School

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At school.

We are welcomed so warmly that we feel like royalty. Everyone is so helpful and keen to talk, check out what we have been up to, or plan to do etc.

The school day starts at 9am with bell and welcome message, which included any announcements, happenings, a cheerful hello and any reminders from Lisa or others needing to convey messages to the whole school. The pledge is recited. This week the Kindergarten class led this out… very cool. I then get to read the lunch menu, just so everyone can enjoy the accent. Lots of fun! It makes me think of reinventing our Radio Show.

We wander through all the classrooms saying hello. Lisa has a great sense of humor and has made use of my pink strip as much as possible. Lots of fun! Des is busy with the video filming things in classrooms he thinks will be of interest later. Good spying. I was worried about the legalities of video.

The school is well organized and is obviously a place where kids and kids work are celebrated to the hilt. Seems like heaps of resources including of the human kind. There is a huge focus on improving literacy and numeracy and analyzing results data and asking the hard questions about the links to the classroom teaching strategies. This is done every 4 weeks. The data is not unlike what we have started to collect but used better.

I have decided that I would be okay to have lunch duty employees. Also of interest is that the relief teachers don’t have to have a teaching qualification just a Uni degree.

It great to see that kids are the same everywhere. Little, big, messy, naughty, trickers … the cultural diversity is just like Darwin. The Africans kids are stunning, have great hairdo’s lots of plaits, smiling faces and seem to make up a good portion of the track team, which will be competing later in the week. It’s fabulous to see the number of grand parents who work throughout the school in classrooms and making resources (where can we find them?).

After the initial school tour we are off to a Chamber of Commerce sponsored School Business Partnerships Awards lunch. 4 other staff members join us. The dinners is at the Hilton (very flash)- the lunch is an annual event where successful School /Business partnerships are celebrated and special awards received. I am impressed. What looks like about 400 people are present? Lisa and the gang from Wonder Park are receiving an award for their Big Sister/ Big Brother Program.

Following lunch Des and I head for a quick visit to the Visitors Information Centre. Des chats up the lady behind the counter who is most helpful and provided us with some good ideas and info on places to visit. We joke with her about the very large lump of Jade that doubles as a resting place at the front door. She gives Des permission to take if with him. If he can! Its too big for the back-pack so be decide to leave it for another day. Perhaps we will made arrangement with our other new friend Serge, a Cargo plane pilot to drop it off next time he is flying over Darwin?

Back to school for the afternoon for the usual check on what happened in Lisa’s absence. Oh! Guess what? Kids have been fighting… rude and disrespectful etc etc. Some get suspended. There is no tolerance for fighting. Choices and making good choices is a constant theme throughout the school. It’s really good. Everyone uses the same behavioral language. I go to the Big Brother Big Sister activities, which is a lot of fun and meet some of the people involved. One guy has been a constant mentor for a young lad for a number of years - he was just excellent. Joining in activities/ games with the crew I discover that Lisa and I share the same birth date. Amazing - now I know why we get along so well!

After school it’s off to Girdwood and the Alyeska Ski Resort and hopefully the Jade factory (Des has decided he likes Jade). It’s a very cloudy day. Bit of rain but that doesn’t deter us. The road down hugs the water edge on one side and mountains on the other. There is still snow on the mountains everywhere that means lots and lots of cascading waterfalls. Just so beautiful. A keen eye is kept out for wildlife especially bears, moose and sheep. I miss the sheep but, hey there will we other chances, It’s the second time I’ve missed the sheep and they are so big… much bigger than a merino, more like mountain goat really.

Alyeska Resort is a ski lodge, very grand. We hope to be able to get to the top to the restaurant and look out upon the seven glaciers. Alas we can take the tram to the top but the snow and low cloud prevent us from seeing more that 20 feet. The restaurant is closed for training. The tram ride is awesome…bloody cold. Lisa is dressed in her summer best as she is 'over' coats and will from now on just not wear one. Summer is here. In her mind anyway. But thanks to Liz we are well wrapped in our ski gear. I think I am beginning to understand the joys of skiing maybe I will try it.

Dinner tonight is an Italian place with pizza all round.
Home again for some wine and more chatting and bed. It late again after midnight. Wow this no night thing can be tricky.

Yet another great day!


Back to school. I have lots of questions for Lisa. Explanations come often in the usual short bursts between teachers or other staff or kids coming into the office. And of yes the phone calls. (What does this remind me of - just like home). I spend some more time in and wandering through classrooms. Nurse Debbie (the school nurse) is just a scream. She is so devoted to the kids and funny to boot. Maria one of the teachers brings us presents of Salmon (packed ready to bring home) and a DVD of Alaskan Animals. So nice! In the early childhood classes the morning run with lots of explicit teaching. I have learnt some new clapping types for celebrating great work. Kids are fabulous and want to know heaps of stuff about Australia. Morning tea rolls round very quickly and more great conversation with the staff about great places to see and things to do.

Joan has organized with her son to take us flying. While the weather determines the location and time we are up for it. Fuel costs only to be paid ad he wants to get his hours up. Lisa and I are to go to a meeting with the Superintendent but she has a last minute issue to deal with and the meetings off. (Don’t tell our Margaret B).


Fire Alarm rings and it’s all out. The usual thing with the fire trucks arriving fairly quickly and only a couple of kids not in the right places. Luckily we head off to do other things because it continues to ‘go off’ throughout the day. Lots of fun…NOT
The rest of the day is taken up with porcipine wrestling, flight to Homer and the breakin.

The next day there is much to talk about, as it seems everyone has heard about the dog event. We are still laughing. As well as our trip to Homer. Now wasn’t that a blast. Des gets considerable attention from Nurse Debbie, as there are many nettles that use to be along that train line that need to be removed from Des's hands. Prickle extraction is interrupted by a staff member collapsing and needing to be taken to hospital - fire truck and paramedics arrive and she is quickly whisked off.

It Nurse Debbie’s birthday and she is having a ball. She loves the Girraween Tea-towel and pen so much she got on the internet to check out who she can organize to get it happening next year at Wonder Park.

The 6 Grade breakfast goes off well. Lots of kids, parents, siblings
and of course that vital ingredient food. It held in the library. I spend considerable time chatting to parents. Relationships and building them up is the name of the game here too. A number of kids are proudly displaying their ribbons form the previous nights track meet. One beautiful looking African girl has a fist full. She has participated in the 800m; 4x200m; 200 and 400m races and has ribbons for all events. She says she is a bit sore!!! Perhaps I have just meet a future Olympian

We have an Earthquake drill. Now that's a lot of fun. The school is required to have emergency drill each month and report on as part of the OH&S schedule. However the over kill on fire drills this week is due to a fault in the system.

As this is the second last week of school for the year there is much going on: Talent quest (Bit like our Girraween Musical, I was really impressed with the positive audience response to all acts): Field day (School sports without any competitive factor), the kids had a great time; and field trip days (Des and I went with 4 graders to the Native Cultural Heritage Centre) which was just excellent and I plan to go back. One of the teachers had given me a collection of Eskimo Indian beading work and other great stuff so I was really interested to find out more. I learnt a new dance as well.

I got to sit in on an IEP meeting - usual cast but guess what the parents failed to turn up. So not much was achieved. Does this sound familiar?
One of the special needs kids uses a computer voice activation, which is attached to her wheel chair. She is full included, has a full time ISA and lots of support form therapists. The teacher says it hard to know exactly how much is being achieved but this petal is not missing out on any social interaction.

This is just some of the highlight. It’s been a great week I have learnt a lot, have lots more to share and have renewed energy. It’s been a great opportunity.

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