Tuesday 17th February 2026

I was in school at 08:30 to observe a Maths lesson with Priyani, and there were a few serious issues with it, so after the following planned History lesson observation, we skipped the third planned French lesson observation, so that we could use that time to discuss the Maths lesson, and the various issues that arose out of the lesson observation. I think that it was a very helpful discussion but only time will tell if it bears fruit in the long run.

Our discussion, plus some time feeding back to the teachers, took rather longer than expected, so I was feeling a bit exhausted by the time I went over to observe an English Literature lesson in Grade 8, then a Science lesson, also in Grade 8. Lalanga noticed how tired I was and thought I might be ill, but I wasn't. The work I do can be quite intense, and occasionally rather emotional, so it just takes its toll on me now and again - I will be 68 next month!

I certainly took advantage of a reasonably early finish this afternoon to have a good afternoon nap, and it seemed to do me the power of good, as I woke up feeling much refreshed after it. I was able to complete yesterday's blog and diary, as well as todays, and even had the time and energy left to sort out some emails that I needed to respond to for my ongoing work as the Volunteer Coordinator with Tea Leaf Trust. There's always something to do, but I rather like it that way!

I had a little walk around my immediate neighbourhood and took some photos of the apartment, the road that I live on, the cockerels that not only wake me up in the morning, but crow pretty much the whole day long until it gets dark, and next door's monkey, which has only made a recent appearance, as he had been kept out of sight somewhere at the back of Mansoor and Razeena's house. It's a very pleasant little neighbourhood really, and I always enjoy returning to it.

Today's photographs are as mentioned in the previous paragraph:





Comments

  1. TimFebruary 17, 2026 at 6:18 AM

    Just finished another binge session on your blogs. I would be intrigued to hear a bit more about your lesson observations when you are back in the UK. A coffee perhaps?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday 4th March 2025

Image
I finally got to my last day here which started very early, as I was up at the crack of dawn to sort out a few things in the apartment, then get my last few bits of packing done. Razeena once again brought me breakfast, which was a great start to my day. After breakfast, I popped a present for Sandra in Ravi's office, just in case I didn't see her to say goodbye to her but then met her at the Junior School on my way back and said a fond farewell to her there. I left at 08:30, with Liyanage driving me to the airport - not that I was aware of that journey, because I had got up so early this morning that I nodded off for most of it. I hardly had to queue at all for either the security checks or for check-in, so I had quite a bit of time before my flight was due to take off at 12:50. I had a delicious, filled croissant for lunch, with a latte, then went to Gate 9, where I didn't have to wait too long before boarding the plane, which thankfully took off on time. It was an 11-hou...
Read more

Sunday 23rd February 2025

Image
It was another eventful day for me today, as I went to Kandy for a proper visit. I have passed through Kandy on numerous occasions, but never visited any of the key sites, with the Temple of the Tooth being the most famous one. Rohan picked me up at 09:00 this morning in the school van, with Madonna joining us, to take us both to Kandy, where we dropped Madonna's stuff off where she is staying for the next few days before meeting Achini in the centre of Kandy. Achini was joined by her lovely husband, Kosala, and we had a coffee together before Achini accompanied me to the Temple of the Tooth, which is one of her favourite places in Kandy. It was an extremely interesting experience for me, although we had to take our footwear off again today, and in today's soaring temperatures, it was so hot underfoot, that I couldn't bear it in the end, so Achini had to retrieve me sandals for me before my feet got burned! Part of the temple complex by the lake that dominates Kandy is an e...
Read more

Friday 28th February 2025

Image
Today was my last working day in school, although I may pop in on Monday to say a fond farewell to various people, with the hope that I will return one day. As Daya was staying with me for two nights, he accompanied me into school today and was able to observe two Tamil link lessons (for Sinhalese students) and three Tamil language lessons (for Tamil students). He loved the school, and he very much enjoyed the opportunity to see the Tamil lessons. I had two final Maths lessons and one final observation of the standard of English in lessons, which I greatly enjoyed. I also had a feedback session with two of the Sectional Heads, where I was able to provide very positive feedback to them regarding my experience on both the English and the Maths side of things at the RIS. I had a bit of a break then, before a final management meeting with Ravi, Agatha, and Tharika, which lasted around an hour. Daya joined me once I had finished for the day, and we got a tuk-tuk into Kurunegala to do some s...
Read more