Playground duty at school

I do not think that there is worse job at school.

Tuesday 10 to 10.30am is my slot.
I was lucky(not!) enough to get the top playground as my hot spot.

This is the danger zone, it is hell on earth.

• The upper year boys playing soccer with a killer intensity.

• The year 1 and 2 kids running around with gay abandon.

• The older girls skipping and playing basketball.

• Little kids climbing the adventure playground like little daredevils.

• Occasionally the preschoolers will come out to the sandpit to watch (2-3.5yr olds).

• To stop the kids from running up the slipper slides; the school has two levels and to join them there is a big concrete staircase and some built in concrete slides. The kids think they are FANTASTIC, I think they are lethal.

It is the person on duty's job to keep all these groups under
control and to stop the zones from colliding.


I need danger money.

It is like trying to herd a pack of starving wolves.


But this week I was flabbergasted by a new danger.

Above the slides, above the chairs outside year one classroom, where lots of cute LITTLE kids congregate, there is an over hanging roof, with no gutter.

On Tuesday a work man was walking on this wet roof barefoot!
He was replacing roof tiles, which he was holding and stacking on this wet tiled roof........
directly above the heads of all these cute (well loud, raucous and energetic) kids.

He looked at me as if I was a crazy bule (westerner) for yelling at him to get away.

So playground duty is for making sure that all kids survive and return to class when the bell rings as well as scheduling repair work for the most suitable time.

In comparison, the lower level duty is wonderful.

The area is the tables and chairs around the pool with lovely big shady trees. This duty involves slowly walking through the tables chatting with nice kids (well except for the year 2 boys LOL), opening tight lunch box lids and chip packets, getting a cool water from the cooler and having a coffee passed out the staff room window.

I will have to do some serious crawling to get this spot for next term!