Oh the places...

They'll go. "They" being my students. Between field trips, swimming sports, staff development day, public holidays, surfing days, and work experience I haven't had a normal week with my students in weeks. That's not counting the days when the students just don't come. There is no attendance policy. No truancy. No nothing. If they don't come, then the school can't do anything about it. I have several students in my year 9 class who have missed so many days I can't even begin to fathom how to catch them up. They don't do homework and I have no idea if they will be in class the next time we meet. The students only have English three times a week and last week that meant several year 8's missed two out of three days. And I won't see them again until Wednesday. Where is the consistency? How are students supposed to build on knowledge if they are interrupted every other day? How am I supposed to teach any of them anything? It's been very frustrating. But onto...

Oh the places I'll go. I just spent a weekend in Melbourne and I have to say thank God the weather was nice. I think we walk a bazillion (more or less) miles a day and we did so happily thanks to the sun. Raina, Teresa, and I saw the Aquarium (let down), Moomba Festival (awesome), St. Kilda (fantastic), Melbourne Central (more on this in a second), Federation Square, SouthGate, and the Casino (looked didn't touch). Melbourne is a wonderful city. It was very easy to travel around, either by walking or by hopping on one of the trams. The people are friendly and there is a lot to see and do! More than that, there is a lot to eat!! We packed meals for breakfast and lunch to save on our budget but at every corner there is tempting food. I could go to Melbourne every weekend and eat at a difference place for each meal and still not have experienced them all by the time I leave in April! It's a wonderful problem to have. At the end of a wonderful, yet tiring, tour of St. Kilda, we decided to make a stop in Melbourne Central, a shopping mall. Wandering through the maze of expensive, yet fabulous, fashion, I look up and I see it. The Gap. I wanted to cry. I ran in and took in all of it's colorful cardigan and jean goodness. Who knew that something so little would cause such a big reaction? I surprised even myself. But I guess it's the little things you miss and you don't even realize you miss them, until you do.

If that's how I react to The Gap, I can't imagine what it will be like when I see Chipotle again.
Oh, and all my friends and family :)

'Ta!

The F Word

No. Not that one. I’m talking about “fun.” I have a student in my year 8 class who claims that the only way she could listen better is if the class was fun. On an exit slip I gave at the start of the unit on character she asked why we weren’t doing anything fun. At the end of the unit I handed out a self-evaluation sheet for them to fill out. Under “In what ways could your work have improved,” she wrote, “If it was fun and if i actully listened more…” She claims that English (she spells it with a lower case “e”) is the only class where they don’t have any fun and don’t get rewarded. Of course, she makes sure to add that this is only when I have been teaching.

Now if you’re thinking I’m feeling insecure and am about to cave to the ways of fun- don’t. I can hear Carol Jago calling to me all the way from the states. Fun and learning are not synonymous. She’s the only student who has made this claim (either because she’s the only one bold enough or the only one who feels this way). On other exit slips and self-evaluations students were very honest about the quality of their own work and proved to me that hey are understanding the material. But just because she is outnumbered in her thinking doesn’t mean I don’t address the issue. She’s not paying attention in class. Not in individual work, group work, class work. Her work is late and her assignments have been low scoring. Her friends do very well, even when they are distracting each other.

So what do I do? I don’t want her left in the dust. She doesn’t seem to take the assessments seriously so I can’t be sure if she understands the material. I don’t want to keep trucking forward with her dragging along, “playing school.” I realize that her plea for fun is a way for her to get out of doing work and remove herself from dealing with personal responsibility. But still-she has to learn something. Help me cohort!

Wow- a lot has happened since I last posted. I won't bore you with all of the boring details but I will try to catch you up.
I panned for gold-didn't find anything.
Hiked in Tarra Bulga- avoided being a tick host (unlike my other housemates).
Made Mexican food- realized I need it every day.
Fed a kangaroo- blew my mind.
Had a Huntsmen in the house- survived but severely traumatized.

Looking ahead: Friday brings the school swimming carnival! The school houses (yes they have houses) compete against each other in sports carnivals. I signed up to be the announcer (it seemed like a fitting role) and I get to announce the races and the house points. I can't wait. The school is probably going to regret giving me a microphone but they did seem to think that everyone would listen to me. All due to my "mad as" accent. Sunday morning I'm going on my first sailing experience. I'm very excited not only to sail but also to catch up with another Miamian!

Teaching has been really great. Staff meetings, team meetings, and PLT meetings are a little exhausting but they only happen a couple times a week and it's good experience for the real world. My school really tries to cultivate a positive atmosphere between the teachers and I think they do a good job of it. My students are good kids. There have been a lot of issues with late work and it's getting really frustrating. I told my 8th graders that unless they have talked to me beforehand, late work is going to be a warning (this is part of their school wide behavior management plan). So hopefully curbs some of that. I'm really working on getting the students to silently read their texts and respond to DRA's. The 8th graders are doing really well but the 9th graders are putting up every barrier possible. I am getting the chance to work one on one with a student to improve his reading fluency and comprehension. In the next couple of weeks I will be taking over the 9th graders and 12th graders so in the end I will be teaching 8th, 9th, and 12th grades while observing 11th grade. It's a lot to think about but once I get this PLC out of the way I think it should be doable.

The students pretty much assume that everyone in the states lives in giant mansions and throws massive parties because their parents are out of town all the time. Thank you Hollywood. I have disappointed them as I am lacking any crazy mansion part stories.

Here's some slang to add to your vocabulary :)
Adding "as" to a phrase: Like the previously used "mad as." I have also heard "cool as." Apparently adding the "as" intensifies the mad, cool, funny or whatever sentiment is being used. Most likely used in a positive situation.
sooking: Crying or being a wimp. When I asked the students about this one I thought, "Why not just say crying then?" Oh well.
whinging: Pronounced like the street Harry Potter grows up on, it's used in place of whining.
How you going?: Instead of "How are you?" or "Hows your day?" I never know which answer they are looking for so I reply with a vague "I'm fine" with a smile.

They haven't appreciated my Harry Potter references quite like I had hoped. But I'm working on converting them.

'Ta!

There's A First Time for Everything

It’s been a busy couple of days! I have had my first days at school, my first days teaching, my first experience body surfing, and (thankfully minimal) my first Australian sunburn.

School is so exciting. It sounds like a vague adjective but it’s hard to put into words. The kids are great fun, but still have their moments-like most teens their age. Surprisingly, I’m really keen on my year 8’s. I never thought I would mesh well with the junior high age but these guys are fun and goofy but are hard workers when it came to class time. We are starting Holes and I think it’s going to be fun. I love the book, and an extra bonus, I have already read it and have experience with it. In my other classes I’m playing catch-up. The year 12’s are reading The Quiet American, a book about the Vietnam War, which was made into a movie starring Brendan Fraser. My teacher gave me the DVD for the weekend and said, “Watch the movie so you know what’s going on. That’s what I did.” So there’s a small look into the curriculum. The teachers are very lovely, and I like mine a lot. She has a lot of energy, the kids seem to really like her, and she has been very proactive about getting me in the classroom and also providing me with constructive feedback. Things are different here and it’s a big adjustment switching from 7 short periods to 4 long ones, and having to move classrooms each time. Moving classrooms makes it really difficult to display any kind of student work, hang any posters up about specific subjects, or even really create a consistent management plan (since the rooms could change depending on the day). Overall, Yarram is a good fit for me and I’m looking for to the diverse challenge.

Unrelated. Australia is beautiful. I spent the day at the beach yesterday and it was astounding. Crystal blue waters with amazing clarity, and white sandy (squeaky) beaches, surrounded by an incredible forest landscape. Seriously. Unbelievable. It’s hard to think that some people actually to get grow up in a place like this. On a not so glamorous note-the spider kill count is high. I kill at least one everyday but thankfully there’s some handy kill spray around the house so I can keep a safe difference. Still keeping an eye out for the dreaded huntsmen. Pray that I avoid it!! Being here has also made me grateful for some very silly things. Like Internet. Raina and I are splitting a mobile broadband Internet server that came loaded with 5 GB. We’ve gone through that in a week. Thankfully, it can be recharged and more data put on it. Unfortunately, it’s expensive and even though we will be buying 10 GB with a huge expiry date, I know that it will be gone in just a couple of weeks. Wanting to stay connected does not come cheap. Actually, most things in Australia don’t come cheap, but so far it has all been worth it.

To continue your Australian education, here’s some more slang:

            Bevo- beverage, drink. Kate said “beverage” is too formal and here most things get shortened with an “o” added to the end

            Trolley- shopping cart

            Galah- a beautiful bird BUT when you are called a galah it’s another way of saying you aren’t very bright

            Chockers- I have made up my own spelling for this one. It sounds like chalk-ahs, meaning busy or full. For example, “The beach was chockers with people”

            Tea- Not exactly slang but they use this to refer to dinner. But they also have tea. So sometimes a person might be referring to the drink or they might be referring to the meal, the guess is yours.

I’m sure the more I talk to the kids, the more words I will learn. More to come after my first full week of school! I will leave you with the kangaroo’s. 

Cheers!

Living in the Land of Oz.

Greetings from Australia!

I meant to start this blog before I left but without any homework to procrastinate with I had to use that procrastinating energy somewhere! I will hopefully keep this blog updated pretty regularly with tales of living in Australia, weekend trips, and adventures in the classroom. To catch everybody up, I’m living in Yarram (Yea-rum) Australia for the next three months to student teach at Yarram Secondary College. I still don’t have any information about what I’m going to be teaching but when I know-you’ll know. So far this adventure has included a 16-hour flight, a lost suitcase (that was eventually returned to me), already 5 dead spiders, and driving trips on the wrong side of the road.

I’m living in a three bedroom house with Raina (also a Miami student here to teach at the primary school) and Hamish Clark, an English teacher at the college (college= grades 7-12). The town is a very small, remote, rural area but it is so beautiful. It’s similar to living in Oxford, minus the University. They have some great local cafes and pubs that Raina and I are eager to check out. Thankfully, Hamish really likes to cook and has agreed to make dinner if we clean up. Done. Deal.

The Australian accent is so much fun to hear-even if I don’t always catch what’s being said. I will keep a running list of some vocab that I have heard. So far there’s been:

“No Hawkers”- found on store front shops, I think the equivalent would be “No Solicitors”

“Bathers”- Swimming suits (which I forgot)

“Case”- luggage, suitcase

“Barby”- barbeque, I’m sure most of you knew that BUT what I learned was it’s used for any time the grill is being used, not just for the style/type of food or sauce being used.

“No worries”- Said pretty much all the time. Used as a form of “Your welcome,” and “No problem,” and in any situation in which worries may arise.

            Everyone has been so wonderful and gone out of their way to make us feel comfortable and at home. Raina and I are creating a list of places we are hoping to go and explore! School starts Thursday, and there are teacher service days on Tuesday and Wednesday so hopefully more good things to come! Leave comments with questions or if there is anything you want to know more about specifically. 

Rod taking Kyle, Erica, and myself to his home in Drouin. Steering wheel on the wrong side!

The Melbourne (Mel-bin) skyline. They have their own Batman Building!

Some of the other students from Miami in the same program. All the girls in the front, Kyle in the back with the hat on, and our supervisors Debbie and Rod on either side of me!

My room for the next three months!

The bathroom the three of us share. No shower curtain, just an odd archway.

Part of our backyard with Hamish playing the guitar.

Do it Yourself Spa Day!

Yesterday was my good friend's birthday. Thinking about what we were going to do to celebrate her Golden Year I came up with the idea of having a spa day! Considering my limited budget I knew a real day of pampering at a proper spa wouldn't be possible so instead I started researching what we could make ourselves at home. I found a lot of different recipes containing all sorts of botanical oils, fancy herbs, and recipes I knew wouldn't be available at the Oxford Wal-Mart Superstore. Instead I opted for two-three ingredient recipes that I knew would be easy to find and wouldn't go to waste if not everything was used!

Ingredients for our day of pampering!

Whoops! Forgot the yogurt.

We did a moisturizing facial mask, avocado hair mask, and a body scrub.
Ingredients for the facial mask:

• plain yogurt. The recipe I used recommended Greek and I was really satisfied with the turn out.
• 2 egg whites.

You add 2 egg whites to a bowl, I did this pretty successfully by carefully cracking the egg and carefully pouring out the whites. I'm pretty sure there is a fancy kitchen accessory that could do this for you but I didn't have access to one. Once you start mixing it up the yogurt starts to clump but if you stir it quickly for a couple of minutes to will mix together pretty nicely. Depending on how runny the combination was I added a dollop or so extra of the yogurt to give it some weight. I stored it in a plastic container in the fridge to help it set up. I applied it using a cleaned concealer brush for more control but I'm sure using your hands works fine too. Add some cucumber eye coverings if you like, and watch out for drips! Leave it on for a few minutes (5-7) and then wash off with a warm wash cloth.
NOTE: I made a separate recipe for each person and that was super unnecessary. One recipe will go for three or four people.

Putting on soothing tunes for background music adds to the experience.

Ingredients for the avocado hair mask:

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

After removing the avocado of it's peel (is it a peel or a skin?) add the honey and the olive oil into a mixing bowl and start mashing. This part takes several minutes and just when you think it's creamy and smooth enough, you find another large piece of avocado. And you will continue to find large pieces of avocado as you apply the mixture to your hair. Mash it as best as you can, then get a friend to help you apply. After you apply I would recommend wrapping your head in plastic wrap or wearing a shower cap because you will be keeping this on for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes rinse hair THOROUGHLY. You might want to enlist the help of a friend. Maybe take a comb with you in the shower because avocado pulp is tricky and will find in your hair. Wash your hair with a shampoo-no need to condition afterward.
BEWARE: Of flying avocado pieces as you apply to hair.
WARNING: To those of you who have thin or fine hair or hair that's prone to oil and grease, you may want to follow the "Lather, Rinse, Repeat" instructions. Or skip adding the olive oil to the mix. There were some issues with thin hair being greasy even after washing.
HINT: If you wanted to accomplish two things at once you could apply the hair mask then hop in the shower to apply your homemade body scrub. You will come out feeling smooth and refreshed.

Mixing up the slimy mask!

Ingredients for the homemade body scrub:

• white sugar, raw sugar, or Epsom salt. Whatever ingredient you choose is really about how coarse you want the scrub to be. I chose white sugar because again it was all about availability. However there were several warnings against using brown sugar-apparently you will end up in a syrup.
• Body oil, light olive oil, apple oil....Pretty much any type of oil that ISN'T vegetable or peanut. I chose Palmer's Moisturizing Body Oil. There was a hint of coconut added a pleasant and relaxing scent. 
• I didn't do this but you could add lavender extract, lemon zest, or pretty much any scented accent for color or scent preference. 

I would go to your favorite craft store to pick out a cute container but I found that Ziploc containers work just as well. It's 2 cups of sugar (or whatever you chose) and 1 cup of the oil you chose. However it can be even simpler than that. Fill whatever container you have full of sugar and then saturate that with oil. Make sure the oil coats all of the sugar. I used a wooden cuticle stick to gently stir and move the sugar so I could pour the oil directly into the bottom. Make sure you get plenty of oil (I had to get three more bottles).
When you're in the shower put a quarter size amount on your fingers and then rub slowly in a circular motion. I focused on the backs of my arms and legs where my skin gets really dry. If you're doing this and the hair mask at the same time make sure your bathroom drain can handle it-this could (and did for us) get ugly. Once you get out of the shower lather on your favorite lotion and enjoy the perks of being a woman.

The first one on the left is complete and the other two are just jars of sugar.

Trying to illustrate the art of poking around with a wooden stick.

Voila! Beautiful skin in a jar.

We had a marvelous day and felt very glamorous afterwards. I hope you try these out and feel the same!
Here are the links where I found the recipes, they have so many more for all different skin types and hair types:
Homemade Body Scrub
Facial Mask
Hair Mask

Final Product!

Ok so it's been AGES since I posted but school started and life got a little crazy. It did not take me this long to finish the monogram-I promise it's a really easy craft! Enjoy the final product!

The picture is a little strange but this is the general idea.

Slightly better picture,

I went back after everything was dry and free-handed some small details to add depth to the pattern.

Not everything got the same details. Variety is after all the spice of life.

I wish my lines were a little cleaner but without using rubber stamps I don't know how I would do this.

From far away any little mistakes fade away! How nice. We added some shelves and hope to add some framed pictures too!

Ta-da!

Who knows why we have the things we do in our apartment.

I would call this a mild success for my first how-to. It would be interesting to see if painting on top of a stencil works better, or using some type of stamp. Did anyone try it? Any suggestions from people who have made similar things?