Viki's Blog

Well this is it! My final blog! Just like Tom I wanted to think about my 3 years working for the Hi Site in statistics, 126 blogs, 1085 posts on the forums and 140 comments from you on my blogs. Id say to think that was pretty impressive. However, the Hi Site has been much more than a job for me. I have throughly enjoyed helping new students through guiding them on all they want to know on their journey to Edge Hill University! Quite satisfying, haha!

Many of the students I have helped, I have met and some are now my closest friends which is oddly strange as in when it comes down to it, all the Hi Site is, is students to students supporting eachother by taking the first steps to a great university life. I have loved sharing things I know with you guys hoping that my experiences will help you find your own! Also I absolutely love chatting on and talking about myself so I suppose it was a perfect job, my own personal online diary!

The site has also supported the club I created, Edge Hill Outdoor Club which I hope some of you join and enjoy just as much as I did. I certainly wont be leaving this club anytime soon, I intend to be an honerary member for a while! Ensuring the club continues and runs smoothly so hopefully I will see you there!

But I suppose for me, an Edge Hill University Graduate 2010 in Primary Education with QTS its time I get on with being what I trained for, a teacher. Now as excitng as this is I miss unversity life a lot, especially my friends. But I have to admit being a teacher is amazing. I am working in a school close to my home, teaching a Year One class – they are fabulous children, the job is extremely tiring but just as rewarding. My university time was extremely sucessful and to all you new students I am sure your will just be as sucessful.

The only advice I can offer with your time as unversity is to take every opportunity, do what you enjoy, try different things, go with the flow, get stressed, have fun and just take it one step at a time. Whatever crisis, drama or panic it will all fall into place, just enjoy it as it goes so quick but by the end all that hard work will eventually pay off for something you have been waiting for. Good luck and take care, Edge Hill University has been one of the best experiences of my life and now its your turn, Enjoy! Viki J x

Ps. I hope you enjoyed by final blog!

I suppose I have had a busy month sorting out my classroom, graduating and taking trips to Wales. But yeah the most important thing I have been trying to do is keeping in touch with people, after graduation I figured that would be possible the last time I saw some of my friends for a good couple of years. Were all very busy, and all have our futures ahead of us so it going to be difficult to organise meeting up and such. But my close friends I have made a conscious effort to keep in touch and share our new found plans.

A couple of weeks ago me and a few of my old housemates met at one of our houses to celebrate them moving in to it, it was only a night which involved a bit of TV and a take away but from going to living with each other to all having separate lives its quite sad so just chilling out at someone’s house was really nice and brought us all back together again. Also camping trips and nights out with my Outdoor Club have been great and climbing trips just so we can stay in touch. My birthday is next week, 22, I think am getting old but hopefully people will be able to meet up just to stay in touch and get together so inevitably we never lose touch. This is what I hope, and I will make sure that people put the effort in so we can be friends for a long time and we can share our experiences.

But yeah I shall update you on my birthday night out! Thanks to facebook I suppose it is particularly easy to keep in touch with people! Viki J x

As well as having lots of fun in Wales I have been going in and out of school to get my classroom ready and doing a bit of teaching with my new class. Now this is when yeah reality hit home, all very exciting but so so scary! I am a real teacher, I have a class of 25 children to look after and teach, I have to pay taxes – haha, ok not quite so worried about the last part but yeah for once in my life I feel completely accountable for a lot of things. I welcome this responsibility and I know I already have a great support network through my school I am just still very nervous. In my head I keep thinking one step at a time and it will be fine.

My class are amazing, children who are so enthusiastic I can’t wait to get teaching but there is so much paperwork and little bits I have to keep focused and organised. I have already made quite a few visits to my school but yeah still got plenty more to do, I have put a week aside to completely get organised with my classroom. That means displays up, organisation of the classroom, all my little extras to make it mine! Hopefully, I can recruit some of my friends to help out with this but we will see! Anyway yeah I suppose am just nervous but I will keep you updated on how I get on with my classroom and hey in a couple of weeks it might even be ready to take on 25 children! Fingers crossed! Viki J x

More fun and games for me this is before I start my real job, three trips to Wales in less than a month, seriously what is so addictive? Well let me tell you! While I can I want to see as many friends as a I can, enjoy my summer freedom and obviously spend time in the outdoors, I simple can’t resist it. I have to say it’s rather relaxing here and I suppose it gets me away from the reality of my new serious life which is only a few weeks away from me now. However, I am very excited to begin that quest; I still am just grasping my freedom of no responsibilities. While I can that is.

So far I spent a couple of weeks in South Wales with my friend Eddie which has been nice as this area offers amazing climbing which is what I love to do the most. Also not only that I love the area, so this has definitely been a nice place to get away too and just enjoy my time doing what I like to do the most in very good company.

My other trips were through Edge Hill Outdoor Club and friends of the club, to North Wales. This was fun as I know I am certainly going to miss these guys I spent so many times with them through club stuff and this was just a bit of an odd social gathering which made me realise these people are some of the closest people to me and I need to keep in contact with them – having more experiences in the outdoors!

Anyway I suppose I was just sharing what I have been up to recently, I soon think I will miss all of this but while I can I am going to have fun in the outdoors! Viki J x

What an awesome ceremony, very emotional but so satisfying. Graduation, at first I had so much going on it didn’t really cross my mind when this in a way was actually ‘the end’ of my three year era at Edge Hill University so I probably should have given it slightly more thought. I know that sounds really sad, as for most of us university has been one of the most incredible and amazing times of our life but really it just finished the experience off nicely.

Probably one of the most awesome parts was just being reunited with my friends, tutors and having my family to watch. It was all so exciting to think we’d come so far and we had actually made it, completely and together. In a way all our hard work has paid off, the late nights panicking about assignments, getting up early stressing about placement observations, worrying about group presentation – we have done all this but we have done it together, so thanks especially to my group V2 and Adele and Laura who are fellow course mates but have got me through a lot.

Anyway, graduation was an awesome ceremony with everyone being recognised for their own hard work and yeah well done to the Primary Education 2010 cohort, we did well, really well infact. And of course a big thumbs up to Edge Hill for a brilliant ceremony – it was all very exciting to dress up in our cap and gown, have pictures taken by the lake, walk down to be greeted and congratulated by the chancellor, it had been amazing now it’s time to start the next part of our future! Thank you Edge Hill! Viki J x

I have been incredibly busy recently, moving out (packing stuff up and organising things from one room to another), going on holiday, hanging out with friends I might not see for a while and most importantly meeting my new class of children, who will be part of my first teaching post. All very exciting!

Working in the school was one of the most important priorities on my list before I start in September, I really want to get to know the kids and know the school routines. Although I was very nervous it has been so helpful to see the kids and just get to know them. The school have been really welcoming and the kids are great, so enthusiastic. I am really looking forward to getting stuck in and working with them.

My three years of university are now going to be put into practice and well yeah this is the scary bit – I hope I can be a great teacher and really prove myself. I am off to school next week to work with the kids and do a bit of teaching so they get used me!  Still extremely nervous but too be honest this is what I have been waiting for, it feels great to have finished my degree and start my future career which I am extremely excited to do! Wish my luck! Viki J x

Like I said in a previous blog, I was planning on going to France on a climbing trip, what a perfect break! After all my hard work, I think I deserved a nice holiday to France. Good weather and my favourite activity – climbing, can’t really go wrong with that.

University, is all about work and play balance. You work hard, you then deserve a break, I think after 3 years of university I deserved a break. In a way it was just nice to have nothing really to worry about (I hadn’t found out my results at this point, but yeah I was distracted with the climbing) so yeah I just wanted to have fun. And that’s what I did!

It is important that you do have time to de-stress at university, as work periods do fluctuate. Lots of healthy social time with friends and relaxing time is the best way to create a good work/study balance (obviously when you work is done!)

That is definitely one of the most important pieces of advice I have picked up over my last three years! I hope it is some use to you! Viki J x

So I passed my degree! Had some great nights out with my friends but then realised it’s all coming to an end! What confirmed that is leaving my keys in my rented accommodation with my room completely empty for my land lord to pick up! Absolutely devastating in a way, basically an end of an era, moving out!

I have had so many great memories and enjoyable times in my house (which I have lived in for 2 years!) and now it’s all over. My house mates, Adele, Emma, Laura, Kyle, James and Tim have all been amazing and I will miss them greatly. One by one we moved out and the house got emptier and emptier, due to work commitments I was the last and it was pretty emotional. I had to take down bits and bobs which made up all the memories of the house, quite sad.

The friends you make at university (they do say this) will be your friends for life, and I really do honestly hope to keep in contact with these people as much as possible! We already have plans to meet up for one of our birthdays, so that should be great – we all get to hang out again and have a good catch up. I intend to ensure we meet up now and again so we don’t lose contact! But yeah a big thank you to my house mates for making my university experience a great one!

For all you in new students you have this all to come/experience, I bet you can’t wait! Viki J x

Last week in the post I got what I have been waiting for, for quite a while! My results! Argh – so I passed everything and got a 2,1. Completely shocked but so happy to have completed my degree and yeah a major feeling of relief. I suppose all the hard work paid off (well not all of it was my best work but I seem to do alright!).

Too be honest if you want to, you can work out what degree classification you will get (if you don’t have exams) and find out how well you have done, but I thought I’d leave it as a surprise, and yeah I was surprised. I have always been a 2,2/2,1 student so I am very lucky to have got a 2,1. I think putting some extra hard work in, in my third year has paid off and im very happy about that!

Also knowing I have my job waiting for me, it will be great to let them know that all is fine and I have passed my degree. Now time for graduation which is my next exciting event! Well I thought I’d let you how I got on and yeah that I passed. Just so pleased my 3 years of university have really paid off and they have set me up for the real world. I will update you about graduation as soon as it happens, and am sure there will be plenty of pictures. Now its time to celebrate my results! Viki J x