Post camp musings

What an amazing weekend. I can honestly say that the weekend surpassed all expectations and I enjoyed it so much and got so much out of it that I am determined to set up Isle of Man's first teach meet. Right I have said it now so it has got to happen:)

Why was it such a successful weekend?
Visions
Well, it certainly couldn't and wouldn't have happened if the amazing Sarah and Stephen hadn't had the vision and the tenacity to see the project through. They were of course very modest about the whole thing but I didn't fail to notice that the weekend had been planned to perfection with every little detail taken into account. I certainly take my hat (or beanie) off to them for their expertise and professionalism.
Enthusiasm
The other aspect to the weekend were of course the attendees, all of whom were fully signed up to the ethos of the weekend. We all arrived with enthusiasm in shed loads, as well as open minds, ready to make new friends and share ideas. I was blown away by the diverse skill sets in the room and the obvious quality of experience everybody had. I initially felt nervous, would I live up to expectations, could I 'add' anything to the weekend? I needn't have worried as, without exception, I was made to feel valued and my confidence grew.

What did I take away from the weekend?

• I came away bouncing with enthusiasm to try new things in school, to strive to be better than I ever thought possible, to set up something similar to give more teachers the chance of experiencing what I had, in fact I feel like Tigger!
• Confirmation that many of my thoughts, dreams and ideas are shared by lots of other people in fact it made me feel valued and that I have got something to offer! I know it sounds silly, but 
• sometimes you do need a confidence boost and this certainly gave it to me.
• The permission to give myself time to reflect, discuss, research and plan. This weekend gave us this and more, in fact it highlighted how important these processes are and not to underestimate the value that we should place on them.
• Friends that I know that I can consult in the future and that are happy to help, which is more valuable than words can express. I have even made friends since coming home as a direct consequence of SLTCamp, who would have thought! In fact my new contact is going to help me plan our own version of the weekend on our little island.

In conclusion, I can thoroughly recommend to anyone to give something like this a go, go on, you know it makes sense! Thank you Sarah and Stephen for a birthday I am not going to forget in a hurry! :)

First thoughts

Lhiat Myr Toilliu
SLT camp, I can’t wait.

I was introduced to Twitter and the wealth of enthusiasm and knowledge out there for like minded people about 2 years ago and it certainly was a revelation. I have read lots of posts and only dared to chip in now and again. I follow lots of people who I admire, but a part of me hasn’t dared lift my head above the parapet and get more involved. Living on the Isle of Man makes getting to evening teach meets rather tricky so when SLT camp announced a full weekend event I plucked up the courage to ‘go for it!’ I feel very brave taking part as I can imagine that the weekend will take me out of my comfort zone, but I like a challenge.

My first challenge has been to write this blog. Me a blog…..! I never thought that I would see the day but life is like that, things can seem very hard until the first steps are taken. I am looking forward to SLT camp as I want to be stretched and challenged and I am sure that will happen. My second challenge after writing this blog will be to decide which home baked goody will survive a plane journey intact! Like anything I’m sure that there will be a solution and in this case it will hopefully be a tasty solution!

Thank you for organising the event, the title for this blog is Lhiat Myr Toilliu, which is Manx for success as you deserve. I am confident that with all the energy and thought that has been put into this event that it will firmly ensure its success. I am really looking forward to meeting everybody, see you all soon.