The First Week of Summer Holidays for a Media Teacher

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The first week of the summer holidays is a strange one. I’m free… but my body and brain haven’t quite caught up. After a term that felt about six years long, I’m technically off the clock but still waking up at 6:30am like my internal alarm hasn’t got the message. There’s no real rush to do anything, but the list of “stuff I’ll get to in the holidays” starts calling almost immediately. And yet, somehow, I still find myself watching Netflix at 11am and forgetting what day it is.

I open my eyes around the same time I would usually when I would have to get up for work. I haven’t set an email but the phantom school bell that lives rent-free in my brain starts to ring. I lie there for a while, scrolling through media news, half-thinking about the tutoring jobs I’ve got this week and half-wondering if I could squeeze in another hour of sleep. I can’t. My teacher body is too well-trained. But I do make a proper coffee and sit by the window with it, which already feels like a win.

I start ticking off life admin jobs I’ve ignored since about March. I tidy the kitchen cupboard, book a doctor check-up and open the drawer where all the “important documents” live (aka that paper Bermuda Triangle). 

I tell myself I’m just catching up on “media texts” – finally watching Squid Games Season 2, the Win or Lose animation series, and the new David Attenborough doc - but I definitely fall asleep on the sofa halfway through. Not even sorry. It’s the kind of deep nap that only happens in Week 1 of the holidays, when your body realises it’s safe to stop. I wake up feeling slightly disoriented, like I’ve time-travelled. Still count it as productive.

Every day I pick one “proper” thing to do. Today it was getting photos printed out. I’ve got about 10,000 to sift through so I decide to just focus on the big events - weddings, holidays, birthdays and leaving dos. I also play with images and text in Canva and write exactly one blog post. It’s low-stakes productivity and I love it.

Now that school is on pause, the cleaning/organising part of my brain activates. I tackle one zone at a time. Kitchen drawers. The wardrobe. That weird basket full of cables that don’t seem to go with anything I own. I find three highlighters, a gratitude journal, an old white board from Covid days and a memory stick labelled “Media Dept Backup 2018.” No idea what’s on it but I’ll definitely keep it. Just in case.

Mid way through the day, I look down and decide now would be a good idea to change from my night clothes into my day time comfortable clothes. A small win. I go full on pamper - a face mask, remove chipped varnish from my toenails and apply a conditioning hair mask. Ahhhhhh. A tiny little bit of guilt creeps in and I start thinking I should be doing more: curriculum tweaks, resource redesigns, finishing that CPD reading. But I remind myself that recharging is the job this week. Not everything has to be ticked off right now. So I make a folder called “Holiday Projects” and dump everything in there for future me to deal with. A digital “later pile.” 

Evenings are when I go full Media nerd. I sit on the sofa, surrounded by popcorn, chocolates, nachos and a large glass of something cold and start watching shows from my ‘watch later’ catalogue. I’m starting with a little ITV number:  ‘Code of Silence’. I pretend it’s just for fun, but I know half of these shows will end up in a lesson come September. That’s the thing about Media teachers, we’re never really off.

The first week of summer isn’t glamorous. It’s not all beach days and lie-ins. It’s slow mornings, messy lists and naps in the middle of the day. But it is restful,  in that chaotic, slightly fuzzy way that only teachers understand. You’re not quite yourself yet, but you’re on your way back.

Winning.