Our last real day in Brisbane...

Hi Readers,

I'm really cranky while writing this post, as I have just spent an hour writing it, only to lose it all when I switched apps to upload some photos. Rest assured I will be tapping 'Save' whenever I leave this app From now on!!

As I write it a second time, it is always in the back of my mind, "Is this as good as the first attempt?" 

Today started with a very lazy sleep in, something which I rarely do, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

We were then off for some casual browsing in the shops. First stop was the Apple Store for some necessary purchases, and some that weren't on the cards too.

As we left the shop, Jen suggested we split up and do our own thing for an hour or so. Bingo!! Shopping 101 defined in an instant!!

I swear it was less than 10 minutes into this venture into retail peace that I got a call from Jen to say that the shoes I had been looking for were " Near Hungry Jack's" or that was what I thought she said.

Keep in mind Readers that I had some extra cash in my wallet from yesterday ( read previous post).

So when I found Hungry Jack's, I saw a shoe shop next door. In I go, and while I did not find the exact shoes I was after, I did pick up a pair on special that fitted like a glove. That's an odd thing to say, especially when I was after shoes, not gloves!!!

I left the shop and was taking the shoes back to our digs when Jen rang to organise a meeting place before we went to our planned movie date!

I duly caught up with her, and on the way to the cinema we walked past the shop where I bought the shoes. I asked her to come in and I'd show her the shoes I bought. Her response? "This isn't the shop I told you to come to".

Once again, I had only listened to part of what she told me on the phone, and went to the wrong shop.

We then went to the correct shop and saw the shoes that I was after, but I just couldn't be fagged trying to take the other ones back. Plus, they fit beautifully and I'm happy with them, so why bother?

Anyway, I have since convinced myself that although the other shop had what I was after, there was no way they would have had my size!!

I just mentioned the movies, and we went and saw 'Bridget Jones' Baby'. I'll admit I went in thinking that it would be just another chick flick, but I will freely admit that it was brilliant. The music caught me from the start, as did the totally appropriate swearing at just the right times throughout the movie. I'll also admit to a sneaky tear welling towards the end 😢!!

9.5 out of 10, I thoroughly recommend it.

And to end the day I went for a long walk at dusk and scored some great shots of Brisbane finishing the week.

As I walked past the Gabba ground, it was amazing to see a residential property directly across the road. Where else in the world would you see this?

The bridge to South Bank lights up at dusk. People everywhere tonight, South Bank is THE place to be on a Friday night.

                                

                        

And the city starts to empty for the weekend. There is a massive celebration here tomorrow night that will bring thousands of people to South Bank. Such a shame we will miss it.

Brisbane loves lights on its major buildings, and the Treasury Casino is no exception. 

Well readers, tomorrow is our last day here so the next report will be bland to say the least. Or maybe not! It all depends on my mindset at the time I guess.

Until my next post...

Cheers 👍

       

Day Three in Brisbane...

Well Readers,

Today was our third day in Brisbane, and as we had spent a day and a half roaming the nearby streets, today we decided to hire a car and head south to the Gold Coast for the day.

After the rain of yesterday, today we were greeted with glorious sunshine and a top of 25 degrees. It was perfect!!

The drive to the Gold Coast only took an hour, totally uneventful.

Upon parking the car at Broadbeach, our favourite part of the Gold Coast we set out on foot to explore.

We were immediately struck by the amount of roadworks going on, and that so many streets were blocked. Normally these streets would be bustling with cars and people, but not today.  The works are due to be completed by May next year, it must be killing the local businesses.

                           

The view of the Broadbeach roadworks from the monorail which we went for a spin on.

We also went for an obligatory walk along the beach as the day was so brilliant, why wouldn't we if we were in sunny QLD?

But...it was incredibly hard to get to the beach due to the works that we're going on. As we lined up to look at it all, an old bloke sidled up beside me, and without my asking he just proceeded to rattle off what was happening and why. After getting the general picture, we escaped, because we could see ourselves getting stuck listening to him!!

As it turns out, they are building a massive rock wall beneath the sand near the surf club, as erosion is a major problem, and they are trying to have it all sorted before the Commonwealth Games that will be held here in a year or so.

Just part of the massive works occurring at Broadbeach.

And this is what it looks like not far from the beach works...

Beautiful blue skies in every direction. The water wasn't bad, too cold for me, but it was a perfect beach day.

Enjoying the sand between the toes.

And the typical pano shot capturing the full view.

After a good lunch we headed out of Broadbeach towards Harbour Town. For those who don't know, Harbour Town is basically a massive shopping centre of outlet shops for big brands. It is essentially full of Victorians on holidays!!!

Anyway, we went up and down EVERY street, I kid you not!! Some even more than once!

I can't complain though, because while Jen went into various shops I indulged in something I just love to do when I travel somewhere, 'People Watching'. This involves just watching the general population wander past. There is so much to see and hear, I love it. I managed to do a lot of it overseas this year, so I have really honed my skills lately!

And being dragged up and down each street wasn't all that bad in the end. I went into one shop and found a pair of shoes that I had been after, and pulled out the cash that I was given for my recent birthday. I'd had it tucked away in my wallet so that I wouldn't spend it, so imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was actually $200 instead of the $100 that I thought was there. 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner !!!💰💰💰💰💰

And Jen picked up quite a few bargains too.

So now I have some extra coin to spend tomorrow on some other things I have my eye on.

Just after parking the car before we went shopping, I realised I had left my sock in the car that I was going to need as I was going to try on some shoes. I told Jen to wait a minute while I bolted back to the car to get it.

I mustn't have been concentrating that well, because after I pressed the unlock button I reached into the back seat to grab the sock the sock that I knew was there.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn't see it at all, and was also struck by how messy the back seat was. And where the hell did that baby seat come from???

Then it hit me. I was in someone else's car!!!! I had opened up the car that was beside ours, that had obviously been left unlocked.

You would never have seen someone move as fast as I did to close that door, get the sock out of our car next to it and bolt!!! 

These people may as well have left a sign on their car inviting people to steal it, I nearly did!!!

When I told Jen, all she could do was roll her eyes as she had been noticing today that I have been 'off task' quite a bit!!

After being so lucky to have travelled overseas a few times in the past couple of years, I became quite adept at taking photos everywhere. It struck me lately that I don't take enough photos here in Australia,  or even at home, so when I took off for a walk this afternoon when we got back to Brisbane, I made sure I took shots of what grabbed my attention.

The contrast between an old church being towered over by the growing number of skyscrapers in the city centre.

Just around the corner from our digs, people just lounging and taking in the late afternoon sun.

Crossing the bridge towards South Bank. It felt the same as crossing Westminster Bridge in London and seeing the London Eye on the banks of the Thames, my favourite spit in London, seen below.

The River Cat taxis continually criss cross the river.

Looking back towards the CBD from one of the many bridges as the sun starts to go down.

The reflection of the sun was moving from building to building. These shots were taken 5 mins apart.

The walking track along the river bank was a hive of activity. This photo just doesn't capture the atmosphere and energy that was everywhere.

The myriad of roads that bring the traffic into the CBD. I thought it looked confusing until we drove on it ourselves today, just so reliable.

The Square around the corner from us, being lit up at night. The crowds were really starting to build in the mild night air.

People just meeting in the square. A great gathering place.

Finally, we were only after a basic hire car, and after trying all of the main ones without success we stumbled across a smaller firm called Redspot, who just managed to find something for us. The bloke in the queue ahead of us yesterday was really rude to the woman on the desk, and in the end she just told him, "We have no cars available", and off he stormed. We joked to her about his rudeness and had some friendly banter with her, and before long she had found a car for us, and then upgraded us two levels for free. The benefits of being nice!!! In the end she could not do enough for us, we had a great chat throughout the entire booking process, she was lovely.

So, instead of getting a tiny two door, we scored a near brand new Kia about the size of a Commodore. All we had to do was not crash it, and return it with a full tank. This in itself became problematic, because as it was so good on the juice the needle hardly moved all day!!

We stopped at a servo on the way back into Brisbane and managed to squeeze $12 of juice into it. Not bad for a few hours of driving.

Tomorrow?

The retail side of things might need to take a back seat, so the plan is to go to a movie, something which we haven't done for so long. It looks like I struck out on the choice, so it's a chick flick. I hope it's good!!

So readers, until my next post...

Cheers 👍

        

Holiday Rattlings...

Well Readers,

Here we are 3 days into our two weeks of school holidays. I don't actually count the weekends as we get them anyway!
So, what are we up to??
A few weeks ago it was my birthday so Jen surprised me with a mystery flight. The funny thing about it is, when we told people what we were doing their first reaction is to say "Oh, where to?".
Well, on Monday morning we received an email to say that we would be going to Brisbane the following day. We weren't disappointed at all with that result, but in my mind I was thinking that we'd get Sydney. So, the rest of the day was spent getting things organised and making sure our Summer clothes still fitted us!!
All the while, we had family from Queensland staying with us and we we were trying to get organised for a family dinner on Monday night!

How ironic, we had family coming down from Brisbane to visit us, and as soon as they leave we head to Brisbane. Actually, we left our home on Tuesday morning well before them as we had an early flight. It was strange saying our goodbyes the night before to people who were actually staying the night in our house!

I mentioned in a previous post that the medication I have been on has had some rather ordinary side effects, so I stopped taking it. Among these was drowsiness, and I am still suffering a bit from it.
We got onto the plane for the flight to Brisbane and I was out like a light even before the plane took off!! For the life of me, I just could not stay awake. As the lady beside me kept bumping me and hogging the arm rest, I kept being jolted awake, so drastic action had to be taken!!

Luckily I had my iPad with me, and it had the movie 'Mamma Mia' on it, my absolute favourite.
So, no sooner did I crank it up and put my earphones in, I could see that she was trying to watch it over my shoulder, albeit without the benefit of sound.
This was really bugging me, and one part of me was celebrating the fact that she couldn't hear it, but I still didn't want to share it with her, so I strategically tilted it more towards me and rested my arm on the side, just about blocking her view completely. Winner!!
Halfway through the movie the lady on the other side of me (my wife!!) pulled out one of my earphones and used it herself. I soon discovered that this was just a short term move as she just wanted to see the scene where they sing 'Voulez Vouz', our favourite part of the show when we saw it in London.

Our next minor drama occurred at the airport when we were given the wrong information about our shuttle bus that was to deliver us to the door of our hotel in the city. We ended up waiting more than an hour and a half for the next one, but as we had nothing planned we were content to just sit it out and have a coffee. My lack of sleep on the plane hit me on the bus. Despite it being the joltiest  ride, I still managed to nod off, and this pattern continued for the rest of the day whenever I sat down for an extended period. Needless to say, I was in bed early last night!

Today has been very relaxing as the weather has been very bleak today. We have just wandered around the city centre and just taking life very easily. We started off doing the shops together, and Jen quickly, and smartly made the decision that perhaps it would be best if we went to different shops on our own, rather than bore each other with having to go through stuff that the other was mainly interested in. As we were in the women's section of David Jones at the time, you can imagine why I took off faster than the Road Runner!!

By the time we settled into our digs it was off to explore the centre of Brisbane, something that we have only briefly done many years ago.

First stop was a feed in the Mall and a nice cool drink, as it was such a warm day, a direct contrast to what we left behind in Victoria.

                                

As I said earlier, it was a bleak day today, so we stayed mainly indoors, although I did squeeze in a quick walk between rain episodes as I'd go insane without any exercise!!

                                  

        

                                 

                         

Tonight I thought I'd wash a few clothes in the washing machine in our digs. I thought I'd read the instructions okay, but 2 hours later and it is still going 😬😩!!!

Needless to say, Jen, who has gone to bed is far from impressed and has gotten out of bed, swung a few buttons and managed to stop the machine. 

At least I know my clothes will be super clean!!!

I'm thinking that perhaps I will be banned from the washing machine in the next few days😆😬😁😩

Tomorrow is a bit of a different one for us. We are hiring a car and heading down to the Gold Coast for a look around. Just something to get us out of the area we are hanging around in at the moment. As it is expected to be 24 degrees I'm glad I have some clean shorts to wear!!! (She wouldn't find that funny.....yet!)

I haven't gone through and checked this for typos readers as I hardly use my iPad when blogging, I usually use my laptop. The program behaves a little differently on the iPad and uploading photos was a chore, but I have it sorted now.

So, apologies for any obvious errors!!

Perhaps you could tell me how many you find? Just leave a note in the comments box at the end, they are always welcome!!!!!

Until my next post...

Cheers👍

What a Week?

Hi Readers,

I know we all have 'those weeks' when everything just seems to pile up.

Well, tonight it feels like I've had one of those weeks. I'm not complaining though, that's just how things go, and because I always adopt the attitude of "There are no problems, just solutions", I manage to get by with a smile on my face. Well. On most occasions!

That was all I managed to scribble down last week readers, and on reflection it looks like I was behaving like a real sook! Sorry!! I promise not to use this blog as a way of complaining. One does need to take a good dose of perspective at times, and this is one of them!

This is mainly for my overseas readers, but heavy and prolonged rain is something of a rarity here. 

So, imagine how we react when we get 2 days of non-stop heavy rain that causes floods right across Victoria.

We have had a fair soaking this week, and sadly some towns to the north-west of us are still suffering terribly with high water marks expected tonight.

Roads are closed in many areas and schools are closed.

We got off lightly.

 This is the creek that runs around the boundary of the school I work at. This is 50m from a classroom.

 Here you will see a class of Gr 1's negotiating a muddy track to go and see the creek in flood.

 They are just about there!!

 Believe it or not, there is a path here.

 Gr 5 are checking out the flooded creek, but what you cannot see is the wallaby that was hopping around, trapped by the rising water. Thankfully, it escaped.

 The view from another area close to the school.

 Hard to believe that this is just 50m from the school.

 A view of the creek from the school.

So, after a day of dealing with constant rain at school, I get home and as soon as I get out of my car I hear my son Will banging on the window and pointing at his brother's car in the carport. It was still bucketing rain, and we find a rooster nestling on Sam's car.

Keep in mind that we do not have chooks at our place, but a few of our neighbours do, so where do I start the search? And in pouring rain?

Luckily, I located the owners on my second house, and they duly came to pick up 'Billy the Rooster".

What a great way to meet the people in your area, they were lovely!

My biggest fear was that he would do a runner while I was locating his owner, luckily he stayed put.

'Billy' was getting edgier as I got closer.

The next part of this story was sending photos to our son Sam in London to show him how his car was being cared for while he is away.

Needless to say, he was unimpressed!!

The only other interesting, or sort of part of the week concerns my ongoing problems after recent shoulder surgery.

I have been put on medication for it until I see another specialist in a few weeks.

Since being on it for the past three weeks I have noticed that I have been feeling bloated and totally knackered all the time. As soon as I sit down on the couch at night I have been crashing and then waking up later feeling just as tired. Also, I have quickly chucked on 4 kg, even after watching my diet and maintaining my exercise regimen. But perhaps the most concerning was that I have become aware that I have had trouble with aspects of my speech. Others have not noticed it, but I have certainly been aware of it.

So, the other night I was thinking about these recent changes in my body, and I wondered if it was due to being on this medication.

I did a bit of research on it and discovered that what I have been taking has a long list of side effects, and among these were weight gain, slurring of speech and drowsiness, among many others.

This really alarmed me, that what I was taking was alleviating pain to some extent, but was creating all of these other hassles.

Needless to say, I immediately stopped taking it and already feel a bit better, although a lot of my shoulder hassles have returned.

I was quite shocked to read about the side effects of what had been prescribed to me, and although I don't fully trust 'Dr Google', I found enough information to convince me that perhaps I was better off not taking it.

It will be interesting to see how I feel over the next few days as this drug leaves my system.

Finally, and on a good note, holidays are here. Yeeeessssssss!!!!

Not much planned apart from my wife and I heading away for a few days on a mystery flight. All we know is that it is not Tasmania, so hopefully we'll score somewhere warm. My bet is Sydney, or maybe that is what I'm hoping for. As for Jen, who knows. 

All I know is that it will be great!

And on the family front...

Our son Will who is at Uni here in Bendigo, plays for Eaglehawk in soccer, and they recently won the 2016 Championship. At the end of the season they hold a knockout cup between the teams, and Eaglehawk have made the Grand Final this Sunday. Sadly for Will, he copped yellow cards in his last two games, so he cops a 1 match suspension, meaning he misses the Grand Final. To say he is gutted is an understatement.

Lachie, at Uni in Melbourne turned 19 today. I rang him at about 8.45 this morning, and it quickly became clear that this was far too early for him! Nevertheless, Happy Birthday Lachs!!

Finally, Sam. He has been in London for the last two years and has recently been sponsored by his employer to stay longer, which he has decided to do. While we miss him enormously, it has been great for him, and Jen and I are already thinking of planning a trip over there next year to see him Just need lots of $$$$. Sam is coming home in a fortnight for a week or two so that will be just perfect.

A lot on these holidays readers, hopefully I can be more consistent with my posts.

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

Work, Health and holidays...

Hi Readers,

Sorry I have not written for a while, the past two weeks have been fairly manic, and tonight is the first chance I have had to really sit down and have a good blog.
There are still a lot of things I need to do but they can wait, as I just really wanted to crank out another post.

I suppose that says that I must really enjoy doing it and don't find it a chore at all.
One thing I must admit is that by spending time writing down one's thoughts, it really does make you stop and think about what has been happening, and what is important to me.

I must start by thanking all of my wonderful friends for the kind thoughts and words they shared for me on my birthday last week. It really makes me feel special and grateful to know that I am surrounded by amazing people in my life.

A funny story about my birthday that I just can't fully believe, even after 38 years...

From my earliest years I always had my birthday on August 18th.
However, when I was 15 I had to produce my birth certificate because I got  reported playing football, and upon looking at it I noticed that my birthday was actually on August 17!
When I asked my mum about it all she could do was just laugh and say "Oh well, there is quite a few of you"!! I just love that attitude, it was no big deal at all.

She then asked me if I'd like to keep using the 18th as my birthday or switch to the 17th. I don't think she really considered the implications of this. Imagine me saying for the rest of my life that my birthday was on the 18th, but on documents etc I would have to write the 17th!!
So, since when I was 15 I switched to having my birthday on the right day, and believe me, it did take some getting accustomed to.

Along with the usual pressies, I received a book from my sister Anne who obviously knows me so well. Already I am engrossed in it, which is a mean feat as I usually don't have the patience to sit and read a book, but this one has floored me.

It is titled "How Far Can You Go?", written by John Maclean.

Basically it is the story of a super fit and super dedicated sportsman who becomes a paraplegic after a road accident on his bike, and the story follows his path of recovery.

As I am only three chapters in, I am yet to find out what happens, but already I am inspired by this amazing bloke.

As the former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh says, "If you look up mental toughness you'll find a picture of John Maclean". Not a bad comment from someone known for having extreme mental toughness himself.

"Look how far you have come, now how far can you go?" - The words from his father that changed his whole mindset. Maclean was alway focussing on what he was able to do in the past, when he was more able bodied. Now his father was urging him not to dwell on the past, but focus on the future.

In this short moment, Maclean was able to forge ahead with greater resolve, and I am eagerly anticipating another chapter tonight!!

Work has been a bit manic over the past week and a bit to say the least. In my role, one of the things I need to do each term is have meetings with parents of children who have special needs. Trying to get them all booked in over a few days is a nightmare in itself, but I nearly got them all in. Three days of meeting after meeting does become taxing, but at the same time is enjoyable because it is all about trying to find greater success for their children. Special Ed is a new role for me, one which I am still finding my feet in. I'm learning so much all the time, but still wonder if I'm doing it as well as previous people at our school who were brilliant at it.

After attending a Special Ed meeting at our local Education Office on Wednesday, it was then off to Melbourne with my wife as I had an appointment to see my shoulder surgeon. Jen had to come just in case I had to get a certain procedure done on it which precludes one from driving a car  for 24 hours.
By the time we got to our digs in Brighton we were famished, so into the restaurant at the hotel we went. The lovely waitress presented the menu and was about to walk away when we both blurted out "We'll order straight away"!! We did, and the meals were gone in a flash, as were the desserts. God only knows what the waitress thought of us!

The next morning I was off to see my shoulder surgeon, as it is still giving me grief a few months after surgery.

It now turns out that although it is structurally sound, there is still a lot of inflammation in it, so I have been referred to a rheumatologist as he thinks I have developed rheumatoid arthritis.

Not the result I was really hoping for, but a lot worse could happen.

So, now I have to go and get some new treatment on it, hopefully it will help. 

Being a positive person, the biggest hassle I can see is mainly in trying to spell my latest ailment!!!

So, I've blabbed about work, and my health, so what is on the cards for the holidays?

As you might know, I love to travel, and for my birthday (the 17th or 18th - feel free to choose, I had to!!) my family gave me a mystery flight.

This means that in the upcoming holidays, my wife and I are going away for a few days to somewhere in Australia. All we know is that it won't be Hobart, in Tasmania. Jen will get an email the night before we go, and all I have told her is that I need to know whether to pack for 'cold' or 'hot'.

It will be interesting to see at what stage I discover where we are going, as it is my plan to do everything I can to not find out until the last minute.

Regardless, wherever we go it will be great to just chill and explore for a few days. 

The first thing I did when I opened the envelope however was to check that we would not be away for the AFL Grand Final day, as that is the pinnacle day of the sport I love the most. As we are travelling home on a Saturday, I'd be a massive danger on the road trying to listen to it on the radio, and an even worse passenger!!

Well, time to check out as I want to concentrate on the game on TV, and I'm also trying to psyche myself up for a big day of mowing in the yard tomorrow. If I really pull my finger out I'll nail it within 4 hours, let's see if I can do it!!

Until my next post...

Cheers!!

Some recent Learning...

Hi Readers,

Wow, hard to believe I know. Nothing for more than a week, then more than one post in the same night!
Someone take my temperature!

I have always been so lucky to be on a continuous learning journey, as in my work I am regularly receiving excellent professional development ( and some not so good) and have been fortunate to have listened to and met some of the leading educators in Australia, as well as a few with world recognition.
Along the way I have also done a lot of study that has also helped me.
And how can I forget the trips to New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Finland that were all directly related to my role.
All of these experiences have left an indelible mark on me, and not for a second am I not grateful to have been part of them.

So what has happened lately, and what is coming up?

Last week, the Principal of my school and our Literacy Learning Leader went up to Sydney at very short notice  to attend the LEAP Conference, which was all about how to build an effective professional learning community (PLC's)

With only a few days to plan our trip and get our bookings done, we were off.
The conference opened with a keynote address from Professor John Hattie, a world leader in defining the things that have an effect on the child's learning.
John delivered a compelling address that challenged us and really got us thinking.

After grabbing a coffee we then headed into our next workshop, and as all the tables were taken, the three of us grabbed a seat down the back.
Imagine my surprise and disbelief when someone came and sat in the spare seat beside me and greeted me with a warm hello.
It was none other than John Hattie himself!!!

How excited was I !!!

Anyway, after a quick chat, the workshop was about to begin and the organisers came down to us and insisted that we find a seat at a table. My colleagues and I obeyed, but John just parked himself. They weren't game to ask him a second time to move!

So that was my brush with fame last week.

But it wasn't all totally serious!

As we got to the airport early, we had time to go to a bar and relax with a drink before our flight to Sydney. As we finished our drinks, Tim said he had to visit the toilet, and asked us to watch his bags while he went.

Well, the second he was out of sight we just grabbed all of our bags and bolted to another part of the terminal about 60 meters away, where we could still see where we had been sitting, wetting ourselves laughing all the time.

We had to lay low when Tim came back as he nearly walked past us, and to watch him get to our table and realise what was going on was priceless. He just kept looking around with a wry smile on his face while Nat and I rolled around in hysterics. Eventually we rang him and called him over, but from that moment on I never left my bags out of my sight and took them with me when I needed a toilet stop. No way was I trusting those two!!!

I also organised something for Tim to do on the plane so that he wouldn't get bored as the picture shows.

                           A bit of colouring for Tim on the plane.

And on the way home we hardly spoke as we pored over the books that were bought at the conference.

We didn't get back to Bendigo until after 10.30 that night, so rest assured that we were all a little sluggish the next day. It was a quick trip, but well worth it.

This week I'm off to hear another world renown speaker by the name of Brendan Spillane. Relax though, it will only be an hour up the road at Echuca, I'm not even leaving the state!.

I heard him speak a few months ago and he too was compelling, and this is the second part in a series of talks he is giving to Principals and Deputy Principals in our zone.

Brendan speaks to all sorts of organisations, not just in Education. The New Zealand Rugby team for example is one of his clients, and we all know how dominant they have been over a long period of time.

My brother Peter who is a Principal in Brisbane was fortunate enough to hear him speak at a conference just last week.

I won't be stalking him for a selfie, trust me!!

And this week I will also be spending time in classes working with the kids and their teachers, and that is where some of the most important learning of all will be taking place.

Until y next post...

Cheers!

The Block 2016 !!!

Hi Readers,

Sorry for my intermittent posts of late. Each day I tell myself to go and add just a little something, but then I always seem to get distracted by other things, more often than not mindless ones!!

So what has been going on of late?

As some of you who know me would know, I'm really in to Inquiry and Project Based Learning, which happened to be the focus of my trip overseas earlier this year.
I'm lucky to work with some teachers who are also keen to dip their toes into maths projects, and I totally understand their nervousness and hesitation, as it does require them to let go a little (and a lot!) of their control and hand it over to the kids.

It's my belief that if the content is engaging enough, and at the kid's level with just the right amount of challenge, they'll take to it like ducks to water.

Last week we launched a new maths project with the Gr 5's at my school titled "The Block 2016".
It is based on the tv show of the same name and the first challenge that the kids have is to design a bedroom with a $10 000.00 budget.
Rather than planning ahead what we will teach them, we let certain content surface naturally then address it on a needs basis. This is not to say it is totally loose, as we are aware of what content and skills focus will need specific teaching, but we are letting it arise naturally when the kids need it.

For example, in the first few days it became clear that the kids could not all make life size beds out of newspapers to see what they looked like in real life. 27 kids in one room trying to create 27 bedrooms? We'd need a paddock to fit them all in!!
So, this was when it was an opportune time to address the concept of scale, and the kids were primed and ready for it.
Let me say, the lessons I took for two classes this week were just the most fun as they were so tuned in for something that they needed to know. By mixing it up with practical examples, the kids were able to see how we could shrink the size of the actual bed 100 times, and then make the planning and organisation of our rooms much more practical.
Plus, their amazement at how they could do this so easily came as a real surprise, and the work they produced was excellent.

Imagine the mess we made, a mess that we didn't care about because the learning was more important. They will now use these same skills for the rest of their house.
In my mind, this is a much more beneficial way of covering measurement rather than getting the kids to complete mindless worksheets that have no relevance or worth to the children.

This is the size of an actual single bed. What you can't see is the scale model of it, which was only 2cm x 1 cm

So why 'The Block'?

A couple of years ago at my previous school we developed this same project, but it only began with one room. The success of doing it just snowballed into planning other rooms, then a whole house. The kids (and teachers!) became so absorbed in it, to the point where we ended up making 3D scale models out of recyclable materials after seeing how to do this from a visit to our local Building Apprentice Trade School.

The culmination of our project was an expo of all of the work that the kids had done, and we actually had two of the stars from the series of The Block that was on tv at the time come to our school to see the work the kids had done.
They were just brilliant, and the school was full of visitors for the day celebrating the amazing work completed by the kids.

This is the clip I made to launch the project, I hope it plays on here!!!!!

If not, I hope to get it fixed!

Until my next post...

Cheers!