I have a bit of a theme going lately, back to school. I was thinking about all the first year teachers my old school just hired and was then thinking about my first year teaching. I got very lucky my first year when I found an experienced teacher who took me under her wing. She helped me navigate all the school politics that I wasn’t expecting and also gave me helpful teaching tips. Now it’s time to give back. Here are a few of the things I learned.

School Politics

• During staff meetings don’t ask questions. Experienced teachers want to get out and will resent you. Instead, find a teacher you trust and ask him or her. If that doesn’t apply ask the secretary, principal, or vice principal.
• About school secretaries. They know absolutely everything. Be very, very nice to them and chat them up if you want to know what is going on before everyone else.
• Be nice to everyone. This is less a political thing than a pet peeve. It irks me no end to see teachers being dismissive of the custodians. I loved all of our custodians, they kept my room running and watched out for my classes when I had subs.

Teaching Tips

• You are not there to be friends with the students. You are there teacher, it doesn’t matter if they hate you as long as you can keep them under control and teach them. This doesn’t mean be a total jerk to them, just don’t try to make them ‘like’ you. Just do your job.
• Don’t assign homework that will take you hours to grade. Homework is to help children learn but it isn’t the main point. You aren’t going to be allowed to base their grade on their homework so don’t kill yourself grading it.
• Don’t take on a lot of clubs and sports. This may not seem like a teaching tip, but it is. If you are spending a ton of nights and weekend time working on the extra stuff you’ll have less time for teaching stuff. You are there to teach, it needs to be your top priority. When done right it isn’t an easy job. Give yourself some time to learn the ropes before you jump into a lot of extras.

If you are a new teacher do you have any questions or need some advice? If you are an experienced teacher do you have any tips to add??

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For those looking for really special accommodation for their visit to the South Hams, the selection has never been so good. Whether taking a few days to explore the area whilst looking at property to buy, or seeking the perfect location for a well-earned short break or longer holiday, the choice of first class properties to stay in locally is constantly increasing as the expectations of the market rise. With our hectic lifestyles and the stressful pace of modern society, holidays and short breaks are becoming even more valued, with additional relaxing short breaks slotted in between more significant holidays to counter the effects of all that rushing around!

Increasingly, the busy, discerning holidaymaker is looking for so much more from their holiday accommodation than previously, both in terms of the standards offered and also the facilities provided. The availability of Wireless Broadband Internet (wi-fi) in the holiday property is now a pre-requisite for a growing number of visitors, who feel the need to keep in touch with work during their break away. At the same time, more visitors are increasingly keen to have access to a Health Spa or leisure facilities at their holiday property, with private hot tubs and pools or membership to a local luxury spa attracting more and more customers to book.

Crisp, white bed linen, top of the range kitchen gadgets, under floor heating, flat screen ‘plasma’ TV’s with Sky and IPOD compatible music systems plus the availability of additional services including leisure facilities and catering, are just a few of the items increasingly found in holiday properties and expected by more and more customers; in summary, the ‘boutique hotel’ experience with the flexibility and freedom of a larger, stylish holiday home.

Winner of the 2007 Daily Mail UK Property Awards ‘Best Development’ and ‘Best Marina Development’ and boasting some of the highest value real estate in the country, the Dart Marina properties on the edge of the River Dart in Dartmouth offer the ultimate in luxury self-catering but with hotel facilities also available. With privileged access to the luxury Dart Marina Health Spa, exciting Wildfire Bistro, elegant River Restaurant and first class yacht harbour, a stay at one of our Dart Marina apartments or town-houses ‘ticks all the boxes’.

State-of the art contemporary kitchens make self-catering at Dart Marina a pleasure, whilst the luxury double bedrooms are beautifully appointed and boast sumptuous soft furnishings and crisp white linen. The beautiful natural stone bathrooms are warm and welcoming, with under floor heating, fluffy towels and complimentary toiletries. With fantastic views over the water, the stunning living spaces are elegant and stylish, with many ‘high tech’ extras including remote controlled ‘living flame’ fires, flat screen TV and IPOD compatible music system. One of our properties at Dart Marina (No.26) is a former show home and so includes even more gadgets, including a remote controlled ‘Smart Home Enabling System’ allowing music, television, curtains, blinds and lights to be operated by the touch of a button.

Whether via an outside terrace, balcony or large window seat, all our Dart Marina properties boast fantastic views of the river whilst enjoying a morning coffee or early evening drink. The picturesque town of Dartmouth offers individual boutiques, art galleries and restaurants just a short, flat walk along the waterfront from Dart Marina –the perfect antidote to a hectic city lifestyle.

If you are looking for a greener, more rurally located retreat for your South Devon holiday, but are still expecting a contemporary, luxury experience and the latest gadgets, Broad Downs Barn near Salcombe might be the holiday property for you. Newly completed, this stunning barn conversion has already attracted huge interest and an impressive number of bookings for its first season. Sleeping 12, and set in 22 acres of privately owned pasture land, Broad Downs Barn provides spacious, luxury holiday accommodation and is serviced by the latest ‘Green’ technology featuring geothermal ground-source heat pumps, low energy lighting throughout and environmentally sustainable waste management. 2009 will see wind–generated electricity and a self-sufficient water supply.

From Easter a newly constructed outdoor pool will be available adding to the popularity of this property. With high attention to detail, stylish furnishings and sought after items such as a log burner for cosy nights in, Wireless Broadband, Sky TV and even a Wii, the owners of this property have worked hard to create a fantastic holiday home which is being quickly snapped up by visitors.

To complete the holiday experience of visitors to Broad Downs Barn, those staying at this property can enjoy a range of additional services, designed to take away as much of the pre-holiday hassle as possible, to allow busy people to ‘hit the ground running’ when they start their holiday and so enjoy every available minute. Services such as Advance Restaurant Booking, Drop off/Collection Service to Salcombe and local restaurants, Private Catering for Evening Meals, Babysitting and even a Personal Trainer can be pre-arranged for you, thus minimising the organisational stress often involved when planning a holiday for a larger group or family party.

Looking for a special property for a very large party - perhaps for a family anniversary, celebration or a sophisticated hen break - can be a challenge. The Old Vicarage, in the heart of the village of Malborough, near Salcombe certainly rises to that challenge offering luxury accommodation and a multitude of gadgets and features which will satisfy all ages. The stunning kitchen, with AGA and an illuminated feature well, is at the heart of this beautifully renovated Victorian vicarage, whilst the living areas boast no less than three 50’’ plasma televisions, so there should be no rows about what to watch! An IPOD surround sound system downstairs allows music to be played wherever it is desired, a fully-equipped games room contains table football, air hockey, pool table and Sony Playstation 2, whilst laptop, printer and Wireless Broadband in a study area ensures you can keep in touch whilst away from the office. With eight luxury bedrooms and nine bathrooms plus large grounds, private parking and the availability of a full–catering service if required, The Old Vicarage is the perfect destination for the larger party or for those just looking for more space and luxury from their holiday home.

To find out more about the above featured properties and other luxury holiday homes, including renovated thatched cottages, stylish penthouse apartments and beautifully converted period properties, included within Coast & Country Cottages Luxury Properties Collection, visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk. Or call the locally based teams in Salcombe (01548) 843773 or Dartmouth (01803) 839600. Free Brochure & Owners Guide available.

Source: Coast and Country

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For those looking for really special accommodation for their visit to Devon, the selection has never been so good. Whether taking a few days to explore the area whilst looking at property to buy, or seeking the perfect location for a well-earned short break or longer holiday, the choice of first class properties to stay in locally is constantly increasing as the expectations of the market rise. With our hectic lifestyles and the stressful pace of modern society, holidays and short breaks are becoming even more valued, with additional relaxing short breaks slotted in between more significant holidays to counter the effects of all that rushing around!

Increasingly, the busy, discerning holidaymaker is looking for so much more from their holiday accommodation than previously, both in terms of the standards offered and also the facilities provided. The availability of Wireless Broadband Internet in the holiday property is now a pre-requisite for a growing number of visitors, who feel the need to keep in touch with work during their break away. At the same time, more visitors are increasingly demanding leisure facilities at their holiday property, with private hot tubs and pools or membership to a local luxury spa attracting more and more customers to book. Property owners are responding to these requirements, discovering that the details are important to many visitors and gaining more bookings as a result!

Using their own experiences as regular visitors to the South Hams, staying with Coast & Country Cottages, before their permanent move to the area, the owners of Broad Downs Barn , a stunning new barn conversion sleeping 14 near Salcombe, have prepared a range of additional services for those staying at their fantastic new property. Designed to take away as much of the pre-holiday hassle as possible, to allow busy people to ‘hit the ground running’ when they start their holiday, these services enable visitors to enjoy every available minute of their holiday. With advance restaurant booking, a drop off/collection service to Salcombe and local restaurants, private catering for evening meals, babysitting, later departure times and luggage facility, baby friendly equipment package and even a personal trainer, the organisational stress often involved when planning a holiday for a larger group or family party can be minimised so everyone enjoys every minute of their holiday.

In addition to offering a fabulous range of services to those staying at their property, the owners of Broad Downs Barn have worked hard to incorporate key sought after items, including a new outdoor heated swimming pool, leisure club membership, Wireless Broadband, Sky TV, Wii and log burner all in a property where the attention to detail has been carefully managed, with stylish furnishings and artwork complementing the conversion of the barn. The whole project also cleverly utilises the latest ‘Green’ technology featuring geothermal ground-source heat pumps, low energy lighting throughout and environmentally sustainable waste management. 2009 will see wind–generated electricity and a self-sufficient water supply.

Newly completed, this stunning barn conversion has already attracted huge interest and an impressive number of bookings for its first season, with very few weeks now available for the rest of the year. Indeed, this property quickly became one of the fastest to book, even when the builders were still in and only computer generated images available! Now that the photo shoot has been completed and the first visitors have enjoyed their holidays, the demand is even higher. The owners of this property have worked hard to create a fantastic holiday home which is being quickly snapped up by visitors, attracted to the whole concept of a spacious, stylish holiday home…….plus all the details for a wonderful, relaxing, stress-free Devon break.

To find out more about Broad Downs Barn and other luxury holiday homes, including renovated thatched cottages, stylish penthouse apartments and beautifully converted period properties, included within Coast & Country Cottages Luxury Properties Collection, visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk. Or call the locally based teams in Salcombe (01548) 843773 or Dartmouth (01803) 839600. Free Brochure & Owners Guide available.

Source: Coast and Country

A recent survey of accommodation providers in the South West found that the majority of local businesses were reporting a decrease in the number of visitors booking with them for the Easter period in comparison to last year. This year, many schools are taking the two week school holiday which usually falls around the Easter Bank Holiday, during April, meaning many families have been unable to book their usual week’s break in Devon. With Easter falling earlier and the weather to-date so unsettled, a break in the UK may not have appealed to many visitors this year. With potential visitor numbers apparently reduced in this way, businesses have had to work harder to attract bookings. Locally based Coast & Country Cottages are delighted that their efforts are paying off, reporting increased value of bookings of 14% for the Easter/school holiday period combined, compared with this period in 2007, which in itself was a record year. With almost 400 properties, exclusively in the South Hams, including many fabulous new luxury properties in Salcombe, Dartmouth and throughout the area, an extensive national and local advertising campaign, highly rated website and glossy brochure, contact Coast & Country Cottages at their Hannford’s Landing ‘head office’ for a free brochure or Owners Guide. 01548 843773 www.coastandcountry.co.uk

Source: Coast and Country

Working with customers from the booking of a holiday through to arrival, departure and beyond is very rewarding for the team at Coast & Country Cottages. It also produces some amusing moments and many frustrating ones as people look for their perfect Devon cottage.

With an all-year round out-of-hours emergency service provided to our holiday tenants, the telephone can ring at all times of day and night, particularly during the busiest summer months. From holidaymakers returning to their property after an evening out and discovering they have forgotten their keys or locked themselves out, to those trying to get into the wrong property, key stories abound. Most recently our Operations Manager, Jon Doyle, was woken up during the night by a Japanese visitor who simply could not get the key she had been given to operate the lock at the property she thought she was staying at. In spite of the difficulties in understanding each other (we have a fair knowledge of several languages between members of the team but not Japanese!) he was able to work out she was in the wrong building!! Jon was eventually able to point her in the right direction and ‘hey presto’ she was in! With the number of ‘lockouts’ we receive each year, you have to wonder what people do with their keys at home….?!

An April 1st call-out was initially thought to be an April Fool’s joke, when a gentleman called to say his mother-in-law was stuck in the loo! Whilst he had initially found this amusing, as time passed and they had been unable to release her, they became more concerned as she was quite elderly. Luckily we were able to secure her release quite quickly and everyone was happy!

Pets or animals in general generate some tales every year. One customer was understandably very upset when she called us to inform us that her dog had died before the holiday and that she therefore wanted to cancel as she couldn’t face the holiday without him. Unfortunately she could not understand that the holiday insurance she had taken out for her party did not include the dog as a named member of the party and his sad demise would not constitute grounds for an insurance claim. Another customer called our Dartmouth office in a panic having discovered a ‘snake’ on the carpet. A quick visit to the property determined that it was actually a harmless slow worm, which had come in from the garden when the doors were left open!

An enormous number of items are left by behind in our properties every year when holidaymakers pack up to leave after their holiday in Devon. Mobile telephone chargers are regularly discovered by cleaners, still plugged in at properties, whilst bedroom drawers often contain complete sets of underwear, overlooked in the rush to pack up. Food is often discovered by our cleaners, abandoned in fridges and cupboards and one recent tenant contacted us after leaving his wallet on top of a high kitchen cupboard. Often we have to go to great lengths to find a missing item for a customer such as recently when a departing child had mislaid a favourite game for his Nintendo DS! This small item was not to be found in the location indicated, but a vigilant member of the team cleaning and checking the property found it down the back of a chair and returned it to its owner.

Some of our experiences with customers are frustrating and require careful handling, such as the gentleman who simply could not understand how to operate the shower in his property and had to be shown by the team and a local plumber, in spite of claiming he had a degree in engineering! One family booked a ground floor apartment, then called the office upon arrival at the property to ask where the second floor to the property was! Very recently one couple arrived for their holiday in Salcombe a day early! After some initial reluctance to do so, their mistake was admitted, but luckily as it was earlier in the season we were able to find them accommodation for the night and everyone was happy.

Whilst every business will experience a small number of customer complaints (particularly in the current ‘litigation age’) the vast majority of our customers are delighted with their property, have a fabulous holiday and want to return to us and the area again and again. Most people look forward to their holiday all year and so when expectations are not met and things go wrong, they are understandably disappointed. Our out-of-hours service means that ‘emergencies’ are picked up with quickly and as much is done as possible to quickly enable the holidaymaker to carry on and enjoy their well earned break. It can be frustrating on occasion, however, when a customer has called this emergency number out of office hours to request a brochure! Indeed just this weekend a member of the team received a call at 7.30am on Sunday morning, on the Emergency number, from a customer just wishing to pay the balance due for her forthcoming holiday! On a previous occasion another lady was quite indignant when told that her call to check availability was not actually an emergency, claiming, ‘It is an emergency, I need a holiday…!’

For a free Brochure or Owners Guide call 01548 843773 or visit www.coastandcountry.co.uk. The new 2008 brochure featuring over 350 properties throughout the South Hams will be available from October 2007 – pre-order your free copy today.

Source: Coast and Country