APS News 18

22 September 2018 Abingdon Prep Fond Farewells Jo joined us for an interview in Feb 2016. I remember it well as she had just flown in from Majorca with a suitcase of Curly Wurlys - her lesson involved breaking the code of the lock - it made my lessons look boring in comparison. Within hours we had formed an incredible bond. Her enthusiasm is infectious and she really cares about her profession and the people she serves. Jo is always full of ideas - she’ll come bouncing in with suggestions, and know by my facial expression whether I was in the right mood for them! After the birth of her second son, Jo joined us on a full time basis as a Year 3 teacher. She has been with us for only a short time, but has had an incredible impact on us all. Here are some comments from her boys: “Jo is full of kindness, fun and beautifulness.” “Jo is the best teacher in the entire universe.” “I am going to miss the smile on Jo’s face. We have shared an eventful journey, and you will always be part of my life. Good luck in your new journey. Trudi Hibberd Claire’s APS story started thirty years ago when she joined the school part time, with some time off to have four children of her own and coming to work full time 22 years ago. She had one of those children during an Easter holiday and was then back teaching when term started – unheard of nowadays. Claire has been a good friend from the moment I started. She knew her way around and was always willing to help out in the days when you learned almost by yourself as there was no mentoring system like there is now. Claire has been so vital to the school. Apart from her brilliant teaching, she has done so much work behind the scenes, including all the safeguarding. Many a time I know she’s been tearing her hair out because someone new has joined, but getting hold of them to do the training proves challenging. Managing insets and budgets have also come under her wing and she has often had a secret chuckle to herself when even Headmasters have come to ask her for money to go on a course. Claire has also trained to be an inspector, a really demanding job involving some long days. It gave our school a good insight into what inspectors look for. She has mentioned to me the look of fear on teachers’ faces as she walked down corridors. Bet she liked that feeling of power, really! Gardening club has been her baby too. A friend of hers who had a son at school suggested that they start one. Mother and son left the school after a year, leaving Claire at the helm ever since! Claire has battled with rabbits to try and stop them eating the produce but the garden has been very productive. ECO club has been another of her pets. Boys would come round, check classrooms and bins, see if the lights and screens had been left on. I often used to get a black mark, no matter how many times I told the boys in the club that my lights were automatic. Claire, of course, just found it funny! Claire is always keen to get cooking into science from pizzas to fairy cakes. The boys rise to the challenge and they can often be seen around the school munching their results. Her one difficulty has been getting all the boys to engage with washing up to the same high standards. Claire was also one of the pioneer teachers who went to the Jimba Gede school in Kenya (top right) that we used to have links with. She taught a class of 60 pupils how to use a stopwatch to learn how to take their pulse. All the pupils had said their pulse was 65 which confused Claire until she realised they had never had a practical science lesson before, everything they had learned came out of a text book, which said that the average pulse was 65. Until she moved house recently, Claire cycled to school from Radley in nearly all weathers, in her cycle gear and hi-viz jacket. It’s a distance of seven miles and there have been several times when her colleagues have had to rescue her due to punctures. Claire has also come on some school trips with me. She came to Paris and Normandy and was a great help. She has a fun sense of humour which always helps trips go well. The most recent trip was with the Year 7s to Laser Tag and she was desperate to have a go on the high ropes, even to the point of bringing her cycling gloves with her so she could get a good grip. Pity her landing technique was not as graceful as her climbing! Claire, you have given a huge chunk of your life to this school and you deserve to be remembered with great fondness. We all wish you a happy and rewarding retirement, whichever of your homes you spend it in. Clearly, no jealousy there!! Lynne Hough Jo Caputo Claire Delo In the lab 2003 Jr Science Club, 2018 Charity Sports Dress-up Day, 2008