Prac Update!!

I have finished my first week of prac! It is 100% completely different compared to my first prac - everything about it - is different... but that's a good thing. The year 2's are sooooooo sooooooo SOOOOOO busy - and I find myself completely exhausted by the end of the day! However I am enjoying it! Looking forward to the next 5 weeks...

That's pretty much it - now that prac has started I don't really have much of a life - so no exciting things to update you about... If something comes up I'll let you know!

I hope everyone at home is doing great! Can't wait to see you all in about 6 weeks!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ooopppssieee! I guess I forgot to update my blog once a week again..... But in my defense it's been a bit of a whirlwind with prac starting again - and besides I feel as though nobody reads my blog anymore - so I don't mind if I'm delayed updating it...

So thanksgiving just passed.... and we (Canadians) all celebrated an amazing Thanksgiving... two Mondays ago (October 3rd) we had our first Thanksgiving dinner - a few people were leaving the next day for their rural and remote placements - so we had a combination dinner of saying goodbye and thanksgiving dinner! It was potluck and Delicious!! We had a little bit of everything, turkey and stuffing (of course), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots and so on! Lise and I were in charge of dessert - we made 'TimTam Cake' and apple crisp - so good! This dinner had an Aussie twist - we ate on the beach!! So amazing!!

Beautiful Turkey! Zac and Lindsay

Lyndsey and Me!

Zac carving the turkey - with the beach in the background!

Our dessert - TimTam cake and apple crisp (yumm)

The Gang!

Then the following Saturday - we enjoyed a second Thanksgiving dinner... This time there were many Europeans that were invited who had never celebrated Thanksgiving before - so it was really exciting for them! This time we gave $10 to the chefs and they made everything - again we had quite the assortment of food! It was also amazing!!

Gang # 2

Both dinners were awesome - and it was great to celebrate with so many amazing people!

I'd also just like to say congratulations to Melissa and Sean on their wedding day! Another wedding I wish I could have been home for - but the pictures looked amazing and it looked like an amazing day!!

September Holidays 2!!

Blog – September Holidays 2!

On Sunday and Monday, Shannen and her Brother spent some quality time together by going shopping on Sunday and then went to Movie World on the Gold Coast which is like Warner Bros Studio, so I did homework – which I promised I wouldn’t update you about soooo moving on….

On Tuesday we decided to have another beach day – imagine that! This time we went to King’s Beach in Caloundra (aka Beach # 2). I have never been to King’s Beach but I believe Shannen and Andrew had been there before. It also was such a nice beach!! It’s too bad it’s a good 20 minute drive because I love the beach at Caloundra!

So that was Tuesday – on Wednesday we had been planning a big day. Every Wednesday and Sunday the coast holds these markets called Eumundi Markets – which are like the flea markets that used to be on at home. We knew that we had to get there early in order to get a car park and be able to walk around. So we left home at 7:30am and got there shortly after 8am. The markets were amazing! There were so many little shops and cheap gidgets and gadgets – it was awesome! Reminded me of the old days of the flea markets… unfortunately we were so busy shopping – we didn’t take any pictures L

Oh well….. after we were shopped out at the markets we decided to go to Noosa. I’ve already spoken about Noosa at the beginning of my time here in Australia because we went there for Lise’s Birthday but it was still awesome! Noosa is such a quaint little town – it’s very touristy though but it’s fun.  So we got there and did some (more!) shopping and then grabbed some lunch and then it was time to hit Noosa Beach (aka beach # 3 of the holidays)

haha and then Shannen got pooped on!! Sooo funny!!

Delicious! ps. note the tan eh eh...

I hate birds because of Australia! But this one is kind of purddyyy

Once we got home from Noosa we were watching the news and apparently there were sharks in the waters we were swimming in! Fantastic! There were 12 sharks and they were only 400 meters off the shore. We had noticed that there were a strange amount of helicopters flying over but never really paid much attention – apparently as soon as we left the beach – the beach was closed! It was actually pretty scary because on the news we could see the sharks swimming really close to the shore and just ahead of them there was children playing in the water…. Good thing they got everybody out of the water before anything happened!

On Thursday we decided to have a relaxed, sleep-in day, which also involved… oh you guessed it a beach! Once we got going we went shopping for an hour or two and then we headed to Mooloolaba Beach (aka beach # 4 of the holidays!)! Where we spent the rest of the afternoon, well more like entire day, relaxing and soaking up the sun! It was awesome! It was so relaxing just being on the beach and not really having too many concerns - 4 beaches in one week – I think we pretty good! It just goes to show you I didn’t have to spend lots of money or travel to enjoy the beaches of this gorgeous country!

Shannen and Andrew headed home (back to Gladstone – about 5 hours north of here) on Friday so I had some time to catch up on some homework because next week is going to be a whirlwind of assessment! So I’m happy that I got ahead of it before time runs out! Overall it was a great holiday!

Ps… Here’s a little side note for everybody – 2 months today and I will be home!!! Crazy how fast time flies!

September Holidays 1!!

Ok so I slacked one week.... and a bit – but I was doing so well!! Annnddd… I’m updating now – so that’s all that matters!!

I just had a week of holidays and although not as amazing as my previous holidays it was still pretty awesome! This time around I just hung out around the coast – did some homework and went to the beaches… Well the homework part really isn’t all that fun – and I know you don’t want to hear about it – so here’s the beaches update!

Well first of all – Shannen’s (my ‘flatmate’) brother was up all week so we were the terrible threesome all week! Our first activity of the holidays was spent climbing Mt. Coolum. Yes it is classified as a mountain – but it’s pretty small and not that intimidating – besides it has gorgeous views once up at the top and it was a gorgeous day for a little exercise. Ok well it was a little hot (first day of the hot snap and beginning of summer weather at 33 degrees) but we managed! We packed a nice lunch of chicken and ham sandwiches to eat at the top and we started our trek!

Our Reward at the end of the trek - a Carmello Koala and a Pineapple Juice - yumm!!

After our hike – we headed to the beach. Since we were already in Coolum we went to the beach in Coolum (aka beach # 1) – none of us had been there before so it was a new beach for all of us! It was gorgeous – weather was awesome and the beach was awesome!!

Placements!!

We finally have found out our placements! I was originally placed at a State School in a Grade 5 class (again) - but the next day I recieved an e-mail saying they had confused my prac and I'm actually in a grade 2 class!! Yay I can't wait....

The only downfall is I have to take a city bus and it's over an hour bus ride! yay... oh well... So I'm back to being nervous about how it's going to to - but I'm sure it'll end up being fine just like my last one!!

One more week of class then off to prac!

(Week of) September 5th!

Can you believe that it's already September? Because I can't....

I have three weeks of school left and then 6 weeks of placement! Wow!! We don't know our placements yet but hopefully by the end of next week we should know!

I have one week of class and then I'm on holidays for a week! I don't really have anything exciting planned - just hanging out on the coast - I may do some day trips with my roommate Shannen and her brother - but that's about it... well besides trying to get ahead of homework.

This weekend was pretty quiet - I had just handed in a massive assignment on Friday (47 pages and 11000 words!) and I don't really have anything due for a couple of weeks - so I took a weekend off and relaxed... I cleaned my room, bathroom and kitchen (so much fun) and then just watched some tv and movies! I did do a bit of homeword but really not a lot....

That's why I thought this was an appropriate picture for this weeks picture of the week!

So here's to a weekend of lazing around! You know it's a tough life living in this climate - especially when you're a kangaroo!

I do have to say though I really wish I could have been home this weekend! Congratulations to Mark and Kaitlyn on their wedding day!! I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you - but just wanted to let you both know that I was thinking about you the whole weekend! I hope you guys had a great day - and I can't wait to see the pictures! 

Anyway yet again not a very exciting blog update - but apparently even in Australia I can lead a boring life. Who would have thought?! Anyway keep posted because hopefully the next one will have information about placement - and maybe I'll have something exciting to say after the holidays!

Hope everyone is doing well - and talk to you all soon!  

(Week of) August 29th!

Update about me?? EDU 652 - Understanding the Student (40%), EDU 641 - 3 Day Lesson Plan and Jurisdiction (30%), EDU 615 - Teacher Identity (20%), EDU 615 - Your Story (30%), EDU 340 - Portfolio of Teaching (30%)....... sounds exciting doesn't it??

I wish I had more exciting things to tell you but I don't - the last week has been spent doing homework... however it is starting to get nicer here (you know above 23 degrees) and sunny - so hopefully the 'nice' summer weather returns soon....

Oh yeah here's some news - my flight home is booked! November 27th (at midnight) I will be arriving back home to Ottawa!! It is absolutely scary how fast time has gone by! But three months left to enjoy myself here before returning to the snowy, freezing cold weather....

Anyway that sums up my week - so the quote/picture of the day - I figured I would talk about the start of a new school year at home.. it seems there are many people at home that are starting new positions, starting a new school, leaving home to attend a new University, or even if you're staying where you were last year - I want to wish everyone the best of luck this year with their new or old jobs/schools! Happy New School Year!!

Quote: The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows :D

(Week of) August 22nd....

And my blog is 100% caught up!!! Look at me go.. I know it took me a long time to get there - but hey I'm here now!

This week is pretty low key - tons of homework to do.. so that pretty much sums up my weekend yay...  :)

So here's to trying to keep this thing updated... I'll try and touch base at least once a week and if I have nothing to say I'll have a picture of the week or a quote of the week... so here's to trying...

The picture of the week:

Here's to Havelock and all the fairs in full swing at home at the moment - oh how I miss them! I hope everyone is enjoying the last couple of weeks of summer!

(Week of) August 15th!

Finally a relatively quiet week! By that I mean first time all semester that I have nothing going on Thursday and Friday - and I can get some stuff done!

We're right into school at the moment so that's taking up a lot of my time.... but it's all good. Didn't get up to too much this week but on Saturday we decided we needed to get out of the house... So we went to EKKA! Apparently that is short for Exhibition here...

We went to a fair!!!!!! And it made me feel at home - I won't talk too much about it cause we all know what a fair is like - but it had everything rides, games, horse shows, monster truck shows, and even a lumber jack show! It was sweet as.....

Here are the pics!!!

haha funny band... and pants

ps.. father's day is in September here

Whoa Baby!

Nicest car I've seen here!

Oh yesss.. they are riding bulls... Bulls with cowboy hats on too.... There are hillbillies (Bogans - as they are refered to here) in Australia!

 Ohhhhh - Gator Races... haha

(Week of) August 8th - Camp Week!

Another busy week ahead – but I’m really looking forward to this week! I only have two days of class this week because on Wednesday I am heading back to the school I did my prac at to help them with their year 5 camp.

They offer camp to all grades starting at year 3… but this camp was the longest that they had been staying away from home. We went to Somerset Dam which was an absolutely beautiful spot overlook a lake. The first night we slept in cabins – that had kitchens, and a bathroom and a living room that looked out onto the lake.. it was spectacular. I had a room to myself and was watching 8 girls in the bunk up a few stairs from where I was sleeping.

We did activities over the next three days that included canoeing, low ropes, orienteering, bush cooking (we made damper! Yumm) and archery. The meals included lasagne, roast chicken, potatoes, veggies, pancakes, omelettes, sticky date pudding, ice cream and Sunday sauce! I ate so good away at camp!

The first night went alright – I had two girls completely spooked by what two other girls said. Two girls spread the rumour that they thought they saw rat (red) eyes underneath their bed and of course scared the rest of the girls. I managed to talk them down and convinced them that there are no animals under their beds and they stayed the night in the cabin. The second night we slept out in tents – freezing and the girls beside my tent talked the WHOLE night.. not a great night but I guess it was up to me to make them stop talking – and that wasn’t working so well.. so in a way it’s a touch of my own fault. Oh well.. it was a great experience and it was great to see the kids again – and see them outside of the classroom where students who may not normally shine were fantastic on camp!

I took a few pictures – I’m not going to post many because of privacy reasons but I did take a few of the back of heads which I’ll post because you can’t see who they are (not that you’d know them but – ya know…)

This was the view from my cabin's porch... the view from the dining hall was even more spectacular...

One of the awesome activities we did - with their helper 'Des'

More Archery - And 'Des'' Partner in Crime 'Troy'.... get it Des and Troy... DesTroy....

Busy Week! (Week of) August 1st

Late night and back to school for a bright and early 8am start…. Sucked…. But again I only had to get through 3 days of school before I was back enjoying another long weekend! That’s never going to get old….

It was another busy week though – I had class and meetings because I was volunteering at a learning conference on the Friday. So Friday rolled around and I had to be at the school for 7:30, Lise and I (and lots of others too) volunteered for the whole day – we had to speak and thank the speakers and present them with gifts and usher people in the right direction. It was a good learning conference though – very interactive and very helpful. So the conference went until 3:30 or so and the volunteers stayed until about 3:45-4:00 and then us Canadians went to another conference from 4:30-6:30. We had to go to a ‘CANTEACH’ conference where Mike – who is the guy who got us here – was holding a conference on how to apply to Ontario. Yep – it was an ecstatic and exciting Friday…. Whoooo….  But it was all good…

Dad and Linda Visit - Day 3 - July 30th

The last day of the visit was spent cruising around the reef! We took a big boat out to the reef… which was even rougher than the boat cruise…. This time I was reallllll close to losing my lunch – it took some serious will power not to throw up… The three of us weren’t sick – but everybody around us was… even the staff said it was unexpectedly rougher than normal – it was unpleasant and I was very happy to get off that boat! We spent the day on the water, we went on a little glass-bottom boat tour to a little island that was invested with annoying birds… that smelt and basically everywhere we stepped we were looking up to make sure we weren’t about to get…… well you guessed it… But we did see turtles in the glass bottom boat which pretty cool!

Big Boat for the day!

Zebra Fish

Glass bottom Boat

Turtle! Glass bottom boat

smelly annoying birds...

Swing in a tree

Sea Cucumbers!

There was also a half-submarine boat that we went out on – which was awesome because we could see all the fish and the reef and we saw at least 10 turtles! Soooo cool!! They were swimming right beside us! Then we spent the rest of the afternoon snorkelling – and looking around.

 I believe there is a turtle in this picture - really hard to see though... 

We then jumped back on the big boat and headed back – luckily the ride home was nowhere near as rough as the way there!

Dad and Linda dropped me back off at school – where we departed ways for the next 4 months or so…. It was a great weekend and it was so nice to see them!