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#1: Miss Annersley's Correspondence Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:13 pm
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We hear a lot in the Swiss books about the endless correspondence that takes up so much of Miss Annersley's time, but what exactly does it consist of? Surely most of it would be routine stuff that Rosalie could deal with. Matters relating to the girls' health, clothes, etc, would go to Matey, requests for music lessons, extra coaching etc. would go to the head of the relevant department.

I can understand that Hilda would deal with matters such as serious illness in a pupil's family, notifying parents of serious illness or injury of a pupil, or if a girl's behaviour was giving major cause for concern, but even in the CS those things don't happen every week. So what are all those letters about?

#2: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:16 pm
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Hmm, maybe there are certain budgetary limits that Rosalie has and she might need Miss A. to sign for a lot of things. Other than that, maybe new pupils' parents writing for prospectuses? Although I can't see how Rosalie couldn't deal with that.

#3: Author: Lottie, Location: Humphrey's Corner

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:34 pm
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I think that one of the books ( I can't remember which Embarassed

) tells of Miss Annersley talking about letters from Old Girls which she must answer herself. There would have been quite a lot of Old Girls by the time the series ended, but did they all write to their former Head Mistress all that frequently? Rolling Eyes

#4: Author: JayB, Location: SE England

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:51 pm
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And unless it was about sending their daughters to the school, I'd think letters from Old Girls would count as Hilda's personal correspondence, not to be dealt with in school hours.

#5: Author: Miriam, Location: Jerusalem, Israel

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:09 pm
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Her invitation in Challenge to join that inspectors tour didn't come out of nowhere. She must have been involved in various educational bodies, which would have required personal letters, rather than something from Rosalie. She may also have been writing in educational journals.

I think that in the CS the boundary between work correspondance and personal based correspondance would have beeen rather blurred when it came to Old Girls. While the girls were at school the staff got involved in their lives on a personal rather than merely educational level, and if that connection remains afterwards it would be hard to know how to classify the correspondance. A friend of mine is a teacher in a very similar mould, and I know she gets regular e-mails, sometimes from students whom she hasn't seen in years. She feels a personal relationship and responsiblity for the girls, and I know that she will often be answering e-mails from the well into the night. when it means wrinting rather than typing an e=mail, I can see that it would have taken a very chunk of Miss Annersley's time.

#6: Author: Lisa_T, Location: Belfast

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:59 pm
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I've always assumed that 'correspondence' was an umbrella term that included various kinds of admin. Although- why was Miss A trying to think of new dormitory names in one of the later books? I'd have thought that the Matrons could have done that- or better still, the girls themselves! Seems a waste of time and expertise.

#7: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:06 pm
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Gosh, have we found Miss A.'s one weakness? Her inability to delegate? Shocked

#8: Author: Lexi, Location: Liverpool

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:21 pm
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Lisa_T wrote:

I've always assumed that 'correspondence' was an umbrella term that included various kinds of admin. Although- why was Miss A trying to think of new dormitory names in one of the later books? I'd have thought that the Matrons could have done that- or better still, the girls themselves! Seems a waste of time and expertise.

I thought it was something along those lines - finance, policy decisions, documents that she was writing etc. Perhaps EBD meant it as another term for paperwork?

Maybe thinking up the dormitory names was a stress buster for her Laughing

#9: Author: Clare, Location: Liverpool

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:50 pm
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Róisín wrote:

Gosh, have we found Miss A.'s one weakness? Her inability to delegate? Shocked

I think that a lot when reading the books; and I wonder if it was part of the reason it took her so long to realise that Rosalie needed an assistant! I know Rosalie often refused one, but if Miss A. had been better at delegating she would have been more aware of how Rosalie was dealing with too much at times.

#10: Author: Tara, Location: Malvern, Worcestershire

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:02 pm
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Lexi wrote:

I thought it was something along those lines - finance, policy decisions, documents that she was writing etc. Perhaps EBD meant it as another term for paperwork?

Yes, I'm sure she meant general paperwork, and I can quite believe that that could take every hour of the day and then some!
Perhaps it's Rosalie who can't delegate! (Unwilling to admit that Miss A could be less than perfect ...) Wink

Edited to make it make sense!

Last edited by Tara on Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:20 pm; edited 1 time in total

#11: Author: Mel, Location: UP NORTH

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 6:40 pm
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Some of the correspondence from Old Girls could have been request for references, especially in the later years. Also, if Hilda deals with dormitory decor, she would get all the stuff from educational publishers as well landing on her desk.

#12: Author: Lesley, Location: Allhallows, Kent

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:44 pm
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Letters from/to prospective parents,
reports to Board of Trustees,
reports to Madge,
Staff Reports,
references to universities,
job references,
letters to local builders for new building work (new classrooms, dormitories, chapels etc),
correspondence with exam boards,
approving budgets for different departments,
signing cheques for domestic and catering supplies,
approving Matey's supplies,
Letters from parents asking how their daughter is doing (in a school of 400+ there are bound to be a few)
Approval for any new Staff - domestic as well as Teaching.

Just a few examples! Wink

#13: Author: Lottie, Location: Humphrey's Corner

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:26 pm
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Didn't Miss Annersley take all the Scripture classes as well as teaching some of the senior English? I should imagine only about half of the week would have been left for all the administrative stuff.

#14: Author: Pado, Location: Connecticut, USA

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:09 am
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Not to mention that there's no email and telephone service appears to be spotty at best. Plus, every time she sits down to work, Joey pops in the french window to share a juicy tidbit about a new girl or a naughty middle knocks timidly on the door or a disgruntled neighborhood child delivers a box of frogs or something. It's a wonder the poor woman got anything done at all, at all.

#15: Author: Róisín, Location: Ireland

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:49 am
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I'm going to spend the rest of the day now Lesley going over that list in my mind and delegating ... Laughing

#16: Author: Mel, Location: UP NORTH

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:11 pm
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Love your post Pado!

#17: Author: Mia, Location: London

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 2:27 pm
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Mel wrote:

Love your post Pado!

Oh me too! Laughing

*wishes she could headhunt Rosalie*

#18: Author: Pado, Location: Connecticut, USA

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:49 pm
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Embarassed

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