Sunday, October 21, 2012

I know that I talked about General Conference last week, but I'm not sure if I talked about the talk given which was about how you spend your time.  It 'spoke to me' in that I started to think about how much time Dad and I spend watching tv - and often it's watching shows we are not that interested in.  So, I talked with Dad and we decided that we would only watch tv shows we really liked this past week.  When the tv wasn't on, we put on a variety of cds.  It was amazing how much other stuff we were able to get done - we were both pleased with what we accomplished and plan on continuing on with this goal.

I finished my contract at Kawungan this week - it was a sad day on Friday in that I don't get to go back to school on Tuesday (Monday is a 'Pupil Free (PD) Day).  Some teachers came to say goodbye to me which I thought was really nice - they said that they want to get me teaching at the school which I really appreciated.  They also told me that they would call me to supply teach this term which will be great - both the grade two team and the grade one team like me subbing for them which gives me a total of twelve teachers who could possibly call me.  I will have to tell them to each take one day off a month - that would give me 12 days in a month and that would be good for me.

Bronwyn (the teacher I was doing the contract for) got back from her US trip on Wednesday and came into the school on Thursday after school to see where I was in relation to the curriculum.  She said that she was glad that I had been able to take the contract as she knew that I would keep to her schedule  and do my best to get things done.  She told me that when she had told me that the kids that I was going  to be taking over for her, they cheered - that made me smile. :-)  I told her that when I told them that she was coming back on Tuesday, they cheered. :-)  I received gifts from three children which I thought was really nice.  I received two boxes of chocolate and one craft item (it's hard to explain).  One of the moms came in and told me that her daughter had said that she wished that I was her teacher and that Bronwyn was the supply teacher - I was glad that she enjoyed having me for the four weeks I was there. 

On Wednesday, Dad and I began or eating/exercise plan - we are forming an eating plan based on recipes from sparkpeople.com.  We went for a walk on Wednesday and Friday in our neighbourhood and on Saturday, we went for a walk on the beach.  We didn't get one in together on Thursday as by the time I got home from talking with Bronwyn, it was time to have supper and then Dad had to get off to SES.  At SES that night, Dad and the other members did a 5km walk as they were working on GPS skills - so Dad got to count that for his exercise.  We have done really well with the eating part of the program, too - we are trying new recipes and you will never believe it, but I actually ate cabbage rolls tonight. :-) 

On Saturday, after our beach walk, we went to Robyn and Geoff's for dinner - they had also invited some friends from church - and as usual we had a very enjoyable evening.  Dad and I tried to eat smaller portions (bbq meat and salads) and of the dessert (trifle) - we ate more than we would have at home, but we didn't do too bad.  We enjoyed chatting with everyone after dinner, too - it's great getting to know people better in a relaxed setting.  We are going to have Robyn and Geoff and two other friends from church over next week - my plan is to try to get to know everyone from the ward in this way - we might have to have a few luncheons in order to do this as some of the older people do not like driving at night.

Today it was the Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation at church - I had written up the script based on ones posted on the net and gearing it towards the number of children we have in our Primary - and we had been practicing for three weeks.  We only have ten active children in our ward and only four of them can read.  I wanted the presentation to be about the children, so none of the leaders/teachers said anything during the presentation, except for one teacher who had to help the children from her class participate (she said the words in small phrases and they repeated what she said).  One of my councillors conducted the music as our music leader is in the UK right now and I told the children near me when to go up to do their part.  We had a lot of positive comments afterwards and I was so proud of the kids - they did such a good job.  They were a small group and they sang quietly, but they sounded like angels from where I was sitting.  We had a little celebration just before the end of our meetings (cupcakes and juice) which the children really enjoyed - it was a nice way for us to show them our appreciation for a job well done.

what we saw on the sand when we were walking on the beach - Geoff told us it's called a Blue Blubber Jellyfish - we saw seven of them on the sand in the short part we walked along (all dead) - they can give a mean sting, but they are not a risk to humans - Robyn told us that the turtles like to eat these jellyfish - apparently they are common here at this time of year - they come down from the north in the warm current

Sunday, October 14, 2012

This past week at school has been quite good - it started off a bit rocky with the kids having had two weeks off school - but by Wednesday, they had settled nicely back into a routine.  By Friday, I was really tired and weary, but when I was on my way to meet up with my friend, I thought to myself that although I am so tired and worn out from the kids, I can't think of anything else I would rather do as a career.  I absolutely love teaching and helping children learn.  It's amazing to me that both Dad and I have been able to/ and continue to work in careers that we love so much.  We feel very blessed. 

On Thursday, I had another appointment with my doctor - here, you have to get a doctor's appointment to get the results of your tests - seems like a waste of time to me (and of course you have to pay for the appointment), but I did get all good news.  I have to go and get a breast ultrasound tomorrow and then the results from that and the mammogram I had will be sent to my doctor - so that will mean that there will be another trip to the doctor to get the results of those two tests.  I also made an appointment for the 23rd of October to have him check out the bump on my head.  He wants to cut one open and take out what's inside and have it checked out (he's pretty sure it's just fatty tissue like Dr. Nixon thought) - I'm not looking forward to it, but the one on top of my head is getting quite big now, so it's probably a good idea to have it taken out.

On Friday, I met with my friend, Chantelle, after school for an iced chocolate and a chat.  Chantelle is the young teacher who I taught with last year in Kindergarten and who stayed in our house while we were gone.  We had a lovely talk - she is being transferred next year to a place nine hours away from HB.  It will be good for her to get her 'country teaching' done (every new teacher is supposed to do some teaching in a country town for three years during their career).  We will certainly miss our house-minder. :-)

On Saturday, after General Conference (they download the videos of General Conference here which was actually last weekend, and we watch them the following weekend), we met up with Robyn and Geoff at a local restaurant called 'Hogsbreath Cafe' to celebrate Dad's and Geoff's birthdays and our anniversary.  Dad and I wanted to see if they had a good prime rib like 'The Keg' - there really isn't much of a selection of nice restaurants here in HB.  When we went in, the music was really loud - we asked our server if she could lower the volume and we were told that she couldn't as it was part of the contract of being a franchise.  None of us like to have loud music playing when we are trying to talk with each other and I did ask Robyn and Geoff if they wanted to leave and find another place to eat, but they decided that they would stay.  Dad had a lobster/prime rib dinner and mine was a ribs/prime rib dinner.  Although the food tasted good, I thought mine tasted more like a steak than a prime rib - and I love prime ribs, but steaks are only so-so.  Dad thought his meal was delicious.  I don't think that we will go back there, though - the music was too loud and the food is quite expensive.  We decided that we will go out as a foursome for a really nice dinner three times a year: in March to celebrate Robyn's and my birthdays, in June to celebrate their annniversary and then in October like we did this year.  We are going to have to do some research to find a really nice quiet restaurant in HB - Robyn and Geoff only go out as much as we do and usually they go to the 'Boat Club' or something like that (similar to a cafeteria style restaurant) and that's similar to what Dad and I have gone to in the past.

Dad got  his contract in the mail from 'Queensland Aerospace College' (his new employers) this past week - it was a large package, but Dad said it seemed like a pretty standard contract.  It took him a couple of days to get it all read and then signed and sent it back to them on Friday.  His official starting date of his contract will be November 1st.  He's really looking forward to going on the course to Melbourne at the end of November.  I was going to go with him, but when he asked his boss if I could go, he said that they have no issue with wives going with the instructors at any time (which the wife of the instructor of this course will do), but that since this instructor will be bringing his wife and they and Dad will be staying at the company condo, the boss thought that it might be too crowded for me to stay the whole three weeks.  He said that he thought that it would be fine for me to stay there for a few days, but  not longer than that.  I decided that I didn't want to spend the money for the flights for just a few days, so I will be on my own for those three weeks.  Thank goodness for technology - we can Skype/phone during the time Dad is in Melbourne.

We went to both sessions of General Conference on Sunday - the way they do it here is that they play the first session from 9am - 11am, take a half hour break to eat lunch and then watch the second two hour session.  I loved the talks which were given (on Saturday as well).  I love our Prophet - he was telling a story about how the jumbotron at a youth conference wasn't working and it needed to work for the presentation which was going  to be given that day.  After many tries to get it working, someone decided to ask the youth to pray that those who were trying to fix it would be able to figure out what was wrong and fix it.  He said that 3,000 youth got down on their knees and prayed sincerely for assistance.  It was such a spiritual experience, President Monson said.  The problem was solved and the person fixing it said that they were so lucky to find the problem.  President Monson made a sound like 'hmph' - it was such a funny sound and look as if to say 'yeah, right - luck - NOT'. :-)   I love being spiritually fed at Conference.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

It's been a great week for my second week of holidays.  We started our week off going over to our friends, Robyn and Geoff's for dinner on Monday.  They had been away for a couple of weeks and so they wanted to catch up with us - it's so nice having such good friends that both Dad and I get along so well with.  We borrowed their trailer and brought it back home. 

On Tuesday, we headed off to Brisbane - we were so excited to be able to get away and to go to the temple.  We stayed at a 'Big 4' campground which is very much like a KOA campground.  This campground had a number of cabins and semi-permanent trailers along with spaces for tents and camping trailers.  The one we borrowed from Robyn and Geoff is like a big tent with a bed which is raised.  The campground had a pool, a games room, a playground and a camp kitchen.  We did all of our cooking in that kitchen which was really nice - two fridges, barbecue, stovetop and microwave.  It was so relaxing at the campground - we read, we did crossword puzzles, we swam, we ate and we played games - it was so nice after being so busy teaching for those two weeks and Dad doing his four day course the week before that.  The weather was perfect, too - beautiful blue sky and the sun shining down - ahhh - life is good. :-)  One thing we noticed is that it was still cool at night and so we need to remember to bring our track suits next time we go camping for after the sun goes down.

We loved going to the temple - we were able to go on Wednesday morning and evening and Thursday morning.  There were a lot of people there and they ended up having to bring in extra chairs each time we were there.  It is such a wonderful place to be and it's so peaceful and gives one time for contemplating and being apart from 'the world'.  Dad and I loved it so much that we have decided to make it a monthly trip.

When we arrived home, Dad had an email from the company who has hired him.  The fellow said that he was just waiting for the head of the company to come back from teaching in New Zealand so that he could sign Dad's contract and send it on.  So, Dad should have the contract in his hands later this week - he is really looking forward to seeing it, getting in the training later on this year and to begin working for the company next year.

We had the missionaries to dinner on Friday and then on Saturday (after spending the afternoon relaxing outside reading), we had Robyn and Geoff over for dinner along with another couple, Lyn and Dan.  They had been to Canada for a month in July and had gone on the 'Rocky Mountaineer', to the 'Calgary Stampede' and on an Alaskan cruise.  All four of us (Dad, me, Robyn and Geoff) all want to do this trip and so we had asked Lyn and Dan to come over for dinner and to bring their photos and videos of the trip.  It was great getting to know Lyn and Dan better and to also see/hear about their trip.  We all are really keen to go on that trip even more now.  The scenery was incredible!

It's hard to believe that my two weeks of holidays are up and that I am going back to work tomorrow.  The madness begins again! :-)

Below are pics from where we were sitting on our patio enjoying the blue sky and warm sun. :-)

Sunday, September 20, 2012

Although I have been on school holidays, it's been a very busy week.  I have already posted about the first half of the week on my last post, so this one is from Thursday.  I spent about four hours on Thursday at Kawungan school.  My friend, Sandy, who teaches grade two and has the classroom next to me, was going into the school and she had the code to turn off the alarm on our little block. Sandy and I get along really well, so it was fun as well as productive getting our plans sorted and picking up supplies so that I could get some things ready at home this coming week.  It felt really good to be able to get so much done - I really like being as prepared as possible ahead of time. 

Friday was another day of doctor's appointments.  The first one was an ultrasound and yes, having to hold a litre of water for over an hour is not a fun time. :-)  The doctor was really nice and chatted while he did the ultrasound.  I was never so happy to get to the bathroom afterwards, though. :-)  After a quick trip to the chapel to open up the Family History Centre, we went to my second doctor's appointment which was a skin check - and it was exactly what I thought it was - the doctor checked over every inch of my body for moles - every now and then he used what looked like a jeweller's spyglass to look at something closely.  He said there was nothing for him to be concerned about which I was really happy about. 

Whenever this doctor has to do something where the patient has to undress, he has a nurse come into the room.  The one on Friday was the same one who had come in when I had my pap smear last Monday and so she and I chatted while the doctor was checking me out.  I asked her why she was there and she said that she is usually typing up whatever the doctor is concerned about re: the skin check, but she didn't have to do anything with me (she did type up one thing at the end when I told the doctor that Dr. Nixon in Canada had taken care of one mole, so the doctor here wants to keep an eye on it).  I think it's also protects the doctor from anyone saying that something inappropriate happened, but of course, they didn't mention that.

Yesterday, we spent the day helping the Gilbert's move - since the Gilbert's are not residents of Australia and have a South African driver's license, they have had difficulty renting vehicles here in Australia for some reason.  So, they asked Dad if he would rent the truck and drive it from their present house to their new house.  I spent most of the time helping Haidi clean out their garage - they had a lot of boxes in there and I managed to help Haidi 'throw out' a lot of stuff - she was even telling others how good I was at helping her to cull things. :-)  I told her that Jennifer was the queen of culling and that I had learned a lot when we had to decide what to bring and what not to bring to Australia. 

Today Dad and I had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting.  My talk was on how we can always have the spirit to be with us and Dad's was on faith.  Both talks went really well - we had both practised them a number of times so that we were able to look up a lot of the time as we gave the talks.  Dad and I were both told by a number of people how much they enjoyed our talks.  I told them that I was very grateful that we have lds.org to go to on the net to get copies of talks from the church magazines because that's where I go to to get a lot of what I talk about in my sacrament meeting talks.  I got very emotional when giving my talk - the spirit really touched me and I love that feeling. :-) 

Dad and I are going to the temple this week - I am so excited - we haven't been able to go to the Brisbane temple since we have arrived here.  I was told today that it is a beautiful temple (aren't they all? :-)  We are planning on borrowing our friends' tent trailer and staying at a 'Big 4' campground which sounds and looks  a lot like the KOA campgrounds over there.  It will be nice to get away, relax and spend some time in the Temple. :-)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Time sure gets away from you sometimes, eh?  Well, it has from me since we have returned home from Brisbane.  My second week at school went very well again - the kids are getting used to my way of doing things (a little different from Bronwyn).  There were a number of children away this past week, though - there was some kind of bug going around - plus, a few went on vacation early.  So, on Friday, I only had 12 children.  I couldn't do any teaching, really, so we spent the day mostly doing fun stuff - painting, reading, cleaning up the classroom. :-)  I have spent this week planning for the two weeks after the holidays.  I went into school today to do some prepping and to get some supplies which I will sort out at home. 

On Sunday, we had our first run-through for the Primary Sacrament meeting presentation and it went quite well - I was really pleased.  The three children who can read were away, so we had others reading their parts (just to get an idea of the timing) and the other children parroted what the grown-up sitting with them read from the script.  I photocopied the presentation and drove around town on Tuesday delivering the scripts to the Primary children.  I am just hoping that they all show up for the next two practices.

Monday, my first day of vacation, was spent going to doctor's appointments - my doctor is getting all sorts of tests done since I am a new patient - so I have been to get blood tests, did the mammogram and pap smears, and have to go tomorrow to have an ultrasound of the uterus/ovaries area and also to have a skin check.  I haven't had a skin check before, but I am guessing it has something to do with checking moles, etc. as Australians are very susceptible to skin cancer as so many of them spend a lot of time out in the sun.  The only thing left to get at the doctor's is a physical - phew, I will be glad when it's all done, at least for another year.  It is good to know that the doctor is being very thorough, though.

On Tuesday, Dad got the call he's been waiting for about the job he interviewed for - he was so excited about what the guy, Chris, was saying on the phone, that he kept giving me the 'thumbs up'. :-)  It was so great to get some good news re:  a job for Dad - he is very excited to start on this new adventure!  He will be travelling down to Melbourne at the end of November for three weeks to sit in on a course - it's a course about the A330 airplane - Dad has a license on the A300, A310, and the A320 and some experience with the A330, but hasn't got a license on it.  So, Chris wants Dad to sit in on the course (like auditing it) so that he can learn the differences of the A330 (so he can eventually teach the course himself) and also Dad wants to see how the instructor (who's been teaching for this company for nine years) teaches.  The company will pay for Dad to fly down and back and also will put him up in the company condo in Melbourne.  He is going to ask if I can join him - I hope they say yes - Melbourne is a beautiful city and I would love to spend some time touring it.

Yesterday, I went  out for lunch with my friend, Haidi.  She and three of her children are going back to the UK for an extended vacation, possibly leading to them staying there (being joined by her husband and two other children who are staying here til the end of the year to complete their high school education).  We had a great time chatting with each other and eating a good meal, as well.  I'm sad for me that she is leaving, but I am happy for her as she feels that the UK is her home (even though she was raised in South Africa).  It sucks making new friends and then having them leave - first Julianne left so that her husband, Clive, could get more work, then Rosalea left to be closer to her granddaughter, and now possibly Haidi.  I had so many friends in Canada that there was always someone to hang out with, but of course, it took me years to make that many friends.  I am glad that Robyn and Geoff have no plans to move out of HB. :-)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

I have been so busy with teaching and so tired from teaching all day - that's why I haven't written until now.  I love being back in teaching mode - doing all the planning is exciting to me - I definitely am meant to be a teacher - it's totally in my blood. :-)  I am teaching a grade two class and there are 21 kids in the class.  There are two little monkeys, but the rest are quite good.  There are more girls than boys which suits me well - having said that, there are some sweet boys and some annoying girls in the class. :-)  There are so many things that the government is telling us to teach now (explicit lessons have been given for language and math), that I feel that there is so little of "ME" in my program.  This is nice for me right now with doing a contract position for just four weeks, but I am not sure I would be a fan of it if I was permanent/full-time.  Teaching is taking up pretty much all my time.  I get to school around 7:30am and am usually there until between 4:30pm and 5pm each day.  After dinner, I usually spend between 1 1/2 and 2 hours doing more school work.  It's a lot of work and it's tiring, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. :-)  Other than school work, the other thing that keeps me busy is church - on Sunday, I typed up the Sacrament Meeting Presentation which the Primary children will put on in October.  We usually have 11 children in Primary, but two of them (both of who can read and know the songs) are leaving for England before the presentation - so, we are really going to find it hard, I think, to make it work, but we are going to try.  We are going to have a run-through on Sunday to see how the children cope with what I have prepared for them to say and then make a decision on the final draft of the presentation.

Now for Dad - he has some good news - we think. :-)  He is still waiting for a phone call to 'seal the deal', but he feels very hopeful - and very excited.  He drove down to Brisbane this morning (3 1/2 hours) to have an interview with a guy who owns a company which teaches aircraft technical training.  Harry (the owner of the company) and his son interviewed Dad (for 1 1/2 hours) and Dad reckons the interview went really well.  He said that they sounded like they wanted to hire him, but be thought that they might need some time to figure out when they could use him, when he could get some training he would need, and also to give him some time to get his ABN (Australian Business Number).  Basically, he would be working as a contractor and so he would bill the company every time they use him to teach and then that means he would have to pay his own taxes.  Dad has also been busy with church stuff - mostly getting his lessons together to teach on Sundays.  He also has been busy working on things around the house and at the Family History Centre. 

We both need a cruise to go on to get a rest.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Our weeks are becoming very predictable - busy and restful - and I quite like this routine. :-)  I didn't teach on Monday again and I could easily get used to that.  I did teach for three days this week - Tuesday and Wednesday I taught in a Prep class at Torquay - I was teaching with Sam who was my TA last year - she could easily run the class on her own - sometimes when I am in there, I almost feel like she should be the teacher - she has 26 years of experience as a TA.  There are a few challenging children in that class which makes for a tiring day - I wish that I could just teach those other 20 lovely children who want to listen and learn. 

On Thursday, I did my regular contract day at Torquay, but it was different that day as Pam asked me to take over the whole class while she did parent/teacher interviews.  I was very surprised that it would be okay for her to do this, but I don't know if the admin knew what she was doing or not.  Chantelle was fit to be tied when she heard what Pam was doing - she couldn't believe that Pam would have the nerve to use me to teach her class while she did parent/teacher interviews during the school day while all the other teachers at the school had to stay after school to do their interviews.  I was miffed that she didn't leave me a plan for 90 minutes of math she wanted me to do with her class.  Her class is  challenging and so I didn't want to try and do 90 minutes of math with the whole class, so I planned out five activities which they could rotate through and that worked really well.  A couple of teachers made comments to me again about how well behaved the children were with me teaching compared to when Pam has them - it made me feel good to be recognized for having good classroom management skills - that's the hardest thing about being a teacher, I think.

On Wednesday evening, I went to a local restaurant to meet up with some people who were interested in being part of a book club.  Two british women decided that they wanted to start one up in order to have a bit of an adult social life and read and discuss books.  There were twelve women and one man who showed up and I think it's going to be a really good book club.  The two women who are leading the club came with a synopsis of six books which we could choose from to be the book for the next meeting.  The choice ended up being a book by an Australian author called 'Traitor'.  I talked with the group about how the book club ran in Bolton and they are sad that I will not be there to share my experience in our first book club discussion.  I did tell them how it used to work and when I got home, Dad looked up on the net to see if he could find some questions that the club could use at the next meeting - I sent them off and the women were really pleased to have a way to begin the discussion next month.  I'm looking forward to being able to attend the September meeting.

I took Friday off work and Dad and I spent the day getting things organized around the house so that we would be ready to leave on Monday.  However, after speaking to the HR woman about the job which Dad applied for (and really wants), we decided to wait another week before we come back to Canada.  It was a bit disappointing as I was really looking forward to getting back there and getting some cuddles in with my lovely grandchildren (oh, and hanging out with my girls, too, of course :-)  and also to going to Paris with Krystal on the following Saturday.  But, Dad really wants this job - he will find out this coming Friday or the following Monday if he has been successful in acquiring an interview or not.  We are keeping an eye on the flight loads between here and Sydney - if they get busy, I might fly out to Sydney on the morning flight on Monday - if Dad hasn't heard by then, he will stay behind until the 6pm flight (if he doesn't get an interview).
This job would be perfect for Dad, he thinks, so we'll hope for the best - but, on the other hand, if he gets the job, he won't be able to come back to Canada and that will be sad for him and for you guys.

On Friday, we met up with our friends, Robyn and Geoff, for lunch at 'Hogsbreath Cafe' - it's kind of like 'Kelsey's' - Dad and I both ordered a wrap (chicken for me and beef for Dad) with curly fries.  While we were there, the sister missionaries called us to see if we were still going to be in town on Saturday and if we were still planning on coming to the baptism on Saturday.  When Dad hung up and told us what they had said, Geoff said that I was doing a talk on faith and repentance and I said that no, they had asked me (last Sunday) to welcome the boys to Primary after  their baptism.  After both of us going back and forth a bit, I began to wonder if what Geoff was saying was true.  On the way home, I called the sister  missionaries to check out if they were thinking that I was giving a talk - sure enough, they were.  It's a good thing I listened to Geoff! 

On Saturday at 1pm, we went to the baptism of Jeremy and Douglas (8 and 9 years old) - there were about 20 people there and it was so nice to see the smiles on the boys' faces as they were baptized.  It took me back to my own baptism day (many years ago :-)  I can't remember a lot about that day, but I still remember the feeling I had when I came up out of the water - it was like a heavy load had been lifted off my shoulders - I will never forget  that wonderful feeling.  The talk went well - Dad and I both searched for articles about faith and repentance on the internet and Dad found two great articles which had been in The Friend magazine.  I spoke right to both boys and made sure that my talk was at their level - they both watched me the whole time I talked so I guess it was interesting enough for them. :-) 

That evening, we went to Robyn and Geoff's for dinner - they also invited another couple from church, Fiona and Randall.  We had a lovely meal (roast chicken with veggies and mini pavlovas for dessert - sorry Nana :-) and we had a really nice time chatting with everyone.  Having these dinners really gives us a chance to get to know members of our ward better and I am looking forward to having more dinners like these when we get back from Canada. 

Dad and I both handed over the reigns  re: our callings at church today.  I gave all my stuff to my first counsellor in Primary - she was great last time we left at keeping things rolling in Primary and it's great to have someone who I know will run things smoothly while I am away.  I had organized things for the months of June and July and she will just have to sort things out for August (although I did do have a tentative schedule for that month as well).  Dad teaches his priesthood group every Sunday and those lessons will now be taught on a rotation basis by all members of the group.  People were sad to see us leaving for such a long time and they were all saying good-bye to us and wishing us a safe trip and a happy time with everyone in Canada.  It's so nice to be so loved in our ward. :-)

Sunday, June 3, 2010

A busy week, but with two days off (sort of).  I was hoping not to have to work again on Monday and I didn't have to - it's always nice having a three day weekend. :-)  Dad and I spent Monday and Wednesday (didn't get called in that day, either) doing errands like shopping, etc. plus we both also got our hair cut.  Dad needed a trim and I wanted more hair cut off (now it's quite short) - just getting tired of the long(er) hair and told Christa (hairdresser) to cut it off - I just tell her to cut and she always does a nice job - plus, her prices are really good.

I worked Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  Tuesday was at a school I actually haven't been at this year, although I was at it last year a few times.  The deputy principal called me and asked me to teach grade 4 - before I could say to him that I don't do grade four, he told me it was for a class which has two teachers teaching both classes together.  The husband was going to be out of the classroom and so I would be teaching with the wife.  I actually worked with her before and it was good, so I said yes.  It was an easy day, actually - she taught most of the time and I just assisted her by helping out with the kids once they started working.  Thursday was my regular day at Torquay and things went pretty much the way they have for the past six weeks.  Friday, I was in at Kawungan in a grade two classroom.  Lisa was a prac student (student teacher) who taught most of the day and things went well except for the one boy who has been suspended more than he's been there, I think.  He's the one who tipped over his desk last time I was in.  I had to call the deputy principal twice about him and both times she came down to talk with him.  There are a couple of other kids who are annoying, but for the most part, it was a good day.

Dad and I spent Saturday afternoon shopping - regular grocery shopping and also shopping for a basket which is being passed around in Relief Society.  It's supposed to be an opportunity for us to get to know the sisters in the ward better.   I received the basket last week (from a secret sister) and so it was my turn to fill the basket for the sister whose name I picked from a sealed envelope.  I didn't know much about this sister other than she grows flowers, so I called a friend who I knew would know something about this sister and she gave me a ton of ideas to choose from.  It took us longer to find all that I wanted to get (plant, scarf, stationery and handkerchiefs), but it was relaxing and gave Dad and I lot of time to chat while we were driving and shopping. 

We had our friends, Robyn and Geoff over for dinner Saturday night and also invited Christine and Chris (the people whose granny flat we stayed at when we first got here) to join us.  Dad barbecued lamb chops (and we also had corn on the cob, jacket potatoes, salad (which Christine and Chris) brought over) and apple pie and ice-cream for dessert).  The meal was delicious and we had a really nice time chatting with each other.  When we have people over, we always go and sit in the front room after dinner - it's about the only time we use it - the chairs/couch are so comfortable.

Since we are not sure when we are leaving HB (we hope to leave a week Monday, but with going stand-by, you know how that never is a sure thing), so we said our good-byes to our friends at church (other than Robyn and Geoff who we will get together with later this week for a meal) - we know we are going to be missed and it's a nice feeling to know how much people care about us in this ward.

I have included a pic of our new tv unit underneath this blog.  Loving my new unit! :-)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

It's been a busy week and a restful week - kind of just the way I like it.  I was praying really hard that I wouldn't get a call to teach on Monday since I was a bit tired still from last week - and I didn't get a call - I was so happy.  Dad and I were very busy that day, though. I finally finished editing my 'personal statement' I had to write for my application to be able to interview for a permanent teaching position in HB.  I had to write about my beliefs in education plus how my classroom would look and also how I feel about things like teaming, etc.  It was only supposed to be 500 words or less - I started out with over 1000 words and couldn't get it down to any less than 700 - but it was all on one page, so I figured it was good enough.  Dad had been able to get all my original documents photocopied and certified by a justice of the peace last week, so after I finished printing out my personal statement, we put each application together (I had to make three copies of the application) and there were 20 pages per application.  Once they were all put together, we drove over to Maryborough (half an hour away) to drop it off.  We figured that while we were in Maryborough that we might as well have lunch at the chinese restaurant there - I had been there with my friends from church, so I was happy to be able to take Dad there - the food was really good and now we have to take our friends, Robyn and Geoff there.

I got called in to teach on both Tuesday and Wednesday for two different friends (Bronwyn and Chantelle) who both ended up not being able to talk.  Bronwyn's husband called me on Monday night to ask me if I could teach and Chantelle texted me - so neither of them had to actually talk  to me.  Both classes were good to teach - Chantelle has a great TA, Carolyn who was so helpful and we had a good day with the kids.  I love teaching Bronwyn's class and I am really looking forward to having them for four weeks later on this year.  The kids were a little bit off that day, though, as we had a crazy start to the day.  All of the kids in the school met out on 'the oval' (the field) to make a commercial - yep, you read that right.  The RSL (Returned and Services League) kind of like The Legion in Canada - gave each student a water bottle and then the students formed the letters RSL on the oval and there was a crane there with a guy who had a tv camera on the crane.  On a cue, the students waved their bottles and then walked to the outer edge of the oval and back again to form the RSL again (not sure if they did that, though - it would have been hard for the little guys to remember exactly where they had been).  Anyway, I haven't seen the ad, but others have seen it - not sure how long it's supposed  to be on, but I do hope I see it at some point.

I did the usual contract on Thursday at Torquay and it went okay - I got two new students today (two others stayed back with the class).  One of them was a beautiful little boy who I was so happy to be able to work with and who was happy to be part of our little group (and then, at the end of the day, his mom came and told us that they were moving to NSW the next day - how sad that we didn't have any prior notice so that all of the kids could have said a proper good-bye). 

It was so nice to have a long weekend - thanks to the 'Maryborough Show' for which the kids get the day off school - can you believe it?  Not that I'm complaining since I didn't have to teach that day, but really.......a day off school to go to a country fair - weird - and yet it happens all over the state (not sure if it's all over the country or not).  Dad and I were supposed to be going camping this weekend with Robyn and Geoff, but the forecast was for rain and more rain - and guess what?  There was rain and more rain Friday and Saturday.  When we are in our house and it rains, it sounds like the air conditioning has just come on - that's how we know it's raining. :-)

Dad and I went home teaching on Wednesday evening to three of our families - the Lyttles (who are in their 60s, the Gilberts (in their 40s who have five children aged 6 - 18) and our Bishop and his wife (who are in their 70s).  We get along really well with the Gilberts and the bishop and his wife and we are getting to know the Lyttles.  We really enjoy going and visiting with each family every month.  Even though we gave the same message to each family (this month about receiving answers to prayers), the discussions we have are so different.

Dad did his usual Meals on Wheels and SES on Thursday and things went as they usually do.  He had to tell them that this coming Thursday will be his last one until September.  Neither group was happy since they love having him as part of the group, but they totally understand how much he would want to go back to Canada to see everyone and meet our new grandchild. :-)

I spent most of Friday researching things to see and do in Paris and also checking out where to stay in Paris.  Krystal and I will have a packed week there in mid-June - we will be tired, but I am sure that we are going to have a great time! :-)  We will be in Paris for six of our seven days there and will spend one day in Versailles seeing the Palace there.  I have done a lot of reading on the net (so happy that we have the internet - it's so easy to find info on there!) and think that I have figured out a way to see the most in the time we have there.  Many people wrote on the net that it's a good idea to just take some time to walk some of the neighbourhoods, so that's on the plan - of course, we will do the usual tourist things like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and cruising on the Seine as well. 

On Saturday, Dad and I did some errands and on the way back home, we stopped by my friend, Samantha's (TA from last year) to check out a TV unit she had - I had found out at school that she was selling it and asked her if I could come and see it to see if I liked it and if it would fit our tv.  Both Dad and I loved it - and she only wanted $100 for it - it would probably cost about $800. new - it's really lovely - has a few scratches on it from moving the tv in and out - but it will be really perfect for us - it  has room for our tv, stereo and it will hide our cds.  We are going to keep the old tv unit for now as it's a great place to put all of our photos on.  Dad called Geoff to ask him if he would drive his big truck to Sam's house to pick up the unit and bring it to our house - it's still sitting in the hallway - Dad says he will put the unit together Tuesday or Wednesday - I will take photos of it then and put it on the blog next week.

As usual, Sunday was another relaxing day - well, after church, that is. :-)  All of our Primary children were at church today, so we had a full house (which in our ward means 12 children - small, I know).  It was great having so many kids there and it sounded really nice when they sang.  Our new music leader, Haidi, is doing such a great job with them and even the little ones are starting to sing (or trying to) - I am hoping that by the time we have our Sacrament Meeting Presentation in October that they will all know all the songs and that it will sound lovely when they are singing in the chapel to the congregation.  I taught the Valiant girls (aged 8 - 11)  their lesson this week - they are so interesting - they have some interesting thoughts and questions.  Dad taught the teenagers in Sunday School - the teacher was going to be away and had asked the bishop's wife to teach the class, but she was a bit worried about teaching that age group and so she asked Dad if he would do it - he didn't know how to say 'no' and so he ended up teaching them.  I asked him afterwards how it went and he said it was okay - that they were typical teenagers (lots of idle chit chat), but they did do some reading and answering of questions, so Dad survived it.  He certainly won't be looking forward to doing it again any time soon, though.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing and just enjoying not having to do anything for a change. :-)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

What a week - I am tired just thinking about it.  Monday I got a call to go into Kawungan to teach a grade one class.  I hadn't had this class before, so I checked with the other grade one teachers to see what the kids were like.  I was warned about a few of them - most of them are great.  Of the three I was told about, one was away, one was fine (just chatty) and the third did a little bit of work - so, all in all, a good day.  HOWEVER, when Dad and I were taking our walk that evening, Pam called - she is the kindergarten teacher who I go in to help every Thursday.  She was quite sick and wanted to know if I could go in on Tuesday and supply teach in her class.  I ended up being in her class for the rest of the week.

Pam has a different style of teaching from me - she is much more relaxed - and so the kids had a bit of a shock this week with having very high expectations, especially with listening to me when I was talking.  She has a handful of challenging children and they were not impressed that I expected the same of them as I did everyone else.  One of the girls was so rude (with me and with another teacher) that I took her to the principal and she even spoke back to her.  I can't believe how rude some children are here - and how they think it's acceptable to be rude and talk back to teachers - it's so unreal to me and out of my scope of experience.  A few teachers told me at the end of the week that they couldn't believe how well behaved the class was compared to what they normally were like - I was pleased that I had been able to guide them to be more respectful.

I was really lucky to have a prac student (student teacher), Stephanie, in the class for the week.  She was only supposed to teach one third of the time, but I could tell right away that she was quite good, so I not only had her teach math, but asked her to do a few more things (like take attendance, read books to the students, etc.).  I told her that I thought that the  best way to learn was to do, so that I would like her to do more and if it was too much, to  just asked me to step in and I would.  I did have her observe me a few times so that she was able to see me use a few of my classroom management strategies (the hardest part of teaching is classroom management).  Stephanie was really pleased to be able to do so much - I don't think she will be doing the same amount next week, though - Pam called her and asked her to do only a one half hour lesson on Monday. 

Tuesday night, Dad and I went to the chapel: Dad met with the members of the bishopric (minus the Bishop) and I had an activity for the Valiant girls (aged 8 and 11).  Usually my first counsellor does it, but she is away on holidays and I didn't want the girls to miss out for the month.  The theme of the night was 'Keeping  the Sabbath Day Holy'.  We talked about why we keep the Sabbath day holy and what kinds of things are appropriate to do on a Sunday.  We then made 'Sabbath Day Boxes' out of cardstock (I printed colour copies off the net) and gave the girls a list of 109 things they could do on Sundays.  They made the boxes, put the list inside and then we had a little snack.  The girls seemed to enjoy the activity - we will do one about prayer next week.

Dad went to Meals on Wheels this week, but he was an extra person this time - there is one couple who comes and does it once a month - this was their week.  So, Dad had some unexpected time off - it was a good thing actually as he wasn't feeling too well that day.  He went to SES that evening, but didn't stay long as his tummy was acting up again.  It lasted for a couple of days.  He went to the Family History Centre on Friday - thankfully, they didn't have any patrons - Dad helped one of our ward members with some family history stuff and then a new computer came and Dad worked on that for the rest of the day.

I was so tired on Friday night that I didn't feel like cooking so Dad and I went to Subway and got a delicious sub to share and went to McDonald's for a chocolate milkshake - both were yummy!  We then did nothing that night and spent the next morning relaxing - well, Dad did while I got to chat with you girls and saw only one of my grandchildren (little squishy :-)  I went to a Relief Society meeting on Saturday afternoon - it was about being an effective teacher and then afterwards we had some goodies (I wasn't hungry as I had eaten just before I went).  But, I like the opportunity to mix and mingle with the sisters so that's why I went.  That night, it was more relaxing time - me trying to de-stress and Dad trying to feel better.

I sure hope this coming week will be less tiring! :-)  Oh yeah, another thing - Dad has been applying for lots of jobs lately - aviation positions - not in Hervey Bay.  I'll let you know how things go as we hear from each company he has applied to.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

I was hoping not to get a call to teach on Tuesday - and I didn't.  It was a lovely day (when isn't it ) and so we headed down to the beach to enjoy the ocean again.  We took our chairs and set up under a tree with our books and sat and enjoyed the water, the sun and the lovely breeze.  I find that we (and by the 'we', I mean a lot of people in HB) take the beach for granted, so I told Dad this week that we need to remember to go down there more often.  Tuesday night, I went with Dad to the chapel - while he had his priesthood meeting, I worked on Primary stuff.  I have been thinking that it would be a good idea to take that time to get things organized for the following Sunday including getting all of my photocopying done.  It was a very productive time and I was glad to get so much done as I was going to be really full-on on Sunday.

I got called in to teach on Wednesday - to a school that I have only been to once before in the time I have been teaching in HB.  I had taught Prep there before and this was for a Prep class, too.  Last time I had had a great day and this time was the same.  The teacher had left a plan, but it needed some extra  things which she did not leave (not sure she knew she was going to be away).  Thank goodness for her teacher aide, Donna, who was amazing!  She basically made up the plan for the day and things went so smoothly.  The children were great - there was one little boy who was a bit of a handful (one of the other teachers told me that  this little guy would be a handful) and he did go off and had to go to his 'time out' area.  After a bit, he came around and was great for the rest of the day.  Of course, I made him my 'carpet example' - he really liked being the one who everyone looked to to see what they should be doing.  After everyone had left for the day, he came back to the classroom with tears in his eyes.  I asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn't want his teacher to come back, that he wanted me to be his teacher.  Awww. :-)

Dad brought my running shoes to pick me up after school and we went down to the beach again, but this time we went for a  50 minute walk.  It was low tide and so we didn't get to walk in the water, but rather just walked along the wet sand.  I love walking along beside the water - the only drawback is that, by the time we got there, the sun was low on the horizon and so it was going to be in our eyes when we were walking along one way.  So, we decided to walk along the beach away from the glare of the sun and then walk back along the boardwalk. 

Thursday I did my regular teaching at Torquay - I talked with Pam afterwards about a couple of the kids who I thought were not up to the challenges I was asking of them - so she took those two out of my group and added two more children who she thought might be up to the challenge.  I was glad that she took this one little girl out of the group as she was a 'brat' - yeah, I know, I should be kinder, but really, that's how I would describe this little girl, and apparently her mother has told Pam the same thing.  Anyway, I am looking forward to next week in the hope that I will be able to really help these children to go a little further in their learning than they would be able to do with being a part of a class of 28 children (that's how many are in Pam's class - crazy to have that many children in a kindergarten class).  I'm not sure that I am being very effective with the challenge that I was set up to do, but then I didn't have the cream of the crop in my group, so I am trying not to be too hard on myself.

Dad went to Meals on Wheels Thursday morning and got a different partner this time.  His usual partner, Paul was there, but Avis asked Paul if he would come back on Friday as she had an extra person and needed him more the next day.  Dad and his partner did the route that he and I used to do in the retirement community called 'Baycrest'.  I used to love doing that route as we got to know the people and would chat a little with each of them each week.  When I asked Dad if many of our old regulars were on the route that day, though, he said that only a couple were.  Dad went to SES Thursday night and was very busy for the whole evening.  Since it was the second Thursday of the month, they had a 'support group' meeting - this smaller group within the SES group talks about how their fundraising efforts are going and also vote about things they wish to buy (this time it was whether to buy a display board which is huge and folds down to a briefcase size).  The training for the night was a communications exercise based on the training they had received two weeks previously.  It was sending, receiving and recording radio messages - however, it was prescripted so it was pretty fast-paced.

On Friday morning, I went over to Torquay to do some assessment of the children I have been working with in Pam's class.  I find that I just don't have much time during my usual day and Pam wanted to know some information about what these children knew, so I decided to use my free time that morning to do that.  Chantelle saw me and asked me what I was doing - when I told her what it was, she said that I didn't have to do it on my own time - I told her that I just didn't have time to do it during the day on Thursday.  She said that she wanted me to do her class instead of Pam's. :-)  At 11am, I headed over to Kawungan to eat lunch with the grade two teachers before going into Bronwyn's class for the afternoon (she had 3 hours of curriculum development training to go to).  I love her class - they are lovely kids - I am looking forward to the four weeks of teaching I will be doing with them in September/October.

Dad and I went for another beach walk on Saturday afternoon - the weather was lovely (or was it beautiful or was it perfect ) and since it was high tide, we got to actually walk in the water which I love to do.  The little waves were actually splashing quite high and both Dad and my shorts ended up quite wet and sandy by the end of our walk.  It was still wonderful being at the beach - I really love it there. :-)

Today is Mother's Day and so all the talks in Sacrament meeting were about mothers.  Dad and I were both assigned to talk today - my talk was on 'The Sacred Role of Mothers' and Dad spoke on 'Women and Mothers in the Scriptures'.  I used mostly quotes from the prophets and blog entries from LDS women - Dad used mostly the scriptures in his talk.  We both received very positive comments about our talks which is always nice to hear.  I really enjoyed giving this talk with stay-at-home mothers not being valued by the world and knowing how important it is for women to do that.  Here are a few quotes from my talk:

Spencer W. Kimball:  “No matter what you read or hear, no matter what the difference of circumstances you observe in the lives of women about you, it is important for you Latter-day Saint women to understand that the Lord holds motherhood and mothers sacred and in the highest esteem. He has entrusted to his daughters the great responsibility of bearing and nurturing children.... There is divinity in each new life.”

President N. Eldon Tanner: From the beginning God has made it clear that woman is very special, and he has also very clearly defined her position, her duties, and her destiny in the divine plan. One of woman's greatest privileges, blessings, and opportunities is to be a co-partner with God in bringing his spirit children into the world.


What a glorious concept! No greater honor could be given. With this honor comes the tremendous responsibility of loving and caring for those children so they might learn their duty as citizens and what they must do to return to their Heavenly Father. They must be taught to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and to accept and live his teachings.
 
President Gordon B. Hinckley:  “Most of you are mothers, and very many of you are grandmothers and even great-grandmothers. You have walked the sometimes painful, sometimes joyous path of parenthood. You have walked hand in hand with God in the great process of bringing children into the world that they might experience this estate along the road of immortality and eternal life. It has not been easy rearing a family. Most of you have had to sacrifice and skimp and labor night and day. As I think of you and your circumstances, I think of the words of Anne Campbell, who wrote as she looked upon her children:


You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

President Spencer W. Kimball:  “Motherhood is near to Divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels. To you mothers in Israel we say, God bless and protect you, and give you the strength and courage, the faith and knowledge, the holy love and consecration to duty, that shall enable you to fill to the fullest measure the sacred calling which is yours.

After church, Dad and I came home and assembled a pavlova which is our special dessert for Mother's Day.  Dad and I bought the ingredients yesterday at the grocery store (and no, we didn't make the pavlova base [meringue] from scratch - we bought one already made) and topped it with cream, mandarines, strawberries, bananas, kiwi and passionfruit.  It was most delicious!!! (Sorry Nana :-)  I took a pic and have added it along with some from our camping trip last weekend as well - hope you enjoy! :-)

beach at Noosa Heads

man paddling on what appears to be a surfboard

wild turkey

sailing boat at Noosa Heads

Noosa Heads

Dad looking out at ocean at Noosa Heads

pelicans on canal at Tewantin

driving home

sunset in HB when we arrived home

sunset

Mother's Day pavlova

pavlova

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

What a busy week and a lovely, restful weekend.  I worked Monday for Tracey at Kawungan - it was a grade two class and Tracey had told me that there was one boy named Jye who was a real handful (as in tipping over his desk and having tantrums) - I woke up very early (around 4am) in the morning that morning and couldn't get back to sleep worrying about how difficult it was going to be.  The first three hours went pretty well, so I figured I had it made ................... wrong!  When he 'lost it', he tipped over  his desk and his glue went flying along with everything else on his desk.  He did go outside when I told him to (Tracey had said to just tell him to go outside and cool down and then come back in when he was ready).  He did that and began to work well again, but then he lost it again and I finally called the vice principal to come and take him out of the classroom.  The rest of the class were fine and we were able to get most done of which Tracey had left for me to do with them.  I worked in Bronwyn's class on Wednesday and it was a dream day - she has a lovely class (again) and it was a pleasure to teach them.  I did my regular day on Thursday at Torquay and it went fine.  Pam, the teacher whose children I work with on Thursday, asked me  if I could come in for her on Friday (she has family things going on and needed a day off), so I ended up back in her class on Friday - they are a full-on class, but we  managed to get through it.

Dad did his usual this week: mowed the lawn, did the housework, worked at the Family History Centre (ended up working an extra day there due to computer problems), did Meals on Wheels and SES.  By Friday, we were both ready to get in some relaxation and so, right after school on Friday, we headed down south.  We met Robyn and Geoff at the campground in Yandina, set up the tent and enjoyed the yummy chicken dinner which Geoff and Robyn had cooked for us.  Early to bed that night and slept like babies, we did.  We then spent Saturday morning at a local market (where I picked up some kids' books  and Robyn picked up some plants - the things we love to buy the most :-)  We then walked the main street (one block) of Yandina and had a stickybeak in some stores before buying lamingtons and carrot cake from a local bakery and heading back to the campground for a late lunch.  Dad and Geoff then headed off to a leadership meeting after that and Robyn and I got into our bathing suits and headed to the pool.  I thought it was a heated pool, but it wasn't - it was QUITE cool.  We both took a long time to get ourselves wet - we mostly sat on the edge of the pool yakking. :-)  I FINALLY got in the water (I wanted to swim and I was going to do it! :-)  We stayed at the pool for ages and it was so nice and relaxing.  We then went to the Kawana Waters chapel, where the guys were, for the evening session of Stake Conference.  The meetings were being webcast to the HB chapel, but Dad and I like to feel a part of the Stake and one way to do that is to actually be at the meetings in person.  The talks and music were wonderful that evening and we were spiritual fed really well.

Sunday morning we headed off to the Nambour Civic Centre where the Sunday morning session of Stake Conference was.  There isn't enough room anywhere to hold everyone who comes to the Sunday morning session, so that's why it's at the civic centre.  We were again spiritually fed - we were especially impressed with one young woman who spoke about the Young Women's program and what she had learned from being a part of YWs and participating in the Personal Progress program.  She was so confident and had such a strong testimony and it was great to listen to her talk.  We enjoyed listening to all the speakers and it was one of the best Stake Conferences we have been to. 

After Stake Conference, we went back to the campground and Geoff and Robyn's son, Mark, daughter-in-law, Naomi, and their four children (aged 2 1/2 to 10) joined us for lunch.  After that, we drove down to a seaside city called Maroochydore and went for a walk along the beach before heading back to the unit which Mark and Naomi were staying in.  We chatted for a bit and then had a lovely pasta dinner before heading back to the campground for another early night. 

Monday morning, we packed everything up and then had a nice big breakfast (eggs, bacon, baked beans, toast) before heading out to Noosa Heads.  We met Mark, Naomi and their family again there and went for a walk in the National Park which went along the ocean where surfers were loving the big waves.  The idea of going through the park was to see if we could spot any koalas.  Dad REALLY wants to see a koala in the wild and we gave it a good go, but it was not to be this time.  We did walk along a hiking path for a good hour and enjoyed the warm sun and lovely breeze and being near the water is always good.

Everyone went their own way after that (mid-afternoon) and Dad and I decided to find a McDonald's to get a milkshake before heading home.  We wanted to drink it by the ocean, but there weren't any roads along the ocean on the way home, so we found a nice quiet canal to sit beside and drink our shakes - there were four pelicans by the canal and we watched them while we sat there and enjoyed the water, the sun and the lovely weather. :-)  A short drive later, we stopped in Gympie, picked up a sub and found a lovely park to sit in and enjoy the food and more of the lovely weather.  We were a little sad to be home as we had had such an amazingly beautiful and relaxing weekend and sure would have loved to have more of that. :-)

Sunday, April 29, 2012

What a week!  Sometimes I just don't know what to do about teaching in Hervey Bay - sometimes, I really enjoy it and other times, I just want to get out of it.  On Monday, Dad and I were doing a crossword puzzle in bed when I got a phone call some time between 8am and 8:30am from Kawungan asking if I would come in for two hours for Luise.  She has a lovely grade one class, so I do enjoy going in there.  But, it was so late that I didn't know if I could make it on time.  Luise had been given a doctor's appointment in the morning at the last minute and so I said 'yes'.  I didn't even take time to wash my hair and was at the school within half an hour.  I had a lovely two hours in her class and told her that she can be away any time she likes. :-)  BUT, then on Tuesday, I got a call about 8am to go into teach a grade two class at Torquay.  I have never had that class, but I was worried as I had been told by one of their teachers that they were feral (which means challenging - although Dad says 'nasty' :-)  Well, there were 24 kids and about 16 or 17 were fabulous, but the rest were not and it made for a very hard and stressful day.  So much so, that I told Dad that he had to take me to get a 'Magnum' ice cream bar after school. :-)  Those ice-cream are so amazingly delicious and really take away the stress.  I had my contract day of teaching on Thursday and everything went well on that day.  So, I don't know where my head is at right now re: teaching - on the good days, I am so happy to be in that profession, but on the 'nasty' days, I just want to go back to RJ Lee to teach.  How frustrating not to love what I am doing these days after having so many wonderful years of  doing what I love.

Dad spent the week doing stuff around the house and, of course, doing his volunteer work.  He spent many hours one day mowing the lawn, trimming it and spraying it with fertilizer and weed control.  He was quite done when he was finished.  On Anzac Day (Wednesday), Dad went to help out with traffic control with the SES for the Veteran's parade.  When the SES were getting their assignments from the #2 guy at SES, he told Dad that the #1 person (a woman) at SES wanted him (Dad) to carry and lay the wreath from the SES up to the cenotaph.  Dad was very pleased and honoured to be asked to do this.  There are pictures at the end of the blog which were taken by an SES volunteer and by the local newspaper.

We were going to go to the beach on Saturday, but it turned out to be a very rainy day and so we ended up staying inside.   I love living by the beach, but when I work so much, it turns out that I don't get to go as often as I would like.  So, when we get a day to go and it rains, it's so disappointing.

Church was going as usual on Sunday when, during our Sacrament meeting, our Bishop and his first counsellor got up and went to the back of the chapel. Dad turned around and said that they were going down to help Brother Pearce who appeared to be slumped in his chair.  He is an older gentleman whose wife died last year.  They took him into the family history room and called for an ambulance.  Both Cherylyn and Trudy (sisters who are nurses) went into the room as well to assist.  Dad went back to ask Alastair (a psychiatrist with basic medical training), the first counsellor, if he would like him to continue with the meeting and Alastair said 'yes'.  So, we continued on.  Part of the way through the second talk, Bishop came to the front and asked us all to vacate the chapel.  As we were doing this, the paramedics came into the chapel to attend to Neville.  A few minutes later, they came out with Neville on a stretcher and took him to the hospital.  We all came back into the chapel and Bishop cancelled our Sacrament meeting and Alastair ended the meeting with a special prayer for Brother Pearce.  We are all worried about Neville and will continue to pray for him.

So, that's our big week - some good, some bad, some happy, some sad - sounds like life, eh?

Dad walking the parade route behind the Emergency Services cadets (newspapter photo)

Dad walking the parade route in front of the Emergency Services scouts (newspaper photo)

Dad walking up to the cenotaph with two Emergency Services cadets.

Dad laying the SES wreath at the cenotaph.

A moment of silence and respect.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

A very busy week although not all with school.  Monday was my first day of my one-day-a-week contract at Torquay SS.  Pam, the teacher I am working with, gave me a list of eight children to work with, of which six were there that day.  I had planned a ton of activities so that I could find out what their abilities are - that way, I can best plan for the group in the coming weeks.  Pam had said that I would be working with the top children in her class so that I could extend them - however, she has given me two different ability groups (I'm guessing her top group and her second top group).  So, my activities are going to have to be more differentiated than I was hoping, but that's the way Pam wants to do it, and Neil, the deputy principal who asked me to do this contract, told me that I was to do whatever Pam wanted.  I will be able to work in the library in a small room so that will be really good (no distractions).  During the day, the principal, Angelique, came and spoke with Pam and then they both talked to me and said that Thursdays would work better for Pam and would that work for me - I said it would. 

On Tuesday, I went into Kawungan to volunteer with Bronwyn - still trying to get to know these children  who I will be teaching later on this year.  I spent most of the day working with children reviewing word lists, math activities and others who had missed work because they had been absent from school.  While I was outside after first break, Luise Wotton, who teaches grade one (I was supposed to take her 8 week contract last year before I was offered the 22 week one at Torquay) saw me and was so pleased.  She wasn't feeling well and really wanted to take a day off, but doesn't like to get just anyone to cover her class.  Someone had told her that I was in the school that day and she told Jan, the deputy principal, that she would only take me to cover her class.  That made me feel really good. :-)

So, on Wednesday, I went into Kawungan to teach Luise's class and they are a beautiful group of children.  Luise had left a ton of work to do and so we just kept going and going all day.  The children listened well when I was talking with them and worked well when I sent them back to their desks.  They are a bit chatty, but I can't say much about that since I was a chatty student when I was young (Jennifer, you come by it honestly ). :-)  I told the students that I didn't mind if they talked as long as they worked at the same time.  I had a wonderful day and hope that Luise has to take more days off this year - I can't wait to work with her class again!

I was pleased not to be called on Thursday or Friday as I had a lot of stuff that I needed to get done at home.  I spent most of my time working on Primary stuff, my Mother's Day talk and my application to teach permanently or for a longer period than half a year.  There just seems to be a lot on my plate right now, so it was great to have the time to work on things.  I was able to get my Primary stuff done, my talk basically done (I'm going on to my third draft) and started my 'Personal Statement' for my teacher application.  The personal statement can be no more than 500 words (it's at 1,000 words right now) which talks about my beliefs as a teacher and also how I incorporate different things into my classroom.  I will be working on all those things again this week, so hopefully I won't get called in to teach too much. 

Dad spent his week working on a few things.  He spent a couple of days working on our old digital camera.  He has decided to take up the hobby of photography - he has wanted to do this for many years, but hasn't really had the time to put into it - he has now.  Dad tried to turn the camera on, but it wouldn't do it.  The camera is old and, as Dad researched about it on the net, he found out that it would cost too much to have someone else fix it compared to the cost of buying a new one.  So, he took it apart to see if he could fix it and then tried to put it back together.  He found out what the problem was with it, but it would cost too much to fix it.  So, he spent some time researching other cameras of the same model (used)  so that he could buy one and use parts from both cameras to make one good camera.  I told him that I thought that he should just buy a new camera, but he's not sure he wants to put out that kind of money at this point.  The rest of the week, Dad did a bunch of things around the house - there always seems to be tons of stuff to do around here.

On Saturday, I left Dad at home to piddle around some more and I went out to lunch with my Primary counsellors, Maureen and Debbie, and Denise, who was just released as our secretary.  We drove over to Maryborough (where Debbie lives) and went to a chinese food restaurant.  The food was quite yummy, but even better was the chance to hang out with my friends for a few hours - chatting and eating and then stickybeaking around in a knick knack store which Maureen wanted to go to.  Dad and I were invited to Trudy and Peter's place (friends from church) for dinner that night (so I got to eat out twice on Saturday - nice, eh? :-)  Trudy cooked us a yummy roast chicken and vegetable meal and we enjoyed getting to know Trudy and Peter better (as well as Trudy's mom who was visiting - she used to be in our ward and I was her visiting teacher then).

Our Sunday, as always, was wonderful.  Caleb, who just returned from his mission from Taiwan, spoke to us about the atonement and then we had the high council speaker speak to us.  Primary was as busy as always, but I did get through it.  I gave the lesson to our one little nursery boy, then gave a short talk to the Primary children as well as gave the Sharing Time lesson.  After church, Dad went to choir practice and I had a meeting with my Primary counsellors.  After my meeting, Talia (our only young woman in our ward) asked me if I would talk at a fireside the youth are having on Tuesday night.  She told me that she knew it was really short notice, but that it would only have to be 5 - 10 minutes.  She is such a sweet girl that I said that I would do it (she was quite relieved as my name was already on the program :-)  So, I spent this afternoon working on that talk.  While I was preparing that, Tammy (one of the R.S. counsellors) called me to ask if I would lead a workshop on the 19th of May.  I told her that if it was at any other time, I would willingly take it on, but with all that was on my plate right now, it would be just too much right now.  She totally understood once I explained to her all that I was doing in the month of May.  I felt a little bad, but I know that it would just be way too stressful to take on anything else at this point.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Well, I am sad to say that our vacation is over - well, mine is anyway - school starts again tomorrow.  I was planning on doing some school work during the week, but I didn't get to it until Friday. :-)  It was just so nice to be able to relax that we kept on doing it. :-) 

On Monday, my friend, Robyn and I went visiting teaching together so we had a lovely time chatting with our friends and leaving them a message about Easter.  On Tuesday, Dad and I met up with Robyn and Geoff for lunch at the Kondari Hotel (where my friend, Denise, took me for lunch last week) and  we had a delicious roast pork dinner with orange cake for dessert (including a salad bar and all for $8.90).  It was really nice to go out and spend more time chatting with our friends.  After lunch, we went out back of the hotel to see the turtles in the pond out there.  We spent a while just enjoying being outside near the water and in the lovely warm sun. :-)  After that, Dad and I went down to the beach for a walk along the water - it was a perfect day for doing that.  We went back to the beach on Wednesday morning hoping to enjoy the morning on the beach.  We were there for about half an hour (reading and doing puzzles) when we decided to go for a swim in the ocean.  Just then, it began to rain (rats!), so we had to pack everything up and come home. :-(

On Thursday, Dad and I did Meals on Wheels and things went much more smoothly this week compared to last week.  The people are so appreciative of us bringing them their meals and it's so nice to do this for them.  We spent the afternoon doing home teaching and visiting teaching and in the evening, Dad went to his SES meeting and I worked on my talk which is going to be on Mother's Day.  Friday, Dad went to the Family History Centre and I went and had a spa pedicure and manicure with Robyn.  I had received a gift card from two of my students at the end of the year last year for our grocery store.  I told Dad that I was going to use the money from that to do something for myself and a pedi/mani was my choice (I did have to put in a little bit more money to pay for it :-)  It was so amazing to be spoiled for an hour - I chose a rust coloured nail polish (pics underneath the blog) - and I can't wait to do it again (likely in another year or so :-).  When I got home from that, I worked on school stuff, getting ready for tomorrow (my first day at my new contract in Kindergarten).  I am sure that I have way too much stuff, but since the teacher wasn't really sure about what she wanted me to do, I figured I would get tons of stuff organized and then see what she wants me to do from that and then I will know better next week what to get organized.

On Saturday, it was great to talk with and see all my beautiful grandchildren (oh yeah, and you girls - .  Dad had to go and do recertification with the SES - it was about providing basic emergency life support which includes performing CPR - you have to recertify every year for this.  Dad said that there were about 15 people there and the fellow who taught it is a doctor and a member of the SES, so he volunteers his time to do this refresher training.  Dad said that he found the training an excellent refresher of the emergency skills.  While he was doing that, I worked more on school stuff.  At 5pm, our friends, Geoff and Robyn and Alistair and Haidi came over to our house for dinner.  I didn't time things very well and so we didn't eat until 6:30pm, but that just gave us time to talk while we waited.  We had a roast chicken dinner with mud cake and ice-cream for dessert and had a wonderful time eating and chatting with our friends. 

Today was Conference Day at church - General Conference was actually on March 31st/April 1st, but because of the time difference between here and North America, we usually download the Conference from the internet and watch it the following Saturday/Sunday.  But, this year, Easter was the following weekend and so we watched Conference this weekend.  It was wonderful to listen to all the talks and especially to hear our prophet speak to us - it was a very uplifting Sunday for us. :-)