‘Right, brilliant.’ Rosy interrupted them and got down to business. ‘Kam will be covering Lynne’s hours so will be in the classroom with you on Mondays and Fridays, but has kindly offered to come in all week for the first week of term so he can see how the week is shaped and become familiar with the children’s whole routine, rather than just the days he’s in. Thank you again for that, Kam. It’s much appreciated.’
‘It’s a pleasure, Miss Winter. It makes sense to get a good overview of the children so that I can organise my teaching to work the best it can alongside yours.’
‘We’re very lucky to have you, although, please call me Rosy. I feel like a character straight out of Dickens otherwise. Now, let’s look at the planning for this term. Oh, I might help myself to coffee first if that’s okay?’
The morning whizzed by and Kam was really happy to be here. It looked like he was going to have a lot of fun teaching the summer term curriculum in Penmenna. It revolved largely around Cornish culture with a special emphasis on their community, an awful lot of the learning taking place outdoors – some at Penmenna Hall – and tying in with the science curriculum: the growing, harvesting and cooking of produce linked to the school’s regular slot on local TV gardening programmeGreen-Fingered and Gorgeousin the first half of the term. The other dominant focus was the sea, the beach, the fishing industry and all things marine. The term’s work culminated in a huge demonstration of the school work at the end of summer term in the village’s Feast Week, which he learnt was a Cornish celebration, a week’s worth of festivities rather like a regatta but slightly more down to earth. Either way, it was going to be fun. Especially working alongside Pippa Parkin.
Chapter Eight
On the first day of term Pippa raced to work. She had always loved working with Lynne and Rosy, and had been over the moon for Lynne when she announced her pregnancy and need for maternity leave. She knew how desperately Lynne wanted to start a family and the three colleagues had celebrated the pregnancy every step of the way.
However, Pippa had been a little concerned about Lynne’s replacement. Teachers came in all shapes and sizes and, like any other group in society, sometimes you could get a downright difficult one. So far, she had considered herself very lucky to never have had to work with any monsters, but she had had a little niggle in the back of her mind as Lynne’s maternity leave approached. Of course, knowing that the replacement was going to be Kam changed everything.
During for the planning meeting last week she had been struck again by how nice he was, smiling and joking but contributing lots. She was really looking forward to working alongside him. Although, it was easy being nice when you had an empty classroom and a full cafetière; the real test would come when he was faced with twenty plus children, Rosy in her office and a crisis looming. And crises were ten-a-penny when you were working with four and five-year-olds.
Pippa usually got in to school early. She liked the peace in the classroom at that time of day; it gave her a chance to double-check she had all the resources she needed and to take some time out to breath in the quietness and the solitude before the chaos hit. Plus, it beat eating her cornflakes while trying to practise a bit of daily mindfulness under the steely gaze of the stuffed stoat and the very dead dormouse that Lottie currently kept on the kitchen table next to some kind of essay on Robo-advisors and the stock market which managed to make Pippa’s head hurt just by glancing at it.
Today, as she reached the door and punched in the code, she realised she wasn’t the first in. There was Kam, an oversized cup in hand sending out aromatic waves of delightful awakening coffee magic.
Rosy soon joined them and the children all bowled in, chattering like starlings. Lunchboxes, reading bags and coats all jostling for space in the small cloakroom. As they gathered on the carpet the day could begin.
‘Hello, class. Welcome back. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday.’
‘Hello, Miss Winter,’ the children chorused back at her. Pippa came and sat on the carpet with Alfie and Harry, who sometimes found it a little difficult to focus, and made sure she positioned herself as close to Billy as possible too. He was one of the oldest in the class; this was his second year in Class One, which wasn’t unusual with it being a mixed key stage. Billy may be the eldest but his natural enthusiasm sometimes crossed over into slightly manic.
Pippa knew you shouldn’t have favourites in a class, but she did like the more outspoken ones, the ones who other teachers or teaching assistants dreaded. Rosy and Lynne were outstanding in teaching those who would have traditionally struggled in school, but that didn’t mean the children suddenly became perfect clones; they still needed plenty of very gentle reminders to comply, not whack each other with the toys, lick the carpet or shove counters up their nose during maths.
‘I’d like to introduce you to Mr Choudhury. He’ll be your teacher on Mondays and Fridays whilst Mrs Rowe is away having her baby.’
Sophie and Ashleigh started to snigger.
‘Are you alright, girls?’ Rosy queried in that age-old teacher way which was code for ‘I’m not asking how you feel. I’m telling you to shut up.’
‘Mrs Rowe is having a baby… hahahahahahaha!’
‘Thank you, Sophie, we are all very happy about that.’
‘She’s been kissing.’ Sophie continued, never one to shy away from facing down authority. Pippa wriggled towards the two girls and placed a calming hand on Sophie’s back, a silent reminder that this was not how one behaved at carpet time.
‘No doubt she has, Sophie, but as you know that is not something we are going to talk about now. Instead we’re going to give a big Class One welcome to Mr Choudhury, and try and show him that he’s not about to be left with a classroom full of little monsters. And you’re not little monsters, are you?’
‘Hello, Mr Choudhury,’ chorused the majority of the class, their little legs crossed and faces upturned, beaming a welcome as they examined the new teacher and tried to decide what they thought of him.
‘Some of us are,’ piped up Billy, ‘’specially at Halloween, I was a real big monster then.’
‘And me, I was a vampire,’ Sam joined in. He had been a terribly quiet child when he first joined the school but, nearly a year in, he had certainly started to find his voice.
‘My mum says I’m always a little monster but my dad calls me a little heller!’ Alfie added. His father spoke truth.
‘Well, Mr Choudhury, you can see that most of them are beautifully behaved but some of them…’ Rosy left a meaningful pause as she grinned at her class, a grin that was full of love and left the children in no doubt that she was joking.
‘I can indeed. But that’s okay, my mum used to say I was a monster too, and then I grew up and I became a teacher so am much lessmonsterythese days. Miss Winter tells me you like to start with a story, so I have brought some of my favourites with me today and I thought I’d let you choose which one we start with.’ Kam grinned at the class and held up three well-loved picture books and suggested the class had a vote.
‘The trouble is, Class One, it’s Monday morning and my counting brain hasn’t quite fired up yet, so I might need your help…’ Kam immediately got stuck in, getting the children to vote and then help him tally up the votes by counting out loud with him.
‘Right, I can see you’re in good hands here. I’m going to my office and leaving you with Mr Choudhury. Remember to show him that Class One are the best class in the school. Miss Parkin will be here too; I will be asking her at breaktime who has been extra good this morning, and you know she always tells me what’s been happening.’
‘Thank you, Miss Winter, we shall see you later. We are going to have some fun, aren’t we, class?’
