"Lock and Send" Dale Down Under: April 2013

My class started swimming today. I couldn’t believe what amazing swimmers most of them were. I was inspired to look for some classes for myself!! Especially if I plan on getting in the ocean with whale sharks during my first holiday break. Yikes!! School is winding down from first term. We will have a two week break soon and then term two will begin. Sometimes it feels like I have been here a long time and other moments its hard to believe its April. I am still finding teaching challenging as I’m always feeling the pressure of achievement standards being a focus for the school.

We had our Canadian assembly last Friday. The children were great, and as all teachers know at this age it doesn’t really matter what they do they are cute!! I once again was bit intimidated by the whole school and numerous parents in the audience. The student population is 800!! Many parents came up to me afterwards and said how much they enjoyed it especially the photos of Canada (which as you can guess had a WINTER theme to them). When I think about teaching these days I am reminded of the idea that when you first learn new things you are unconsciously incompetent (definitely me the first six weeks). And then you become consciously incompetent (sometimes I am feel like I am in that stage right now) as I realize how many uh ohs!! I have committed. I am working to hopefully the end of the year becoming consciously competent?? It is a humbling experience especially when you have been teaching for awhile. But the children in my class and the flat kids and penpals from Canada keep me smiling when I feel like crying!! Today a little girl in my class came in with a poster that she had created over the weekend. She had made a KWL for Canada with her questions being ones for me like “how deep does the snow get?” “have you ever slept outside in the snow?” “have you ever been in really freezing water?” Made me smile!!!

Yesterday I went with a teacher cycling from Perth to Fremantle stopping for our ritual Flat White along the route. We had lunch in Fremantle and shopped in the E Shed Markets. Then we boarded a tall ship called the Lewen. It was amazing. The boat is used for school groups to experience living and working together on the ship for a week. I know our schools in Canada have similar programs as my son Michael accompanied a group of students on their trip that departed from Victoria. This ship though, sailed out of Fremantle and we toured down the coast for an evening cruise. The Lewen is manned with volunteers, many who are returning students. The guests were also helping hoist the sails and steer the ship. It was a lot of fun. The highlight for me was the amazing sunsets!! I never get tired of the sunsets or the surf in Australia. The ocean has been therapeutic like the mountains can be back home. And a sunset on the ocean is just another layer of nature at its best!!

So I hope you enjoy the pics!!