Splashing, Leprechauns, Fireworks, and Rain - Amazing Autumn

In Australia, there are many cool things that schools do, but one of the coolest is that they have Sport Carnivals. This term we have the swimming carnival and the cross-country carnival. The school is split into 4 houses (yes, just like Hogwarts), and then they compete against each other in various events. This meant that on February 29th, I got to spend the whole day in the pool.

The kids race in actual events like the 50m frontstroke and 25m butterfly. Gee. I wonder why Australia dominates at the Olympics and Canada is always mediocre?

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on one's view, I didn't really get to watch any of the events as I was co-running the novelty events. These are events for kids who aren't in the races. Really it is just organized, fun activities in the shallow end of the pool. We played tag, had relays and just acted like idiots, and that was just Sharee (the other teacher) and I. The good news was that I got to be in the pool.

At the end of the day, we had a relay, parents vs. teachers. Sharee and I once again joined forces for the 2nd leg of the race. I swam (or flailed, as some people described it later) half a length and Sharee jumped in at that point and finished the leg. The kids thought it was hilarious. I told them that I skate on water, not swim in it.



The week after the Swimming Carnival it was Year 3s turn to do the Values Liturgy for the whole school. To teach the school about care and compassion we did a dramatization of the Good Samaritan. The kids did a fantastic job.
March is good time to be in Canberra. Almost every morning I saw hot air balloons floating above the city. No one has told me why we have so many hot air ballooners over the city, but it sure is a pretty sight.  It is also the anniversary of Canberra being named the capital of Australia. This year is the 99th anniversary. This makes the second weekend of March a long weekend. I meant to make my way north or west to visit other echange teachers who have just arrived. Unfortunately the weather was not in my favor and we got a deluge of rain that made the Great Flood look like a creek. There was flooding almost everywhere in this area so I was unable to make my way to Griffith, which was actually surrounded by a flooded river, or Dubbo, which was blocked by a flooded area. Instead, I got invited out to Shirley's place out at Wamboin for Rob's birthday dinner. I spent the night and then went out to the farm out at Crookwall. Shirley and her partner Bill are currently making the land that they own out there into a livable landscape. They have just put 10 head of cattle onto the farm (Black Angus) and are someday planning on putting a greenhouse out there. It is beautiful land with fantastic views and a river flowing through a corner of it.

We started by handfeeding the cattle (pictures to come) and then I got the grand tour on the quads. I forgot how much fun it is to go through paddocks on an ATV. It was a gorgeous day and I had a great time. I again spend the night at Shirleys where I got to meet Bill's father and step-mom. On Monday morning, I went home to rest up for the week ahead.

The week was pretty standard, but it was again a busy weekend. Canberra sure does love their fireworks, and March 17th was no different. No, it wasn't a celebration of St.Patrick's Day, though there was a lot of green to be seen, it was the 24th annual Skyfire. Any chance to have fireworks and listen to Top 40 music. It was a gorgeous day all day Saturday. They had helicopter demonstrations and stunt airplanes. They weren't as good as the Snowbirds, but they were still entertaining. They actually flew all over the city and were behind, in front and just over top of us.

I had great company sitting on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin. Miriam, Sharee and her husband Chris, and I all had a picnic while we waited for the fireworks to start. As we waited, the blue skies began to darken, and not because the sun was going down. Black clouds started to make their way over the city and just 30 minutes before the fireworks were to start, the downpour started. We decided to hold out and watch the fireworks. We were soaked to the bone, but the fireworks went off without a hitch.

The Drowned Rats (Sharee, Chris, Miriam)

The next day, under blue skies once again, I was off to the Governor Generals's House for the open day. The grounds are only open on specific days of the year and this was one of them. We got to go inside the mansion and tour the grounds. There were also food stalls, and various types of entertainment. It was a very nice way to end my weekend.

The best part of the entire weekend was coming in Monday morning and having my kids realize that leprechauns had come to visit and destroy our classroom. They were shocked and awed, and so was I . It only took us 45 minutes to clean up the mess created by the 'leprechauns'. Micaela and Kelsi you would be proud of me. The evidence is below.