Socks!...

Hi Readers,

Well here we are on the 2nd last day of holidays (I don't count the weekends as holidays, as we already get them!) and I have finally sat down to do a post. I clearly remember doing a post at the start of the holidays saying that I expected to do quite a few...fat chance of that happening now!!

Last weekend I spent a few days in Melbourne with my wife, something we try to do every extended break.
We just fluffed around the city, went shopping and also went to my first AFL match in a few years.
This was heartbreaking as my team, Richmond, got absolutely flogged!!

One of the goals of our shopping (apart from me visiting every motorbike shop that I could find!) was for me to find some more new socks for work.

That does sound strange I know, but let me give you some background to this...

I have always liked brighter colours of clothes, and a year or so ago I bought a set of socks that had bright toes, heels and a bit of a stripe down the side.
Over time, the kids at school would notice these when I sat down with them, and they would often ask me each day what colours I was wearing.

I also had lots of other bright colours, these are the leftovers!

Now, as my regular Readers would know, I spent a few weeks overseas last year on a scholarship. During my time in London I came across some socks in Marks & Spencer that I thought would complement my collection, and they turned out to be very popular when I started wearing them back at school.

As you can see, the bright colours were a big attraction for me!

Over time the children at school started to make requests.."Mr K, can you wear green tomorrow?"

If they weren't making requests, then there would often be many of them just checking to see what colours made the grade for that day.

Then, after a little while I asked one child what colour I should wear the next day. She couldn't decide between two colours, so that night I decided to wear one of each the next day, and didn't this create a monster!!!

Once the word got out that I was wearing odd brightly coloured socks, more children than usual started to show an interest in it.

Keep in mind though that this only happens in the cooler months when I wear long pants, as wearing these socks with shorts (which I often wear) would not be a good look at all, especially in my role as Deputy Principal of a large school.

Fast forward to January this year, and you will find Jen and myself overseas again, visiting Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Austria.

In Barcelona we actually found an entire shop dedicated to selling these types of socks! I was in sock heaven!!!

I loaded up on a few pairs and waited eagerly for the cooler weather to set in later in the year.

At first I could get away with wearing a different pair each day, but then the kids remembered about mixing up the pairs.

Not only was I now mixing two colours, but I was now being asked to mix colours and designs!

Kids don't just ask me what I am wearing, but sometimes they might come up from behind and lift my pants cuff to see what socks I have on for the day, or ask if I can show them.

They even come up and try to guess what the combinations might be.

As I am on after school duty most nights, this is when I will often get requests put in for the next day, so I have to be on the ball in trying to manage these requests.

Here are some of them, and the names that the kids give them...

 "Strink" - Stripes and Pink

 "Grots" - Green and Spots

 "Shurple" - Shapes and Purple

 "Blink" - Blue and Pink.

 And here is my latest purchase. Notice that the two pairs on the left come already mixed- what a bonus!!

And on the right are my latest Richmond socks - They will NOT be mixed with anything else, they will always be worn as a pair!!

And now my sock drawer has a distinctly bright theme to it!!

I mentioned just above that the socks will be worn as a pair. This generated lots of discussion with the kids about "What makes a pair of socks a pair?"

Many see that they must be the same to be a pair, while others say that as long as there are two socks, that makes a pair.

Either way, I'm not fussed as it has been a great way to further build relationships with the kids at school as it encourages communication and further builds those bonds with the kids that are just so important.

Furthermore, as I get my socks ready each night/morning, it really influences my outlook on the day and puts me in a really positive frame of mind. Whether that is due to the bright colours I'm not sure, but it does give each day added purpose as I know that some kids are going to make a beeline for mr to check out the socks for the day.

This then opens up opportunities to talk with them about lots of other things, they are just great icebreakers.

So here I am at the end of my holidays talking about socks, and in a way it has already got me motivated for next Monday.

So Readers,

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

It's Holidays again!

Hi Readers,

After a period of being really slack, I have committed myself to adding another post, my second for the week!

I can't guarantee it will be worthwhile, or contain anything that could be considered even mildly interesting at best, but I'm having a crack!!

This morning is the first day of two weeks of holidays from school, and the day could not have started any better.

My wife, Jenny, as she went to bed last night left me with the words "I might just stay in bed until mid afternoon tomorrow", so I knew she had plans for a great big sleep in.

I fell asleep in the lounge watching the football, and woke up as Sydney were singing the club song in the rooms after beating Melbourne. So, off I went to bed, but had a really restless night, and ended up back on the couch at 3.00 am so that I wouldn't disturb Jen who was sound asleep.

I then woke very early, so decided to have a little workout to stretch and maintain the rehab I need to do on the bits of my body that continue to ail me.

To my surprise, I then see Jen up and about just after 7.30, apparently she couldn't sleep either, so her plans for a big sleep in never worked out either!

So here we both are, first day of holidays, and up at the same time we normally do for a work day. DOH!!!

But all was not lost!!

We both had a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs, read the papers and had a few lazy cups of coffee by the fire. A very relaxing start to the day.

All the while we had the most beautiful music laying through the house, which needs a bit of explaining.

This week at school, we hosted the Australian Girl's Choir (AGC) for some workshops with the kids as well as a whole school performance. They were just brilliant, and to think that they come together from all over Australia to travel together for two weeks was just amazing.

I arranged a number of families to host a group of them, so each morning they would come to our school before heading off with their adult leaders for the day.

On Thursday, Grant Shannon, one of our teachers who has a therapy dog that he uses in class was passing through the office area with Sonny.

I asked if he could introduce Sonny to the girls, which he was proud to do, and the way that the girls embraced Sonny was very special to witness.

They asked lots of questions, and Grant, as always was more than happy to oblige.

I've been trying to upload a short video about the program Grant has introduced, but have been having some technical snags, but will get it sorted over the next few days.

Sonny and Grant certainly do have a special bond.

 Grant and Sonny with some members of the AGC.

 

And I often get to spend quality time with Sonny if Grant needs to leave him somewhere for a short period.

This was yesterday just for about 20 minutes. As I was working in our office Sonny came in to be looked after by me. As I was tapping away on my laptop Sonny just wandered around and just made himself comfortable. Lo and behold he then came and stood beside me and just watched what I was doing on my laptop, then plopped his head on my lap and just rested there.

It was just so relaxing as it made me stop stressing about what I was doing, so I just rubbed his back for a while and listened to the music that I had playing. Now I know how the kids feel in class when Sonny helps them to relax.

Maybe Grant sensed I needed a visit from Sonny!!!

So, back to the start of my post, this is why we had the AGC music playing in our house this morning while we had the most relaxing morning ever. They gave me a copy of their CD for the work we did with them this week as a thank you, something which I really appreciated, and will continue to play when I need relaxing.

 This morning was particularly cold, down to -3 degrees and a severe frost.

I find this weather nearly unbearable, and actually found the -16 we experienced in Salzburg back in January more enjoyable. Probably because I dress more appropriately for the weather when travelling than I do when it gets cold at home and I still get around in a t-shirt and light jumper rather than something more suited to these cold days!!

 You can se where the sun is coming up and melting the frost along sections of our yard.

So Readers, what does the rest of the day hold for me?

As it is cold, but still sunny, I am definitely going out for a spin on my trusty motorbike- just have to get my fix!! I'll be rugged up, but all ready to experience the beauty of being out on it.

My football team, Richmond, are playing tonight so that means I have to get everything done before then so that I can watch the game. That means after my ride I change from all that protective gear into my running shorts and t-shirt and get my exercise fix before it gets too cold again.

Hopefully I'll be back in time to lay some food on the BBQ and cook up a feast for us, as that is nearly one of my favourite places to be at home! The only worry is that I may leave it too late, and will be out at the BBQ in the freezing cold! I need to be well organised!!

Well Readers, the Suzuki Boulevard is calling me, so that's it for today.

Stay tuned for more regular posts these holidays.

As always, until my next post...

Cheers!!