A Blast from the Past!

One of the things about being a teacher is that you never really know exactly how you have touched the lives of the pupils in your care. This was brought home to me quite forcibly last week.

 Rachel Knight & her eldest daughter Sophie

Michelle Waller & her daughter Holly

I have a facebook account - originally to obtain some wedding photos of Hannah and Ben which had been posted on Facebook, but also to keep in touch with what the three daughters get up to!

Last week one of my ex pupils from 25 years ago discovered my facebook page, and got in touch with me. She asked if she could pass on my contact details to another ex pupil who was setting up a "closed group" of Bierley C of E First School - Class of '86.

The result of me being entered on to the Bierley C of E Frst School - Class of '86 page, is that suddenly I have had a host of e mails from nearly half the class members, all asking how I was and wanting to know what I was doing since they had left the school. One of the interesting things is that nearly all the letters addressed me as "Sir" - In fact both Rachel and Michelle (see photos above) said they felt they couldn't address me as anything else!

I replied direct to each of them and in each case got a long and interesting e mail back from them telling me what they had done with their lives and all about their families. The thing that really impressed me about both of them was their very sensible attitude to work, family life and, in each case their acceptance of family responsibilities.

I was asked if I knew what had happened to the school bell after the school closed, and Michelle related a story I used to tell the choir about a deaf little mouse that sat behind the clock in the hall, and how they had to look up and sing to it! She told me her daughter has just completed her grade three singing at high school, and she tells her all about the deaf little mouse.

Just as an interesting little aside, nearly all the ex pupils mentioned how much they had enjoyed their time at Bierley C of E First School, and there were even thanks from some of them for the education they received.

This was a photo of the School Nativity play they both took part in. Rachel is taking the part of Mary, and Michelle is the angel in the back row (left) with the star behind her head