello, and give a little wave at the same time when they meet you in the corridor, even ones I've never met. It's very sweet! Especially with the tiny ones from primary and kindergarten 😊
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