It's been one hell of a stressful and busy six weeks, but the school summer holiday will shortly be over and the start of a new academic year will be upon us once more.
A few weeks ago I was stressing, worrying and having sleepiness nights about getting both Evesham High School's and Simon de Montfort Middle School's networks merged in time ready for September when the school becomes an entirely new school called The De Montfort School.
I'm relieved to say we did it! Ok, I managed one day off during the whole time, I'm knackered and exhausted, but both schools are now on one network and I can once again sleep at night.... For the time being at least. Of course, that's not all we've done.
- New Aruba Networks wireless system comprising of 65 access points (to replace an aging Netgear managed system) installed at the High School to cope with a larger number of mobile devices connecting to the network. These allow increased wireless speed AND better coverage across the site.
- Upgrade from Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 to Microsoft Exchange 2013 on an entirely new HP Proliant ML350p Gen 8 server with 2 x Intel Xeon 2.30Ghz (12 Cores), 80GB Ram and 5x 600GB drives (Raid 5 configuration so it gives us about 2TB of usable space).
- Nice new intel i5 computers set up in one classroom to replace some god-awful Apple iMacs.
Plus lots of little upgrades here and there to computers and user profiles.
My newly decorated office - Still a mess!
Of course, I suspect they'll be a few issues to begin with (it wouldn't be the start of a new year without them) and it's going to take some time getting use to not having some of the old IT teachers there now that they have moved on to other schools, but I look forward to working with a new team of teachers and a new technician. I imagine some people will be quick to criticise certain things but hey ho.... That's just an average day working at EHS... ahem, sorry... TDMS. Quick to criticise but slow to praise.
Nope - I didn't do anything with this room this year - I just like it hence why I have a picture of it here!
Am I still looking at other jobs or a career change? YES and YES, but I'll wait and see how this year pans out first. Things may be different now that we have a new Headteacher joining us... or perhaps maybe not?
Additionally - the Summer season is nearly over and my favourite time of the year is about to begin. The temperatures are dropping and the nights are getting darker and cooler. I'm actually feeling quite good - I don't expect it to last, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.
New PC's in newly upgraded DU5 classroom
New PC's in newly upgraded DU5 classroom
New PC's in newly upgraded DU5 classroom
New PC's in newly upgraded DU5 classroom
