conversations.from: system
conversations.value: Newton Pembury is either a large village or a small town, somewhere in the south of England. It has a small high street of shops, five pubs of varying repute, four churches and a railway station. It also has a primary school, with seven classes for seven years: "Reception" (4-5 year-olds) up to "Year 6" (10-11 year-olds).
  
  The government's inspectors ("Ofsted") have judged the school as "requiring improvement". Fortunately, an energetic new headteacher has just joined to turn the school around and offer the children of Newton Pembury the primary education they deserve.
  
  -------
  
  This is intended to be played for laughs primarily. Do not feel the pressure to be actually laugh-out-loud funny, but do please look for the funny side in the situations. Slapstick and dark comedy are both welcome.
  
  Just give us your best effort, and don't hold yourself or others to too high a standard. This is partly about learning what you can do in an area that few Storium games exercise. In particular, please accept now that the first scene won't be especially funny, but after that we should have more recurring themes and callbacks that we can work off.
  
  Note that I'm a parent of two school-age children and a governor of their primary school. In reality, this is an important time, I know, but that doesn't mean we should take this game seriously.
  
  ---
  
  [Roster](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Qma85sd66hZ-8WRgN8aT_PffCroLgGpeQ0lMPTgf7AM/edit?usp=sharing)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Get Promotion: Get from teacher to Deputy Head, or Deputy Head to Head Teacher.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Get through the year: Whatever. Six week summer holiday is worth it. You just need to get through the year.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Make a good impression: You want to get off on the right foot with your new head.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Educate: Never mind the system, there are children here who need to learn.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Support: Never mind education, there are children here who need your help.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Impress the kids: Never mind the job description. If you can't impress primary school children, who can you impress.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Egotistical: It's all about you.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Show off: It's about the superficial impression you make.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Tearful: Everyone finds it hard, you know, but you are the one bawling.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Desperate: This year has to go right.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Pyschopathic: You try to pretend you care, but deep down, you really don't.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Chippy: You've got a problem. It's only a small one, but every child through your class is going to be affected by it.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: *MAKE YOUR OWN*: Pick a weakness and create a card for it.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: *MAKE YOUR OWN*: Pick an arc for your character an make your own card for it.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Empathetic: You really get these kids
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Professional: This is a difficult job but you're bright and well trained.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: *MAKE YOUR OWN*: Pick your own strength and make a card for it.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Beautiful: In some sense, you're beautiful, and children and colleagues respond to that.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Psych: You're trained in psychology. Pupils, parents and teachers are but putty in your hands.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Genuine: You really care, and people can sense that.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Career Teacher: This is what you always wanted to do.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Probationer: This is your first real teaching job, and you want to make it work.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Veteran: You're too set in your ways to do anything else.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Convert: You had a proper job, but decided to give it all up to teach.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Kid: You love being with kids because adults are rubbish.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: *MAKE YOUR OWN*: What's the core essence of your character?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Sharon Carswell: New Headteacher of Newton Pembury Primary
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Staff Room: The hub, the sanctuary, the nerve centre. Overbrewed tea, too many dirty mugs and too few chairs.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: New Arrival: You've taught for a while, but you've only just joined here.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hall: The hall is basically a square box. It can hold the whole school and the staff at a squeeze, or some parents and their children, or a gym class, or half the school for lunch, but only one thing at a time.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Tony Burnham: Long-standing caretaker, and now Site Manager, of Newton Pembury Primary
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Eboni Taylor-Charles: "Misty Sea" to the children, many of whom have been laughing about that name for since they got the joke in Year 2. 
  
  So sporty that she rarely has time for after-school clubs. 
  
  Happy here, four years on, but perhaps not very invested still.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Eboni Taylor-Charles: "Misty Sea" to the children, many of whom have been laughing about that nickname continuously since they got the joke in Year 2. 
  
  So sporty that she rarely has time for after-school clubs. 
  
  Happy here, four years on, but perhaps still not very invested.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Kathryn Harlan: Assistant Headteacher, which is a lesser honour than Deputy Head and therefore two rungs below where Kathryn thinks she out to be.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Mission Statement: It's not brainstorming, it's crowd-sourcing. If most of the contributions are good then it will improve!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Trust falls: There's nothing like a bruised coccyx to make you feel part of a team. Describe  one fall or catch. (For each fall there are two catchers.)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Tag: Do you want to switch year group with another teacher? [Pick the PC of a player who hasn't played their final card yet!]
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Swapsies: Suggest a regular class swap for a few hours a week.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Netball: Years 5 & 6 need coaching for the few games of (mixed) netball they'll play this year.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Football: Someone needs to decide who gets to play (mixed) football for the school, and herd them and their parents around at the dozen or so games they'll play. Coaching is optional and largely futile. This is more like managing Premiership prima donnas.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: 'Puters: Computer club is a dozen kids of varying abilities staying for an hour after school trying to break the keyboard, break the internet or break the encryption on the school database.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: An interview: A job interview! How very exciting (and distracting).
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A bit of leeway: For whatever reason, Sharon is going to give you a little leeway to make early mistakes.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: An opportunity: Sharon is talking about having a second Assistant Head, and you are the obvious candidate. It decreases the chance that Kathryn will be made a full Deputy Head though, so she may not be happy.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Low expectations: It's hard to fail when so little is expected of you.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: [Individual] How was the first morning?: How are you feeling about your first morning with your class?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Little $#!&: You've found them already - the child you're going to battle with all year.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Unfortunate accident: One child had an unfortunate mishap. Tony is still grumbling about having been called to clear up the mess.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Gifted and Talented: One of your children is beyond precocious.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Show willing: You still want to make a good impression with the new Head.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Planning the nativity play: How hard can it be, if you all pull together?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Decorate your classroom: [Individual] What do you manage to achieve?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Decorate the hall and hallways: What can be done about the hall and hallways that will satisfy Ofsted, but won't spoil the nativity play for the parents?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Quiz Night: The teachers team can't afford to look ignorant in front of the parents, even if it's only their children that they need to know more than in class.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Drinks beforehand: No point in going home, right?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: That one question: One question feels like it was tailored for you.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Headteacher: You are in charge
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: New Teacher: This is your first position since you finished your certification program, and you have no doubt that it's going to be everything you ever dreamed!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Creative: You come up with fantastic and fun ideas that kids, parents, and the administration all adore.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Disorganized: Deadlines, files, phone numbers...you swear you know where they all are until, of course, you realize you're wrong.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Make a Good Impression: The kids you're sure you can handle, it's the new head you're concerned about.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Down Grading: You're used to older children in high school; to the snark, the talking back, and to the drama of hormonal teenagers.
  
  Going back to the younger years is going to be a significant change of pace.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Adaptable: You've tackled motherhood and a divorce with more grace than expected; a couple of curve balls from primary kids will be easy to handle.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Dry: While high schoolers could read between the lines and appreciate your sense of humour, that's hardly the case with primary kids who might be sensitive to your observations and critiques.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Survive: You already feel like you've got a target on your back being one of the newer teachers. You're no longer confined to teaching a few subjects, instead you must teach them all!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Rebound teacher: You're desperate enough to take what you can get, but that doesn't mean you're happy about it.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: smart: You know a lot of things, and you also know how to use that knowledge.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Bitter: You're not happy with your life and tend to take it out on everyone who is.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: New job: You just want a better job, something you actually want to do.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Character: By the lines on your face or the extent of your experience, you've got character. While not everyone may like you, everyone knows you and they respect you for who you are, and what you do.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Withered: You're old and you gain all the connotations that come with that. Whether they're true or not, people treat you as though they are. Children can be harder to control and adults often have less confidence in your abilities.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Aspiring Writer: Being a teacher pays the bills while you are working on your very own novel. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Cheerful: You always look at the bright side of life and are able to make others laugh.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Overconfident: You have a bit too much faith in your own abilities.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Convert: You had a proper job, but decided to give it all up to teach.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Empathetic: You really get these kids.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Ageing: Ageing is unavoidable. And it sucks. 
  
  There is a general decline in physical functioning-- whether it’s a little loss of hearing, a body that’s easily fatigued, or a myriad of aches and pains 
  
  
  
  
  that appear with no warning-- you’re not as young as you use to be.  And it shows. 
  
  And it sucks.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Support: Never mind education, there are children here who need your help.
  
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Knows When to Shut Up: You're usually an extremely talkative person, but age, and experience, has taught you that, sometimes, the best thing you can do is just shut up.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hard-working: If you have a job, whether you like it or not, you do it giving it your all.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Burnt Muffins: If only you hadn't burnt those muffins, this would surely be going better!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A bit inappropriate : Due to a lack of tact or not caring, you can be a bit innapropriate and it can upset people or ruin the mood.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Nervous: You're sometimes anxious or apprehensive.  Or both.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Insight: The art of knowing how others think about you, be it bad or good.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Distrustful: You don't trust people easily. Or at all.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Newbie: You're still acclimatizing to everything that comes with crossing The Pond; different weather, people, culture... Some days you wonder if it's even the same language! 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Enthusiastic: Everything is GREAT! Let's do _everything!_ All the time! Yeah!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Tough: It takes a great deal more than name-calling to get under your skin.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Creative: A good teacher can make their students follow the assigned curriculum. A great teacher can make their students forget there's a curriculum and flourish.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Encouraging: You want to support your students, and give them confidence.
  