The ROCK

No, not that guy from wrestling who is now a movie star. The Rock "craggy outcrop that protrudes 364 metres out of the flat landscape about 45 minutes from Narrandera. We decided to take a drive to check it out and wow, was the view from the top worth it!

Jack and Jake getting ready to hike the trail.

The hill in the distance (behind Jack) is where we're headed.

We packed our hats, hikers, water and energy snacks (mini kit kats and fruit) and started on a flat walking trail called the Yerong walking track. The reddish coloured gravelly track passes through a nature reserve that surrounds the Rock. It seems that you pass through a number of habitats along the way. You start out in a flat wooded area and quickly come into a desolate rock and brush type area where the boys spotted a lizard on a rock. Personally, I missed it as I was convinced a brown snake would come slithering after us at any moment!

A wallaby just off the trail. He just stared at us.

There are over 100 species in the reserve and we saw many types of birds, the lizard, a wallaby and MANY spiders!!! At times I felt like I was walking through the haunted forest in daylight with spiders at every turn. They spin very large, thick silky webs and can be seen happily eating whatever prey they caught in the middle. Honestly, I've never seen so many large spiders in one place. I was wishing I had the air ambulance on speed dial should one of us be bitten. I took to racing through especially spider-dense areas as they gave me the heeby- jeebies. Of course, Jacob was leading and trying to poke at them with sticks with the rest of us following behind. That was quickly ended when one spider dropped from above to escape the stick pretty much on top of Sam's head!

Fleeing the spider infested woods!

Looking up as the trail got narrower and steeper.

The track is 6 km long and takes about 3 hours to hike. It starts out gentle but becomes more onerous as it zigzags toward the top. We were so proud of ourselves for doing it in the Australian heat but especially of Jack who hiked the majority of it on his own 2 feet. Dan carried Jack on his shoulders when he needed a rest.

The view from the top - worth every spider!

At the top, the view is spectacular and it amazed us how far we had climbed. On a clear day you can see all the way to the Blue Mountains at the southeast; and to the west is the rolling plains of New South Wales. It was an experience we won't soon forget. After returning to the car, we went straight to the nearest pool - the Oasis in Wagga Wagga to cool off and relax after our latest adventure. So satisfying!

Swim Carnival

Jacob and Team Hartigan showing spirit on the outside as well as the inside!

On Wednesday, February 9, St. Joseph's School held it's annual swim carnival at the Narrandera Pool. It was quite an exciting and fun day. Students from Year 3 to Year 6 (with a few strong year 2's) are involved in the all day carnival. The swimming races are divided into 2 groups: Championship and Non-Championship. The Championship races are timed and take place in the lane pool. Students who compete here are generally very strong swimmers in various strokes and if they have good times, they move on to the next level which is county, then regional and they can go to all-state depending on performance at each level. The non-championship races take place in the "Rampage" pool and students have the chance to try the different strokes but can stop and take a breather if they need it.

Spirited students taking in the races.

What I really like about the day is the show of team spirit and how all students are invited to compete and gain points for their house teams just by trying. I was placed in non-championship races and my job was to "start" the races. It was great to explain the race to the kids, line them up, start them out and then cheer them on - NO pressure, no scores or perfect form or times to keep. It was so enjoyable and the kids all did so well trying out the races.

Jacob and Team Hartigan busting with team spirit for the house team "Cheer Off".

Students regardless of grade level sit with their house teams and cheer all day long for their teammates. They really get into it and make up songs as well as timeless cheers to try to drown out the other teams. In fact, points are actually awarded for the loudest cheering house. Jacob and I belong to the Hartigan house and although our team was second overall, it was first for loudest cheering - YAY HARTIGAN!

Jacob in the freestyle race (left) and the backstroke (right).

Jacob participated in the championship freestyle race and came third in his age group. I was so proud of him. He also tried out the breast stroke and the backstroke in the non-championship races. The butterfly was a little over the top so he sat that one out. He got into the cheering with his team and overall, I think he had a fun day.

They awarded trophies and ribbons to championship competitors and then the kids had a free swim to end the day. It was great fun and a memorable day for us as visitors. Now we can say that we participated in an outdoor swim competition in FEBRUARY!

Groundhog Day (or Dan's Birthday!)

Dan's Birthday Party with our new Aussie friends!

Dan truly celebrated his February 2nd birthday in Groundhog Day style this year. This birthday was special for many reasons ... we are celebrating in Australia, we are celebrating in summer and it is the BIG 4-0!

On February 2, our family had a birthday dinner complete with chocolate cake to celebrate the momentous occasion. On February 3, Dan reminded us that it was still February 2 in Canada so we must honour him once again by celebrating his special day. In fact, he would not acknowledge that he was officially 40 until the Canadian date had passed.

Finally, on February 4, we had invited some of our new Australian friends over for pizza night (Dan style) and they turned it into another birthday celebration for Dan by arriving with a birthday cake created by Ingrid and a gift!

The cake is called a Fantail cake containing 16 egg whites (so light and fluffy). It was topped with a yummy creamy icing and then the sides were pressed with crumbled fantail lollies . They kind of remind me of Skor bars but more chewy. It was excellent - so excellent in fact that Dan polished it off for breakfast with Jack, leaving the rest of us with none.

Mmmmm... Fantail Cake (thanks Ingrid)

We had a wonderful time with Scott and Deb; Kellie, Simon, Anna and Jarrod; Ingrid , Dean, Chelsea and Stella. They have been so welcoming and giving of their time to introduce us to Narrandera and Australian customs and food, beer and wine. We are truly grateful and fortunate to be able to get to know them and their families. We will have to have them over again to sample some of the recipes that are in the lovely cookbook that they gave Dan for his birthday! Thanks all!




Party time!

It's the First Week of School!

Sam, Mom and Jake on the first morning.

We started school this week and what an experience it was for all of us! The uniforms were pressed and laid out, backpacks ready and the new shoes by the door. Dan drives Sam to school each morning and picks him up after, although once it cools down, Sam will be walking most days. It takes about 20 minutes to walk. Jacob and I do the 10 minute walk together, which is a refreshing change. School in Australia is similar in some ways to Canada but different in many ways as well.

Sam's School

Sam attends Narrandera High School which is a public high school right in Narrandera. It has approximately 300 students. Sam is in one of 3, Year 7 classes. He is on a 10 day cycle and has a timetable that is different for each day. There are no lockers there so he travels with all of his belongings in his backpack from class to class. He has 8 - 40 minute periods each day and 2 breaks as well as a lunch. There is a canteen there for buying food and all students eat outside in the quad at lunch. Every morning at Narrandera High begins outdoors with Assembly in the quad. Here, students line up in their classes for the morning announcements, uniform check and any other business before heading off to classes. Sam's daily uniform consists of a light blue polo shirt, grey shorts, black shoes and white socks. There is a sport uniform as well.

Sam's "homeroom" class travels to most subjects together so at least he is with the same students. He is making friends and sharing stories about Canada with the new kids he meets. It won't be long before he will hardly be home as he will become immersed in the Year 7 social scene!

Jacob and Mom's School

The quad where we meet for assembly. The school crest.

St. Joseph's School is a K to 6 Catholic school with under 150 students. I am a Year 3 teacher of 29 students. Jacob is in Year 4 and has about 26 students in his class. All of the students wear a uniform which for boys, consists of a blue short sleeve dress shirt - tucked in, grey shorts, grey socks, black shoes and the school's wide brimmed hat. The girls have a red gingam print dress, white socks and black shoes. Friday is "Sport Day" and the sport uniform consists of a red polo shirt, blue shorts, white socks and runners and of course, the hat.

The school is currently under construction and a new detached building is being added that will contain the office as well as the "Infants" (K-2) classes. There is a "quad" area in front of the school where the school gathers for Assembly on Monday and Friday mornings. During assembly, the students are lined up by grade and the principal, Mr. Urquhart, makes any announcements and morning prayer is said. Each Friday, awards are presented to students for achievement in various areas (Jacob received one this week for his adjustment to St Joseph's school). Then, it is off to class for the day. Each air conditioned classroom has its own entry from the outside off a veranda that curves all around. From my classroom window, I have a view of the construction as well as the "toilets" (student washrooms) that are in a separate building and the "bubblers" or water fountains in a covered area outdoors.

The Year 3 classroom.

I am very impressed by how polite and helpful the staff and students at St. Joseph's school have been toward me. It is a completely different teaching and learning environment here and people have been more than happy to answer my questons and explain to me the routines and structure of the school - although I still have A LOT to learn! There is certainly a connection to the outdoors here and I am sure it has to do with the warm climate. In fact, the first day of school was indoor recesses all day due to the HEAT - imagine that! I am accustomed to indoor recesses due to -40 weather, now imagine +43! WOW! Water is key here and students bring water bottles to drink through the day as well as washclothes for wetting to wipe themselves down after recess. I was even asked this week by a student if they could bring spray bottles in to cool themselves down - I said no as I was picturing water spraying EVERYWHERE and not much else getting accomplished. Perhaps I should get one and spray them down as they come in ... hmmm ... will have to give that some thought.

Students in sport day uniform eating lunch in the covered seating area. The "toilets" are to the left of the picture.

The students in the school have a communal eating area outdoors. Students only eat in the classrooms during inclement weather (rain or heat). Otherwise, they eat in a canopied quad area lined with benches. Then they can go up to the playground for recess. There is an outdoor equipment shed where students can borrow equipment to play. This is also where the equipment is stored for phys. ed. There is no gymnasium so all phys. ed takes place outside. I went in to look the other day and did not recognize some of the equipment so I've asked for a lesson to explain what some of it is and how it is used. I expect that I will learn from my class how to play cricket, Aussie rules football and many other sports. I played the prince, princess, dragon game with my class this week and they really enjoyed it - thanks Ms. Taylor :)

There is a canteen that is open Monday's and Fridays for the students. It provides lunch items as well as "lollies" (candy). It is run by parent volunteers, of which Dan is now one. In fact, I think he may be in line to be the new "Canteen Coordinator". It offers reasonably priced items for the kids and a menu for the term is sent home in the newsletter. For example, you can get a chicken salad sandwich on fresh bakery bread made at the canteen that morning for $2.60. They have 19 kinds of sandwiches, drinks, and then lollies such as popcorn, cake, donuts and chips as well as frozen delights. The orders go in the morning, are assembled by the parents for each class and then picked up by the students for lunch.

Here is an evolving schedule for a typical day:

8:50 Bell rings (a year 6 student actually rings a hand held bell) and the day begins with assembly in the quad or students go to class for opening exercises

9-11:00 Literacy Block

11:00-11:25 Snack and Recess

11:25 - 12:30 Numeracy (they call it Maths)

12:30 - 1:00 Religion

1:00 - 1:45 Lunch

1:50 - 3:15 Content Areas including Social Studies, Science, Arts, Phys. Ed/Health

(I receive a prep every second week for an afternoon.)

I notice that the school relies heavily on parent volunteers. The weekend before school started, they had a "Work Bee" at the school and parents came and mowed the lawns for the playground, weeded the gardens, cleaned up the eating area and around the buildings, and cleared cobwebs, powerwashed, etc... There are no Mr. Mior's, Mr. Schuster's or Mr. Sykora's who are around day and night to clean up messes and move furniture. The students and staff are responsible for ensuring the tidiness of the school on a daily basis. My students take out our garbage to the bin each day. There is a hired custodian who I believe is in on a weekly basis to do vaccuuming etc...

The year 6 classes, at graduation leave something with the school to remember them by. There are 2 mosaics (above is one) mounted on the outer school walls created by the students. Beautiful.

The year 6 students are truly seen as the leaders of the school. They are responsible for ringing the bells, ensuring the garbage and recycling for younger students is taken out, managing the sport shed at recess, and I am sure other things that I am not yet aware of. They are caring toward the younger students in the school and display positive behavior regularly. When I have asked for their assistance in learning routines such as what happens when I am on duty, they are more than happy to assist.

My class has made my first week quite enjoyable. They ask me many questions about life in Canada and in return share stories about life in Australia. This week I learned that there is an annual CARP THROW in October in a neighbouring town. (At first I thought he said CAP throw)You can win medals so I am sure Jacob's name will be added to the record books next spring! My accent and use of language has been the source of some discussions as they either do not understand me or I cannot understand them. They call a pencil, a "grey lead", markers, "texters", an agenda, a "diary", etc... We are working our way through our understanding and interpretations and are eager to share with one another. We are planning a new class blog so keep watching to hear about that ... It should be an interesting and educational year for all of us! I can't wait!

I think my favourite part of the day is walking home with Jacob after school. We share our day's events and then arrive home, dripping with sweat. So we hurry to get our bathing suits on and jump in the pool to cool down with the rest of the family.

P.S. Dan and Jack are also settling into their new routine of life without us... We're not sure what they get up to during the day but they both seem content and that's what's important!