Last night, we went to Santini's for our anniversary. We were the first people for dinner - they don't open until 5:30pm - but, by the time we were done, the place was one third full. We started off with a delicious garden salad with a light oil/balsamic dressing. The waitress then brought us our main meals: Dad had beef tortellini with a bolognese sauce and I had curly green fettucine with chicken pesto sauce and we shared an order of garlic bread. They had two sizes of the main meal: entree (smaller) and main (regular size) - Dad and I decided to go with the entree size and it was quite enough. Both Dad's and my meal were totally delicious! We enjoyed all parts of our meal and ate slowly so we really relished the food. :-)
When we were done, we went to see if The Cheesecake Shop was still open (it was) and we bought a small pavlova for dessert. I couldn't wait for us to get home so I could eat a slice. It was soooooooooooo yummy - with strawberries, peaches, pears and kiwis on top - and the cream.......mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Dad and I only ate one third of it last night, so we can enjoy another slice tonight and one tomorrow night. What a lovely treat! :-)
The past two days have been quite good, both at school for me and for Dad. I have been mostly working with the 'low' children at school - Chantelle has a handle on the class and hasn't needed me to handle either Ryley or Travis (although I have spoken with both of them a few times over the past two days, but mostly in passing and it seemed to be enough to settle them down). It's been nice to be able to work with the children who need me the most, although both Taleighya and Hayley have needed speaking to - Taleighya about doing her best work and Hayley about acting her age. I made the mistake of telling Taleighya yesterday that she would stay in for recess if she didn't get her work done - she didn't care as she doesn't particularly like going out for recess since she doesn't have any friends. I told her today to go back to the classroom since she wasn't working and sent her work with her. After a while, I guess she figured that she wasn't going to get my help and so she got to work and completed the task I had given her. When she came out to show me, I praised her for getting the work done and talked with her about the importance of always doing her best. The next task assigned to her, she got right down to work.
I stopped by Bronwyn's house yesterday after school to set up a time to meet with her and tell her what's been going on at school. While I was there, she gave me a beautiful glass necklace she bought in Venice. It's very colourful and it will go with many of my tops. I thought that was very thoughtful of her. She also told me that Leanne, our VP, told her that she was very pleased with the way I have taken over the teacher role in the classroom - she told Bronwyn that everything had been very seamless going from Bronwyn to me. Bronwyn also told me how pleased she had been that I had been able to take over the class - it was so stress-free for her knowing that I knew the kids and that I knew what was going on in the classroom. I was really happy to hear that Leanne was pleased with my teaching - hopefully, that will lead to more jobs in the future. I am going in to speak with her tomorrow about how the hiring process works in Hervey Bay.
Bronwyn came into the school today to see how things were going and to get a report of where we were up to in our teaching. We sat with her for about two hours and caught her up on what's been happening in the classroom while she has been gallivanting around Europe. She seemed pleased with what she saw happening in the classroom and with what we told her. I told her that Chantelle has been doing the majority of the teaching and so she, Bronwyn, could do some one-on-one assessment when she came back - she seemed really pleased about that.
I feel a little sad that it's all coming to an end - although it's been challenging at times, I really do love being a teacher and helping children learn. I love watching them take in what I am teaching them and then them showing me what they have learned in different ways. I love integrating my lessons over various subject areas - I haven't done as much as I would have done in my own class, but it's still been a really good experience for me. Bronwyn told me that there is a grade one teacher who is planning on taking long service leave next year and that I should go and talk with her and let her know that I would be available to cover her if she would like. She might have someone in mind already, but I figure it won't hurt to go and speak with her, so I will do that tomorrow. I will be spending some time next week going into Bronwyn's class to finish up some work with some of the students so that Bronwyn doesn't have to worry about it. And Tracey, another grade two teacher, has asked me to come in and cover for her for the afternoon on Tuesday. But, sometime this week, I plan on having one completely lazy day including a really good sleep-in. :-)
October 19, 2010
Happy Anniversary to us! :-) We both had a really good day today - me at school and Dad running around like a little chicken with his head cut off. :-)
All of our students were here at school today, but maybe the extra day off made a difference because all of the 'challenge' children were manageable today. Ryley even earned three stamps today (one for each session) which really pleased all of us. I worked a little with Travis today and he seemed pleased with the little bit of time I could give him. I spent most of the day working with small groups or one on one with students. It is so nice having two teachers to twenty students - too bad we couldn't have it like this all the time.
I went into talk with Leanne, the VP, today to see if there were any other contract positions coming up beginning next week and she said that she didn't know of any. She told me that they were very pleased that I could work for them for the past five weeks and asked me if I had enjoyed myself. I told her that 'most' of it had been enjoyable. :-) For the next three weeks, I will just see if I get any supply teaching jobs - if not, that's fine, too - I won't mind having some downtime. :-)
During the day, Dad cleaned the house, did a little grocery shopping, did a couple of errands, mowed and trimmed the lawn and got dinner/dessert ready early. Phew!
After school, Dad and I took a 6km bike ride around the area we live in. We even rode into the Anglican College to see if the kangaroos feeding on the grass there would hop away if we came near them. There were about ten of them on the grassy area of the school when we started riding up towards them - as we got closer, half a dozen of them hopped away, but four of them just stood there and stared at us as we stood there. It was so cool to be so close to them - next time we go for a ride, we are going to take our camera with us to get some photos of them - we will post some on here when we do that.
We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight - it seems that Tuesday nights have become our 'usual' night to have them over. We made tacos for them (well, Dad made them) and they really like them, as did we. We made them a white cake with chocolate icing for dessert (well, Dad made it) which they also liked (and took the rest home - Elder Lock said he was going to eat it for breakfast :-)
We will celebrate our anniversary tomorrow by going out to dinner to an Italian restaurant here in town - we are really looking forward to it! AND, we are NOT going to count the calories from the virgin pina coladas or the pavlova which we eat tomorrow.
All of our students were here at school today, but maybe the extra day off made a difference because all of the 'challenge' children were manageable today. Ryley even earned three stamps today (one for each session) which really pleased all of us. I worked a little with Travis today and he seemed pleased with the little bit of time I could give him. I spent most of the day working with small groups or one on one with students. It is so nice having two teachers to twenty students - too bad we couldn't have it like this all the time.
I went into talk with Leanne, the VP, today to see if there were any other contract positions coming up beginning next week and she said that she didn't know of any. She told me that they were very pleased that I could work for them for the past five weeks and asked me if I had enjoyed myself. I told her that 'most' of it had been enjoyable. :-) For the next three weeks, I will just see if I get any supply teaching jobs - if not, that's fine, too - I won't mind having some downtime. :-)
During the day, Dad cleaned the house, did a little grocery shopping, did a couple of errands, mowed and trimmed the lawn and got dinner/dessert ready early. Phew!
After school, Dad and I took a 6km bike ride around the area we live in. We even rode into the Anglican College to see if the kangaroos feeding on the grass there would hop away if we came near them. There were about ten of them on the grassy area of the school when we started riding up towards them - as we got closer, half a dozen of them hopped away, but four of them just stood there and stared at us as we stood there. It was so cool to be so close to them - next time we go for a ride, we are going to take our camera with us to get some photos of them - we will post some on here when we do that.
We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight - it seems that Tuesday nights have become our 'usual' night to have them over. We made tacos for them (well, Dad made them) and they really like them, as did we. We made them a white cake with chocolate icing for dessert (well, Dad made it) which they also liked (and took the rest home - Elder Lock said he was going to eat it for breakfast :-)
We will celebrate our anniversary tomorrow by going out to dinner to an Italian restaurant here in town - we are really looking forward to it! AND, we are NOT going to count the calories from the virgin pina coladas or the pavlova which we eat tomorrow.
October 18, 2010
Wow, it's been a few days, eh? Not much has been happening, but I will fill you in on what's been going on here in beautiful Hervey Bay (and I promise to write more often from now on). :-) Friday was a really good day at school - would you believe it, five students were absent and four of them are my challenge children - Ryley, Travis, Sean and Kurtis were all away. Sean and Kurtis just whine a lot and won't 'give it a go' (an Aussie saying meaning 'give it a try') and that's annoying, but they aren't behaviour problems like Ryley and Travis. But, having those four away made our classroom so much nicer to be in. When I saw them away, I actually wanted to do some teaching, rather than letting Chantelle do it all.
Our weekend was full of relaxing - well, my weekend was. :-) Dad spent Saturday with his SES friends. They were doing parking control in a small town about half an hour from Hervey Bay. It was a day of activities to raise money for the local athletic programs (eg: recreation centre) - there were markets, food tents/stalls, horse races, games, kids' play areas, auctions, etc. Dad spent about 7 hours there and only came back at 3pm because the local SES leader called them back because there were callouts going on here in Hervey Bay (big storm from the previous night so there were fallen trees all over the place) and she wanted a back-up team in case they were needed (fortunately, they weren't needed).
I was going to spend part of the day cleaning, but when I looked outside and saw a blue sky and the sun shining, I had to make a choice. Let's see: inside and cleaning or outside reading - it was a hard choice (yeah, right! :-) NO, I DID NOT CHOOSE TO CLEAN. :-) It was a glorious day and I enjoyed being out there in the sun and fresh air - it really is a beautiful place to live here.
Saturday night was spent relaxing in front of the tv. We have found a show over here called 'Air Crash Investigations' which we enjoy watching (Dad especially) and I love watching a show called 'The Bill' (a British show) and so that took up our evening. Dad also found time to work on his talk for next week's missionary fireside - he is doing it on the authority and organization of the church.
Sunday - another relaxing day - was spent at church (we had a practice for the Primary presentation which is next week). When we got home, we had lunch outside and we spent the rest of the day outside relaxing. Dad worked on his talk for a while and I read some magazines. I have attached some photos of the beautiful day that it was.
Today, Dad spent the day at the Family History Centre - pretty routine, he says. For me, it was a Pupil Free Day (which means no kids - yay :-) We spent most of the day doing team planning - not that interesting for me since I am not part of the team on a full-time basis, but very good for the team as a number of questions were answered and some assessment tests created. There are a lot of expectations of the teachers here and more seems to be being heaped upon them. I know that I don't want to teach full-time here. I am going to go into the Anglican College next week to see if they need any supply teachers. I am also going to talk with the VP at Kawungan to see if there are any other contract positions coming up in the next three weeks and/or at the beginning of the new school year at the end of January 2011.
Dad and I have decided to plan ahead of time what exercise we will do each night and so we went for a good brisk walk today. Tomorrow, we will do our strength exercises and also hopefully go for a bike ride. We have both hit plateaus in our weight loss and I think that it has to do with not being consistent with our exercising. I thought that since writing down our menus works for our eating plan, that if we wrote down our exercise plan, we might be more likely to do it. Wish us luck! :-)
Our weekend was full of relaxing - well, my weekend was. :-) Dad spent Saturday with his SES friends. They were doing parking control in a small town about half an hour from Hervey Bay. It was a day of activities to raise money for the local athletic programs (eg: recreation centre) - there were markets, food tents/stalls, horse races, games, kids' play areas, auctions, etc. Dad spent about 7 hours there and only came back at 3pm because the local SES leader called them back because there were callouts going on here in Hervey Bay (big storm from the previous night so there were fallen trees all over the place) and she wanted a back-up team in case they were needed (fortunately, they weren't needed).
I was going to spend part of the day cleaning, but when I looked outside and saw a blue sky and the sun shining, I had to make a choice. Let's see: inside and cleaning or outside reading - it was a hard choice (yeah, right! :-) NO, I DID NOT CHOOSE TO CLEAN. :-) It was a glorious day and I enjoyed being out there in the sun and fresh air - it really is a beautiful place to live here.
Saturday night was spent relaxing in front of the tv. We have found a show over here called 'Air Crash Investigations' which we enjoy watching (Dad especially) and I love watching a show called 'The Bill' (a British show) and so that took up our evening. Dad also found time to work on his talk for next week's missionary fireside - he is doing it on the authority and organization of the church.
Sunday - another relaxing day - was spent at church (we had a practice for the Primary presentation which is next week). When we got home, we had lunch outside and we spent the rest of the day outside relaxing. Dad worked on his talk for a while and I read some magazines. I have attached some photos of the beautiful day that it was.
Today, Dad spent the day at the Family History Centre - pretty routine, he says. For me, it was a Pupil Free Day (which means no kids - yay :-) We spent most of the day doing team planning - not that interesting for me since I am not part of the team on a full-time basis, but very good for the team as a number of questions were answered and some assessment tests created. There are a lot of expectations of the teachers here and more seems to be being heaped upon them. I know that I don't want to teach full-time here. I am going to go into the Anglican College next week to see if they need any supply teachers. I am also going to talk with the VP at Kawungan to see if there are any other contract positions coming up in the next three weeks and/or at the beginning of the new school year at the end of January 2011.
Dad and I have decided to plan ahead of time what exercise we will do each night and so we went for a good brisk walk today. Tomorrow, we will do our strength exercises and also hopefully go for a bike ride. We have both hit plateaus in our weight loss and I think that it has to do with not being consistent with our exercising. I thought that since writing down our menus works for our eating plan, that if we wrote down our exercise plan, we might be more likely to do it. Wish us luck! :-)
This is the view from my chair which was on the grass - I was enjoying the warm sun.
Dad sitting on the patio working on his talk for next week.
The view out the side of our backyard.
The incredibly beautiful blue sky!
The sun shining over the fence of our backyard.
October 14, 2010
Just a preamble to this blog entry - I am ranting about two kids at school - just a warning! :-)
Two very different days - Wednesday and Thursday - different in name and different at school this week. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a horrible day - today was much better. I am very tired (frustrated, worn out) and Dad said today that maybe I'm meant to stay part-time rather than going full-time. Not that I was thinking of going that way (full-time).
I am not doing much 'teaching' these days as Chantelle wants to do most of it so that she can get a good handle on what it's going to be like for her when she gets her own classroom. I have been spending most of my time either doing paperwork or marking or doing things with kids one-on-one. I have spent some time the last couple of days photocopying things for Travis - the little boy in the class who is 8 years old, but acts more like five (academically, as well). Just to give you an idea about how he acts - he told me today that he has no friends - that's because he acts so immaturely that none of the boys in the class want to play with him.
Anyway, back to yesterday............Ryley had issues in the first session (so no stamp) and then did fine in the middle session (mostly taken up by swimming lessons) and then messed up during the third session. He was acting so immaturely that he was huddled up on the floor - I asked him to pick himself up and do whatever he was asked to do at that time - he continued to lay on the floor and so I picked him up and put him outside the classroom and told him that he could stay out there until he could act like a grade two child. He took off outside and, after telling Chantelle that I was going to go to talk with the V.P. about him, I started heading off to the office. Ryley was just outside the portable door (which is where I knew he would be) and I walked right past him pretending that I didn't see him. He called out to me and I told him that I knew where he was, but that I didn't have any idea what to do with him anymore and asked him what his thoughts were. I guess he was a bit shocked that I wasn't going to give him a lot of my attention and after a quick chat, he came back inside and settled down. I did tell him later that, although I couldn't give him a stamp for that session, I was proud of him for coming in pretty quickly once we started talking.
THEN, Adam told me that he, Caitlin, and Jeshua had received 20 stamps for their booklet and wanted to know what their prize was going to be. I told him that I don't do 'treasure boxes' (not something I believe in), but that I would give them half an hour of free computer time. Travis, who has about nine stamps, all of a sudden had a temper tantrum (luckily not with kicking and screaming). He would not follow instructions and just kept saying he wanted to go on the computer. I asked him to sit down and he wouldn't (so frustrating having to deal with defiant children when I have never had to deal with it before in my 14 years of teaching)! After trying a few things (none of which worked), I thought that maybe it would make a difference if he had to go and tell his mother that he was not listening. Guess what? He just stood there in front of his mom and wouldn't tell his mother what was going on even with prodding from me and her. He just stood there with this smirk on his face (I think he was loving all the attention). That just annoyed me even more! THEN, his mom said if he went back into the classroom and did what he was supposed to do, she would have a surprise for him when he came out (that annoyed me even more!). I told him, when we got back inside, that if he ever had another tantrum, I would take a stamp away from him - he was a bit shocked about that.
Between the two of those boys, I was just worn out - it takes so much energy to deal with children who are like this. And, having not had any experience with children like this, it's taking it's toll on me as I learn strategies to help them learn to make good decisions with regards to their behaviour - it's very mentally draining. I'm not sure I'm cut out for teaching at this school. Well, that's what I was thinking yesterday.
Today, things were much better. Ryley actually had two good sessions (and the third session, he only acted up near the end of it). The thing is that he knows, when I ask him how he did, when he has 'messed up' - so, although he might whine a little, he understands why I can't give him a stamp for that session. Travis was back to his usual self - he had a good day - I told mom that - she must have told him that if he had a good day, she would make him something as he asked for it (I couldn't understand what he was saying as he has speech problems) and she told him that she had made biscuits (cookies) for him. I would rather he 'behave' because of respect for the teacher, but I guess I can't complain too much if it works in the classroom. He is away tomorrow, so I am hopeful, it will be another good day!
Okay, I think that I have vented enough - sorry girls. :-)
After school today, I was so tired, I didn't even have the energy to go for a walk. So, Dad and I just sat in our family room and read the newspaper with the tv on in the background. After about an hour, we had a game of 'Loser Crib' and, while we were doing that, I looked outside and said to Dad that we should be outside in this beautiful weather rather than inside - we could even have had our dinner outside. We really need to get a nice outdoor set - including a nice chaise lounge that we can laze on while we read and enjoy the beautiful outdoors in this beautiful country. Now, that sounds relaxing! :-)
Two very different days - Wednesday and Thursday - different in name and different at school this week. Yesterday (Wednesday) was a horrible day - today was much better. I am very tired (frustrated, worn out) and Dad said today that maybe I'm meant to stay part-time rather than going full-time. Not that I was thinking of going that way (full-time).
I am not doing much 'teaching' these days as Chantelle wants to do most of it so that she can get a good handle on what it's going to be like for her when she gets her own classroom. I have been spending most of my time either doing paperwork or marking or doing things with kids one-on-one. I have spent some time the last couple of days photocopying things for Travis - the little boy in the class who is 8 years old, but acts more like five (academically, as well). Just to give you an idea about how he acts - he told me today that he has no friends - that's because he acts so immaturely that none of the boys in the class want to play with him.
Anyway, back to yesterday............Ryley had issues in the first session (so no stamp) and then did fine in the middle session (mostly taken up by swimming lessons) and then messed up during the third session. He was acting so immaturely that he was huddled up on the floor - I asked him to pick himself up and do whatever he was asked to do at that time - he continued to lay on the floor and so I picked him up and put him outside the classroom and told him that he could stay out there until he could act like a grade two child. He took off outside and, after telling Chantelle that I was going to go to talk with the V.P. about him, I started heading off to the office. Ryley was just outside the portable door (which is where I knew he would be) and I walked right past him pretending that I didn't see him. He called out to me and I told him that I knew where he was, but that I didn't have any idea what to do with him anymore and asked him what his thoughts were. I guess he was a bit shocked that I wasn't going to give him a lot of my attention and after a quick chat, he came back inside and settled down. I did tell him later that, although I couldn't give him a stamp for that session, I was proud of him for coming in pretty quickly once we started talking.
THEN, Adam told me that he, Caitlin, and Jeshua had received 20 stamps for their booklet and wanted to know what their prize was going to be. I told him that I don't do 'treasure boxes' (not something I believe in), but that I would give them half an hour of free computer time. Travis, who has about nine stamps, all of a sudden had a temper tantrum (luckily not with kicking and screaming). He would not follow instructions and just kept saying he wanted to go on the computer. I asked him to sit down and he wouldn't (so frustrating having to deal with defiant children when I have never had to deal with it before in my 14 years of teaching)! After trying a few things (none of which worked), I thought that maybe it would make a difference if he had to go and tell his mother that he was not listening. Guess what? He just stood there in front of his mom and wouldn't tell his mother what was going on even with prodding from me and her. He just stood there with this smirk on his face (I think he was loving all the attention). That just annoyed me even more! THEN, his mom said if he went back into the classroom and did what he was supposed to do, she would have a surprise for him when he came out (that annoyed me even more!). I told him, when we got back inside, that if he ever had another tantrum, I would take a stamp away from him - he was a bit shocked about that.
Between the two of those boys, I was just worn out - it takes so much energy to deal with children who are like this. And, having not had any experience with children like this, it's taking it's toll on me as I learn strategies to help them learn to make good decisions with regards to their behaviour - it's very mentally draining. I'm not sure I'm cut out for teaching at this school. Well, that's what I was thinking yesterday.
Today, things were much better. Ryley actually had two good sessions (and the third session, he only acted up near the end of it). The thing is that he knows, when I ask him how he did, when he has 'messed up' - so, although he might whine a little, he understands why I can't give him a stamp for that session. Travis was back to his usual self - he had a good day - I told mom that - she must have told him that if he had a good day, she would make him something as he asked for it (I couldn't understand what he was saying as he has speech problems) and she told him that she had made biscuits (cookies) for him. I would rather he 'behave' because of respect for the teacher, but I guess I can't complain too much if it works in the classroom. He is away tomorrow, so I am hopeful, it will be another good day!
Okay, I think that I have vented enough - sorry girls. :-)
After school today, I was so tired, I didn't even have the energy to go for a walk. So, Dad and I just sat in our family room and read the newspaper with the tv on in the background. After about an hour, we had a game of 'Loser Crib' and, while we were doing that, I looked outside and said to Dad that we should be outside in this beautiful weather rather than inside - we could even have had our dinner outside. We really need to get a nice outdoor set - including a nice chaise lounge that we can laze on while we read and enjoy the beautiful outdoors in this beautiful country. Now, that sounds relaxing! :-)
October 12, 2010
It was great to talk with you guys this morning - I'm just sorry we couldn't see anyone - our internet connection is sometimes sporadic, but it's so expensive to go to any faster speed, so we have to make do with this one. It sounds like your Thanksgiving was lovely - I'm looking forward to having some turkey when we get back to Canada.
Yesterday was a really good day at school - I was worried about Travis after last Friday - when I got to school, I saw Travis and had a chat with him about his behaviour on that day and he assured me that it would not happen again - and it hasn't for the past two days. I also spoke with a kindergarten teacher and a grade one teacher and got some work from them which I can photocopy out for Travis. For the past two days, I have worked on some math and language tasks with him at his level. I even gave him a different spelling list for this week - the first list of words probably at a beginning grade one level - and he got four out of five which made him feel good - hopefully, being able to do work at his own level will allow him to feel some success.
Chantelle, my student teacher, is finding that she is really tired and we were talking about why that is today - she decided that it's because, since she was last teaching in the class a couple of months ago, Ryley and Travis have moved into our class and both have so many issues that they have upset the applecart, so to speak. It's amazing how a couple of kids can really change the dynamics in a classroom. We had a big discussion today at recess as to why there are so many issues with these kids at this school. We had a really interesting conversation coming up with a variety of reasons, mostly to do with economics and lack of respect for education/teachers.
We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight - had shepherd's pie for dinner (a new recipe and our favourite so far for this meal) and played a game of cribbage (which Elder Wong and I let Dad and Elder Lock win - again :-)
Oh yeah - yesterday on the way to school, we were driving along and all of a sudden a kangaroo and its joey hopped across the road right in front of us. It surprised us, but it was so cool to see - especially seeing the joey cuz it's rare to see one that is so young. Dad said on the way back home, he had one kangaroo hop in front of him up the road and then when he got closer to where that kangaroo had crossed the road, two more crossed in front of him, and one of them was almost on top of the hood. Today, when he was picking up the missionaries to come to our place for dinner, he pointed out a number of kangaroos which were in the field of the private school near our house - they are often grazing on the grass there around 5pm. Just as Dad was slowing down to let the missionaries see the kangaroos, he noticed a mother and it's joey on the other side of the road. I love this country. :-)
Yesterday was a really good day at school - I was worried about Travis after last Friday - when I got to school, I saw Travis and had a chat with him about his behaviour on that day and he assured me that it would not happen again - and it hasn't for the past two days. I also spoke with a kindergarten teacher and a grade one teacher and got some work from them which I can photocopy out for Travis. For the past two days, I have worked on some math and language tasks with him at his level. I even gave him a different spelling list for this week - the first list of words probably at a beginning grade one level - and he got four out of five which made him feel good - hopefully, being able to do work at his own level will allow him to feel some success.
Chantelle, my student teacher, is finding that she is really tired and we were talking about why that is today - she decided that it's because, since she was last teaching in the class a couple of months ago, Ryley and Travis have moved into our class and both have so many issues that they have upset the applecart, so to speak. It's amazing how a couple of kids can really change the dynamics in a classroom. We had a big discussion today at recess as to why there are so many issues with these kids at this school. We had a really interesting conversation coming up with a variety of reasons, mostly to do with economics and lack of respect for education/teachers.
We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight - had shepherd's pie for dinner (a new recipe and our favourite so far for this meal) and played a game of cribbage (which Elder Wong and I let Dad and Elder Lock win - again :-)
Oh yeah - yesterday on the way to school, we were driving along and all of a sudden a kangaroo and its joey hopped across the road right in front of us. It surprised us, but it was so cool to see - especially seeing the joey cuz it's rare to see one that is so young. Dad said on the way back home, he had one kangaroo hop in front of him up the road and then when he got closer to where that kangaroo had crossed the road, two more crossed in front of him, and one of them was almost on top of the hood. Today, when he was picking up the missionaries to come to our place for dinner, he pointed out a number of kangaroos which were in the field of the private school near our house - they are often grazing on the grass there around 5pm. Just as Dad was slowing down to let the missionaries see the kangaroos, he noticed a mother and it's joey on the other side of the road. I love this country. :-)
October 10, 2010
The Sabbath day - a lovely restful day - definitely my favourite day of the week! :-)
Today was General Conference Sunday and we spent 4 1/2 hours at church. The way they do it here is that we watch the first session from 9am - 11am and then eat snacks/lunch for half an hour and then watch the second session from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Here are a few snippets which spoke to me as we listened:
Henry B. Eyring
- we need to be content with the things the Lord has given unto us
- you have a lack of faith if you do not trust God
Boyd K. Packer
- the Lord votes on one side, Satan votes on the other - it's your vote that counts
Mary N. Cook
- do not do anything you would not want your children to do
- be an example of faith: read the scriptures, pray - especially to your children
- the scriptures safely guide us on the path to eternal life
Dallin H. Oaks
- there are 2 lines of communication with God: personal (prayer) and priesthood (prophetic leadership)
- the Holy Ghost is the means of communication from God to us
- we all need a personal testimony of truth
President Thomas S. Monson
- it's important to express gratitude
- remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive
- don't grieve for what you don't have, rejoice for what you have
- cultivate in your hearts an attitude of gratitude
David A. Bednar
- the church is true because it is the Lord's church
- the Holy Ghost will teach you what to do and where to go
- follow the Spirit of the Lord and you will go right
Larry R. Lawrence
- parents are responsible for the physical and spiritual protection of their children
- parenting is not a popularity contest
- always be prayerful when it comes to protecting your precious children
- follow these 5 righteous patterns: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinners, one on one interviews with your children
Mervyn B. Arnold
- give love, time, testimony of the gospel, set example to work hard, be honest, pay your tithing, go on a mission, get married in the Temple, endure to the end
- we are free to choose, but not free to choose the consequences of our actions
- commandments are not given to restrict us, but to bless us and protect us
M. Russell Ballard
- he spoke of being 'in bondage' to addictions and that through fervent prayer you can find a way out of bondage
- express faith in Heavenly Father by asking Him for help in overcoming any addiction
- Philip 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
President Thomas S. Monson
- obeying the commandments brings safety and peace
- in your homes should be love, kindness, courtesy and the Spirit of the Lord
Dad and I were very uplifted by the messages which we heard during the past two days from the various speakers in Conference. We look forward to receiving the November Ensign and being able to read the messages which were given yesterday and today.
Today was General Conference Sunday and we spent 4 1/2 hours at church. The way they do it here is that we watch the first session from 9am - 11am and then eat snacks/lunch for half an hour and then watch the second session from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Here are a few snippets which spoke to me as we listened:
Henry B. Eyring
- we need to be content with the things the Lord has given unto us
- you have a lack of faith if you do not trust God
Boyd K. Packer
- the Lord votes on one side, Satan votes on the other - it's your vote that counts
Mary N. Cook
- do not do anything you would not want your children to do
- be an example of faith: read the scriptures, pray - especially to your children
- the scriptures safely guide us on the path to eternal life
Dallin H. Oaks
- there are 2 lines of communication with God: personal (prayer) and priesthood (prophetic leadership)
- the Holy Ghost is the means of communication from God to us
- we all need a personal testimony of truth
President Thomas S. Monson
- it's important to express gratitude
- remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive
- don't grieve for what you don't have, rejoice for what you have
- cultivate in your hearts an attitude of gratitude
David A. Bednar
- the church is true because it is the Lord's church
- the Holy Ghost will teach you what to do and where to go
- follow the Spirit of the Lord and you will go right
Larry R. Lawrence
- parents are responsible for the physical and spiritual protection of their children
- parenting is not a popularity contest
- always be prayerful when it comes to protecting your precious children
- follow these 5 righteous patterns: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinners, one on one interviews with your children
Mervyn B. Arnold
- give love, time, testimony of the gospel, set example to work hard, be honest, pay your tithing, go on a mission, get married in the Temple, endure to the end
- we are free to choose, but not free to choose the consequences of our actions
- commandments are not given to restrict us, but to bless us and protect us
M. Russell Ballard
- he spoke of being 'in bondage' to addictions and that through fervent prayer you can find a way out of bondage
- express faith in Heavenly Father by asking Him for help in overcoming any addiction
- Philip 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
President Thomas S. Monson
- obeying the commandments brings safety and peace
- in your homes should be love, kindness, courtesy and the Spirit of the Lord
Dad and I were very uplifted by the messages which we heard during the past two days from the various speakers in Conference. We look forward to receiving the November Ensign and being able to read the messages which were given yesterday and today.
October 9, 2010
I was very tired when I woke up today - I couldn't get to sleep until 2am last night. Let me have some venting time if you don't mind. Grrr. Yesterday was not a good day at school and I even thought for a minute that I would like to go back to Canada and teach my little lovelies at R.J. Lee. They were such great students (in general) - respectful towards me - and the parents respected me as well. It's so different here with some of these kids - let me fill you in on what happened yesterday to make me think I should look into teaching at the Anglican College (private school about three minutes from our house).
Travis is a new student to our class - he started a couple of weeks before I began my contract teaching job. He is very immature - acts more like a three year old - and he is intellectually low - more like a kindergarten aged child. He seeks attention - he loves to help, but does it mostly at inappropriate times. He has always been compliant up 'til yesterday. He just lost it - there are a number of thoughts why, but I think the most likely is that he was having a tantrum and the way he showed it was to go completely against what I was asking him to do: he was playing with something while I was talking with the class at the carpet. When I took it off him and asked him to stop, he picked it up again. When I asked him to go to his desk, he refused. When I took him by the hand and led him back to his desk and told him to stay, he got up right away and followed me back to the carpet. When I went toward him again, he just ran away. By this time, I had had it and just left him and thought I would deal with him after the class was sent back to their desk. To make a long story a little shorter, when I went to take him to the vice princpal's office, he ran away from me and I wasn't going to chase him. I went to the VP and told her what had happened and she said that she would find him and keep him in her office for the rest of the day.
I was up 'til 2am with all this going around and around in my head. I have never in all my teaching years had any student be defiant and now I had two in three weeks. It's very draining and I do not like it at all. I have been thinking about it since yesterday - and I can feel my blood pressure rising as I am typing this - and I have come to some conclusions as to why this would be happening in my classroom when it's never happened before when I was teaching at R.J. Lee. The children at R.J. Lee came from families who were either in the middle socio-economic class or whose parents lived in a house with more than one family in a really nice area of town. The students' parents were very respectful of teachers and passed that onto the kids. The parents were very hardworking people and had a very good work ethic. Because the parents worked so hard, the grandparents often took care of the children before and after sdhool and often the grandparents let them do whatever they wanted, but when it came time to listening to the teacher, it was expected that they would show that respect. Now, I am generalizing of course, but for the most part, that's the way it was. Now to the parents of this school - again, I am generalizing, but it will give you some idea of what I am dealing with. A number of the parents of the students in this school are 'on the dole' meaning they are on unemployment and since you can stay on it for life here in Australia, they pretty much do. The respect is not there from the kids (for the teachers) and the parents let their children do what they want (or don't have consequences for inappropriate behaviour) - I even had one parent ask me to tell their child to go to bed when they are asked! Also, it seems to me, that a number of the families have issues of some kind. When I see what kind of lives many of these kids have, it makes me want to remind you girls of the wonderful life you had growing up (as Dad and I did) and hope that you appreciate the way we raised you to show respect, take responsibility for your actions and to have a great work ethic.
I am not sure what I am going to do about the Travis situation. I don't want to go back to the VP until I have thought out some possible solutions to this problem. I am going to speak with Travis on Monday and let him know the consequences of his actions. Also, if he has another day like Friday, I will be calling in his mom to let her know what's going on. Anyway, I am not happy about going into teaching this class - there are other issues with kids in the class, but it seems like I am going well in helping them to learn to focus, listen well and to work well. I am not doubting my teaching ability - 14 years of good results helps me to believe that I am a good teacher. But, I am unhappy about being unhappy going to school - I have always been passionate about teaching, so it bothers me that I am feeling so down about going into this class. I know that if they had been my students from the beginning, that things would be different and I know that I only have two weeks to go with this class, but I would still like to enjoy it - it's amazing how two students can really mix things up. Oh well, two more weeks, swimming lessons most days and a student teacher to help out - I can look forward to those things anyway. And enough venting, I think.
Today started out lovely with a Skype 'visit' with Terri-Ann and my boys. :-) We didn't get to talk with the boys for too long - our connection wasn't too good and the boys really needed to go to bed as they had been out all day and hadn't had a nap. So, we had a little chat with them which is always fun. Then, it was off to bed for them and so Terri-Ann and I had a really nice chat (as we do every week) and got caught up (although the poor girl had to listen to me vent about those 'feral' students ('feral is an Aussie term which seems to mean something like mean brats). It's great having such great technology that we can see each other and talk at the same time across thousands of miles. I look forward to this standing date each week.
The rest of the morning and the first part of the afternoon was taken up by going to the chapel to watch last Saturday's broadcast of General Conference. There weren't many people there today which is pretty typical - there will be a full house of people there tomorrow. We enjoyed listening to the speakers today and I took some notes - I will share a few of them here:
Rosemary M. Wixom
- The world will teach our children if we do not
Claudio R. M. Costa
- Heavenly Father communicates with us through our Prophet
- the Prophet will never lead us astray (I love that one!)
- the Prophet tells us what we NEED to know, not always what we want to know
David M. McConkie
- 'The How of Learning' - what matters most is the attitude and spirit by which the teacher teaches
D. Todd Christofferson
- Life offers you two precious gifts: time and the freedom of choice of what to do with your time
Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- Learn to see yourself as God sees you (a daughter/son of His)
Gerrit G. Gong
- Your testimony, when nourished, will keep you safe
Richard G. Scott
- 4 Principles which bring peace and happiness: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, obedience, service
We are looking forward to hearing more wonderful messages tomorrow.
We brought the missionaries back home with us after Conference to have dinner with us. It's always nice to have them over and to feed them. Dad barbecued hamburgers and we had wedges and corn on the cob - yummy. We played a game of cribbage - Elder Wong and I let Elder Lock and Dad win. :-) After Dad drove them home and came back, we watched a show called 'Air Crash Investigations' and then three British detective shows. A lovely day all up! :-)
Travis is a new student to our class - he started a couple of weeks before I began my contract teaching job. He is very immature - acts more like a three year old - and he is intellectually low - more like a kindergarten aged child. He seeks attention - he loves to help, but does it mostly at inappropriate times. He has always been compliant up 'til yesterday. He just lost it - there are a number of thoughts why, but I think the most likely is that he was having a tantrum and the way he showed it was to go completely against what I was asking him to do: he was playing with something while I was talking with the class at the carpet. When I took it off him and asked him to stop, he picked it up again. When I asked him to go to his desk, he refused. When I took him by the hand and led him back to his desk and told him to stay, he got up right away and followed me back to the carpet. When I went toward him again, he just ran away. By this time, I had had it and just left him and thought I would deal with him after the class was sent back to their desk. To make a long story a little shorter, when I went to take him to the vice princpal's office, he ran away from me and I wasn't going to chase him. I went to the VP and told her what had happened and she said that she would find him and keep him in her office for the rest of the day.
I was up 'til 2am with all this going around and around in my head. I have never in all my teaching years had any student be defiant and now I had two in three weeks. It's very draining and I do not like it at all. I have been thinking about it since yesterday - and I can feel my blood pressure rising as I am typing this - and I have come to some conclusions as to why this would be happening in my classroom when it's never happened before when I was teaching at R.J. Lee. The children at R.J. Lee came from families who were either in the middle socio-economic class or whose parents lived in a house with more than one family in a really nice area of town. The students' parents were very respectful of teachers and passed that onto the kids. The parents were very hardworking people and had a very good work ethic. Because the parents worked so hard, the grandparents often took care of the children before and after sdhool and often the grandparents let them do whatever they wanted, but when it came time to listening to the teacher, it was expected that they would show that respect. Now, I am generalizing of course, but for the most part, that's the way it was. Now to the parents of this school - again, I am generalizing, but it will give you some idea of what I am dealing with. A number of the parents of the students in this school are 'on the dole' meaning they are on unemployment and since you can stay on it for life here in Australia, they pretty much do. The respect is not there from the kids (for the teachers) and the parents let their children do what they want (or don't have consequences for inappropriate behaviour) - I even had one parent ask me to tell their child to go to bed when they are asked! Also, it seems to me, that a number of the families have issues of some kind. When I see what kind of lives many of these kids have, it makes me want to remind you girls of the wonderful life you had growing up (as Dad and I did) and hope that you appreciate the way we raised you to show respect, take responsibility for your actions and to have a great work ethic.
I am not sure what I am going to do about the Travis situation. I don't want to go back to the VP until I have thought out some possible solutions to this problem. I am going to speak with Travis on Monday and let him know the consequences of his actions. Also, if he has another day like Friday, I will be calling in his mom to let her know what's going on. Anyway, I am not happy about going into teaching this class - there are other issues with kids in the class, but it seems like I am going well in helping them to learn to focus, listen well and to work well. I am not doubting my teaching ability - 14 years of good results helps me to believe that I am a good teacher. But, I am unhappy about being unhappy going to school - I have always been passionate about teaching, so it bothers me that I am feeling so down about going into this class. I know that if they had been my students from the beginning, that things would be different and I know that I only have two weeks to go with this class, but I would still like to enjoy it - it's amazing how two students can really mix things up. Oh well, two more weeks, swimming lessons most days and a student teacher to help out - I can look forward to those things anyway. And enough venting, I think.
Today started out lovely with a Skype 'visit' with Terri-Ann and my boys. :-) We didn't get to talk with the boys for too long - our connection wasn't too good and the boys really needed to go to bed as they had been out all day and hadn't had a nap. So, we had a little chat with them which is always fun. Then, it was off to bed for them and so Terri-Ann and I had a really nice chat (as we do every week) and got caught up (although the poor girl had to listen to me vent about those 'feral' students ('feral is an Aussie term which seems to mean something like mean brats). It's great having such great technology that we can see each other and talk at the same time across thousands of miles. I look forward to this standing date each week.
The rest of the morning and the first part of the afternoon was taken up by going to the chapel to watch last Saturday's broadcast of General Conference. There weren't many people there today which is pretty typical - there will be a full house of people there tomorrow. We enjoyed listening to the speakers today and I took some notes - I will share a few of them here:
Rosemary M. Wixom
- The world will teach our children if we do not
Claudio R. M. Costa
- Heavenly Father communicates with us through our Prophet
- the Prophet will never lead us astray (I love that one!)
- the Prophet tells us what we NEED to know, not always what we want to know
David M. McConkie
- 'The How of Learning' - what matters most is the attitude and spirit by which the teacher teaches
D. Todd Christofferson
- Life offers you two precious gifts: time and the freedom of choice of what to do with your time
Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- Learn to see yourself as God sees you (a daughter/son of His)
Gerrit G. Gong
- Your testimony, when nourished, will keep you safe
Richard G. Scott
- 4 Principles which bring peace and happiness: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, obedience, service
We are looking forward to hearing more wonderful messages tomorrow.
We brought the missionaries back home with us after Conference to have dinner with us. It's always nice to have them over and to feed them. Dad barbecued hamburgers and we had wedges and corn on the cob - yummy. We played a game of cribbage - Elder Wong and I let Elder Lock and Dad win. :-) After Dad drove them home and came back, we watched a show called 'Air Crash Investigations' and then three British detective shows. A lovely day all up! :-)
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