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Hi all:

I hope you are experiencing the warmth and freshness that Spring has to offer! I actually think that we may be experiencing similar weather at the moment as we are in Fall. The nights are cool as soon as the sun pops below the horizon - in around 5:40pm and we HAVE had a few mornings where there is frost on the ground when we wake up. The temperature has climbed as high as about 24 but mostly is somewhere between 16 and 20. Some trees are changing colour and dropping leaves while others are still green and holding on. Flowers are still in bloom - it was surprising to see the town putting pansies in the street gardens as fall was arriving. That is SO opposite to us and seemed futile but the winter is not cold enough to kill them off so they will bloom all through.

The reason I am posting this message is to let you know that although my brain and camera are bursting with stories and photos to share, I am taking a little hiatus. It is REPORT CARD time and that MUST take priority right now. Hopefully I will be finished with them in a week's time and then we will have stories to share!

Fall Sunset

So ... until then, get outside and enjoy the fresh air!

T.

Footy

Sam is playing AFL or Aussie Rules Football, "Footy" as part of our experience here. He LOVES it and plans to "bring it to Canada" as a sport to play. He plays in the "under 13's" and his team is called the Narrandera Eagles. They practice 2 evenings a week and then play nearly every weekend. There is a bit of travel but it is usually (I think) within an hour's radius of home.

The neat thing is that the teams of all age groups have the same schedule (including the girl's netball) so the whole family packs up and heads off for a day of footy and netball. You bring your lawn chairs, your "eski" or cooler, money for the canteen and you relax, socialize and enjoy the day. Now that Fall is setting in, it feels like the Canadian football weather (but it won't get as cold:)

It's a great way to get to know the other families and it is a great day out as a family. Sam will have to explain the exact rules to you as I don't fully understand them. Here's what's important to me as a mom: There is NO padding! The kids run around in shorts and sleeveless jerseys, cleats and a mouth guard. That's it! So, you can imagine how I feel when Sam gets tackled on the field.

The boys play at "the oval" which is a grass field that is shaped like an oval. At either end there are 4 tall white posts. To score, you must get the ball between these posts. You do this by passing either by "punching" the ball at a mate or by kicking to your mates. You are not allowed to run with the ball any more than 5 metres before passing it in some way. It is a fast moving game and the ball is always moving. There is not a lot of huddling or standing around like in Canadian football. When the time is ticking, the ball is moving - it is rough and tumble but exciting. To score, if you put the ball between the outer posts, you score 1 point. If you put it through the inner posts, you score 6 points. The game is played in quarters - like Canadian football. Sam will have to fill in the details - that's all I know.

The coach is fantastic. He is very encouraging and works the kids hard. The entire morale of the team is so supportive and the boys have been excellent at teaching Sam the ropes and supporting him on the field. It is a fabulous environment to be a part of. After each game they meet in the locker room and have "stars of the game" - even when they lose. You can hear them cheering for one another as they are called. Sam was one today although he is not sure what he got it for - sometimes it is hard to understand what people are saying still :)

Today I put in my first "shift" in the canteen. The parents rotate through in order to help out and it was fun. I sold all the confections and drinks AND sausage rolls and meat pies - an Aussie football staple - like hot dogs at a baseball game! It was fun and I would do it again.

Our hope is to see a professional AFL game before we leave Australia. There can be 100 000 people in the stadium and the AFL fans are said to be something else! I can't wait to be a part of that whole atmosphere and to share it with all of you!

Australia's Version of EQAO

Yahoo! We finished Naplan!
This week my year 3's wrote NAPLAN - Aussie EQAO. This is their 1st year writing the test. Every Australian child in year's 3, 5, 7 and 9 write the test on the same three days. The last few weeks have been spent teaching the children strategies for answering questions and reviewing material. As I have only the kids for 10 weeks, I just tried to do the best I could to help them prepare.

This is their baseline (as with EQAO) to measure growth over the coming years. A piece of data to meet the needs of the students over their school careers.

The first day, the children wrote 2 tests: Language Conventions and Writing. What I like is that they tell you which form of writing will be expected. This year, it is persuasive writing(exposition) so we spent a good deal of time practicing this form over the last 6 weeks. Now that it is finished, I can spend the rest of the year on other forms.

Day 2, the children write Reading Comprehension and then on day 3, Numeracy.

I tried to keep the preparations and testing as low pressure for the students as possible and they seemed okay with it. During the week, I planned some fun activities we could do after the test as a reward for hard work.

The first day, we played silly relays and games like "killer wink", "dragon tag", goofy relay races. It had us all giggling and laughing and was a definite release after all that hard concentrating.

On day 2, we had a paper airplane contest in the hall after the test. The kids had to design and create their airplanes at home and then I had prizes for "Farthest Flight", "Most interesting flight" and "Best Design". It was a blast - literally! We ran the races in heats and as the 2nd races were about to begin, sparks started falling fromt he ceiling at the starting line ! There were some people repairing the roof of the hall and their welding sparks were raining on us! Luckily, no one was hurt and after some reorganizing, we were able to finish the races.

The winning planes

On day 3, we created an ice cream sundae bar as a celebration to end NAPLAN. I supplied the ice cream and the kids supplied the toppings. My favourite new flavour was the "Star Dust". It is like pop rocks on ice cream. It was a party in my mouth! As you can see from these pics, we made the best of the NAPLAN week! Now, we just have to get through 1st Communion - next weekend! Then hopefully, it will be clear sailing!

My "bad hair" scooping ice cream

Enough toppings to feed the school!

Bad Hair Day

I've been due for a haircut for a couple of weeks but haven't had a chance to go. I finally booked a haircut for Thursday after school. In the morning, I was having a true bad hair day so I just half pulled my hair up and left the back down and went to school. I thought I looked young and kind of cute. I worked in my room until the bell rang and then opened the classroom door to welcome my Year 3 students. Silence greeted me and then a couple of muffled "whoa's". I asked what was wrong, thinking someone was hurt or that there was an issue among the kids. One student loudly exclaimed, "BAD HAIR DAY MRS. BUSH?" All the other kids were silent, waiting for my reaction. I burst out laughing and agreed that it was a bad hair day. Thank goodness my haircut was only hours away!

True Patriot Love

Sent: March 9

Received: May 6

Value: Priceless!

It is like Christmas morning here today! Christine Wayne sent a care package parcel just before March Break to us and I kept the news of the package a secret. Although we received it last night, we waited until morning when everyone would be together to open it. It was a mystery package and the boys wondered all evening what could be inside.

This morning, we opened it up and when we lifted the lid and saw all those colourful candy wrappers, the kids went crazy - digging through and discovering their favourites! For Jack, it was the lollipops and gummies; Jake went straight for the Crispers and Aero bar; Sam grabbed the Stride gum and Skittles; Dan swooped in and snatched the Tim Hortons and I excitedly hugged the Chip It's and my old sticker friends. Now, I can finally make a decent batch of cookies! Within minutes, Sam went out and put the Canada flag on our car antenna. If everyone didn't know we were here before, they will now! Even the bubble wrap has been a source of entertainment.

That old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder", is so true. Being away makes you appreciate all those things you take for granted at home - foods, Canadian life, and most importantly, our friends and family.

Thank you Christine for bringing a little bit of home to us in Australia! It has been a source of joy and excitement in our house and we appreciate you going to the trouble to send it to us!

Raining Cats and Dogs

We have had B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L weather for about the last 2 weeks. It has been clear blue skies and sunny with temperatures between 20 and 25 celcius everyday. Perfect.

Today, I was sitting in the lunchroom when it started raining like crazy. I watched out the window in amazement of how quickly the quadrangle in front of the school was filling with water. Within 25 minutes, water was seeping in the offfice, through the staffroom and the principal's office. We were racing around, moving photocopiers, turning off electrical powerpoints and getting all items off the laminate floors and carpets!

Ironically, this morning we were celebrating the fact that the K's, 1's and 2's were having their first day in the new building that was finally completed. This afternoon, the classrooms experienced some water - uh oh! Worse still, the new administration area had a fair amount of water inside. At least they haven't moved over yet.

Now, we are drying out and hoping for minimal damage. Fingers crossed!