Page 102 - She's One Crazy Lady!

as unbelievably calm. Julie wasn’t! Mad hysteria
My phone rang. Was this going to be good news? Was this going to be the dream I had wanted for so long? For I had always dreamed of being a Headteacher; or would it be a case of back to the drawing board to either work under another Headteacher or move on to another different school? Julie was on the edge of her seat when the phone range.
broke o”
Tim Hitchcock (Vice Chair of Governors): “We are delighted to offer you the position of Headteacher at Highfields Community Primary School”. Phew!! I thanked him and looked at Julie – I was unbelievably calm. Julie wasn’t! Mad hysteria broke out. She grabbed hold of a huge white polar bear (stuffed toy) that sat in my chair, threw it in the air and hugged me – we danced around the room. She was genuinely so pleased for me and I realised that I had done it! The feeling was quite surreal. At last, my dream had been achieved. I was going to be a Headteacher in my own right.
However, there were more nervous people waiting behind the scenes who were anxiously waiting to hear the outcome. Firstly, Mum and Dad. I had applied for other positions before this and every time I went in to see them, or rang them, Mum would say, “Yes? No?” When I answered ‘No’, the subject would be changed, Mum knowing there was no point going over it and knowing
I w“
we were always so actively hands-on and busy tidying and sorting and reshaping the school. The children noticed, and all day, as I professionally took a formal tour of the school with a Parent Governor, before sitting in the hot seat, children were commenting: “You look nice Miss Hooper!” which gave me the extra confidence I needed. They knew I was being interviewed and the encouraging, discrete nods and smiles from many of them, and the staff, were comforting, especially as the butterflies were having a grand time in my tummy! I felt the interview went as well as it could and hoped I spoke from the heart, showing an understanding of just what was needed. Having worked in the school undoubtedly helped me in answering some of the in-depth, probing questions that always crop up – what we always used to call the ‘trick’ questions.
The other candidates and I were asked to go home having been told the successful candidate would be notified by phone later in the afternoon. Julie would not let me go home on my own and she nervously stayed with me, chatting about this, that and everything else to kill time. Julie was more nervous than I was!
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