My goals for this academic year

New term, new school year, new married name (which I am hoping will instil fear into the hearts of the new Year 7s) after the most incredible summer holiday spent getting married and travelling to Oman, the Maldives and Ireland (Geography teacher's dream really). I have spent a long time away from the blog as other things have distracted me and felt like it was time to set some goals for the new academic year, as I will be asking my tutees to do later this week.

Mrs Hawke's goals for this academic year:

1. Be prepared to take risks

This year I want to take more risks in planning my lessons by using new activities and giving the students more independence. As my second year at my current school I feel more confident now to try new things and push the boundaries some more. The best Head of Department that I have had (so far) was not afraid to throw things out of the window and start again - I need to use this more as inspiration this year. I also want to take more risks professionally and volunteer for new opportunities. I started last term by volunteering for the RGS TeachMeet on Wednesday 4th November (details found on below website) which is both terrifying and exciting!

http://teachmeet.pbworks.com/w/page/96288315/TMRGS

2. Try writing more

Since my own school days I have loved writing and have always harboured a desire to write my own book. Small things like writing a piece in the university paper and slightly bigger things like having my article published in Teaching Geography have spurred me on. I am aiming to write more on my blog (perhaps every week is a little ambitious but at least twice a half term) and perhaps in my free time will start ideas for that novel!

3. Make time for friends, family and travelling

Things in my life have settled down a lot since the wedding and I have more free time to enjoy! This year I want to make sure that time is made for friends and family (closer and further away) but also plan lots of travelling in the holidays! I currently have a pile of books about road trips in California for next Easter (already picking out the geographer's highlights) and am looking forward to Stockholm in October half term.