Zero More Sleeps!

My sleeping count-down has now changed to an hourly count-down. Kristy is taking the ferry across to Picton today where I will meet her just as soon as I can get in my car and leave the parking lot after the bell rings at 3:15. I'm so excited!! I can't wait!!! I can not believe it's been 10 whole months since we've seen each other last!

Southerly Blast Coming Through!

I read in the news this morning that we are to expect a southerly blast to come through today. It is supposed to bring with it "the coldest temperatures NZ has seen so far this winter".

I just came into the math office for my prep period (non-contact as they call it here) and my coworker, Tina, directed my focus on the huge billowing clouds that are forming outside the window - coming in over the mountains from the South. Apparently these are the clouds that contain the weather!


I can only WISH that these clouds brought with them snow, and I can only wish HARDER that they might result in a snow-day tomorrow!!

Student's Finger

Oh man, I swear I will have enough for a complete novel series about my career as a teacher by the time I retire. You never know what is going to happen next each day, but it's guaranteed to be something!

Today I got word that one of my students (a really lovely one at that - one that I get on with well, and that tries really hard in my class) had an accident in the weight room and had her finger nearly severed off! I nearly fell over when I heard the news! Apparently she was doing the chest press when the pin (the wrong pin I might add!) fell out and got stuck. Some students helped her by holding the stack of weights up while she reached in to unjam the pin but somehow they ended up crashing down on her finger. Apparently she had emergency surgery in an effort to reattach the finger, but it's going to be a really slow recovery from here.

Man... I can't believe how shocking and saddening this news was! I think it's particularly disappointing because I know how hard she was trying in her subjects (well, at least in math class!) and this is really going to set her back. I certainly wish her the speediest of recoveries!

On another note - the countdown is on! Kristy is officially in the country and it's 4 more sleeps until she arrives!!

Raining in Blenheim

It's raining in Blenheim today - something that doesn't happen very often. I woke up to rain coming down outside my window this morning. This sound is amplified by the poor construction of my flat. Kind of reminds me of the days that I would wake up to the sound of rain pattering down on the roof of our camper when we would stay at Berford Lake during the summers.

Last night I went to watch the Rugby for the fourth week in a row! This time I went to an old English Pub in Renwick (just outside of Blenheim) with Gemma and her friends. Another very exciting game! I am really starting to enjoy watching this sport! One of Gemma's friends, as I found out, does Multisport racing - I'm gonna have to work that connection and see if he knows of anyone looking for a female teammate!!

Today will be a lazy day - a lazy day involving lots of work! I'm currently parked up in "my chair" in the living room with my feet up on the new automon (sp?) that I purchased at the Blue Door yesterday when I took the recycling to the depot. I plan to get some major lesson plans done in anticipation of wanting to spend my time with Kristy when she arrives next Friday. Oh yeah, not sure if I've blogged about this one yet, but Kristy is coming! She is going to stay with me for a week and then we'll head off to Australia for my next 2 week holiday from school. I can't wait!!!

Curry Night & Skype

Last night I went to the Phys Ed department's social dinner. I'm not sure how I managed to get myself invited, but I couldn't turn down the offer since they were having a curry night! Each person brought their own curry creation and I had the (easier) task of making enough rice to serve 10 people. Thankfully my rice turned out well! The rest of the food was even better! Yum yum!

This morning I was up at an early hour to meet Nancy (wife of John who is a PE teacher) at the gym for a step class. I came home in time to catch up with Laura on Skype. I am so glad that I've discovered this wonderful tool! It is so much fun to be able to talk face-to-face like that. Of course, I got more time to watch little Mattie be all cute in his chair, and get caught up on the latest happenings in Laura's life. Definitely feels like there isn't a whole lot of ocean and contents between us! ps. Laura, you look fantastic!!!

Bloody Cold!!

It was bloody cold this morning! Since all three of us were out last night at a lingerie party (hosted by one of our co-workers) we didn't get the opportunity to really crank up the fire and fully heat our common area before going to bed. So, as one can imagine, when we woke up this morning, our living room felt like the inside of a freezer. This was probably exaggerated by the fact that it was a very frosty -5 degress when we woke up (a temperature Blenheim doesn't very often see).

Since we had a PD day today, I took the opportunity to sleep in and suffer the cold of our bathroom and shower here. After getting dressed with my typical termal layer underneath, I also put on my jacket, scarf, and mitts to prepare and eat my breakfast with. As it was, my hands were still so cold that I had to figure out a balancing act with my cereal bowl on the arm of my chair so that I didn't have to hold it - it was far too cold on my hand!

I am actually getting quite used to the fact that I have to wear my jacket around the house. I still find it comical, but I have surrendered to the idea and feel much better when I'm surrounded by the warmth of my down-filled puffer jacket in my home - go figure?!!

Very First All-Blacks Rugby Game

I'm not sure how this happened, but I missed posting about my trip to Wellington a couple of weekends ago where I went to see the All Blacks play. Thought I would summarize now!

The weekend started off with a trip across to Wellington on the Interislander with Claire. I was nervous about the trip as the forecast was for a Southerly with very strong gale force winds and rain. Since I'm lacking experience in water travel, I had no idea how my stomach would hold up so I picked up some Sea Legs (I think the equivalent to Gravol at home) for the ride. Turns out the ride there was perfectly fine. Maybe a slight bit rocky, but not any different than the first experience I had with Nic which I thought was normal. In fact, the sun shone in the window at the front of the boat where Claire and I were sitting the entire time!

When we arrived, we were greeted by my dear friend, Magalie, who met us at the ferry terminal and took us back to her place for some homemade soup that she had just made. Afterwards we did a little shopping downtown and made our way to the waterfront where we met up with Nic and Aaron and some of their friends at a bar called the Loaded Hog. The bar was packed with fans for the game and had a really great buzz about it.

From there we literally followed the masses to the stadium where it started to rain en-route. In fact, it started to pour on us while we waited in line for our tickets. Thankfully the two (or three?) glasses of wine that I had previously consumed helped to keep me warm, and oddly enough, I barely noticed the severe weather that was coming down on us!


It was very exciting entering the stadium. Turns out we had some fantastic seats - 5rows up from the field, right near the tri-line. Well, fantastic on a day when you weren't hoping for cover! By this point we were drenched and the rain continued to fall. We arrived just in time for us to catch the ceremonious Hakka, but it seriously lacked in any sort of buzz for me. Not sure if it was the cold, not being able to see their faces, or what, my opinion so far is that the Hakka is way better to see on tv!


By half-time, I was desperate to seek warmth. We went inside and grabbed some freshly made (warm!) donuts (the first donuts I've had in NZ!).


After partially de-thawing, we decided we would change location and made our way high up into the stands to seek cover. The second-half was a total blur. I don't really remember many of the plays that took place since, by this point, my mind was more focussed on survival - staying warm! Any thoughts of leaving early to go home and seek warmth were erased by the thought of the $90 I had spent on my ticket.


After the game ended, it was one crowded walk to the train station where we met up with Nic and Aaron and walked another 10+ blocks to Aaron's office where he parked for free underground and they very generously drove us back to Magalie's place. Silly Nic repeatedly appologized for the weather, as she somehow felt responsible for us having such a miserable first experience at the Rugby game!

(I'm pretty sure it took me 2 days to fully dethaw. I really can't say I saw too much of the game. But all in all, I would still say it was a fun experience. Interviews with the players that were shown on tv afterwards showed them shivering with their hands stuck in their armpits to stay warm while sputtering out some sentences about how that was probably some of the worst conditions they have ever played in!)

The next morning Claire, Magalie, and I lazed around Magalie's flat sharing some good girlie chat. I also took a few moments to take in the view from Magalie's deck and enjoy the beautiful sunshine that we were blessed with after the previous night's wicked weather. Later on we headed downtown for a tremendously good feed.





The ferry ride back was on the Bluebridge (a slightly smaller ferry) and the water was much rockier. At one point the boat made a pretty good roll which was indicative of what was to come for the next hour or so. However, I followed Nic's advice and kept my focus on the tv ahead of me in an effort to tune out the swaying around me. I think it helped. I was fine. And I didn't even take a Sea Leg for that trip.



Thanks to Claire for also remaining so positive through this entire experience - especially considering her physical state with a sprained ankle from the weekend before. Good on you!!

An Interesting Thought on Teaching

This came in the form of an email from my principal... I quite like what it's saying... it couldn't be more true!

From an interesting blog -- http://www.futurelearning.org.nz

According to Paul Winter (chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association) too many students leave the education system over-qualified and in debt with an inadequate increase in their earning power to get a return on their investment. He was writing in the Dominion Shortcut to: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4585937a26496.html - have a look.

What’s interesting is his analysis that employers are increasingly looking for the so-called ‘soft skills’ over a long list of qualifications; they want employees with a ‘can-do’ attitude, they want evidence that the person can be flexible and adapt. And these skills are just as valuable outside of the work place, in our relationships with families and our communities, says Paul.

Can our secondary school system do more today to equip students with these sorts of skills? In 2028, what they learn today in schools will be out of date. But the skills to acquire new knowledge won’t be.

Calculus!

I taught my very first calculus lesson today!!! I must say, I was super excited about it going in!! Getting the opportunity to break into this exciting area of mathematics is a wonderful feeling... for all that I didn't actually really like calculus in highschool and university, I'm excited about the opportunity to go back and "re-learn" the material so that I can teach it to my students!

Although today was sort of anti-climatic (sp?) I'm still very excited about the days to come ahead. I am certain that I will be needing to do a whole lot more "homework" to prepare for these lessons, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

One thing is certain, I'm learning a TONNE with this job of mine. I've definitely covered a whole slew of new topics and curriculum that I hadn't yet touched at home. Although it means a tonne of work for me here, it means it'll be less work for me when I go to teach these subjects when I get home... also *hopefully* makes me more marketable to other schools when I start my job hunt back in Ontario...

KD Calls Answered!

So I stayed home sick on Monday, but in doing so, I was able to be there when the mail main delivered a parcel for me - a late birthday present. Turns out, this one was from Brian back at home in Canada and it was chock(sp?)-full of Kraft Dinner! Oooooee! I was in KD heaven! Brian had literally answered my cries as he had sent what appears to be MORE than a case of KD - minus the noodles. He even went as far as to pick out some different varieties of this macaroni goodness - including a few packets of Sharp Cheddar, White Cheddar, and Extra Creamy (along with lots of the traditional style too!).

I emailed Brian right away to thank him and he told me that while he was at the Purolator depot, the attendant told him that just the other day he received a case to ship to Australia - so I'm not the only one making this odd plea! I was actually a wee bit worried that this case might have been coming from my family - not necessarily worried about how I could possibly eat that much KD (believe me, I don't think I'll have a problem!) but that there might be some overshadowing of gift ideas!

Well, I came home yesterday to find the parcel from my parents sitting on the bench (equivalent to the Canadian "counter top") waiting for me - yes mom, it finally arrived just a few days late! One quick shake and I knew what was inside! Mom and dad had come through for me and sent two more boxes of KD (complete with noodles) along with a whole slew of other things including a sweater, post cards from Niagra Falls, chewing gum, smarties, canadian underwear, and some Tampax!

I must say, it's kind of exciting receiving mail after your birthday - just makes it last that much longer! :)

Soreness!

Oh man... I'm sore today. Yes, I'm feeling the effects of yesterday. But the craziest thing is WHERE I'm feeling it. Suprisingly, my legs are pretty much fine! Apart from some pretty nasty blisters, my walking appears to be almost normal. Where I'm actually feeling it the most is in my back, and believe it or not... my arms! Go figure?! I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that I had to keep my body upright for 2+ hours while exhibiting force from the impact of the ground - thus forcing my upper body to work muscles for much longer than it's used to. We'll see how long it takes to go away. I think it's time for a massage!

Mt. Vernon 18km Race

I just got back from doing the Mt. Vernon 19km race put on by the local harrier club in Blenheim (well, it was advertised as 19km, but my Garmin read 17.75km as I crossed the finish line). I was asked by Willy (a lady that I have recently started to run with) to do it via text on Friday night and initially laughed the idea off since I am nowhere NEAR that sort of distance in my training. However, after reconsidering the idea all weekend and thinking that I need a serious kick in the butt with regards to my motivation level towards physical activity, I thought "what the heck?!... why not try it?!". lol...

Well, I am happy to say that I survived it. It was a long haul, and a challenging one at that. I was aware that I would be running a few hills in this race given the location it was held (Wither Hills), but I really had no idea that I would be climbing that many hills, and covering that sort of elevation change. At the highest point of the race (the top of Mt. Vernon) we ran around a turnstyle at the top, and beside it was a sign indicating that we were at a height of 442m above sea level. Given that Blenheim is pretty much located at 0m, I'd say that was a pretty good climb!

It was certainly a strange experience. Firstly, I was aware that I was running what was close to the equivalent of a half-marathon, which I normally spend 3-4 months preparing for. Secondly, I was also aware of the fact that I was climbing pretty much uphill for the first 10-12km of the race - also something a-typical to my usual half-marathon experiences. Furthermore, I was ominously aware of the fact that this was a very personal, individual race. With there being less than 40 participants, the course spread pretty thin early on. I followed a few runners that were ahead of me by a couple hundred metres for a large portion of the race, but towards the end, I couldn't keep up and felt like I was very much on my own. Alone in the serenity of the beautiful hills, with no crowds lining the path cheering me on.

Surprisingly, it didn't actually feel that bad. I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe it's because I'm starting to get used to long distance races - regardless of how much I've trained for it, the distance doesn't seem nearly as difficult to conquer. A second possibility is the fact that you can't beat the setting. Running on the hills is one of my favourite things to do in Blenheim - it's easy to lose track of time up there!

Regardless, I'm very happy that I did it. And my 2hr 6min time isn't too shabby either. Factor in a few mins lost due to trying to get a gate open, climbing over the fence styles, trying to figure out which way the course went at a particular location, and chosing the "longer route" to avoid running directly through the middle of a herd of 20+ cows, I'd say that it was a fantastic time! Already looking forward to my next one!

Rugby at the Redwood

Last night Nic, Aaron and I decided to go out and watch the Rugby game at the bar. We selected the Redwood Tavern as our venue since a) we had never been there before, and b) it was within walking distance of our place. There was definitely a unique crowd at this place - can notably tell who the "regulars" were - but all in all, a very friendly crowd. Not a bad spot to watch the game!

The game was very exciting (again!) and the All Blacks won (again!). What was even more exciting was meeting up with Claire when she arrived part-way through the game after returning from a blind date in Nelson. Man is it ever exciting listening to someone talk about a "first date"! I swear I got almost as many butterflies in my stomach as she would have had on the actual date by just listening to her talk about it!

I called mom and dad today to wish mom a happy birthday. After our entire conversation with all three of us on the phone, mom gently reminded me that I should also wish my father a happy father's day since it was today too! Ooops! So sorry dad! I swear I still love you! It's tricky enough trying to make sure you get the cards out on time given how long it takes to go through the mail. It's also a challenge to make sure you get the date right when you call due to the time change. Factor in having to remember that father's day sometimes falls directly on mom's birthday some years, and also the fact that NZ doesn't actually celebrate Father's day at this time of the year -- it's a recipe for forgetting someone!

Anyways... it was very nice talking to mom and dad, and I love you both very much. Happy Birthday, mom, and Happy Father's Day, dad!! xoxo

My Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday (today for those that are reading this now) and what a strange experience it was! It's remarkable how different things can feel when living on the Southern hemisphere of our planet!

I woke up at my usual 6am to complete darkness outside my window - a result of being very close to the shortest day of the year! Tried to have a Skype session with dad before getting out of bed, but the connection was too crap for us to converse. Then went outside and scraped the frost off all the windows of my car, before heading to school to shower as per my normal routine.

Once the day got started, things started to feel a bit more normal. The sun shone brightly all day long (only to be expected when living in Blenheim!) and the temperature rose to probably close to 16 degrees. My first class very intuitively observed that it was my birthday when they saw me open my birthday card from Grandma T while I was waiting for everyone to finish writing their test. And the rest of my classes were also very good about wishing me a happy birthday since I decided to announce the occasion on my board.

It was particularly nice of a few people to really go out of their way to make me feel special. When short Nic saw me in the staff room at Morning Tea she walked right up to me and gave me a warm birthday hug - a strange, but appreciated gesture. Although I don't consider myself a huge "touchy feely" kind of person, you definitely notice the lack of physical contact when living on a different continent from your family and friends. I am definitely missing my usual (and frequent!) hugs from Kristy, and the hello and good-bye hugs that I normally get when visiting my family and other friends.

Later that evening, Claire came by for dinner which Nic had fully arranged and cooked. After dinner, a few others stopped by for some cake and wine. A great evening indeed! We were discussing afterwards how it was a really nice excuse to break from the monotony of what our lives have become lately. A purposeful distraction from the stress at work, and the ever present winter "blahs". Thanks to everyone who made me feel not so homesick on a day that could have otherwise had a very different outcome!

Long Weekend

(back-posted from ages ago... I must have started this and forgot to post it... it's from last year!)

This weekend was a long weekend. A statutory holiday to honour the Queen's Birthday. I'm still not really sure why in NZ we celebrate the Queen's Birthday on the first weekend in June, while in Canada, the same occassion is celebrated on the 24th of May??? Maybe we are celebrating the birthdays of different Queens? I dunno...

But regardless, one will never complain about or contest a day off work! Long weekends are far and few between, and I can honestly say I haven't needed one more than I needed this one!

This weekend was by far the most low-key weekend I have had in a VERY VERY long time. I would even go as far as to say that I haven't had a weekend that low-key in years -- possibly even 10 years! Although I had vowed to capitalize on any and all long weekends while living in NZ (by capitalize, I mean get out and explore and act like the tourist that I am), given the insanity of last week, and my lack of time to get anything organized, I found myself at home with nothing planned and nothing to do.

And that's exactly what I did - absolutely nothing.

And it felt fab!

I spent half of the time sleeping and the other half basically parked up on my chair (yes... we have now established our designated "spots" in the living room) either reading or watching tv, soaking up the beautifully warm sun that poured in through the window beside me. Since Aaron was up for a visit with Nic, we sat and watched several hours of Season 3 of the tv series 24. It was awesome!

At times I felt like a bit of a loser - reflecting on the fact that I don't yet have any friends close enough to drag out with me and do something with - but then I quickly snapped out of it. Yes Heather... it's ok to spend a weekend by yourself doing absolutely nothing but taking care of and rejeuvenating yourself...

It's back to reality tomorrow, but I'm ready to take it on. Ready to push through til the next set of school holidays in July…

Worst Report Card Process... EVER!!!

We have been in Report Card mode for the past 3 weeks and will continue to be for at least the next 3.

It all started 3 weeks ago with report card training - an afternoon session on how to use Classroom Manager to enter marks and write comments.

After that, we were responsible for inputting our marks on learning skills and writing comments for all of our senior classes. These were due on Tuesday morning at 9am.

By Tuesday afternoon report cards for all senior students were printed and we were to collect them from our designated "box" in the staff room. The reports that we collected in our box were for all of our students in our Form Class.

It was then our responsibility to proof-read and double-check all 6 report cards for each of our Form Class senior students. Any mistakes that we found were to be marked in pencil and the report print-out was to be placed in the pigeon hole (mail-box) of the subject teacher that made the error. The subject teacher was then responsible for correcting the mistake electronically. This meant that any mistakes I made the first time through were also my responsibility to correct (luckily I only had 2 - both where I had said nicer things in my comments than my learning skills suggested so I needed to match them up better).

From this point, we need to make sure that we have all 6 report cards for each of our Form Class senior students (5 reports for the Year 13s), stuff these into the correct envelope along with a folded print-out of the students attendance summary, and a standardized cover letter listing what should be expected in the report along with a hand-written number indicating how many reports the parents should find enclosed.

In addition to this envelope stuffing fun, we also need to find time to write comments for all of our senior Form Class students along with our evaluation of their learning skills on 12 different criteria. These are due Friday. They will be proof-read by our Principal and Deputy Principals, corrections will be made next week, and we will be responsible for making any appropriate corrections, reprinting, and stuffing these into the correct envelopes before they are posted by next Friday.

This entire process needs to be repeated for our Junior Classes and Junior Form Class students in the weeks to follow.

Apparently our school has it "good" compared to other schools that my co-workers have worked at. While nearly losing it on someone after realizing just how complex and cumbersome this process was, someone was quick to inform me that at her previous school they had to take grammar lessons prior to the report-writing period, and they had to correct things as nit-picky as commas and other punctuation and gramatical errors. They were also proof-read three times before going to final print.

So for all those back home that are nearing the end-of-year report card season, think twice before complaining about how much work you have to do - just be thankful you're not doing it the NZ way!

Apple Crisp

I made a totally yum apple crisp for dessert tonight. It was sooooooo yum!!! Found the recipe online and it has been sitting ontop of my microwave waiting to be baked for quite a few days now. For some reason, tonight felt like the right night to do it!

There's something indescribeable about the feeling a warm apple crisp can bring. The smell of fresh home-baking brings a really warming calm to a house on a cold, dark, autumn night. Once ingested, the tasty dessert iself warms you from the inside out and somehow manages to make all your troubles go away!

Click here for a copy of the recipe I used.