Sunday 3 February 2013

The other part of our teaching exchange… the school and TEACHING part!!!


This week saw the start of the 2013 Australia school year with teachers back on Tuesday and Wednesday and all kids back on Thursday and Friday!

It was nice to get into school and start to get organized with my classes and courses and to get a feel for the school. Everyone was super-helpful and ready for a laugh or chuckle. There are a number of art teachers – three of us are full-time with 3 other part-timers so there are a lot of people to get to know and lots to get caught up with. People have been really helpful – I am teaching Year 7 Art, 8 Art, 9 Ceramics, 10 Visual Communications and Design and 11 Studio Art. I have 6 courses – five of them are different ones – so lots to keep me on my toes as I get started. The kids seem great – they love my accent and have agreed to help me perfect my own Aussie accent by the time I head home at the end of the school year. I have also made a deal to share Canadian and Aussie slang to further our (collaborative) education and have warned them (when they had some pretty big grins) that I would be running the slang they teach me past other teachers and admin – just incase they get creative and lead me down the wrong path…!

Hana and Eoin had a great start to their new school year as well. Hana had a warm welcome from the grade 5 girls in her 5/6 split class – there are 5 year five girls in total so she seems to be well into the thick of things with them – they have been really great to her. Eoin has made some friends in his 3/4 split class, a few boys who he has been hanging out with and having chats at recess and lunch. Both Hana and Eoin are happy to be back at school. The routine and time with other kids feels good and makes them feel more at home and less like newcomers!

Brad is on the hunt for a teaching contract if one comes up but in the meantime is registered with a number of schools in the area for subbing so hopefully calls will start rolling in for that to keep him busy as well!

Our plan, now that school has started, is to make the most of our weekends - either checking out the area or visiting with friends while making sure to make the most of our beach time by getting there one of the weekend days if we have one free! We are already halfway through our second month here so need to get as much of the sun and fun as we can pack in!

Today, we went to the Melbourne Aquarium. It was a blast with lots of penguins and a good variety of ocean life including sharks... This was a great thing for the kids to see as there is a lot of trepidation regarding sharks but when they saw the sharks swimming around, minding their own business - not frantically trying to devour every fish or creature that came into sight - I think it helped Hana and Eoin (and maybe Brad and I as well?!?!) that we don't have as much to worry about as first expected!






Meanwhile… back in Melbourne!


They have this event here called the Australian Open… maybe you’ve heard of it?!? We returned to Melbourne in time for the Aussie Open and in time for another exchange couple from Red Deer, who are in Cooma for the year, to stay with us while the Open was happening.

Sheila and Adam Sillery stayed with us for a few nights and it was so STRANGE to hear Canadian accents (okay – really to not hear any type of accent!!!) for the time we hung out! I had met Adam and Sheila a few times but Brad had not met them at all – though you wouldn’t know it from the way the guys hit it off!

While Sheila and Adam were at the Open on the Wednesday, we registered the kids for school at Croydon Hills Primary and were lucky to meet Eoin’s teacher, Mrs. Browning (whose students call Boo). Mrs. Browning took about an hour to show us around the school. Eoin made a comment about the classroom and she said that it isn’t until the kids arrive and they start putting their work up on the walls that the classroom has any life to it… That until then, the classroom doesn’t really have any soul. I loved this as it is so true! This is the kind of statement that Eoin also really relates to so he has a good feeling about the way his school year in Australia is going to go! Hana’s classroom is across the hall from Eoin’s (just like at home) and she was pretty excited to find out that her teacher is MR. Sommers (yes – a Mr. – she was pumped to find this out!). I also popped by my school to get some help from the computer techs and to check the place out a bit. People are very friendly and ready for a laugh which creates a good feeling for my upcoming school year.

Thursday and Friday found me with two days of orientation downtown with all the other exchangees. Most of us are Canadian with a couple of teachers from the States, one from England and one from Scotland. There are only two other familes on exchange (kids are 7 and 5 in one family, the second has a one-year-old) which was a bit of a surprise. It was good to meet others who are here. We will be getting together every once-in-awhile on various excursions around Victoria.

We made the most of our last weekend before school officially began! Saturday, we celebrated Brad’s birthday AND Australia Day by going into Melbourne and having a wander around. We had a delicious supper and watched the fireworks, following that up with the Womens’ Final for the Aussie Open in Federation Square (televised on the big screen) with a few thousand people before taking the train home. Sunday, we went to Frankston and spent the afternoon at the beach. When we first arrived, it was pretty quiet – a few Aussies were there, all bundled-up and staying away from the water due to the wind! However, the sun prevailed and the wind died down. When it did, out came the beach cricket set we had brought along. At one point, there were 6 kids, 2 dads and a nana all having a go – it was a blast! The game ended when it became time for a dip and then a dolphin sighting had people running down the beach to get a closer look. Turns out, the dolphins had been swimming about 10 metres from the kids with the kids being oblivious to it! Monday brought a bit of a hang-out day and in the evening, we headed to the MCG for the Melbourne-Sri Lanka cricket match – the fifth in the series, with Sri Lanka already ahead, having won three games. Despite this, we had fun – there was a great atmosphere at the game – pyrotechnics, politically incorrect cheerleading, and a multitude of Sri Lankan fans outcheering the Aussies whenever they could! The game was called off for a bit due to rain but was finally back on after about thirty minutes. In the end, Australia lost by 2 points but it was worth the trip to go to the game. Eoin is obsessed with cricket and Hana also likes it so they have a go at it whenever they can – either at the cricket field at school or when we go to the beach.







Australia Zoo... our hands-on walk on the Australian wild side!


Crikey!!! It has been a LONG time since I last posted and so much has happened! I will split this blog up and just write about our visit to Australia Zoo a couple of weeks ago, on January 16th.

Brad, Hana, Eoin and I took a day to go to Australia Zoo, about an hour out of Brisbane. It was a GREAT day – very warm – but the zoo was really interesting with lots of hands-on opportunities with the animals which were right up the kids’ alley! Upon entry to the zoo, we were met by a zoo keeper who had a small American alligator we could hold if we wished. Eoin and I took turns holding the little guy, supporting his tummy which felt cool and soft. As we continued, we saw giant tortoises, kimono dragons and LOTS of crocodiles with information on conservation efforts. We took in the sights at a show featuring a number of birds and animals including a massive crocodile called Murray (or as Hana remembered him being called; Marr-eh!). The speed of the crocodile in the water and the power of him completely freaked Brad out! He is planning on staying well-back from any water when we head north later this year!

We had the opportunity to get close to wallabies - Hana and Eoin fed and pet them, koalas – we were able to pet Portia and get up close to many super-cute and zonked-out koalas, and kangaroos who were super-mellow and very, very soft! We were also able to feed the zoo’s three elephants at the public feeding. We lined up and fed the elephants until their buckets were emptied… Eoin must have fed them at least ten times! One of the elephants ate carrots and yams, another ate cantaloupe and the third was given apples and bananas but would put the bananas to the side and eat only the apples – it was funny (and interesting) to see how she navigated this with her trunk!





Eoin pretty much fell in love with every animal/creature he came across and has now decided to add kangaroos to his list of favourite animals. Hana really loved being able to get so close to the koalas.

We returned to Brisbane and were excited to see my Uncle Bren and Auntie Jan as they got back from their holidays. It was nice to have time with them as well as Paul and Cara and Ronan. We spent time with Cara and Ronan at the pool at their place and they hosted supper one evening. Eoin had a guys’ night with Paul – they headed to the arcade then made a pit-stop for ice cream where they saw Wally Lewis, a rugby league superstar and Queenslander whose statue is in front of Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Bren and Jan brought us to some great beaches and we took an afternoon to drive around Brisbane and check out local venues and lookouts. The best part of our time in Brisbane was all the time we had with family. It was so great for us to have Cara and Ronan meet Hana and Eoin and for us to finally meet Ronan. We had some good times with Paul and lots of visits with Bren and Jan which were great for all of us. We were able to met Jan’s mom – who we called Nan – and had a fun afternoon with her! We had a wonderful supper our last night in Brisbane. Everyone was there and we had good visits and laughs and Eoin, Paul and Ronan even had a pass around of the rugby ball after supper.












Leaving Brisbane was sad as it meant we were leaving behind family again but we realize how lucky we are to have some family here and we know we will have more time together this year! The kids loved having another set grandparents during our visit in Brisbane and for our year here!