7-13 February 2015
Saturday
Great expectations
Television presenter Myleene Klass got into hot water with her daughter’s headteacher for criticising a fellow parent’s birthday party demands. The woman had asked for donations towards a Kindle for her child.
Sunday
Dramatic flair
Time for the Baftas, where Eddie Redmayne (left) bagged best actor for Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything. Julianne Moore won best actress for Still Alice, about a woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Monday
Firm foundations
Good news for teachers in crumbling classrooms as the government announced pound;6 billion to pay for repairs, refurbishment and rebuilds. The money will be distributed by the Priority School Building Programme.
Tuesday
Painting by numbers
A rare double self-portrait by Francis Bacon went under the hammer at Sotheby’s. It was expected to fetch between pound;13 million and pound;18 million, despite being sold for just over pound;350,000 when it was last auctioned in 1993.
Wednesday
Debate team
The ATL teaching union held the latest in its series of pre-election debates on key education issues, this one tackling curriculum change and assessment. Next up: accountability and inspection.
Thursday
Prize penmanship
The Duchess of Cornwall joined children at Holland Park School, West London, for a creative writing workshop run by charity First Story, and gave a prize to the winner of the charity’s national writing competition.
Friday
Shake your tail feather
Dust off those skimpy costumes and get into the spirit of the Rio de Janeiro carnival. The famous street party explodes on to Brazilian streets today, kicking off four days of Samba-centric Mardi Gras celebrations.
14-20 February 2015
Saturday
Stop, in the name of love
Love is in the air, people. Valentine’s is already known as a day of love, cheesy poems and overpriced set menus. This year it also marks One Billion Rising, a day of action to end violence against women.
Sunday
Mindfulness over matter
Bring a little peace into your classroom by marking Nirvana Day, an annual festival when Buddhists from the Mahayana tradition mark the death and enlightenment of the Buddha.
Monday
Frying high
National Chip Week starts today. The drive to improve school meals may have caused the humble fry to be driven from many lunchtime menus, but perhaps your school could serve up some spuds as a class treat.
Tuesday
Flipping marvellous
More food! Today is Shrove Tuesday, so get out the eggs, flour and milk and cook up some pancakes for the students. For many Christians, this could be the last chance of indulgence before the self-denial of Lent.
Wednesday
Hounded out
It’s a decade since the act making fox hunting with dogs illegal in England and Wales came into force. The Countryside Alliance described the law as “derided and discredited” but it survives to this day.
Thursday
Counting sheep
Today marks Chinese New Year and the start of the Year of the Goat (also known as the Year of the Sheep). What better opportunity for language teachers to get pupils to practise their Mandarin?
Friday
Dressed to kill
We may be in the depths of February, but this year’s autumn and winter collections will be hitting the catwalk for London Fashion Week. Perhaps geography-teacher chic will be a big hit at last.
