Teacher Interviews

Mrs Marty

The story on how Mrs Marty became a teacher at the Stephen Perse Foundation involves a fascinating and inspirational back story. It started when Mrs Marty was a child where she lived in Bury Saint Edmund (Suolk) with a dream of being an actress. Although drama has nearly always been a part of her life, being a nurse was also on her mind for a small period of time. She spent her childhood with her two brothers, mum and dad. Her older brother was a very talented cartoonist who used his talent against her by drawing the UGLIEST drawings of her.

When Mrs Marty was ready for university, she had to spend one of her years in Germany (which was her favourite year) and Spain because she chose languages for her university course. As well as travelling for studies she also travelled to other places with her dad. Even though her favourite subjects are English, drama and languages, her favourite sport is swimming.

The teaching part of Mrs Marty’s life is complicated going from multiple schools and back again. It started with six years at the Perse Girls and then she left for another for seven years. After that, she returned to the Perse Girls which was now called the Stephen Perse. Before getting into the teaching profession Mrs Marty was an actress. She did a lot of touring and she performed at the west end and was a dresser. She was an actress for ten years before becoming a teacher.

When it comes to the funniest/most embarrassing part of Mrs Marty’s career, there was a really funny story to tell. This is what Mrs Marty has to say:

“We were at Hilltop Adventure Centre on the Year 5 residential trip. One of the activities was the high ropes. I decided that I was going to be really brave, (or maybe I was showing off a little bit..?) and I chose to go on the highest challenge, even though I was quite afraid. Everything went quite well until we reached a long rope, like a tightrope. You had to move along the rope by standing on a skateboard which ran along the wire. I found it really difficult! No matter how hard I pulled myself along with my arms, my feet on the skateboard underneath me kept rolling away in the other direction. I was so scared that I screwed my eyes tight shut. When I - somehow- finally arrived at the safety platform at the other end of the wire, I was trembling from head to foot. I threw myself into the arms of the instructor and had a little sob. Way down below me, my Year 5 pupils were looking up at me, having a comfort cuddle from that lovely young woman. I think they must have been quite surprised to see their teacher as a sobbing wreck! It is funny when I look back on it now but it was scary at the time.”

By Tulsi, Yuqiao, Georgie, Izzi and Chloë.

Mrs Parker Questionnaire

What inspired you to become a teacher?

I wanted to be able to make a difference to other people and help them to enjoy learning.

Did anyone inspire you to be a teacher?

I did have an amazing maths teacher, Mrs Davis, when I was in Year 9- I was struggling with maths and she helped to build my confidence.

What is the funniest moment of your teaching career?

Probably doing the high ropes on residential- I was terrified but had to pretend to be brave and encourage the children who were with me that it wasn’t scary. It wasn’t funny at the time but it is looking back.

Have you ever struggled with your student’s work?

Not really- sometimes handwriting can be tricky to read but mine isn’t great either!

Do you have any siblings?

Yes, I have a younger sister.

Do/did you have any pets?

I have a rescue cat called Daisy.

Where are you from?

That’s a tricky question. I was born in Ely but lived in lots of different countries when I was growing up.

What subject were you best at as a child?

My favourite subject was History.

What was your dream job as a child?

I always wanted to be a nurse.

What is/was your favourite sport?

Skiing (but I can’t do it very often), swimming.

By Tulsi, Yuqiao, Georgie, Izzi and Chloë.

Sports

Here are some sports reviews written by Alex, Jin, Georgie, Ani and Ronit. We highly recommend these five sports and we hope you will be inspired.

Archery by Alex (6CHV)

All of my family does archery. In this article I’m going to tell you more about it. I like archery because you don’t always have to do competitions, and in fact, out of the 400,000 people that do archery, only 2,000 do competitions.

On most types of bows, a sight is attached to the front, above the arrow, so that you can aim easier. If the arrows don’t land where you want them to, you can adjust the sight to change where they go.

In archery, you need a lot of strength. This is so that your shot doesn’t go short. You can also have your bow personalised so that you don’t feel uncomfortable or have to pull too much weight.

Most arrows are made of carbon. Others are made of aluminium. Arrows have 3 fletchings. Fletchings are used to make arrows fly straight. Fletchings are 2 colours. There are 2 of one colour and 1 different coloured fletching. This is to remind you of which way they go.

My favourite quote about archery is “Archery does not get difficult or hard to understand until the arrow misses.”

Here is a picture of my bow.

Figure skating by Jin (6CHV)

I started learning ice skating 2 years ago. Currently, I am concentrating on learning my spins and jumps. For jumps, I am learning the Lutz and for the spins I am learning the camel spin. I am really passionate about ice skating because I am inspired by this figure skater called Yuzuru Hanyu. Yuzuru Hanyu is a 2 time Gold Olympic Medalist. Whenever he performs, he dances so elegantly. Not only is he known from his country, Japan, he is known worldwide! This is why I look up to him.

Figure skating is a very challenging sport because you need to make your moves elegant as well as making them correct. So this sport targets people who are elegant. You need to balance on a thin blade and that makes it hard to balance on the ice. For this sport, you need strong techniques for example edge control, and if you don’t have these things, your skating will go off. It is rewarding because it is fun and exciting.

Here is a quote from him:

“If I can't do it, I will work on it until I can. If I become able to do it, I will work on it until I can do it perfectly. If I become able to do it perfectly, I will work on it until I can do it perfectly any number of times.”

Horse riding by Georgie (6CTC)

We interviewed Georgie and she told us something about Horse Riding.

What do you like about horse riding?

“Horse riding can be calming, fun and dangerous. Sometimes if you are on a slow and easy trek it can feel relaxing and many will say it is therapeutic.”

What danger will you come across?

“Danger is on the rider's mind if they are jumping over a high pole or hanging down low to the ground on a galloping horse (trick riding).”

What are the different types of riding a horse?

“There are many different types of riding a horse including dressage, jumping, trick riding, racing and many more.”

Tell us about a famous horse rider.

“A well-known horse rider is Isabell Werth, Isabell is from Germany and is 53 years old. Isabell is known for her incredible dressage and her 6 Olympic trophies.”

Football By Ani (6 CTC)

Football is the most popular sport not just in the UK but also around the world. With the recent world cup passing, football is more popular than ever… Football is a fun sport, which can give many people career opportunities… It involves 2 teams, with the amount of players varying by age group.

I started playing football when I was 11 months old and have been addicted ever since, the sport is not biassed by gender. There is equal opportunity for male and females to go pro. This is the ideal sport for any kid, all you need are shin pads and football boots.

All in all Football is the best sport for any kid to play, as it builds teamwork and bonds with friends.