36 Hours in Canberra, March 28-29, 2009

A couple of months back I decided I was going to visit Canberra (pronounced Can-bra) the Capital of Australia.   When I told people I was going there the response was either - "why there?" or "cool it's a great little city".  Anyhow having just returned I'm really glad I went. I actually wish I had MORE time 

On Saturday I left on an 8 am flight.  It was an early start but things went smoothly getting to the airport, and flying to Canberra.  By nine am I was in Canberra.  I tried to see if I could get my bed early at the hostel I was staying at but no luck.  So I set out by foot to visit some of the attractions.

Canberra is situated approximately half way between Melbourne and Sydney and it's a territory on land that used to be a part of New South Whales.  It was a totally planned out city.  My first impression of Canberra was a positive one. It seemed so clean , orderly and green.  It didn't hurt that it was warm and sunny too.  

The walk from the Civic Centre to the Parliament area was about 45 min.  Along the way I crossed a bridge.  You see, Canberra is build around Lake Burley Griffin.  There is an incredible serious of paths for cyclist all over the city.  I also saw a ton of road bikers out riding.

Lake Burley Griffin

My first sight seeing stop was at Parliament House.  The present Parliament house opened in 1988.  Apparently it's  joked to be the most expensive building in Australia (it was actually build into a hillside).  Entrance was free (as it was for most places I visited in Canberra) and I snooped around the building.  It was quite impressive. I even learned a bit about Australian government.

Parliament House in the Distance 

Parliament House

One of many pieces of art in Parliament House

Senate Room

View from the Roof (looking out towards Old Parliament house and across the lake to the Australian War Memorial)

From Parliament it was a short walk to Old Parliament House.  It was really cool to be able to wonder through there.  Because it is no longer in operation I was able to snoop in and out of several different rooms in the building - places that would other wise be under tight security.

Old Parliament House

From Old Parliament House I walked passed the Aboriginal Tent Assembly, to the National Gallery of Australia.  I then walked around some more, past the National Portrait Gallery, Questacon (Canberra's Science World but apparently much bigger and better), the National Library, and the Reconciliation Place.  Then I made my way back to the Hostel to check in and drop off my bag.

I then headed (again by foot) to the National Museum of Australia.  I learned a lot in this Museum about the history of Australia.  It's too bad I couldn't take pictures as I saw many interesting things. I even bought a book called Aussie English for Beginners and so I now have a clearer understanding of words like Dinkum, Bunyip, Ocker,  and Larrikin.

View of National Museum of Australia from a bridge

An outside exhibit titled "The Garden of Australian Dreams"

After being very exhausted from being on my feet all day, and walking several kms I headed back to the hostel.  Along the was I walked through the Civic Centre.  In the evening it was packed with people and there was actually an outdoor movie playing.  I was impressed by how alive the city seemed.

Civic Centre (late afternoon) 

 It came to life in the evening with many restaurants with outside seating.

The next morning I was up early (remember I don't really sleep here in Australia) and took myself for breakfast.  I returned to the hostel, checked out and headed for another long walk.  I walked from the Civic Centre to the Kingston area of town to check out the Old Bus Depot Market.  I walked along the lake for a long time, crossed a different bridge than Saturday, and made my way to the market.  I was impressed with what was for sale and I even bought a couple of things (I've been to several markets in Melbourne but I haven't bought anything yet).  At the entrance to the market there was a small band and I listened to a man play the didgeridoo.  From there I walked around Kingston (I found a great cafe area) before heading to the Australian War Memorial.

A clock tower (I didn't actually see a clock face but I did hear it go off)

The small band at the market. Can you see the  the didgeridoo?

From Kingston I made my way back towards the Australian War Memorial.  I was told that it was impressive and required a lot of time.  Needless to say I wasn't disappointed.   I'm really not much of a history buff but this memorial was incredible.  The photos below don't even remotely do it justice.

View looking up the special Anzac Pde towards the War Memorial

(there are even  monuments along Anzac Pde)

The Outside Courtyard leading to the Hall of Memory

There is an eternal flame burning in the water.

The Roll of Honour 

(It lists the Australian soldiers that fought in both the first and second world wars)

The view from the museum looking out across the lake towards the old and new Parliament buildings.

A tiny sample of one of the displays inside the building.

In the end I'm really glad I went to Canberra.  I did have a bit of knowledge over load, and maybe I walked just a bit too much (my toes are sore) but it's a beautiful little city with a lot to offer.  It's too bad it has such a bummed reputation.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival has been taking place in Melbourne since the 7th of March.  Unfortunately most of the meals are held over the lunch hour and as a teacher it isn't really anything I can get to.  In addition I've been away the last two weekends so I haven't been able to take part in any weekend events.  This weekend I'm in Melbourne.  

A few weeks back I noticed that there was Cellar Door at South Gate . It is part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and for a $25 fee you can  taste wines from over 60 of Victoria's finest boutique wineries.  Any one who has ever been with me on a "training" or "racing" weekend in the Okanagan  knows that wineries are part of the training and racing experience.  Although I'm not really training or racing these days I couldn't possibly pass up a chance to try out some wines.

I arrived a few minutes before the noon opening, paid my entrance fee and was handed my wine glass.  That's where the fun began.  It was incredible to see so many different Victorian wineries  represented.  

This is a view looking down the line of tables of wineries.  

I soon discovered that there were a lot of tables each sampling wines from their wineries.  I also quickly learned that the tables were set up in regions.  It was cool to be able to walk past a few of the wineries since I had already been to their actual winery on one of my weekend adventures.

At each table I picked up a business card or brochure and wrote down which wines I tasted and what I thought of them.  I'm no expert wine taster but a wine typically received a "not my thing", a "so so", a "not bad" or a "good" rating.  I tried a lot of wine I didn't like and I tried a lot of wine that I did like.  

Part way through the day I had to stop to eat.  There were a couple of food vendors  and I was able to pick up an excellent pasta .  It was also hot and sunny in Melbourne today - low 30's which is such a nice change to the cooler weather we've been having.  

All those little white tents were wine tasting tents.

(Oh, did I mention it all took place outside on the South Bank of the Yarra River)

I now have to spend the next little while trying to figure out what I wrote about each of the wines I tried.  I figure if there were 60 wineries I tried wine at least 45 of them and at each winery I probably sampled on average 2-3 wines.  That's a lot of wine to figure out.  I guess I have my work cut out for me.

While my teaching buddies back at home are enjoying their Spring Break, I'm here in warm and sunny Melbourne (or at least today) sampling heaps*  of wine.  I guess things could be worse.  

There are two more weeks of school this term and then I'm off to New Zealand for two weeks.  I can't wait.  Next weekend I'm heading to Canberra for about 36 hours.  I also booked a weekend in Adelaide over the long weekend in June.  I may be heading to Kangaroo Island that weekend which means I won't really see Adelaide.  Obviously I'll keep you posted when those plans are finalized.  I have a few trips to the airport between now and early June - Canberra, New Zealand, Sydney, and Adelaide.  I also think the exchange people have an Aussie Rules Football day for us planned and a weekend in the Grampians.  Stay tuned for more updates.

*heaps is word I hear fairly often here in Melbourne

Family Picnic Night

Tonight my school hosted a family picnic.  The school community was invited to bring their evening meal to eat on the oval (the field).  In addition this week is Harmony Week - a celebration of Australia's cultural diversity.  The families were invited to come to the picnic dressed in their national costumes.  Fourteen of my twenty two students turned up and it was great to see them with their families. 

One student in another 1/2 class decided that he was going to dress as a Canadian.  I was shocked when I saw him because he was wearing a CANUCKS jersey and a Montreal Canadian's hat.  His father had been on a business trip to North America and these were two of his souvenirs.  I don't think he knows how lucky he is to have that amazing jersey.  Apparently he has one from Toronto too but I said that he choose the better jersey!  Anyhow I had to take a photo.  

Unfortunately I was slow to get my camera out and so I only took a few pictures of my students.  With the permission of their parents here are some of my students.  You'll notice that some are dressed in their national costumes.

Maggie (grade 1)

Ridwan (grade 1) and Farrel (grade 1)

Arsyi (grade 2)

Alya (grade 1)

Praniv (grade 2) and his mom

The picnic was a great idea and it didn't take much to organize it.  The children were happy to be there and I think the parents enjoyed it too.  For me although it made for a long day (I didn't leave school until after 8 pm and I rode home for the first time in the dark) it was nice to chat with my students and their parents in a casual environment.   

Ballarat, Victoria March 13 - 15, 2009

This past weekend was our second International Teaching Fellow (ITF) weekend away.  Although there are several of us in the state of  Victoria, we all live quite far from one another so it's nice when we get together for these organized weekends.  This weekend we met up in Ballarat.

Although I still don't have a car it was easy for me to get to get to Ballarat via the VLine train. I actually walked to the train station from work on Friday.  Because I had a bit of time to kill between when I left work and when the train left Footscray Station I walked around Footscray and the Footscray market.  I wish I had taken some photos because it's quite different then any where else I've been in Melbourne.  It has a very large asian influence and there were some great food deals at the market.  I'll have to try to get back there for some grocery shopping in the near future and maybe take some pictures too.

Anyhow, the train arrived on time and while I had a ticket it is more of a commuter train for the first little while so I stood until we arrived at our first stop.  Thankfully enough people got off so I quickly got a seat.  The rest of the ride was uneventful.  I arrived at the Ballarat Train station about 1 hr and 7 min after I left Footscray.  I was greeted by Yvonne H from my host family.  The one thing that's so great about these ITF exchange weekends is that we are hosted by families that have been on exchange themselves.  Yvonne took me back to her home where I met her husband Barry.  Yvonne and Barry were great hosts and I was very comfortable in their home.  We chatted for a few hours over wine as we watched some Australian Rules Football.  I still don't have the game figured out but it was nice to learn a bit more about it from them.  I also think I vented a bit about what I've been going through at work.  It was a really nice evening for me because as a single person here in Australia I don't have much of an opportunity for real conversations with people.

On Saturday morning after a great breakfast Yvonne drove me down to Sovereign Hill to meet the group.  Ballarat is a gold mining town and Sovereign Hill represents conditions on Ballarat's early goldfields.  We were given an informative talk about what happened when gold was first discovered in the 1850s.  I learned that the gold is still being mined and there is actually more gold still under Ballarat today than what has been removed in the past fifty years.  After the information session we were free to roam the grounds.

Sovereign Hill

My first stop was at a gold pour demonstration.  The gold was heated (melted) to an extremely hot temperature and then poured into a block.  At today's prices there was close to $150,000 Australian  worth of gold being poured right in front of my eyes.

The pouring of the gold.

A few of the kids were allowed to hold the gold but none of the adults could touch it.  From the demonstration we went into a little store that had gold items for sale.  Jenn (from Ontario) bought a gold chain and told the man it was her birthday.  He then brought her back into the room and let her hold the gold.  I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time and I also went with her and her husband Chris.  Below is a picture of me holding over 3 kg  of gold with value of over $140,000 AUD.  (What I could have done with that if I could have snuck it out!)

Me holding a 3+kg gold brick with the demonstration guy from Sovereign Hill

(Like the plastic rain coat - it poured while we were there and I didn't have a coat with me)

From the gold pouring I headed to another presentation.  I then had a "Diggings" tour and learned a lot more about the times of the past.  The weather wasn't great but my tour guide was full of information so I'm glad I stayed out in the rain to listen to him.  I then wandered around the town for a bit.

I ran into some of the other ITFs and decided to get a ticket for the 12:40 Gold Mine Tour. While waiting for the tour I did a quick school lesson in the school and practiced writing with ink.  I wasn't that good at it but the teacher still gave me an A+!  I then headed to the mine tour.

Being claustrophobic I was a bit worried about what may happen when I travelled deep under group.  My heart started to race but in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I learned more about gold digging, what life was like for the diggers and the children, and how their fortunes were made.  We were underground for close to 45 minutes but it was money well spent.

When I finally got back up from the mine I watched the tail end of the Red Coat Soliders presentation.  I then wandered around some more.  I checked out the bowling saloon, candle dipping, and sweet making.  I successfully panned for gold in the river and I went in and out of the stores on Main Street.  I enjoyed a lamb stew Aussie pie from the bakery.  I then went across the street to check out the Gold Museum.  It too was very interesting.

After I was done with the museum I headed back to Sovereign Hill.  This time I checked out the self guided mine tour.  I went down on my own and it was pretty spooky.  Again though there was more information to learn so I'm glad I went.  I saw a few more presentations on sight and then it was time to meet up with Monica (a teacher from Port Coquitlam) and Ake (her husband)  as they were taking me to the BBQ.

Inside Red Hill Mine

We left Sovereign Hill around 5 pm and made our way to our gourmet BBQ at the home of Helen and Brian.  We were given BBQ kangaroo and crocodile to try and then enjoyed a full feast of salads (over ten varieties) and bbq meats (chicken, sausages, and kangaroo steaks).  The Kangaroo tasted a lot like  lean beef and the crocodile had the texture of chicken and the taste of chicken and fish combined.  It was a great spread.

At the BBQ we met many other Ballarat teachers and families that had been on exchange.  We also had to share with the group one good thing we liked about our experiences so far.  I talked about how much I enjoy these weekends away because as a single I look forward to having the opportunity to talk and visit with people.  As independent as I am it's been really tough being on my own almost all the time.  Having the company was such a treat.

After the ITFs spoke a ton of desserts were served.  Of course to not hurt anyones feelings I tried them ALL!!  

Over all it was a very successful day.  I stuck around for a bit longer talking with present teaching fellows and former teaching fellows.  By around 10:30 Yvonne drove me back to her home where I had a great sleep.

This morning Barry and Yvonne took me on a driving tour of Ballarat as we headed to meet up with the group at the Wild Life park.  I took a couple of pictures at the lake in Ballarat (Lake Wendouree) and as you can see in the photo below there is no water in the lake -yet another sign of how dry it is here in Victoria, Australia.  They also took me to a look out point.

Ballarat Lake (with out any water in it)

A shot of Ballarat from the look out on the hill.

We then continued our journey to the Wildlife Park.  Because this weekend was arranged by the Ballarat Exchange teachers we did not have to pay an entrance fee for Sovereign Hill or the Wild Life Park.

The Wild Life Park was a great way to spend the morning.  I saw kangaroos, wombats, emus, koalas, and many other animals up close and personal.  I was able to pet and feed kangaroos.  In addition has was able to touch wombats, emus, and koalas.  Below are a few of the pictures I took today.

Some of many of the kangaroos walking freely in the park.

Me feeding a kangaroo.

The Koalas up in a tree but not too far away.  I had a Koala up close to me too and I was able to pet it.  Apparently it's against the law to hold one here in Victoria.

A happily sleeping wombat.

The most poisonus land snake in the world. Thank goodness it was behind glass.

After I was done exploring the Wild Life Park Jenn and Chris were kind enough to drive me right back to my place in Melbourne.  It was another great weekend and once again I'm so glad that I was able to take part in the fun.  As I type this blog I plan to be in town next weekend and I hope to catch some more of the sight around Melbourne.  The following weekend I'm off to Canberra, Australian Territority and then it's FINALLY school holidays and I'll off to New Zealand for almost two weeks.  When I land back in Melbourne after being in New Zealand my DAD will be waiting for me at the airport.  I can't wait to see him!

In the mean time have a great week everyone.  This week we have our school picnic.  The weather isn't as nice as it once was (we are finally seeing some much needed rain) but then again it may end up being warm enough for shorts.  The weather here really is nuts and you just don't know what you're going to get.

Keep in touch.  It's tough being here on my own when school isn't as much fun as I'd like it to be.  I'm surviving of course but it isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

Adventures on the Great Alpine Road March 7 - 9, 2009

My friend Kathryn is an Aussie from Wagga Wagga that I met in Vancouver while she was in North America for a couple of years.  She arrived back in Australia in Feb. and this was the first time I had seen her since she was back in her home country.

Kathryn arrived at my apartment on Wednesday evening and together we found a great Indian restaurant with in walking distance from my home (we found a great Thai place too but we could only eat one meal so I'll be back).  It was nice to have another dinner out and to discovery two great restaurants to take away from on those nights I don't want to cook.  While at dinner we talked about doing a road trip since it was my first (and second to last) long weekend.  Since she had driven down from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales she suggested that maybe we tour the "Great Alpine Road".  I hadn't heard of it but with some research I was keen to go.

Thursday Kathryn and I didn't really meet up as we both had things going on.  On Friday night we headed into the city for dinner (she showed me a place for asian noodle soup) and then walked to the Mooba festival.  Mooba is Melbourne's weekend water festival.  Originally I thought I would get to it for the parade on Monday but the road trip took priority.  Anyhow we made it there on Friday night and were able to watch some  cool water skiing demonstrations in the river. I'm sure it was a great weekend for it in the heart of the city.

Saturday morning Kathryn and I headed on the road. It was great to be in a car again, and I'm getting better at sitting in the passenger side (which would be the driver side for me at home).  After a couple hours of driving we stopped in a small town called Moe.  Moe was having their own festival and so we listened to a bit of a live jazz concert.  We also saw a small antique car show.  There isn't much to Moe but we were able to pick up some road snacks and get back on our way.

Some of the cars we saw in Moe, Victoria.

From Moe we drove a bit further and our next stop was in Sale, Victoria. Sale was right on a river and it used to be a busy port town in its past.  Again there wasn't much going on in Sale but we took a few pictures and headed on our way.

Sale's Port

From Sale we headed to Bairnsdale (283 km from Melbourne).  Bairnsdale is near the official start of the Great Alpine Road.  While in the tourist information place in Bairnsdale we discovered that we were very close to the Ninety Mile Beach which ends at Lakes Entrance.  So, we turned our car in the opposite direction and headed to Lakes Entrance.  (I know this was suppose to be a beach free weekend but we were so close and who knows when I'll get back there).  

As you approach Lakes Entrance you are greeted by these great views of several small lakes.  In addition once you get right into Lakes Entrance you can take a small foot bridge onto what I'd call a sand barge and you're on Ninety Mile Beach.  If I'm not mistaken Lakes Entrance is the end of the Ninety Mile Beach.  Most of the beach can only be accessed by boat.  As you can see from the photos Kathryn and I were glad we made the detour.

The view as you drive into Lakes Entrance.

A small snap shot of Ninety Mile Beach

While walking around Lakes Entrance I saw two things I don't think I've seen in the wild before.  I saw some pelicans, and I saw some back swans.

Pelicans

Black Swans 

(I always thought that swans were only white so this just seemed wrong to me)

From Lakes Entrance we got back on the road and headed back to Bairnsdale to refuel.  As I mentioned Bairnsdale is the start of the Great Alpine Road.  We then headed towards Omeo a small town about 120 km along the Great Alpine Road.  The scenery changed quite quickly as we started to get into mountain territory.  It took longer than we expected to get to Omeo and when we finally arrived we were told that there were no rooms to be had - any where in town.  Thankfully some calls were made for us and a room to sleep was found another 40 km UP the hill in Dinner Plain.  We were also warned in Omeo that cows (BLACK COWS) come out at night and often sit on or beside the road occasionally trying to cross the road.  Thankfully we had this information as we saw many cows sitting at the side of the road in the dark.  We also had a wild Kangaroo jump out in front of us too but thankfully we saw it with plenty of time to keep everyone safe.  We arrived at Dinner Plain around 10 pm and were happy to have a place to sleep in a great ski lodge.  It was cold in the mountains.  (Dinner Plain is a small sky resort that is part of the Hotham Mountain Group).

The next morning we got up and did a short hike to a waterfall.  Along the way we had some great views but the sad part was we could see smoke from the fires that are still burning. In the picture below if you look carefully you can see dark smoke.  It looks a bit like a heavy cloud but it wasn't, it was smoke.  :- (

View from Dinner Plain 

(but take notice of the smoke in the background in the sky)

We left Dinner Plain and jumped into the car and headed to the Mt. Hotham .  Below is a view from Hotham.  During winter it's a busy ski resort (yes there is snow in Victoria) but in the summer it was pretty quiet.  This weekend there was actually a bike ride taking place.  The people in the race road from Dinner Plain up to and OVER Mt. Hotham then back again (Hey Ms. KB this would have been your thing!).  They were totally crazy as the road is super steep and windy heading down from Hotham.

View from Mt. Hotham

From Mt. Hotham we drove down the mountain and stopped in Harrietville for lunch.  It was a cute little town.  From Harietville Kathryn asked if I would drive and I DID!  All the way to Bright.  It felt really strange though for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason of course was because I was sitting on the right side of the car to drive.  We arrived in Bright will very little mishap but I was glad to give the keys back to Kathryn.  Driving on the wrong side of the road was way too stressful in her large car.  Obviously I will drive again soon but if I have a chose I'll drive something smaller.

Bright is a very beautiful town with great trees and lots of lush plants.  It's also on a river which is well utilized by the town. Apparently the leaves change into amazing fall colours and while it's fall here in Australia, the leave colour changing hasn't taken place yet.  

This is the river in Bright.  

You can see from this picture how green and lush it is.  

The green and lushness reminded me of home.

From Bright we headed to Myrtleford and checked in for the night.  I walked around town but there wasn't much to see or do because by 5 pm things shut down for the evening. It was also a Sunday  night which I'm sure made things worse.  Having said that though Myrtleford was ALSO having a festival although I saw very little sign of it.  

Since Kathryn and I hadn't eaten dinner and there wasn't much in Myrtleford we decided to drive to Beechworth for dinner.  Along the way we drove through a part that had been affected by the forest fires.  It was pretty spokey to drive through the remains of burnt trees.  As you can see from the pictures it was a low fire as most of the tops of trees were left untouched.

What's left after a bush fire went through.

Beechworth was great.  It's an old gold rush town (1860's gold rush era) and the buildings have a ton of character and history.  Dinner wasn't so great but that's okay.  Seeing the  town was worth the drive.

The Post Office in Beechworth

After dinner we headed back to Myrtleford for the night.

We woke early Monday morning as we had a lot on the agenda but I needed to catch a 4 pm train back to Melbourne.  As we were leaving Myrtleford we stopped at an old Tobacco Smoking Kiln.

This is an old tobacco smoking kiln.

After a few photos we were back on the road, heading back to Beechworth.  This time we were able to take the 5 km scenic drive and learn a bit more about the town.  We also were able to go  into some of the shops and try out the famous Beechworth bakery.  The pastry I had was excellent although I'm glad the bakery is so far away.  It could be trouble if it was any closer than it is.

From Beechworth we headed to the Milawa region which is the Gourmet Food and Wine region.  Our first stop was at Gapsted Winery.  I enjoyed may of their white wines but I was less keen on their red wines.  I will have to look for the wines that I tested as I've heard they are available at Dan Murphy's .  

Gapsted Winery

We left Gapsted and our next stop was an olive shop.  There I sampled olive oils and olives and I left with two bottles of different olive oils.  I could have bought the entire place.  From there we went in and out of gourmet food factors that included cheese, chocolate, olive, and wine.  We stopped at Brown Brother's Winery and the place was packed.  Again I really liked some of their whites but I was less wowed by their reds.  I will have to look for their wine too.

Once the eating and drinking (I was the only one doing the drinking) was over we drove  to Glenrowan.  It is here in Glenrowan where Ned Kelly (a well known bank robber) was finally caught and sentenced to death (by hanging in Melbourne).  Ned Kelly plays a big part in Australian folklore history.  Some say he as was the Original Crocodile Dundey.  He wore his own hand made armer.

A statue of Ned Kelly in his homemade armour.  It kept the enemies bullets out.

Here is a picture of me beside the spot that Ned Kelly was finally short by police and captured.

After spending a bit of time learning about Ned Kelly in Glenrowan ( and wasting far too much time waiting for lunch in Glenrowan) we headed to our final destination - Wangaratta.  We looked around Wangaratta for a little bit before it was time for me to board my train back to Melbourne.  Kathryn lives in Wagga Wagga NSW so she still had another two hour drive back home.  I had a three hour train ride back to Melbourne.  It was a bit sad to say goodbye as it was nice to have a friend to spend the weekend with . The train ride back was uneventful.  I sat beside some boarding school kids so their conversations where pretty interesting as I tried to get my weekly planning done.  In less than three hours I was back in Melbourne (my train actually arrived EARLY) and shortly after that I was back home.

It was a great long weekend and I'm so glad I was able to see the great Alpine road.

I wish I had more long weekends to get away far again.  Who knows, maybe Kathryn will get a job in Melbourne and then I may even get a chance to go skiing or snowboarding while I'm here in Australia.  You just never know!

In the meantime this Friday I'm heading to Ballarat by train to meet up with my exchange group again.  I'm sure it will be another great weekend.  Thankfully it's only a four day teaching week so I should be able to make it.  One day is already done too, so just three more until it's the weekend again.

Until next time....

Meet the Teacher Night

On Tuesday and Thursday last week from 3:30 - 6:30 pm I had "Meet the Teacher Night".  I didn't really  know what to expect.  At home it's pretty informal.  We open our classrooms for an hour or so one evening in the first month of school and parents are invited to come in, look around the room , and meet me.  It's a very informal affair but it seems to work quite well for our school community.  But as soon as notices were send home to parents a  I knew things were going to be different.  Here's my run down of "Meet the Teacher" at Footscray North Primary.

1. Notices were sent home asking parents to chose their preferred  time and day for meet the teacher night.  Filled in notices were return to me or directly to the office.

2.  The assistant principal began arranging teacher's schedules for fifteen minute time slots for parents with requests.  She became ill and the office manager took over the job.

3. A few days before the scheduled nights I was given notices to give to my students telling them of their meeting time with me.

4. Parents who never returned their forms were called, and if communication on the phone didn't occur notices were sent home telling them when they were to meet with me.

5. Lunch on the first day of the meetings I am given my list of parents coming to see me.  I also see that there are notices in my box (or pigeon hole as it's referred to here).  I quickly read over our prep-2 overview letter and ask what I'm suppose to do with it, along with an internet form, and a media form.  The office managed is surprised I don't know what to do with it.  (This isn't surprising to me at all as I am so out of the loop despite asking tons of questions.  The typical response I get is "don't worry it's not a big deal".) She quickly explains it to me.

6. School is out and I head to the hall (gym) because that is where all meet the teacher meetings take place.  I walk into see a gym filled with tables and chairs and a sign at each table.  I find my table .  There is  a nice cold bottle of water waiting for me.

7. 3:30 - First parent doesn't show up but 4:00 parent is there and so they jump the cue .  I introduce myself, ask if they have any questions, and we chat a bit and then I get on to my jobs.  I carefully go over each section of the overview  as well as talk about the internet use form and the media from.  It's over quickly and the next parent steps up.  This process repeated over and over again until 6:30 pm.  I was able to sneak out for a quick toilet break but beyond that I sat at my table, (worked on my planning) and waited for parents to arrive.  In a couple of cases I needed the use of an interpreter and I quickly found them sitting at a table in the middle of the gym.  Most of the parents that were told when to come (ie they didn't ask for a time) didn't show up.  In addition some of the parents that asked for a time and were assigned a time didn't show up.  

8. On Thursday the entire process was repeated again but this time I was told about the SNACKS for the teachers around the corner in a small kitchen.  I was able to enjoy the snacks - cheese, crackers, dip, fruit etc and I wish I had known about them on the first night.

So if you're someone that works with me you can see it was far more formal than any "Meet the Teacher" we've ever had.  These were not meant to be "Parent Teacher " interviews although I must admit they felt a lot more like them than "Meet the Teacher".  Now I'm curious to see what "Parent Teacher Interviews" will look like.  Hopefully there will be snacks then too!

Overall it was a really pleasant experience though as I typically enjoy meeting and talking with the parents of my students.  You can learn a lot about their children from this.

Happy just about Spring Break my BC teaching friends.  My fall end of term break isn't until the beginning of April.

I'm still alive but you'll have to stay tuned for a real blog.

Just a quick post to let  you know I'm still alive.  This week I made it through a mid week swim squad, two nights of  "Meet the Teacher", a visitor, and a long weekend which included a road trip to the Great Alpine Road.  Real details (and many photos from the road trip) will come soon enough but right now I need to plan my teaching for my students this week. What a way to wreck a great long weekend.

Also, for those of you in BC now that you've sprung forward I'm now six hours behind you plus one day forward.  Once we fall back (I'm not sure when that's going to happen but it will happen) our time difference will be seven hours behind  you plus one day forward which will make things even more difficult for calling.  I'm so not ready to face winter in July and August.   I'm a summer baby for goodness sake.

Here's a sneak peak of what is to come hopefully in the next day or two.

This picture was taken on Hotham Mountain which is part of Victoria's  Great Alpine Road route.