Count Down

I have 13 days left with my students. Really only 8 classroom days. Which is really only 5 and 1/2 when you put in all the performances, goodbyes, assemblies, etc. It's the wonderful time when you feel like family with your kids. They are so happy to come and go from the classroom, help you clean out a cupboard, return library books, admire their workbooks, cherish one more game of Heads Up Thumbs Up.

Well, that's all or the tears will start.

Job Perks

Besides the occasional baked birthday treat, one of the perks of teaching elementary school is getting to join in on the activities the children are doing.

The best one recently for me was dancing along with kinders to Michael Jackson's "Blame it on the Boogie."

Don't blame it on the sunshine. (wave hands overhead in a rainbow motion)
Don't blame it on the moonlight. (make a moon with both hands to the side)
Don't blame it on the good times. (dance disco)
Blame it on the boogie. (wiggle all over like a kindie!)

Suddenly stress from report card writing and state testing results seems trivial!

More silly sayings:

Another kinder student asked me, "Do you sleep at night in America and come to school in the day?"

Still another was heard on the playground saying with an angry voice, "If you do that again, I'll knock your bloody teeth out!!" Well, then.

But on a comical note, I had one child come to me telling that his older brother swore at him just then on the playground. The brother came rushing up to me to tell that the little brother was the one swearing. So, I began talking to the brothers about how one shouldn't swear or use bad words, that the older one really was a role model, and that if he swears, then of course his little brother will start swearing, blah, blah, blah. The older brother is watching and listening to me all the while.

Then, in the middle of my verbal barrage to him, his eyes light up, he gets a big smile on his face and interrupts me saying, "You sound just like you're from a movie!" So much for the effectiveness of my sterling disciplinary strategy!

Kids Say . . .

Overheard today in my classroom during their Scripture lesson (yes, Scripture, taught by the ladies from the church across the street):

"The Bible was written by a bloke named James."

"Nah, the Bible was written by heaps of blokes!"

Last Term Curriculum and The Rainforest!

With one term left, ten weeks, I'm thinking how to end the year with enough to keep kids busy and yet not so much that we're rushed and not able to complete projects by the end. Same dilemma as at home, just different time of the calendar!

Christmas is celebrated openly in the schools here. No other religions are highlighted, according to the people I've spoken to. No Hannukah, no Kwanzaa, etc. It's Christmas all the way. Wow. Like our old days when we crafted our way all through December. I'm not used to that, but I'm hearing teachers spend quite a bit of time and create some pretty amazing Christmas presents. I better get thinking!

We finished our study of the rainforest and took our field trip ("excursion") to the local rainforest nearby. What a great, great day! It's a 1 1/2 hr drive, and we rode in the deluxe school buses here that are like our Greyhound coaches. Of course we had to stop in the little town at the start of the forest for coffees. My co-teacher phoned ahead to her friends who own the coffee house. The big bus pulled up, we jumped out and quickly retrieved our mochas! We were ready to hit the waterfalls and brush turkeys ahead!

I've visited this rainforest now five times (we bring each of our American visitors here), but seeing it with children was a different experience. I loved seeing the wonder in their eyes. Most had never been before. We were concerned with leeches. Yes, leeches. We learned how to rub them off should they drop down on us. We wore hats and long sleeves with our pants tucked into our socks for protection.

There were a number of forms to fill out before leaving school for legal protection. We filled out a risk factor form for things like bus-travel risk, snake-bite risk, and hot coffee-spill risk. No, just kidding about that part! But the others were serious! We carried a school first aid kit and a school cell phone with all numbers pre-programmed.

I've seen my colleagues make beautiful displays of large photos of their children, so I tried the same. I've since printed the photographs on 8 1/2 by 11 paper and laminated them. They are glossy prints now of the buttress roots, the strangler figs, the skink, the fungi, the huge huge ferns, and the happy children. They're terrific!

I Love My Kids!

We had such a great week back from holidays. I was amazingly interesting to them once again (which we know won't last long!). They were thrilled to see a new spelling list, happy to record rain forest layers in their science booklet, and happy to pour through books again during our Daily 5.

The boys' pecking order has been established, so they can relax. Families are sending in nutritious lunches once again. Hair was cut, lice was eliminated for now, new shoes were purchased for growing feet, and they are genuinely happy to work and play together again. Whew!

Our older kids had had a very tumultuous time last term. Macksville goes from K - 6. Which means sixth graders who, in the states are the young ones of the middle school, are the oldest in the school. That means the hormones are in, the dynamics are changing, the music and pop culture has a new meaning, and they are "over" elementary school. I'm noticing a big difference from what I see in the 5th graders at home that are "over" elementary school. That is plenty, as we know. This is exponential, as you can imagine. US 6th graders are given the larger school, the P.E. classes, the lockers, the different teachers and different classes, and the new horizons, so to speak. Here the 6th graders are still in one room with one teacher all year. Yes, they are the leaders. Yes, they are the role models. But they are rebelling like they never have. Is it the new millenium? Is it families? Is it us? Well, what part can we change to help?

So, this term's answer is a detention room, basically. A room with cubicles, no stimulation, no interaction or breaks with other students, and full supervision. Parents give permission, and the time period is whatever it takes to be ready to go back to the classroom. There are up to 8. Right now it's boys, but Friday saw it's first girl addition. Some staff are horrified that we would go to this length. It's punitive, it's isolating, it's cruel. Others are understanding that now other students can have a chance to learn, be heard, and flourish, finally. We'll see.

Meanwhile in my room, the kids and I are humming along! This is why I love second graders and why I love doing what I do.

I overheard something funny this week, though, that I have to share. I hope I don't offend a reader, but please understand this is Australia, and the social norms of the U.S. are less strict. A Kindie student had not written or drawn anything on her page. The teacher said, "Look at your paper! You haven't done anything. The other children have filled their pages!" The little girl said matter-of-factly, "Then I bettah git off moy ahse!"

Two Week Holidays

We're back from our break. As I've mentioned before, Australia has the same number of vacation days as we do, but they break them up differently. Ten weeks of class, then two weeks of holidays, then back to 10 weeks of class again. This continues Feb - Dec. Then six weeks of summer holiday and back to class. So, this was our third two-week break, and it came at the best time!

I prefer the school year paced this way. You are guaranteed solid 5-day weeks for 10 weeks for unit work. No 3-day weekends or in-service days interrupt the flow. On the other hand, it's a long haul, 10 straight weeks! But with the two week break, you have a full time to relax and/or travel. You return really refreshed and ready to go again.

A perfect example of my renewed patience and love for this job came Monday morning. I gave the kids a review page of subtraction after hitting fractions pretty hard (I'm on a roll!). One student looked at his math problem and drew a blank. He asked for help. He couldn't tell how to take 7 away from 12 when the problem was in vertical form, "a stack-em-up," I call it. He had no idea. Now, three weeks ago I would have been horrified, disappointed, frustrated, and incredulous. What do you mean you don't know 12 - 7?? We've been doing this for months! What's not to know? How can you just forget something as basic as that?? Haven't I taught you this 25 times???? Instead, after two weeks of family time, travel to beautiful and amazing places, I calmly smiled and said, "Have you ever seen a problem like this before?" "No." "Oh, well, read the problem to me. You can't? Okay. Let's see . . . " I found the counters, I counted with him and laid them out on his desk. I casually sat next to him until he smiled and nodded with the "a ha!" face. That's why we love holidays!

Our trip began with our oldest son, Aaron, and his fiance, Jolyn, arriving for their first visit here. We spent the weekend exploring Sydney and the Blue Mountains. From there we went to the Red Centre, in the Northern Territory, to camp at Uluru. We slept under the stars in the outback. Fantastic! We explored around the Rock, the surrounding national parks and also at Alice Springs. Our next stop was the Great Barrier Reef for a three-day snorkel trip. We swam with sea turtles, heaps of fish, and even a shark, but a non-agressive one. The coral was outstanding, and our time there was terrific. Once home we could clean up, fish some, and regroup for the next (and last) 10 weeks of school and our stay here.

Funny

Today two of my boys were asked to run an errand in the school for another teacher. When they returned, another student was presenting his rain forest project. They could hardly contain themselves, smiling ear to ear when they arrived. But they were very respectful, entered the room and made their way over to me. One whispered still out of breath and smiling so wide, "Mrs. Mollahan, we have a very funny story to tell the children after he is finished!"

Sure enough, when the presentation was over and we all gave a clap, I asked the two boys to tell their funny story that had just happened. They took the 'stage' at the front of the room and recounted the hilarious event.

Apparently, two Ibis were running/flying (?) through the courtyard outside and they both ran into poles! The boys said their "faces were blue!" That part I'm not sure about! But they were laughing so hard as they told the story that I believe at least the first part!

Nice Weather

Save for maybe 3 very cold weeks in July, the year's weather has been glorious! I realized that I have only worn open-toed shoes most of the year. I haven't donned a pair of tights with a skirt since I left Oregon. I did switch to pants and socks and shoes for those 3 weeks, but otherwise, for nine months I've been in spring and summer clothing. Just what I love!

And a Student Teacher!

Hooray! It's an honor to me that Nicole is working in my room. Here I think I'm low on the totem pole, struggling to do things the right way, and feeling like first year teacher. But suddenly I'm back to being the experienced professional. Who knew?!

She is a natural teacher, and it already feels like she's been in the room for weeks, not just days. I'm learning much more about how teachers prepare to be certified and how the process continues after graduation. It's one more dimension I didn't expect to learn about this year.

She's only in the room for 4 weeks, the last two of which are full time for her. Hel-lo! That's quick! It's going to fly by. She's "signed up" for reading groups, math lessons and all of the rainforest unit this week. It's sink or swim!

Dance, Dance, Dance!

This is a tradition I hope to bring back to Oregon. The children learn to dance from Kindergarten through Year 6. There are dances during and after school offered to children to practice socialization and have fun. They aren't open, free dances with girls standing shyly on one side of the room while boys cringe on the opposite side. They are mixers with "games" in the style of organized dances, sometimes with a theme or costume suggestion, sometimes not.

The children are taught a variety of dances that are used during these socials. This past week we gathered, all Kinders, 1s and 2s, in a center patio area with a speaker CD box. The children find a spot where they have "room to dance." A teacher shows the basic dance idea, turns the song on, and off they go. They are not shy, hesitant, or awkward. The children love it!

Sample dances include the ever-popular YMCA. A second, The Dinosaur Dance, includes simple hand motions, crouching down, and freely moving about as "a dinosaur." Another dance begins with two dancers in a Tango position for 8 counts, followed by 8 more counts of stepping back, stamping feet and clapping hands. The partners then link elbows and circle before they choose two new partners from the seated circle surrounding the dance floor. Heaps of fun, and the children mix eagerly and joyfully.

I'm picturing not only their smiling faces, but also the coordination and spatial awareness developing. That's great for math and reading!! And physical fitness. And all in about 12 minutes start to finish.

More dancing in 2010 - 2011!

New Energy

It's Friday afternoon, and I'm reflecting on a busy, but good week. I felt very blue when my teaching friends left last week. Very blue. I don't want to go home, yet, don't get me wrong. But the flurry of activities and fun times was a natural high for more than a couple of weeks! So I decided I had to focus in and really teach well with my kids this week and enjoy every part of the day.

That meant moving Harry to a new seat. A seat all by himself in the front of the room. He cannot stop talking, as smart and amazing as he is. I've tried everything I know of. So, for the first time, I singled him out in a desk completely apart from the others that are facing each other in table groups. It's been fantastic since. His work is completed, he's quiet, he's respectful, and he is following directions. Success #1.

Also, I've been slowly introducing the Daily 5, and it's flowing wonderfully now! You may know this "program" designed by two sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser, in the states. It incorporates everything we already do, but in a way that the children are moving right along at an independent level. I've adapted it, as we do, to fit what I have in my room, the time I can give it, and the makeup of my class. It's simple: Read to Self, Read to Someone, Word Work, Work on Writing, Listening. For me that translated to: silent read, read to someone, practice your spelling, write, and 'sketch to stretch.'

It hit me when I realized they had no incentive, no real reason to learn to read, enjoy a book, or care about reading, really, at all. That saddened me! I needed them to formally practice spelling. I knew they needed time on text with books they had chosen themselves. I knew they needed more time writing. I don't have listening tape machines, so I used Linda Hoyt's Sketch to Stretch, since I know these children are very motivated to make colorful, elaborate pictures. I also was feeling the drain of having them to myself all day, every day, without pull-outs of any kind, particularly the long haul from 11:40 - 1:20 (when they finally have lunch!). See what I mean??

Daily 5 to the rescue! Since I can't do it daily, I call it 5 Alive! I've followed the lesson plans in the resource book, almost to a tee. We spent a week discussing, then practicing Read to Self. The girls suggest start small to 'build stamina,' starting with 5 minutes and adding a minute each day. Suddenly it was magically fun. 5 minutes was nothing. "Can't we read more??" "Not today! But tomorrow we'll try for 6 minutes!" "Wow!"

The next week we practiced Read to Someone. Who doesn't want to do this? Elbow, Elbow, Knee, Knee. So purposeful, so meaningful, so powerful. Only 5 minutes! "Ohh!" they all exclaim. I smile!

The girls recommend waiting until they have learned and practiced all 5 before mixing. But I took the plunge (plus, it's halfway through our year together) and tried the two as a choice, "Which one will you do first today?"

The next week I introduced Word Work. Wow! That sounds much better than, "Boys and girls, we're going to practice your spelling. Again." Making flash cards, rainbow writing the words with different colored markers, etc. Not rocket science. But they are thrilled. We kept it separate, but still did the choice/switch for Read to Self and Read to Someone.

The best was when one child whispered to another, "I love how we get to choose."

Now I've introduced Writing, and you would think I've given them $20 to spend now. They can't wait to open their booklets and write whatever they want!! Some are finishing paragraphs from before, writing creative stories, copying poems from books, or writing letters.

We're up to choosing from the 4 things introduced so far. We can go 15 min. each. The kids remember what time we did yesterday, of course, so how much we should do today.

So for one hour, at least, our afternoon is taken up with excellent literacy practice, both independent and with another student, and the time flies as they take care of all four items.

I'm saving the Sketch to Stretch for last since I know they will love it more than anything, and I want a candy for when the doldrums set in in a week or so.

In the states I know that teachers are often frustrated with no uninterrupted blocks for solid teaching. Here I'm faced with one every day, and it's a long long afternoon. Even with my sterling lesson on writing, then the Rainforest, then Spelling Practice, it's a long long afternoon!

5 Alive is saving us all!

American Visitors

How great was it to have friends from home come to visit?? During the months of July and August friends of the family and friends/teachers from school came to see Australia for themselves. Everyone came to school and many even stayed, which meant I could put them to work! Someone from home asked, "Do you have to work while the visitors are here?" My response was, "Not while they're teaching my class!" Well, when four certified teachers are standing in the back during reading groups, why not give each one a group?? It was wonderful!

It is terrific to imagine the ramifications, too, of having the girls come to school for as many as 5 days, for some. In Oregon, we all work together at school, and we are also friends outside school. They were able to see where I am and what I'm doing here on my exchange. They were able to see where their new friend, my exchange partner, comes from and what her background experience in education looks like.

They were intrigued with a different school system, like I am, and in awe of the Aussie way of teaching and learning. They loved meeting and working with the children, and learning briefly about the Aboriginal influences. They also helped out in other classes and spent time with the Oregon pen pal classes in the upper grades.

The school here was taken by the fact that so many teachers came to visit and spent so much time at school - even sitting through a reading adoption staff meeting! We got together with staff for social events (drinks at the local pub and dinner at the principal's home), and organized some of our own with staff as well.

The girls smiled as the Ibis strutted through the playground picking up lunch scraps. They enjoyed the beautiful blue uniforms and sun hats on each child. As the children shared news the class would answer in unison, "Thank you for your news, Johnny," a tradition here. The girls learned to bring fresh fruit to enjoy at 10:00 a.m. every day.

They didn't overdo it, however. Each day at school ended with a walk along a neighboring beach, a visit to the bakery in town, a trip to the lawn bowls club, or a napping afternoon back at the house! It was holidays for them, afterall!

Educational Week: Open House

We opened our doors to families and patrons for the day and became hosts and hostesses! Children showed their families the different projects and work samples they have been doing, and walked them to various parts of the school. This was just like back home! Finally! However, it was held during school hours, rather than after school. Children who didn't have a family member visiting played different math games in the room (Kim Sutton dice games win again!) and taught the games to friends and parents of others.

We began the day with a whole-school assembly full of performances! The band, choir, belly dancers, and our own Year 1s and 2s wowed the audience yet again with line dancing and cheerleading a la the U.S.A.! I was so proud of my kids!

NAIDOC Week

Our school celebrated National Aboriginal Islander Day Observance Committee week. Monday we had an all-school assembly with a smoking ceremony, Elder's Choir performance, and traditional dancing.

We also heard from a young Aboriginal man who has been hired at our school as an educational assistant, assigned directly to Aboriginal students. He helps them with academics, serves as a positive role model, and acts as a family liason. He gave a motivational speech describing his childhood and the opportunities given to him which brought him, finally, to Macksville Public School.

The next day we tasted Bush Tucker, which was shark, kangaroo, and crocodile meat, chicken soup, damper (homemade bread), and a barbequed sausage in bread. Another day we participated in Aboriginal art and viewed a beautiful traveling display of local artists' work, including painted emu eggs which sell for $600!

Other days included traditional outdoor games and dressing in the flag colors of yellow(the sun), red (the earth) and black (the people).

My favorite is the crocodile!

Two Week Holidays - again!

The school year here commences in late January. The year is divided into 4 terms, with a two-week break inbetween each term. Then the year ends in December before Christmas, with a six-week break until school begins again for the next year.

The days in school and on holiday are exactly the same as in the states. They are just placed differently on the school calendar. I love this way best! We teach and learn hard for the 10 weeks. Then we all have a break to refresh, relax, rejuvenate, and reconsider! We all return happy to be teachers and students once again. Suddenly homework looks fresh again, spelling lists are grand once more, and my maths games are better than ever!

This holiday our son visited back in the U.S. as promised. We travelled to Adelaide to see friends, and then to the Whitsunday Islands for a sailing/snorkeling adventure. I was able to finally see the Fairie Penguins in their natural habitat in Southern Australia. We had many beautiful hikes and met more wonderful Aussies. In Queensland, we boarded the sailing yacht and spent our days snorkeling, whale watching, and enjoying the Great Barrier Reef.

Stars and Stripes Forever!

Last year, while innocently sitting in Corvallis, dreaming about my year ahead in Australia, I thought it would be a fun idea to bring little wristbands for everyone in the school to say, "Happy Fourth of July." That idea exploded into one entire day of celebrating American culture with music, hot dogs, dancing, and contests. Who knew?

At Macksville Public School the philosophy is that all children are "on Gold." That is, they are gold students, capable of being beautifully behaved, respectful, responsible, and well-mannered. From there, if you forget, or make a mistake, or are just plain awful, you receive "tickets." 6 tickets and you're "off gold." Each 10 weeks we celebrate a day for all of those on Gold, and start fresh for the next term. Sometimes the days are held at the beach or the park. This time it was all about the U.S. of A.!

It was a great team effort, with staff and parents helping everywhere. Even Marilyn, our friend from Corvallis visiting for the week, came and sliced hot dog buns and took photographs. She even stood by my side, our hands on our hearts, as the children raised the American flag and the National Anthem played on the speakers.

We began with a parade of costumes. The children and staff were dressed in everything from Miss Piggy, Agent 99, Scooby Doo, Uncle Sam, Statue of Liberty, Men in Black, cowboys, cowgirls, Paris Hilton, Mortitia Adams, Spider Man, and Minnie Mouse. Even the children in plain clothes were dressed like an American, since we don't wear a uniform to public school! One teacher spent her senior year as an exchange student in Maryland. She came dressed in her cheerleading outfit and letterman's jacket, complete with school ring and photo button of her squad! The children paraded to Stars and Stripes Forever!

Then our two second grade classes performed a hip hop dance and tumbling act to stadium music. The crowd was clapping and oohing and awwing at the cartwheels and pom poms! Then the children lead the crowd in American cheers. Let me back track a bit. Back in April the teachers were discussing how every year the children learn dances, but this year the dance teacher is not "on class." Hmmm. "Well," I offered, "I could teach the kids some line dances." From there I was asked if I would please teach them American Cheerleading. Derr. So, many YouTube videos from Pomona High School Cheer Squad later, I was teaching the kids American cheers. So by July 2, the kids lead the entire school in cheers from "MPS! We're the Best!" to "Let's Get Fired Up!"

These folks love a contest. And it's important that "everyone has a go." So, there were prizes for the costumes, and everyone had a go at cheering. Prizes went to the most enthusiastic in the crowd!

From there we had a break to enjoy the Year 1's Lemonade Stand, "quarters" in hand to pay for each cup. The children ate a snack and then regrouped for the next act! This time the second graders performed the Electric Slide to "Boot Scootin' Boogie." We taught groups to do it with us, and yes, prizes for the smoothest dancers! The adults weren't off the hook. We got every teacher, parent, admin. assistant, and the principal to stomp the pavement with us! Moving around the square with the entire staff to one of my favorite songs, was a highlight of this year!

My kids then did the Cotton Eyed Joe (again, a version from YouTube, since my Texas version was more suited to people who have had too many tequilas!), inviting a partner to join them. Mums, brothers, teachers, were all asked to circle around and grapevine to the right! We ended with a whole school dance to YMCA. The crowd went wild.

From here our girls who raise the flag daily had the American flag on the ropes, ready to raise. I explained a little bit about the flag, as well as ediquette here in Australia. We were to fly it just below the top, and as Americans, Marilyn and I would place our hands on our hearts. The children stood solemnly while the song played. It was beautiful.

At this point we had lunch - mmm! Hot dogs, baggies of potato chips, and Otter Pops. All of these were bizarre to them. Tomato sauce had to be called "ketchup" for the day. We didn't even try mustard, since they would all say, 'yuck.' No one knew how to deal with the hot dogs. "I think we boil them." The buns, all 411, had to be sliced by hand. Otter Pops were just weird. When they saw they were Icey Poles, then everyone relaxed. "Ahhhhh! Icey Poles!" Just pronouncing Otter Pop was an adventure!

To finish the fun, the children competed in "Talk Like a Yank." They were to say, "Put your glasses on and drive your faster car to Denver," with their best American accent. I showed them how easy it was. Then I tried saying words their way, like, "kookaburra." Not as easy as it would seem. You try standing in front of 411 kids and 40 adults and everyone laughs as you pronounce "koala." What's so funny about 'koala?' Apparently a lot. So, after narrowing it down to 6 great accents, I asked them to try, "New York City," on the spot. They gave me everything from Atlanta, Georgia + Perth, Western Australia to Little Rock, Arkansas + Cairns, Queensland. One girl rattled it off like it was second nature to her. I applauded and handed her the prize!

What were the prizes? Again, it was a team effort. I had brought my Oriental Trading wristbands, little flags, and temporary tatoos. With a quick email to Corvallis and Albany, friends bought bandanas, flag tee shirts, red visors, and stickers galore. They sent them via my American visitor, and we were set to go. The anticipation rose when I announced before the event that the prizes were being flown in today directly from the U.S. Ooooh!

I hope the pictures here capture the spirit of the day. The children had a blast, which is the most important thing. It brought the school together as a community, and the staff worked together brilliantly. It was touching for me, of course, and I barely made it through the anthem without a tear. Most of all it was a celebration of the children and their accomplishments as friends, individuals, and as a team.

Parent Teacher Conferences, or "Interviews"

These are held once a year, mid year. There are two philosophies, like in Oregon. We send a note home asking parents to choose a time slot. If you never hear back, you have two choices. You can forget it. Or, you can assign them a time and send the note back. And hope they come in. I'm of the mind that every parent deserves a time to talk with the teacher. Whether the child is doing well or not, kids need to know that their parents and teacher communicate. So, silly me, I sent home the notes and signed people up! Can I work more, please??

Again, no extra day or time allotted for this, really. We use our prep time and our half day of professional development. I can, however, ask for someone to "backfill" my class. An executive staff member will come and teach anything I ask them to, or anything they want, if I ask them to, for as long as I need them to. Not bad! But finding a place to meet when the school is operating fully as usual is tricky. This meeting room here? This corridor there? Someone's office here?

All the parents were very supportive and positive, which was reassuring! A few told me their child's year was the best one yet. Don't they always say that - those proud new parents still at the beginning of the long public school experience? Even the parents get excited with a new spelling list for the week in Second Grade! It was great to get to meet with them and hear friendship concerns, homework woes, and sport cheers.

Is it vacation yet?

Can you tell I got swamped??

Guess what I've been doing since the last entry? Stressing out like a true teacher! Well, here June does not mean end of the year parties, field trips, and good byes. We're not even half-way through, so it was Report Card Time! You know what that means. Hours of organizing work samples, assessments, and data. It means doing one more assessment to make sure they really read at Level 24. Does he know counting coins this week? Please? Oh, and the obligatory cold that comes with this time of year - it is winter, afterall! So, bundled up on the couch with the Kleenex box handy and a cup of tea, I filled out the reports on my laptop all through the weekend.

No, there is no report writing day allotted for this. My principal did, however, give us each half a day of professional development time to use. The reports themselves are like ours at home, but the difference lies in the comments. One is to write in detail each unit taught under each content area. We also write detailed descriptions about each child's progress in literacy and math. In addition, we write a summary paragraph for each student. Whew! It was a great process, save for the inevitable computer glitches, frustrations, panics, and near-loss-of-data episodes! But, hey, no worries, mate!

Finally, the reports are handed in on a thumb drive to our Executive staff for review. They proofread every one of the 411 reports. They print them, Glenn signs them, and they are returned to us with beautifully printed envelopes complete with Macksville's school emblem. Kinders even get a color photo of themselves on theirs. There is a large box on the front of the envelope for each child draw a picture before it is taken home. How lovely is that!

They did come to me, however, before they printed mine, and asked if I minded them changing some of my spelling. They needed to change some vowels, c's and s's, some s's and z's. "Practise/practice" and "colour/color." Whatever! You can tell I haven't switched my laptop from American to Australian. Here on this blog you might be glad for that! I love to smile at moments like that! It's so fun.

Linda, were your ears burning??

I walked by our executive teacher's office (I know, that's a topic for another entry!), and on her desk was a photo-copied (I've quit saying Xerox copied, cuz they all laugh at me for saying odd things) version of Linda Hoyt's Revisit, Reflect, Retell. I came to a screeching stop and smiled so big! It's like walking down the aisle in the grocery store and seeing the little roll packages of Oreos! A sign from Home!!

I found Deb and exclaimed how I was thrilled to see her interested in Linda as well! She spoke of her vaguely that she seemed like a very interesting educator and she was just learning about her. Ahhhh!

I tried to not leap out of my seat and blabble on and on about loving all of her books, going to numerous sessions, interviewing her for special projects in grad school, and how she was once upon a time a lowly teacher at Sunrise Elementary!!!!! I restrained myself and mentioned how I'd brought many of her response sheets from Re,Re, and Re with me here and how her videos are certainly worth purchasing. I did mention she was a Portland girl . . .

It's a small literacy world. Let the revisiting begin!

Maths

Yes, I said 'Maths.' That's the first difference. This was, initially, the most confusing part for me, the maths program. Now that I'm rolling along, there is nothing to it, and I'm finding it very fun. I may have touched on this in months past here on the blog, but I'm finally able to put into words how I do maths each week.

Albany has made an effort to streamline our math curriculum per grade. That is, breadth, not depth, is the catch phrase. So, we are to teach a certain number of strands over a term before we change to the next set for the next term.

Here the strands are taught, perhaps two per week, and then reviewed (or "revised") throughout the following terms. So at first, to see a practice page of "mentals" that included 4 - 5 strands at once seemed very overwhelming. My mind was thinking, I have to teach a lesson for all five before I can give them this! Well, they are basically already aware of all 5. It's up to me to review and extend each of the five. I know that now!

It was a switch to come into a maths program and not be familiar with the materials. That is, I'm used to knowing what's in my cupboards to pull from, which resource book I can get more fraction pages from, which teacher still has my Judy clocks, which of my math story books goes with counting coins, etc. I brought quite a bit of Kim Sutton materials with me, including double dice, place value dice, resource books and CDs, to leave for my partner when I go. Hopefully she is using mine in Albany and loving them as much as I do.

I'm lucky to have a wonderful volunteer in the room two mornings a week. She loves being with us, and I love having her, so I'm set! Tuesdays are rotating math groups, a la Liberty with Mrs. Ramsey and Mrs. Mathios! We're able to pre-teach, re-teach, and give some manipulative/building time to the kids.

I'm also lucky to have one of two resource persons who comes 5 days a week for an hour. He or she is assigned to help my aboriginal students. One is truly low, and benefits from an independent learning program that comes from me (no Mr. Nimmo equivolent here). My second student just needs a lot of one on one to focus and buy in. Beautiful boys, both of them.

The kids work from a big glossy maths book, again, a new strand for every page. So I go through and lump the strands I think we could practice with and group teach the graphing pages, the spatial pages, and the intro to multiplication pages.

We teach the same material with a few exceptions. In Albany we would be teaching double digit add/sub with regrouping. I don't see that in the maths book here. Instead, they are asked to consider 'groups of' like I used to do with my third graders. Spatial relationships are taught in the maths book, for example, in front of, behind, etc. Describing properties is also a topic they learn, such as curly, smooth, bumpy, rounded, and straight. Time is only taught to the hour and half hour here. In Albany we ask they know to the minute by the end of second grade. The money, of course, is different, and much easier to teach! No dimes, quarters, and nickels to confuse anyone! But, since there are no pennies, we teach them to round to the nearest 5 cents! No one seems to mind paying the clerk .40 cents when the price tag quoted .38 cents! Who in the U.S. wants to pay more than the price tag says?? No worries, mate.

Yes, the entire class is in the room at the same time. No grouping here. We buddy a lot and coach each other. The small groups are invaluable. I've gone to mostly small group work each day with a practice page and fix and finish time. Kim's dice games save the day. When they finish, there is almost always an option to begin a dice game. We do number chats on the overhead and record in a maths booklet/journal. I think it would be correct to say, with the exception of my one "lowbie," that I have no "low" maths students. I have those that aren't motivated or confident (my girls :( ). I have the naughty bodies, for sure, who can certainly do the work, but who are distracted, distractible, and/or distracting. Put them all in a small group for this or that, and they shine. Assessments may take them for-ev-er, but they can do the work. It's a juggling act, but with Kim Sutton by my side, I love maths every day, and the hour flies.

Teachers Federation Council Meeting, Sydney

I was invited as a Special Observer by my school's union rep to attend the Federation meeting in Sydney on Saturday. With the tug and pull over their state testing last month, I was very curious to see how their organization operates. When the meeting began, I was welcomed by the president in his welcome speech, but not waved to or put on the spot, thank heavens! With so many surprises and unknowns in this experience, I was glad this one came off without embarrassment or stuttered "thank you it's a pleasure to be here" input by me!! Whew! I could sink into my squishy auditorium chair and soak it all in. I didn't catch everything, I must say. I either couldn't understand the accents in the microphone (telephone conversations are the same for me and for Australians listening to me, too, I've learned) or my rep was translating or explaining details of the organization to me as we went along.

The meeting opened with "Questions Without Notice," and included reps from all over the state raising concerns and asking for the Federation's input. One such question involved violence in the schools, both physical and verbal, student to student or student to teacher. The recommendation was that notes should be taken and incidents documented, but at this time the Parliment (and therefore the Federation) was not making any decision or taking any actions on this topic. I hate to think that something big needs to happen before someone does "take any action."

I also attended the Women's Caucus, which, besides serving Cheerios and toast with Vegemite at a table that resembled our kitchen counter any given morning with cereal bowls, milk bottles, and coffee mugs, included discussions around lactation breaks, equal pay, and percentages of women in principal jobs and executive council positions. With such a relaxed-looking meeting, complete with baby strollers parked here and there, I expected a relaxed agenda. On the contrary it was the most efficiently-run meeting I have attended since landing here! These women knew how to get business done!

The Israeli attacks on humanitarian activists was discussed in detail during the full council meeting. One Australian teacher who had been on exchange in Palestine gave her emotional account of students living with 2 hours of electricity a day. One student would do his homework under one of the security lights he found. For me it was interesting to hear world-wide politics being discussed with respect to the women and children involved and what Australia's education system's responsibility might be to support them.

One council member asked for reps with personal stories from their schools on how the state tests have affected their teaching, curriculum decisions, moral, etc. to jot them down and submit them to her as a data collection process. Anyone with verbal descriptions was welcome to meet her in the lobby to discuss. I followed her out and asked if I could listen in as a fly on the wall, since we have the very same issues in the states. Sure enough, rep after rep came to discuss the woes of teaching to the test and using the test as the teaching resource for grammar, writing genres, or comprehension. They complained of non-English students not having the experiences or vocabulary to draw upon. They talked of abandoning math games as a form of skill practice for more traditional skill drills. Sound familiar? What they don't have yet, however, is any of the computer details to work out. The tests are still given paper and pencil, with boxes stacked in the principal's office for each section.

No answers, just more of the same it seems. But it was acknowledged that the moratorium of last month, no testing if league tables are to be published, was the tip of the iceberg. That is, my thoughts had been, league tables? That's nothin'! Wait till the real issues surface and the real fight needs to be fought. But they do see the real fight coming. It's just in slow motion still here.

I was interested to learn that teachers are given pay increases for experience in industry and that years home with family are counted as half year in teaching field. To my knowledge no allowance is made for life experience in our Oregeon district, whether it be in the workplace or at home.

I also learned that the teachers' federation treats their Special Observers very nicely and that may be the only time I get to have such swanky quarters when I stay in Sydney!

Don't know how I can use this to change the U.S. world. Let me know if you have thoughts on it.

Reading

First thing each morning we spend an hour with reading materials of some kind. The school has sets of readers in a leveled series. The children are "benchmarked" with the program's running record system. Then I group the children and teach my own class.

I decided to have 4 different groups of 4 - 7 students in the room, and one student who works on his own at a very low level with volunteers each day. I collect sets of little books from the Book Closet where they are stored. I check them out and return them when finished for everyone else (K-6) to use if needed. Each group reads one book over 2 weeks. The teachers agree that the books have been there for many years and are well overdue to be replaced. If so, it would be done with our school's budget, and of course cost plenty.

To be honest, this is the first time in all my years of teaching that I've taught reading to my own class all by myself. Even in the 1980's, our reading group rotated every two weeks to a new teacher. I've had a chance now to put into practice all the many management techniques, strategies, and purposeful activities I've learned about over the years! Thank heavens for wonderful volunteers!!

I spend time over the 2 weeks on vocabulary, strategies, grammar, and enrichment between the 4 groups. I'm given the books, but the materials I make myself. Without many community committments, a large house, and extended family nearby, I have the time to make it all in the evenings!! I'm also thankful I brought with me Linda Hoyt and Sharon Taberski resources.

I'm able to use Book Bags with the children at least once a week. The children have an individual folder of a checklist, a book they've chosen from a leveled basket I've prepared, and a response sheet. They are involved reading, retelling to a friend, responding on the strategy we're focusing on, and editing their work. I meet with them one by one to check over their work, listen to them read, and chat about books and their interests. The children love the independence of these, and I love the anecdotal notes I gain from our conferences.

We also have an SRA box where the children choose from a variety of stories in a leveled color. They self test and correct with me. I use this once a week.

Each class has a collection of Home Readers that the children check out each afternoon to take home and read that evening. There are maybe 4 - 5 students who actually trade books regularly. And guess what? They read well! But you knew that.

I am responsible to keep the running records on the students, and I move the children to a different group, depending on their progress.

We are given professional development at school twice a month and we discuss strategies and strands to cover on a regular basis. The teachers k - 2 discuss literacy activities and we share many ideas together.

Also, there is one and one half (!) Reading Recovery for the very low readers. They work with one or two students at a time. Only my very lowest reader has this help 3 times a week for 1/2 hour.

Besides the reading hour, I read a novel aloud at the end of the day. I also break for stories whenever possible and always with the science and social studies theme.

Are they progressing? Yes. I wish it was more, though. I have two who haven't budged. They aren't progressing like I believe they could be. There are always those kids, right? We're not quite half way through the year, so I've got time to push them along.

I'm really missing the literature that I know so well and the ability to match kids with books for their level. I spend time in the library, but there are many many titles I'm not familiar with. I'm helping the children learn to choose books that are a good fit for their own reading level, but I'm not confident that I'm providing the right books for them to choose from. True confessions.

I've also had the crazy thought of designing my own mini A.R. program with a point system. I never thought I'd say that. But it could just be the hook I need for my reluctant boys, particularly. Hmmm. I'm still tossing that one around in my head . . .

Some things are just alike!

Reports are due soon, so guess what I did all weekend? Yes, reports are our report cards, and the process is just as pain-staking and tedious as it is in the states. I liken it to writing a term paper. The living room is taken over with papers, data, work samples, workbooks, and my notes. I've had lots of tea, a good walk, and plenty of scoring and re-reading time. Whew. This is one thing that's mostly the same!

Next stop: Hogwarts

I feel as though I'm in a Harry Potter book. It is time to begin Sport. Students wear their sport uniform. That is, a white polo rather than blue, shorts, and joggers. We all convene to the patio to form lines of boys age 5&6, boys age 7, boys age 8, girls ages 5&6, girls age 7, girls age 8.

As this is happening, mind you, I'm watching, looking to the children as if I know what's going on, but really in a complete daze of wonderment!

"Now, Mrs. Mollahan, have you chosen your flag people?" I smile, "No. What shall I do?" "Please choose four sensible students who can carry the flags." Right. So I choose them (by the way, I love how the word 'sensible' is used. Isn't that a great word?). Now they somehow know to get the flags because they watched the last year's "older" kids get to do it and now it's their turn! I'm still watching . . .

Now we all walk down the stairs to the big field at the bottom of the school property. There the relays have been set up (by Year 6 Captains), the high jump and long jump are waiting, and the sprinting track is set. I'm in charge of high jump. Whatever that means, I'm thinking!! I somehow missed high jump in middle school. Where was I? But I have no memory of this part of sports! Here goes nothing, I'm thinking!

After the children participate for about 30 min. in one of the four track activities that their gender/age has been assigned to, we retreat to our Houses. I'm now watching wide-eyed again. Out come the flags, with my sensible students standing proud, and the children line up at the color flag with their House name on it: Pope, Maher, Smith, or - now I forget the fourth! How do they know their House? From last year, of course! Besides, their older brothers and/or sisters have been in the same House, so they've known all along what House they are in. And, they know the war cry, as well. (War cry???). Sure enough, when the teacher begins, they all chant as loudly as they can their rhyme/cheer/chant/poem/war cry. The House with the most spirit, of course, is the best. And each one is sure they are the best. Harry and Ron, where are you??

The House names come from famous family names of Macksville from back in history. Of course they do.

I am still learning how to "do" Sport Day, but I have learned a lot about the high jump! Just don't ask me to do it. That's what my Year 6 helpers are for . . .

Meanwhile

I'm taking this term of 11 weeks to have a great time teaching the kids all about America! I spent Term 1 warming them up (and following the plans of my colleagues) with studies about Australian Animals (guess who was cramming each night?? Ask me about any marsupial!). Now it's time to shake things up a bit!

There are so many parallels to the Aboriginal culture, and with many children and families in our school and town, it makes sense to tag any new information onto what they already know.

I began with a study of the continent of North America. We counted in French while we colored the Canadian flag, we sang "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" while we found Oregon on the U.S. map, and we ate chips and salsa while we studied photos of beautiful Mexico.

Then we learned about the Plains Indians and made stick games to play. We watched my slide show on Mesa Verde and made guesses as to what happened to the Anasazi tribes. We finished the week by making corn chowder.

This week we are finishing our discussions about the pilgrims coming over and the stresses that came with that. For the first time since my student teacher days in Kinder, we're making paper pilgrim hats, feather headbands and sitting down to a feast we will prepare over the next two days of stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, and a small turkey chunk for taste (turkey is very difficult to come by here - read $$$). We'll be making Thanksgiving cards writing about the things we are thankful for. The good news is, it all fits into the curriculum! We're writing procedural accounts of the recipes and cooking processes. We're mapping like crazy. We're discussing folk tales/dreamtime stories and researching regional housing.

We've even painted pictures in the same style as the beautiful pictures in the Song Book, "America The Beautiful." Out in the hall the kids will look up at the display and exclaim, "There's mine! Amber waves of grain!" "See my spacious skies??"

In the next weeks we will be exploring Oregon and the states, with a final extravaganza of country line dancing and cheerleading for all the school! Wish me luck - mostly on the cheerleading . . .

Curriculum Notes

Lots of folks have asked me if it's the same or different here. My head has, up to now, been unable to know where to begin. It's the same. Math is math (except math is 'maths'). But no, it's different. I think it's all in the organization of it, that's all.

Take math, for example. We dedicate the same amount of time weekly. We use small group work, whole class lessons, independent practice, and assessments, both formal and anecdotal. The difference here is that all strands are taught as one goes along. One week includes two skills, at least, and when the cycle finishes, it begins again. So, one week on money/addition to 20, one week on measurement/multiplication, one week on subtraction to 20/space skills, etc.

Albany has taken a different approach recently. We have a shorter list of skills to teach over a longer period of weeks. Depth, not breadth, is the idea. Oregon also uses a math curriculum text with teachers' editions and independent workbooks, resource books, and assessment forms.

Here we are given a set of maths books with the skills changing with every page. It means that each week the set of maths games changes, the stations change, the manipulatives change(all of which are designed by or borrowed from teachers), and the kids are getting review throughout the year. That is, if they got it the first time. Reteaching and solidifying a strand is harder to schedule in.

All of the subjects are covered in a state-wide curriculum that one must adhere to. Each teacher must justify their lessons every week and match them to the curriculum. We turn in a "Program," which indicates all of the strands addressed, lessons taught, and materials used, including student outcomes and assessments. These accumulate in a big, thick binder! Talk about great year to year lessons! But it's like doing a full work sample every year!

Report cards are coming up soon for us. These seem to look exactly like ours in the states. I'll let you know how the process compares! People tell me to batton down the hatches and prepare for long weekends on the computer. Sounds familiar so far!

A Happier Note

Can I tell you about the Bottersnikes and Gumbles? It is the most wonderful story that I'm now reading aloud to my class. I made friends with the librarian on my first day (remember when they told you specifically to make friends with the secretary and custodian of any school where you teach? I added the librarian and most recently, the tech person . . . ). He and I share a ridiculous love for literature, and he feeds me books like a supplier on the streets! He gave me this book, written in the 60's, and told me it was one of his favorites as a child. It is a classic timeless Aussie tale.

The Bottersnikes are mean, lazy, silly, and ugly. The Gumbles are sweet, helpful, charming, and clever. Bottersnikes are bumpy, round creatures with long tassle tails, pointed ears that turn red and hot when they are angry (they are usually angry) who like to eat pictures from magazines and nails. Gumbles are squishy, pliable, smooth beings that can be molded and unmolded into any shape. The Gumbles are often caught unawares as they help those in trouble. Bottersnikes trap them and squish them into jam tins to be released later and used as slaves. Fortunately for the Gumbles, Bottersnikes often fall asleep in the middle of their antics or muck up the capture because they are too busy arguing or sitting on each other's heads out of spite.

It is such fun to read at the end of a busy day, but it would be more fun if I could imitate the beautiful Australian accent that this story deserves. The good news is that there are two more stories with more Gumble adventures that follow.

My friend, the librarian, is currently searching for a copy I can take back with me . . .

They're On

So with the tests being scheduled for this week, and the teachers a little happier with the political news, NAPLAN, or Australia's OAKS, were being administered as of yesterday. Three solid days, with paper and pencil booklets. Remember the days? They weren't so long ago in Albany. They'll continue next week, and so on. Same song, same ole verse.

I have been invited to go to a Federation meeting next month in Sydney where the conversation will be "after the heat" of last week's state test scores drama. I'm very curious to hear the conversations and topics that surface at the next stage. As Reading Mastery would say, "More to come."

State Testing Woes or "Whoa" -s!

The past two weeks have been a flurry of minute to minute updates on where we all stand on state testing. Same song, third verse, right? Who hasn't sat in a staff room in the past 15 years at least and not heard someone discussing, griping, stressing, agonizing, arguing, and shouting about state testing?? Well, I have been watching with fascination how New South Wales is dealing with their latest outrage, including narrowly missing a full-on strike. I'll try to "briefly" explain the seige of memos, meetings, videos, and news articles out recently.

It seems that the New South Wales teacher federation (our Association equivolent) disagrees with the newspapers publishing league tables, showing test scores from schools all over the state. Teachers fear that parents are getting the wrong impression about a school's worth based on one set of data. Teachers fear that students are shamed by being published as part of that data (headlines read, "Students from ____ School considered unintelligent based on recent test data") and that parents will send their children to other schools that score higher on state tests.

The federation then asked that the government protect schools by not allowing the media to publish specific scores/school names. The government refused. The federation called a moratorium on NAPLAN testing (our OAKS). This meant that we voted in support of the moratorium, planned to not give the tests in the next two weeks as previously scheduled, and planned for casuals (substitutes) to be called in to give the tests as planned since the administration was not supporting the moratorium.

For a non-political person, I think I'm doing pretty well following all of this! It's fascinating to me given that 15 years I've heard about it, dealt with it, given the darned tests, lived (just barely) through a Reading First grant implementation, listened at ORA conferences on methods for best practices and covering our testing derrieres, and so on. But now I'm hearing how a different country, a different organization and political relationship operates on a very familiar topic.

Every day of last week there was a new memo in our "pigeon holes" updating us on what the newest scoop was. Were we coming to work or not?? Then, what do you know, by Thursday there was a change in plans from the higher ups!

The Deputy Prime Minister then claimed she would address the misuse of school testing data and form a work party to reevaluate process of data distribution.

The federation has been watching and listening to England and the U.S. and how we've dealt with the stresses of the testing issues. Yeah, I say, but we don't have the powerful association machine that you all have here. I'm watching and gleaning what I can every day.

ANZAC Day

ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps and was "born" in 1915 during WWI. The troops were in Gallipoli and suffered a devastating time, losing many of their young men. It was the first time that Australian troops fought under their own flag, together with New Zealand troops. It was a spreading of the country's wings, so to speak. Today the nation recognizes the series of events in a holiday, and I was able to participate with my students.

We gathered in town on Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. Each child was in school uniform and carried a small Australian flag. The veterans of any war, men and women, marched in the front. The high school band played, and community members came next. There were the boy scouts, the girl scouts, our school, the private schools, the high school, and other community organizations. After marching the whole town (all two blocks of it) we assembled around the historical marker in the square.

There was a somber, repectful tone to the crowd as the president of the Retired Service League gave a short welcome and speech. There is a clear program to this event, and I witnessed the same series of words and songs at the two ceremonies I attended that day (the first being the dawn service, 5:30 a.m., in Coffs Harbour, a town of 50,000 30 minutes north of us). Wreaths were laid at the marker, and people of all ages were included in the rememberance.

A bugle sounded, The Last Post, the Australian National Anthem was sung, and it was over. I have yet to make it through the national anthem without tearing up, I've found.

What struck me was the attitudes and expectations leading up to and during the day. It was an absolute given, to the different people I talked to, that everyone would be there. My second grade students came in uniform to downtown Macksville at 10:15. Many of them had already been to the dawn Macksville service, as well. My son Ross was at a sleepover of three 16 year olds. The parents got them up at 5:00 a.m. to go to the service 15 kilometers to the town where they live. They all went back to sleep when they got home, but still!

Students walking in the march carried framed photographs of their great grandfathers who had served and/or died in the wars. If I asked random kids why they were there, they answered, "To remember those who died," or "It's repecting my grandpa."

In addition to the Sunday ceremonies, Macksville had an assembly Tuesday morning once we were back at school. We followed the similar pattern of tradition, but without the march. Again, the students were somber, quiet, respectful, and thoughtful during the 20 minute ceremony. I was once again taken with not only the events, but the character of the citizens who participated.

"Liberty, meet Mr. Thorncroft!"

This was an exciting week as I knew that my principal here was visiting in Corvallis and at Liberty. He was to see my exchange partner in person (instead of on Skype)for the first time since she left Australia in December. He was to meet the students in person (instead of on Skype!) and get a good taste of an American school! He came bearing artwork from the children here from Kinder up to Year 6, including a wonderful 25 page Aboriginal story retold and illustrated by the students.

Word has come through that it was a delightful visit, with parents bringing goodies, staff greeting his family, and all providing a warm Liberty welcome! I know that he must have been impressed with the beautiful school. I know he must have enjoyed meeting the teachers and staff. And I know he would have been impressed with the students. I can't wait to hear stories when he returns here.

I received a touching email from my partner during the visit. She was very taken with the relationships we have created just by carrying out the exchange and participating as we both have. We have both spoken about the future and the possibilities of a sister school relationship with Macksville. I believe the connections we are making with our students, their families, our colleagues, the communities we teach and live in, as well as the friendships our family members are making are very powerful and will not stop here. Neither of us dreamed about the far-reaching implications this year might have. We are starting to live those possibilities more and more every day.

You've Got Mail

I wish you all could have seen the faces of my students when I showed them the stack of letters in my hands from their American pen pals. The eyes lit up! They gasped! They giggled and waved their hands in anticipation! We talked about how our principal was in America this particular day, and visiting at our pen pals' school on this particular day! What a great celebration! Then I read each child's name and they came to the front to receive their letter. Each one waited with baited breath for their name to be called. The letters were colorful, and some even included pictures they had drawn.

They eagerly read their letters, shared new information with their seat mates, asked each other to read difficult words or unfamiliar expressions. "What is tackle football?" "She says her favorite fruit is canteloupe. What's that?"

We then had a glorious time on the internet watching Oregon State Football clips of games in action. I told them that canteloupe is another name for rock melon. They all giggled uncontrollably. They noticed how much each child had written and lingered over the closing and signature. I asked them to remember back to the day when they met their penpal on the screen during our last video-conference time and imagine that child writing this letter to them. Then we imagined how lucky our principal is to get to meet them in person!

They then shared the letters with each other around the room until it was time to paste them into their keepsake booklet alongside the copy of the first letter they had written to the U.S. students.

Welcome back!

We have returned to school rested and refreshed. Ahh! The spelling list is new! The writing booklets are back! It's good to see friends! The math game is great! You know that wonderful honeymoon day back from vacation? That was Tuesday.

Monday was the first day back, but was spent with teacher training workshops. The keynote speaker was Jon Joseph, a teacher and researcher who has written, among other books, Learning in the Emotional Rooms: How to Create Classrooms that are uplifting for the Spirit. He has done lots of research on learning and the brain. He talks about the different student personalities that we encounter, really only four basic ones, and how we can help shift those from the lower side of the spectrum to the higher side.

The first breakout I chose was a session with the SMART Board. I use one in Oregon, but I don't have one here. The more SMART Board I'm talked through, the better for me! Interestingly enough, this session was more basic than even I needed, yet it talked about the maintenance of the board, which I'd never learned!

The second session for me was about Aboriginal Education in our schools. I was fascinated since, of course, it is all completely new to me. I sat with a peer from my school, so she was able to translate acronyms and concepts foreign to me. The presenter asked how many of us know what the Acknowledgement to Country is. I raised my hand. I know this is when someone makes a statement acknowledging the elders of the indigeonous people, past and present, as well as future elders. I have heard this said at trainings and meetings in the area.

Then he asked how many of us have said one. Two people raised their hands. He said, "All of you should be doing this. You need to offer to make this statement at the next opportunity." Laurel looked at me, and I looked at her, and we both smiled. Guess what my homework is? Wish me luck!

Two Weeks Holidays

With ten weeks under our belts, it's time to have time off! I'm curious how this schedule will feel when the year is over. I really like the idea of 10 weeks school/ 2 weeks off for four terms, then 6 weeks off at Christmas. But my body clock is realizing that American summer is only 8 weeks away, and I won't have any of it! Yes, I had an entire month in January that my colleagues back home didn't have. But that was then! My head says, "It's April - that 2 1/2 month break is around the corner. Woo Hoo!" But no! I'll let you know in 8 weeks how I'm feeling!

Another part to consider of the 10 week term here is that there are no days off inbetween. No early release days, no conference days, no in-service days, no prep days. They are solid 5-day weeks all term long. That's very nice for curriculum planning and the consistent rhythm of the lessons. But there's no variation! There are pros and cons to each way, I think.

So with two weeks off, my family headed to the Gold Coast in Queensland and then New Zealand. We began with a tour of the Australian Zoo, home of the Crocodile Hunter. Our nine days in New Zealand included white-water river rafting, a boat through the fiords, hiking at the glaciers, trekking to find the penguins and sea lions, and driving across beautiful landscape and past vast oceans. Staying in youth hostels was a budget-friendly option, and we were able to meet people from all over the world as we cooked dinners side by side and learned new card games.

I decided my next teaching exchange needs to be in New Zealand!

Easter Hat Parade

The next day was the Easter Hat Parade. Can you tell Easter is really big here? In fact, as I mentioned, we had Good Friday off, and most businesses were also closed the following Monday. It reminds me of our four-day weekend around Thanksgiving.

The hats were also made at home and brought in for the special parade. Some were store bought and trinkets, ribbons, and toys were added. Others were fashioned out of a cereal box and some wrapping paper. The children were so proud!

We paraded for the older students as they oohed and awed. Then we paraded downtown for all of three blocks as the store keepers and customers (and parents!) admired and waved. Amazingly enough, as we rounded the block, still more folks were there to greet and wave to us! Funny, they looked very similar! (I think they knew the back ally way around, kind of like the Easter Bunny must know . . . ) When we returned to the classroom there were white dusty bunny footprints on the floor and little chocolates had been left for each of us! What else could we do with our day but color larger than life paper eggs on the floor on our tummies until our holidays began at 3:10!

I was even given, by some students, my first ever chocolate bilbies and chocolate wombat. I love this place!

Egg Drop 2010

There is a tradition that Year 2 students will design a contraption to protect a raw egg when dropped from a tall ladder. Part of the egg must be visible. The project is completed at home and brought to school on The Day for the demonstration.

The entire school assemblies around a tall ladder with lots of newspaper at the base (one parent helped put extra layers "for extra padding," he said with a wink). One of the teachers was Master of Ceremonies, and it was quite the production. The anxiety level was high as each contestant came forward when their name was announced. They handed their design to Professor Smitt who then dropped it from the top of the ladder. Each child was given a certificate, "Egg-cellent!" or "Oops!," a handshake from their teacher, and a photo taken. Applause all around! Great fun!

Pen Pal Letters

I could try to describe the area where I'm living and teaching, but after reading these letters before sending them on to the states, I thought who better to describe it to you than the children who live here?

Dear Victor,

The beach is cool. There are jelly fish and Blue Bottles. they can sting you and the sting will not go away. It will hurt you 'forevu and evu.' So don't go near the Blue Bottles, okay Victor?

Your Australian pen pal,
Shelby



Dear Melia,

I live here in Macksville. Australia has amazing rainforests. It is really really hot. And we have nice plants in the rain forest. Our rain forest has ticks and leeches. The rain forst has little water falls and interesting plants.

Your friend,
Krysta


Dear Ethan,

We don't have any snow in our rainforest. There are lots of birds in our rainforest. There is a blue tongue lizard under my house. I catch lizards. They are brown and little and they are very hard to catch.

Your friend,
Nicholas


Dear Chase,

You should see the river near my house. And I go fishing there. And I catch little fish there. And I have a rain forest near my house and I get flowers there. And I see lady beetles.

Your friend,
Jess


Dear Colby H.,

The rainforest here is amazing. The waterfalls are so big in Australia. One time dad and I went on top of a big waterfall and the person that was there looked like a ant.

Your friend,
Himayat


Dear Laura,

I live near the beach and forests. I like the beach the most because it has amazing fish, turtles, coral and lots of other things. I don't like Blue Bottles and jelly fish, sharks, and octopus. At the holidays I might be going to a place in Australia called Sydney. It is very sunny in Sydney. That's why I like it so much.

Your Australian pen pal,
Jemma


Dear Aiden,

Did you know that rain forests have heaps of trees and theres snakes there and there is crocodiles? The rain forest has ropes and you can swing on them and they come from the trees. They are up high in the trees and it's beautiful and rain goes there and all the tiny mangos grow.

Your friend,
PJ

Dear Hannah,

I don't think you know that we have a beautiful rain forest here at Macksville. We have beautiful plants and animals in Australia. We have many birds what are called whip birds. They are beautiful colors. There are little puddles with frongs in there. The trees have little holes in there. They might have koalas in there. There are insects in the rain forest. The rain forest is our beauiful place to go.

Your Australian pen pal,
Zahra

Dear Kale,

Do you want to know more about the ocean? In Australia we have sharks and we have Blue Bottles. I and Mum went to the beach and went fishing. And we didn't know we caught a stingray or a shark!

From your fishing pen pal,
Thomas


Dear Coby,

The rain forest has lots and lots of trees and a lot of animals and birds. it is dark and damp. The ocean has a lot of fish and sharks and dolfins and coral.

Your friend,
Ryan


Dear Noah,

Do you like Penny Lizards and Goannas? We have heaps of Blue tongue Lizards in our school. We call them Blue Tongue cause their tonges are blue.

Your friend,
Keith


Out of the choices to describe in our area, ocean, river, rain forest, beach, or public pool, interestingly enough only one child chose to describe the pool. It is a great complex for such a small town, and I go there to exercise after school when I can. Read the description below and imagine the smell of "hot chips," or french fries, while one is trying to burn calories!

Dear Riley,

I want to tell you about the Macksville Pool. It has three lovely pools to swim in. One pool is really big. There are two pools inside the house to have a little swim in. The pools even have candy to buy there. They have hot chips to buy as well with some hot sauce on it to eat as well. They even have a big water slide to ride and it leads to a little pool and it is very fun at the pool.

Your friend,
Lucy

A First For Me

Today I took my entire class, public school don't forget, across the street to attend a church service for Kinder - 2. That's a first.

Celebrating Easter here is a very big deal. It is bathed in tradition for the school, which is delightful to see. Generations come to watch the children's Easter Hat Parade, in which the whole K - 2 parade downtown (2 blocks away)wearing Easter Hats they have made. I get to wear one, too! Luckily I have found a gold glitter sparkly hat in my exchange partner's cupboards with Easter grass glued to the top. With a few plastic chicks added I should be good to go!

The children have an at-home project due tomorrow where they design a contraption to keep an egg from breaking after it's dropped from a ladder. I can't wait to witness my first Egg Drop.

Oh, and we have Good Friday off for holiday.

Our Day

9:10 After arriving by car, foot, or bus, the children play until the big brass bell is rung by the teacher on duty. At that time they line up in lines, boys and girls, by class. They sit in their lines while we have a morning assembly right there on the patio. It is a sight as they sit with their sun hats on and blue polos all matching.

There are morning announcements and birthday recognitions. We then take our classes down the way to our rooms. I shake hands as they enter the room, just like I always have, and the children begin book choosing. They read from their books until I begin a guided reading lesson. Parents come to exchange the Home Readers that the children have borrowed for the night. Some stay to help with small groups. Hooray!

10:00 Fruit Break. All children get their fresh fruit from their backpacks to enjoy at their desk while we hear News from each child (Sharing, Communication, Show and Tell).

10:15 Maths. Yes, maths. This includes numeracy, patterns, measure, space, shapes, and mentals. We would say number sense, algebra, measurement, geometry, and skill practice, along with the other familiar fractions and problem solving. First graders are introduced to multiplication and Second graders are expected to begin memorizing facts. Space includes learning specific directions; under, over, through, etc. Otherwise, it looks very much like Oregon. Small groups, whole class lessons, parent volunteers, dice, stations, math workbooks.

11:10 Recess. This looks very different from the states. Here the childen go out on to the large patio with their backpacks and eat a snack. Really they can eat as much from their bag as they want, and many eat a full lunch. Lunch proper doesn't come till 1:20, so they are clever to fuel up now! This lasts for 25 minutes with no play, just a break for chatting, using the restroom and getting a drink ("Use the toilets and get a drink from the bubbler"). I wish there was a play component to it for them to get out their wiggles, but I try to do that in other ways.

11:35 This next chunk of time until lunch at 1:20 is used for writing and science or social studies. Some days include Scripture or Language, art or sport.

Yes, Scripture. A group of ladies from the local church come in for 25 minutes and teach a lesson to the children that includes songs, stories, writing and coloring activities. Language is taught by a local Gumbayngiir tribe member. He teaches them the language of the local Aboriginal tribe, including numbers and phrases. They play word games, and he tells them stories. By local, I mean the actual town. Not very far away is the next tribe with a separate language. I'm learning right with the children!

I am the Art Teacher. And the P.E. Teacher. And the Music Teacher. Every week. Whew.

Yes, I do get a prep time, or RFF (Release From Face to Face). This occurs two hours together one morning when the children go to the Computer Lab and then the Library. Each is staffed by a certified teacher who teaches a full hour of lesson and practice or book choosing.

We get the wiggles out by breaking for a Morning Jog before the 11:10 Recess. We also earn Free Time which means a bag of jump ropes, hand balls, and assorted items are taken out to the patio for playtime.

1:20 Lunch. Again, the chilren go out to the patio and sit on the ground in groups with their friends, all Kinders, 1's and 2's. They eat whatever might be left and wait to play at 1:40 "down at the bottom."

Children who have ordered lunch have it delivered to the classroom in packages much like fast food might look, individual wrapped sandwiches, wraps, fruits, jellos (jellies), fruit drinks, milks, etc.

The school is built on a hillside, so the children descend the stairs to play in the open field for playtime. There is a shed with some equipment, mostly Cricket equipment and some frisbees. There is a climbing structure and maybe two other pieces of equipment like monkey bars or climbing ropes.

No hat, no play. If a child forgets a hat, they are to stay in the shade under the tree. The kids know this very well and take it seriously. The sun is taken very seriously here. All the teachers wear a hat when we're on duty.

We collect again with the big brass bell and mount the stairs for drinks and toilets. The kids line up in their lines again, sitting to wait until their teacher collects them for class.

2:10 We walk back to class, usually very very hot and tired by now. We spend the next hour in a variety of ways. Mondays is a school assembly for awards, songs, and the pledge to the Australian flag and the national anthem (played from a CD that features a didgereedoo intro and students playing rhythm sticks). Incidentally, the assembly, or any teacher training, is begun with an acknowledgement of the indigeonous peoples and the "elders present and who came before us." I blink back tears when the children are singing the anthem.

Tuesday - Friday we might use the time for spelling practice, my sterling music lessons, more science or social science or Social Skills (playing games, dances and individual projects).

We finish the day with a read aloud. I brought My Father's Dragon with me which is always a winner for the beginning of the year. Now I'm reading Bottersnikes and Gumbles. This is marvelous! I asked the librarian to feed me any Australian literature that he loves since a) I would like to read it and b) I couldn't find many of my American standbys. This book is great fun with nasty, lazy, selfish Bottersnikes with red-hot horns cuz they're always mad and who live in rubbish heaps, and giggly, helpful Gumbles who just love a paddle in the river. Unfortunately the Bottersnikes like to capture the Gumbles to do their work for them. The story goes on and in and out. The moral to the story is don't throw your rubbish into the bush!

3:10 The children head out the door to meet folks or their buses. I, of course, fall in a heap! Thanks to all the teacher and admin. support throughout the day and the jolly teachers on either side of my room who share hilarious stories and frustrations which usually include peels of giddy laughter by then, I actually get up off the floor and come back the next day!

Feeding pigeons? How 'bout Blue Tongue Lizards?

Today on lunch duty, the children were gathered around feeding the resident Blue Tongue Lizard, all of 16 inches long, I'm sure, their Vegemite sandwich crusts.

Do I tell them not to? Is it bad for them? What is bad for a Blue Tongue Lizard? Is a Blue Tongue Lizard bad for a second grader? We feed pigeons. We feed squirrels.

Now, what would you have said?

The Wild Wild West - Or - What's a Nice Teacher Like You Doing In a Place Like This?

NOW I get it! It's taken me awhile to figure this out, but I'll try to explain it as I understand it.

When one graduates from Uni (university) with a teaching certificate (which takes the usual 5 years or more), one tries to get a job, right? Well, here in Australia it ain't that easy.

One seems to earn points for the teaching positions one has. One is hired based on the number of points. You get a lot of points for teaching out west or in the middle of nowhere. You really have to "do your time" (and they seem to call it just that) in No Man's Land before you're eligible to teach in paradise where I am, or anywhere on the eastern coast, at least.

What does that look like, as we teachers like to say? In the west it looks like young, vivacious, excited, naive, energetic and enthusiastic people working hard and preparing, creating, stenciling, laminating, and making everything for their wonderful new students. In No Man's Land.

It looks like teachers who are settling for substitute work, for literally years, to earn smaller increments of points in more desireable areas, like the eastern coastal regions.

It looks like older teachers finally landing a real-live classroom they can call their very own in the town of their (and their family's!) choice. It also looks like a lot of older teachers working in schools in the desireable regions, which as we all know, as it's pros and cons.

What about an older person who decides to go into teaching for the first time? Perhaps a mom whose children are finally school age and she's gone back to earn her degree? Does she leave her (by now) tweens at home with Dad (if he's there) to go west to "do time?" Yup. Hey, it's only for 18 months or 2 years. !!

I remember seeing huge banners at the job fairs in Oregon and California advertising big salaries to come teach in Palm Springs, San Jose, Arizona, and some others. Why? The turnover was huge. It was difficult to keep good teachers at the troubled schools. What if we had to "do time" at an inner city L.A. school in order to come to beautiful Liberty?

Food for thought.

What a Deal!

I recently learned about some of the perks that come with this job, that is, if you're an Aussie teacher. We Exchangees, we just get the amazing scenery, friendly people, beautiful children with gorgeous accents, and fun-filled weekends as our perks.

Teachers here have Long Service Leave. After ten years teaching, one earns three weeks of paid vacation to take whenever one would like. Each year after, one earns an additional week. Some folks save them up and retire much earlier than expected, using their LSL as paid leave before the retirement checks come in. Others use it to take extended road trips visiting this country, or long house swaps, perhaps to other parts of the world.

Another option for teachers here is called something catchy, but basically it is 4 years on, one year off. One claims this at the start, and then one is paid for 4 years over a 5 year period. Every 5th year they take the year off.

What does this end up looking like in the classroom? Substitutes, called Casuals, are given long placements, or temporaries are hired for the year. Teachers are traveling, working on projects, or helping elder parents at different times throughout the year. It seems as though it would be disruptive for the children or the flow of the curriculum. But hey. I did it! Who am I to talk??

No, they talk funny!

Each day we get a quick note about happenings for the day. District Rugby League Trials in Bowraville, Kinder teachers holding parent/teacher interviews around Best Start results, etc.

Today's: "Does anyone have any huckerback in their classroom? Need some to start Mother's Day craft activity."

I love it here!

I Must Talk Funny!

This was funny to me today! I sent a note to the office with my late little student today that read, "Please give Keith a tardy slip and maybe have him wash up from his fishing day? :)"

The secretary came all the way down the hill to my classroom (the school is built on a terraced hillside, so it's no quick walk to get there and there is no phone/intercom system). With a smile she said, "Diantha, I'm not sure what your note means. What exactly is a 'tardy slip?' And what do you mean by, 'wash up?'" We just laughed together, and I told her, "Welcome to my world!" Apparently the term would be "late note" and "clean your hands and face in the toilet (bathroom)." Okay!

Do you suppose the girls giggle whenever I come into the office and ask for phone numbers, office supplies and photo copying paper??!

High Stakes Testing is Everywhere!

The topic at the staff meetings now is the results from the school's state testing. Some interesting pieces are that the newspapers printed the school's results for Year 3 and Year 5. It has caused huge dismay with parents, and with the schools, of course. Many want to find blame. Many feel threatened. Many feel exposed. However, it has put a fire under everyone to pull scores up. Sound familiar?

The Teachers' Federation rep came to speak and told the staff that England and the U.S. has warned us to nip this runaway train in the bud. "They" have had struggles with this for years and want for Australia to learn from their experiences. Wow. There is something to be said for being a little behind the times. When arriving into the Sydney Airport from overseas, the saying goes, "We'll be landing in Sydney; please set your watches back 5 hours and 25 years."

We have spent our team collaboration time reviewing the testing results online and finding scores for specific students on specific answers in all the strands. It's fantastic to see where the trends are for the school overall. For example, math word problem solving was very low (again, sound familiar?). Future trainings were then put in place to refresh on best practices. Similarly, reading comprehension has suffered, specifically in making inferences and locating information. One can even read the questions on the test and see what the answers were by each child. It is helping us steer our instruction, without actually teaching to the test. That is, if no one was teaching pronoun references in text, it needs to be happening! If the children can't tell who the audience is for a cartoon text, a newspaper text, or an informational test, they need to learn this! Test or no test! At the moment, at least, it's serving to sharpen the instructional focus. Not a bad thing anywhere.

We're Not in Oregon or Colorado or Nebraska or Canada or the UK Anymore!

This weekend I went to Sydney to meet up with the other exchangees here from overseas. It was the Welcome Conference offered by the New South Wales Department of Ed and the Exchange Teachers League. Guest speakers discussed the opportunities available to us now that we're here, resources to find online and within our communities, and typical adjustments to expect as we transition ourselves and our families into our new settings, both home and school.

Our round table discussions proved to be very comforting and eye-opening as we found many of the same questions and puzzlements coming from all of us! We come from Ontario, Alberta, Britsh Columbia, England, Scotland, and the U.S. We are situated in parts in and around Sydney, smaller towns, rural outback, and coastal towns (like us). Our schools range from private with children in ties and lunch seated at head tables (I envisioned scenes from Harry Potter), to the public/state schools with the children seated outside in courtyards with sun hats.

One thing for sure, we are all thrilled to be here. I felt very, very fortunate, after hearing from others, to have the beautiful setting we have, the lovely Australian family living in our Oregon home, the supportive schools both here at at home, and the friends we've left behind keeping an eye out for our Aussies, as well as the many we are making daily here in our area.

We also met up with returning exchangees just back from their year abroad. They were eager to get together with us for barbeques and reunions as they transition back to their Australian lifestyle again. The comraderie was very special, and I felt very comfortable asking any question and taking any hints and advice!

Sydney had perfect weather for our evening at the pub together after the conference, and dinner on the harbour overlooking the boats and inlets across the way. Saturday we (maybe 45 of us in all) took a charter boat for, yes, a "three hour tour." We watched the pram race at 11:00 a.m. from the water, and were right in the middle of the 2:00 schooner race! Our boat had to stop as they careened around us, crews of 3 or more harnessed in and leaning off the deck to gain speed. No one waved up to us as we cheered them on; they were too busy manning the ropes! The bay and inlets with the beautiful homes and boats anchored remind me of the Seattle area, but with many more inlets to explore. It was a fabulous day with a picnic lunch at an uncroweded public swimming beach right on the bay. We were able to laugh with the Brits and Canadians about our similarities and differences. The common thread we all share, however, is our experiences coming here and walking into our new classrooms everyday. We'll gather every month or so for different trips around the country, those of us who can make them, and share more stories as the year progresses.

Come to think of it, this is how our Corvallis friends met with our Aussie friends (who were instrumental in getting me here) all those years ago . . .

Doo Youu Oovoo?

WE DID! Today our two classrooms talked on Oovoo, a live video discussion website. There were all the Liberty kids smiling and gazing at the computer! There was wonderful Maureen sitting with all of them. My students here greeted the other class saying, "Hello from Austrayyylia! G'day, mate!"

It was definitely emotional for me, seeing the class I said good bye to just two months ago. Seeing Maureen and meeting American children was very very exciting for my Macksville kids! We all gathered around my laptop that was perched on a chair. It was informal, but it worked anyway! My principal came, with his detention student in tow (!), snapping photos and talking to the children.

The wide-angle webcam was a gift from the Room 5 parents, and today that gift created an amazing experience for 50 children and more than two teachers. Macksville's staff room was abuzz with the news that our two classrooms were talking today. Now that we've started, the possibilities are endless. As my students were practicing informational paragraph writing about Australian animals, I encouraged them to do their best and perhaps read their work "to the Americans." Their eyes got big, and their heads bent over their pages to keep going. I think both classes will have to sing "Waltzing Matilda" together. What about sharing artwork? I picture solving math problems in real time together. Don't you know that the children will come up with the best ideas for this whole thing? I can't wait!

What I Learned in School Today

Every day there is something new. At our staff meeting this week, we were walked through the process of an individual plan for Aboriginal students. I hope that as I describe it, I have interpretted the information accurately! My school here has a high Aboriginal population, and these plans are a piece of communication that includes the family, the student, and the teacher. It is different from an IEP, in fact, the two are not related at all.

This plan is specifically for goal setting and understanding each culture (Aboriginal heritage and public school). It aims at retention and attendance. The drop out rate for high school is very high. With these plans in place and revisted on a predetermined schedule, one hopes that the student will continue in school and be successful. It involves interests, strenghs, needs, family involvement, and teacher support and understanding.

The last terms are very large and complicated. That is, if I understand it correctly, the Aboriginal culture is one of extended family, close family, and fluid family. The members come and go, someone is there looking after children, but it might change one day to the next. They might go on "walk about" and move the household to another family member's for awhile. Parents may or may not catch up to them for awhile. However it "looks," it's all good.

You can imagine this affects attendance, homework, consistency, routines, friendships, and responsibilities in the world of the public school. Yet with the country's apology to the Aboriginal culture, certain obligations are to be met for these families. Yes, there are also issues of tolerance and racism. Complicated. I find myself thinking of our Hispanic culture and our Native American culture in the same breath. It is still different, though, and very immediate. My classroom has 25 students, 8 or 9 of whom are Aboriginal. They are beautiful children, and I can see them marching to a bit of a different drummer. It's so great! At the same time, I'm learning about the local Gumbayggirr language spoken by the local tribe when the language teacher comes to the classroom once a week. How lucky am I?

Revisting Alexander

If you know the story by Judith Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, you will understand my delight when I found it on the library book shelf in my new school. Hooray! Something I know!

When I read it to the class, I wondered if they would understand the humor when he is having such a bad day he just wants to move to Australia. Well . . . the story has been "Aussie-fied."

When all he finds in his breakfast cereal box is breakfast cereal, he announces, "I think I'll move to Timbuktu!" He still leaves out 16 during counting time, but he exclaims after his ex-best friend, "I hope the ice cream part falls off the cone part and lands in Timbuktu." Then, his mother takes him to the dentist, remember? But this time it's "Mum." There is kissing on TV, and of course he hates kissing. There are not limas for dinner, though. Instead, there were beans for dinner, and he hates beans. He still has to wear his railroad-train pyjamas, and he still bites his tongue. But, "Mum says some days are like that. Even in Timbuktu."

Needless to say, I was entertained, and the children understood how poor Alexander felt since we've ALL had a day like his somewhere at some time. People are people, whether in Australia, Albany, or Timbuktu.

Where do I begin?

Typical first week back to school - overwhelming, exciting, exhausting, invigorating, and educating!! First I have to say that the children are beautiful and amazing. They are terribly polite and little rascals at the very same time! We have not missed a beat since the first introductions. We've already filled in our spelling words, written lists and journal entries, chosen books for DEAR time, created our Promise to Each Other, and met Scaredy Squirrel and the Pigeon who wants to drive the bus.

But let's say it is, indeed, two worlds colliding! USA: Recess at 10:15 a.m. AUS: Morning Tea at 11:20 a.m. USA: "Use finger space between words." AUS: "A sentence begins with a capital and ends with a Full Stop." USA: No Hood, No Play. AUS: No Hat, No Play. USA: DeNealian. AUS: NSW Standard. USA: heating system issues. AUS: Air conditioning issues. USA: Did I remember my umbrella today? AUS: Did I remember my bug spray today?

But we definitely share many things: State testing, schools evaluated based on scores, staff tensions, building repairs, laughs in the halls after school, teamwork with our special kids, frustrations over the copy machine, and schedules, schedules, schedules!!!

Our first science unit is Australian Animals. I'm studying all the non-fiction books I could get my hands on for marsupials, monotremes, and more. They don't realize how unique their animals are to this continent. Doesn't everyone in the world see kangaroos on the roadside when heading out to the beach and Water Dragons at the river?

Math is called "Maths." Addition and subtraction drill pages are called "mentals." Grade blends in classrooms are called "composites," with the accent on the first syllable. The alphabet contains letters A - Zed. Prep time is called RFF (Release from Face to Face). They sing the Australian National Anthem at their weekly assemblies. Okay, I was sentimental at that point. Maybe it's the music that got to me.

It's not all work and no play. I'm carpooling with a group of teachers. We meet in the evenings for Yoga, or at 7 a.m. for Boot Camp Swim Aerobics. Once out of the pool, we shower, dress, and get to the school in 20 minutes (Aussies in this area at least are less fussy about many things). My principal loaned us his extra surf board and offered to teach my husband this weekend. There is a lavish spread of yummy foods for Wednesday's Morning Tea. And someone has already asked for a Girls' Night at my home soon!

An Ibis saunters in the little courtyard outside. Blue Tongue Lizards are out and about. Silly Galahs romp in the trees.

The older students, 5th and 6th graders who have heard I'm from America gaze as I walk by and say hello to see what I'll say back. "Have you ever met anyone famous?" they ask. "Are there gangs in America? Have you seen them?" "Do you have earthquakes?" One teacher told me that a set of boys offers to bring any new books or supplies to the classroom so I'll have to tell them where to put it all and they can hear me talk! Of course, I'm loving their accents, and their child-versions of the expressions I've been hearing out and about.

I need to go now and mark-I mean grade-papers for awhile before bed. Teaching is teaching!