Today I learned about the fantastic tradition of carnivals in Australian schools. Every term Narara Valley High School holds a carnival which is a series of competitions between different houses in the school. Narara is divided into four houses based on the last names of the students. The house names are famous Australian athletes and each house is assigned a color. The houses at Narara are Kelly (blue), Gardner (green), Makay (red), and Saxby (yellow.) Teachers are also clumped into the houses and serve as supervisors for those houses at the carnival. I'm in Gardner. (Think of it like Professor McGonnagal from Harry Potter is in Gryffandore.)
This term's carnival was a swimming carnival. The entire school spent the day at the pool where the different houses competed by age and gender against each other. It was super fun to see the kids dressed in their own clothes - as they could be out of uniform as long as they were wearing their house colors. There were Year 11 Saxby boys wearing yellow fairy wings, Makay girls with red hula skirts, and Kelly students with blue face paint. It was self expression in students that I haven't seen since I was back in Alaska. I had supervisory duties all day, which allowed me to be right down amongst the students. It was so nice to see them happy and positive. I noticed that there was almost no swearing by students at the carnival and was told by another teacher that most of the kids with the bad mouths skip this day of school. Kids brought water guns to school but only the Year 12 students got to use them. As I was down amongst them all I ended up being showered a few times by stray streams. It was a good cool down in the hot sun! I also noticed that if you raised your cell phone and said "I have a phone" you could avoid being hosed. The many uses of these grand digital devices. Something I experienced which I definitely think needs to be brought back to Seward Middle School is the student catering. Students walk around in pairs with lunch trays of fruit like grapes and watermelon, coffee and milk, cakes and cookies. At one point they even brought around ice blocks (popsicles)! They go to each teacher and ask them if they want any - just like tea time in a aristocratic British movie! Like I said, I think we need to start this up at Seward Middle! Monday was an OK day at work. Some classes went well, and some not so much. I'm still getting use to the uncomfortable feeling when walking into a classroom knowing that it is a crap shoot on whether or not things will go as planned and the students will be willing to learn. My Year 7s and 8s are pretty predictable. My Year 8s definitely need a seating plan which I will give them tomorrow. Be damned with the ten different classrooms I have them in. They need a seating chart and I will make it work. I really like my Year 10s. They are rough, and there are definitely some ring leaders, but they are likable and we are getting to know each other. A bright note on that class is that I only have to teach them Coastal Management for another 10 or so lessons and then I get to move onto global issues like human rights! Yes!!! My year 9s are my challenge. After talking with a couple other teachers that have them as well I have learned that I just need to be really strict. Being strict isn't fun.. but either is a dysfunctional class. I'll give it a try. Important things to mention 1. It is starting to become autumn here. The mornings are crisp and the evenings have that late summer feel 2. Olin stayed home sick today 3. Olin and Alta had soccer try outs on Sunday and played some of the best soccer I've ever seen them play. Alta has such good movement on the field, and Olin had his debut performance as a goalkeeper. He looked amazing! 4. Mom and Dad left for Darwin today. They will likely head to Tasmania from there. 5. I'm in week 4 of the 10 week term and then I get two and a half weeks off. Looking forward to that. 6. My exchange partner in Seward is getting a right classic Alaskan winter. Lots of snow, moose, and... more snow! 7. I will have a sub for the first time on Friday. I'm heading to Sydney for a Teacher Exchange Conference. Walk to Work Tally - 106 miles
1 Comment
Naomi
2/22/2017 05:59:34
Quin likes the idea of serving the teachers. She thinks maybe the Student Leadership Team could take the lead on that--and she will be in middle school by the time you are back. So maybe you can make it happen here. Did the school provide the food, or do parents send it in with kids like on Teacher Appreciation Day?
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AuthorThe Liljemark's enjoy exploring the world. This blog chronicles our adventures. Archives
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