Archive for 22/08/2008

I Have Myspace…

31/08/2008 Joh reading, work

And I’m not afraid to use it!

I got it when my own children were quite young and I wanted to keep an eye on what they were doing online. Students have added me to their friends over the years. I think it’s a bit of a novelty for them to see an adult they know on Myspace. It’s good to stay in touch with past students. I rarely interact with students online. Mostly because I don’t have that kind of time. Five days a week is usually enough. There are teachers who use it effectively. I check it about once a fortnight now. I think my adult children are beyond me supervising them online now.

Tonight I have been verifying books for the Premiers Reading Challenge. I was absent from school on Friday, cause I’m not well right now. I didn’t get the chance to do all my usual last minute chasing up of kids who had forgotten to update their reading lists. So I posted a bulletin on Myspace! I will be interested to see how it goes down. So far, none of the kids I wanted to read it have responded.

Popularity: 7% [?]

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Choir trip to Melbourne

30/08/2008 Joh travel, work

Today our school choir went to Melbourne to a recording studio to record their awesome voices for a CD. I love the music department at school, so when the music teacher asked for teachers to help out a while ago, I offered. I don’t know how much I helped, didn’t feel like I did anything. It was a good day though and it’s always great to hear the kids sing.

We went for long walk and checked out some furnishings shops in the St Kilda area. It was an interesting stroll. We spent most of the day listening to the kids. They were very self controlled and it was almost comical to hear all the coughing during every break. I think over 50 percent of them have a cold – if the coughs were anything to go by. I was impressed by their self discipline though and the control the conductor had over the 80 odd teenagers. They are well trained.

Driving home today along the South Eastern Freeway for the forth time this week, I thought it is unfair to have to pay tolls on a road you can barely get over 80kmph on. It’s not a freeway and I noticed a sign that said the upgrade won’t be complete until 2010. That’s quite a wait. I feel for those using it daily.

Popularity: 7% [?]

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Stopping for a Day

29/08/2008 Joh health

Every year I say to my friend Rhonda, if I get sick, I’m going to take a day off. It’s so hard to do though. There’s always a good reason every day, why I feel I need to go. I have struggled along with a bit of a cold for a week or so now and today I really couldn’t go. I woke up with my throat feeling closed over.

I should have taken a day a week ago, but I kept feeling I could manage. There are so many people sick and away at school, you hate to put a burden on the remaining staff. Yesterday’s reflections on my performance made me realise though, I was actually creating more problems by going with the negative attitude and low energy. So today I stopped. I slept all day.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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PD – IQ, EQ and SQ and Leadership

28/08/2008 Joh learn

The title for the PD was actually longer, but hey, it was about intellectual, emotional and social intelligence. I enjoyed the workshop. The presenter, Trinidad Hunt was passionate and engaging. She delivered a polished, well-prepared course, yet also adapted her material to her audience. I have been interested in EQ and SQ for a long time and I believe most effective teachers do this unconsciously. I did get some personal distinctions from the time spent.

Getting out of your school environment for a day and being led to reflect on your performance is always a good thing. It really isn’t about content, but about being asked the right questions of yourself. It’s often said that kids don’t always remember what they learnt at school, but you remember the people and the way they made you feel. Today’s course was an experience of that for me.

I am pleased that these ideas are mainstream now. Trinidad’s methods and content reminded me in many ways of a course I did over 15 years ago ‘Money and You’. I find this way of teaching easy on me and I don’t drift off and wish I was spending my time doing more important things, which is sometimes the case in PD’s that I have attended. Looking over the colourful notes I took, we covered quite a bit and I remember stories connected to the notes. It works!

Popularity: 6% [?]

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Forever – Billy Bob Thornton

27/08/2008 Joh music

I am a fan of Billy Bob Thornton. This song is funny! I bought this CD for Andy and we loved it. It was one of those bargain box classic finds.

There was another one called ‘Smoking in Bed’ that I really loved as well, but I can’t find it on You Tube. I love that line ‘under the influence of Merle Haggart’. Enjoy.

Popularity: 4% [?]

One comment

New Moon in Virgo – Sunday 31st August

27/08/2008 Joh astrology

Start thinking about the goals you want to set for the next month because Sunday is the new moon. A Virgo new moon is an opportunity to purify. About.com‘s article covers all the aspects of Virgo energy that can be tapped into by this new moon.

There are lots of Virgo teachers at school and Frogdancer, a blogger/teacher whose writing I enjoy, is one too. They are all so organised and get all the details right in my experience. If you were need to apply some of those qualities to an area of your life, and in order to be organised that I’m giving you plenty of notice!

To get a sense of where all the planets are and what’s going on astrologically, Cafe Astrology covers all the positions and transits.

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Not Much to Say

26/08/2008 Joh learn

Tonight I don’t have a lot to say after a day of saying too much. I need to reign myself in sometimes. I should have stayed home today….. Tomorrow I will have to clean up the messes I’ve made!

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Empty Nest Looming

25/08/2008 Joh family

This weekend I haven’t had the usual house of young people. I’ve caught up with a few people, yet relatively speaking it’s been kind of quiet for me. I’m wondering how it’s going to be next year. It’s highly likely that Tom will move away. It’s what I would want for him. I moved out as soon as school finished. I think it’s healthy to get out there and into your adulthood. I know it isn’t the trend anymore. Many young people stay home for years. I don’t think that’s how it will go for us.

I have a lot more time anyway lately. My kids have been independent for years, I’ve just been in denial or thought about the positives of the lessening responsiblities. This weekend I have felt kind of redundant. I have probably been in this state for a while, but I’ve just slowed down enough to really think about it and ponder what it will really mean. My house is probably too big for just me. Perhaps I need a hobby to fill in the time previously and happily spent as a mum to dependent children. What do I want to do? Lots of questions, no real answers……

Popularity: 8% [?]

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How Unspectacular of me….

24/08/2008 Joh blogging

Widget has tagged me in this meme to give unspectacular facts about myself. I apologise to all my friends like Widget who have given me awards and tagged me for memes. I can’t do them. I don’t especially like them. I don’t mean to offend. I could come up with an endless supply of unspectacular facts about myself, but I just can’t tag other people and give them another to do. I do like getting tagged though. It’s always nice to be thought of.

Popularity: 4% [?]

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Then by Morris Gleitzman

22/08/2008 Joh reading

‘Then’ is the sequel to ‘Once’, but I felt it is a darker and sadder tale. In this short novel, Felix and Zelda are in a very bleak situation. They go into hiding with a woman who gives them new identities. It contains more horror and less optimism than ‘Once’ did.

“I’m too ashamed to look at the Jewish people. I look over their heads. That doesn’t really help because now I’m staring at all the dead people hanging from the wooden posts. There are lots of them because the Nazis did take revenge for what happened at the river.”(p133)

Morris Gleitzman does a great job of telling the story through Felix’s perceptions. It doesn’t have a happy ending though. I didn’t enjoy this book as much. It left me feeling sad. The dedication is ‘For all the children who have to hide’. Children have to hide for lots of reasons in our contemporary world and whilst I know they are resilient and ‘Once’ really gave me that message, I hate the thought of it.

Popularity: 7% [?]

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