Term Two: SDD and a little week 4 reflection I guess...

The first term of work was a whirlwind of emotions for me as it was something to be at a new school in a new country without the comforts of home and the comforts of knowing your school routines and expectations. The bigger school took a while to get the hang of all the routines and expectations, but I was determined to not be as worried about the little things and just teach those kids how I know I can.  Our SDD (Staff Development Day) was a team building one. It was so much fun! We got to giggle, chat and even scream a little on the flying fox and high ropes course. It was a great way for me to get to know some more of the staff and get to show a little of my none teaching side.

Now that Term Two is into week four as I write this, reports are being done (wow it is a lot more work) and it was a great idea to not finish this post as I happy to take a break from report and add a little more now. I think that Term Two is going a bit easier for me. I find that I am able to be myself even more at work. The days are still long and the meetings, marking and paper work is still staring me in the face, but I am trying to not worry so much and just teach. I feel like I have gotten to know some of the students really well and they seem to still find the "Canadian" a lot of fun for a teacher. They are teaching me things about myself that I didn't know and I am having a lot of fun sharing myself with the staff and students at Girraween Public School. 

A little note: I played my first Netball game with some teachers from school this week. Wow! I have a lot to learn. It is very hard to train yourself to stop moving once you get the ball. I am looking forward to playing next week. 

Special Delivery

Nana and Grampie Mouse decide they have missed Maëlle and Malia for way too long and need to come and find them...

The family in Beaumont is very concerned...

Brrrr they are very cold in Alberta. Got to get somewhere warmer and fast!

 The Rocky Mountains are being left behind..

They make it to Sidney, BC, Canada. Wrong Sidney, but at least they got to see Granny!

Two very excited girls!! 

Nana and Grampie Mouse find Maëlle and Malia after many stops along the way.( you would have to follow Nana's posts for more updates on the travels). All is good again.

First School Break- Blue Mountains Vacation

It was the Saturday I had been looking forward to for a few weeks! The first term was over! I had survived (sort of) and my mom was here and we were going to enjoy spending two weeks exploring and showing her around our home for the year.  I was looking forward to enjoying some Australian wine and being outside. Unfortunately, my good old tonsils prevented me from enjoying that wine for the first 10 days of the break, but it would not stop us from seeing the beauty of our new home.

After another trip to the local clinic, a new doctor and a good second dose of antibiotics, I was on the mend and we were packed and ready to venture to the Blue Mountains.

Our fall break holiday was a combination of "Stairway to Heaven" and "Don't go Chasing Waterfalls" as our little get away to the Blue Mountains was simply amazing and physically challenging at times too.

Day One: Scenic World:
It was a bust day of driving. First stop was Scenic World. We had a great time. Hiked to the Three Sisters (which don't quite compare to the ones in Canada) and then spent the rest of the day exploring Scenic World and going on the cable car, train and seeing the great scenery.

 Our home for the 5 days was in Blackheath at a Airbnb. It was fantastic! Checkers was a favourite activity after our long days of hiking, stairs and chasing waterfalls.

Day Two: Bush Walk to Victoria Falls Cascades

Wow! What a walk. A slightly off the beaten track drive to the start of the walk. But would you expect anything else from Matt. Not really! The 5 of us walked down the hundreds of stair to the beautiful resting spot. The walk up was gruelling, but with Maëlle leading the way we were up in no time.

Day Three: Jenolan Caves
Two tours of the caves. We had a great day walking and learning. Maëlle did a presentation on the caves for her recap of her holidays. What a beautiful drive down the caves. We unfortunately didn't see much wild life other than some road kill on the side of the road.

Day Four: Wentworth Falls
Tourist overload! So busy, but so worth the end result. More stairs were in the adventure today again. This was supposed to be our low key day. We ended up going to the bottom of the falls and then straight back up. It was crazy busy at the top, but a lot less populated at the bottom. We stopped for a very fancy picnic that we picked up from the only place open on this holiday day.

 

Day Five: Botanical Gardens, Apple Picking and Cider Tasting
It was time to head back to Oatlands. We made a few great stops along the way!

This was the away part of the holiday. It was so nice to get away and explore. Australia is not all beaches at all. The Blue Mountains were so beautiful and relaxing. I think though that Alberta's Three Sisters is just a bit bigger 😀.