A Message To My Students

There’s just a few short weeks left until the exam season starts. But you already know this because it’s all anyone has been saying since Christmas. So today, as we leave for the Easter break, I want to give you a new message.

No doubt, you’re feeling the stress. For some of you, the pressure comes from within: you are driven by the need to succeed. You want exam success and it’s all you’re focusing on right now. To you I say: take a moment to breathe…relax, and remember who you are. You are more than school work, you are more than the exam grades you hope to achieve. Yes, grades are important, but so are you.

For others, the pressure comes from outside: parents and teachers constantly urging and encouraging you… and dare I say, nagging you to revise. To you I say: listen to them! The chances are they only want the best for you. Some of them may be speaking from experience when they say things like: ‘don’t leave it to the last minute.’ There’s nothing worse than a feeling of regret.

And to those of you who have already given up because this mountain seems just too high to conquer, I say this: it’s never too late to try. You are better than you think you are.

When things got tough, my Dad always used to say this to me (sometimes he still does!): when your back is against the wall and you feel that all are against you… just remember that I love you.

It’s worth remembering this simple message. You are loved and there is always someone who will have your back. So to all of my students I say this: work hard, relax, don’t give up… I’ve got your back.

Mrs G x

 

What is Passion?

“Allow your Passion to become your Purpose and it will one day become your Profession“

I never wanted to be a teacher. In fact, I didn’t even like children- especially other people’s! So it came as a bit of a shock when one day, as I sat at home, doing some research for my cousin on how to become a teacher, I had an epiphany. In a moment of clarity, complete with metaphorical light bulb going off above my head, I realised that; not only could I become a teacher, but that I should become a teacher… more than that – I MUST become a teacher.

The journey to becoming a teacher began with a passion for reading. From the age of four, I remember sitting with my beloved Grandfather, reading book after book. He would tell me gently that I needed to read ‘with expression’, and so I began to create each character as I read, using voices and accents to bring them to life.

Later in life, I showed a flair for English Literature and was able to achieve straight As at both GCSE and A Level. This led to a degree in the subject at University. And that’s when things began to go wrong.

Perhaps it was the demands of academic study, or being away from home, but I was deeply unhappy and so, my passion for reading faded. I limped to the end of my degree, but my love of reading had died.

A career in publishing did nothing to reignite that passion. Hundreds of manuscripts arrived on my desk each week. I had the job of reading each one, most of which were sadly rejected by the letter that I had to write. That was a bit of a passion killer!

My next career however, fostered a great love of writing. I worked on a national magazine for a major youth charity and wrote everything from celebrity interviews, articles and press releases. By now, I was happily married and along came my two beautiful sons. Reading to my boys, I began once again to love reading. The choices were limited to ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, but once again, the characters began to come to life. I remembered the joy of reading.

Skip forwards to that rainy afternoon, some twelve years later, when I realised that everything I had done: university, publishing, writing, reading to my sons and working for my church with children and families had brought me to that moment of realisation: that I would become a teacher of English.

Going back to University revealed to me my second passion: learning. I thrived in an academic environment and arrived at Harlington seven years ago, having trained successfully to become a teacher.

Since then, reading, teaching and learning have remained a daily passion- as natural and as essential to me as breathing. I am so fortunate that my passion became my purpose and my purpose became my profession. My dream is to help others discover their own passion for reading and learning. Who knows? Years from now some may have their very own epiphany!