Blogging Task #3

Do you have a favourite factual or lifestyle programme? The task this time is to write a post about one such programme. Factual and lifestyle programmes both entertain and enlighten us and can be amongst the best programmes on television.

Over the years I’ve had lots of favourites, programmes that I try to catch each time they’re on. I loved the Cosmos series with Neil deGrasse Tyson which taught us how the Earth and the universe evolved. I never missed Wonders Of The Solar System and Wonders Of The Universe with Professor Brian Cox (from Manchester University, my home town) which took its audience on a beautiful journey of discovery, backed with solid science. Both of these presenters are particular heroes of mine. Currently, I enjoy George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces which shows how you can create life-changing buildings in small, unique and creative ways. I’m also following Walking Through History with Sir Tony Robinson and Big Dreams Small Spaces, a creative gardening programme with the amazing Monty Don. As well as being factual, many of these programmes are very entertaining which is why they’re an effective way of delivering educational information.

Your task is to write about a factual programme or documentary that you enjoy. Tell us what it is, what the programme is about, why you like it, perhaps even who in your family enjoys watching it. Is it more education or entertainment? Is the programme a particular interest of yours or a member of your family? Remember to introduce it properly (like we’ve been learning in class) and use paragraphs for the different parts of your post.

Cricket Carnival

Last week the year 5 and 6 students (some from LA19) took place in a cricket carnival against other schools from the area. Played in scorching sunshine, it was an incredible day with displays of cricket which truly blew me away. The boys and girls were each split into two teams, first and second, and competed throughout the day against some superb opposition. At stake was a trip to the WACA (West Australian Cricket Association) cricket ground to take part in a competition against the winners of other, similar carnivals taking place across Perth. Unfortunately, neither of the boys’ teams made it. They both only lost one game all day, though this was enough to see them fall just short of the prize and demonstrates the high quality of cricket being played on the day. The girls, however, fared better with one of their teams remaining unbeaten and securing a much sought after ticket to the WACA. Well done to all the students for an amazing day of fun, sportsmanship, great behaviour and fantastic cricket.

Jayden and Hayden

Jayden and Hayden

Keenan in Action

Keenan in Action

Blogging Task #2

Book reviews, Singapore, Chinese New Year, Formula 1, The Giants in Perth, these are just some of the incredible topics the students from LA19 have been writing about. It’s been an absolutely fascinating few weeks in the LA19 world of blogging, but now it’s time to get down to the more serious side of our blogging – the Blogging Tasks. Our second task is a bit of fun and gives a little direction to those bloggers beginning to run short of ideas.

Some song lyrics, for whatever reason, strike a chord in our minds and end up having an impact, or at least stay in our memory. This line from Big Country’s hit In A Big Country has always stayed in my mind:

“I’m not expecting to grow flowers in the desert,

But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime.”

I’ve never been a particular fan of their music, but when I first heard these lines they just made such an impact they’re still in my mind. Maybe it was because they convey a message that I can totally relate to, almost like a personal, cool, almost laid back philosophy (it feels like I should have ended that sentence with, “man”). Other songs have stuck too, but these lyrics are more meaningful than most. The task for LA19 this time is to tell the world about a song or some lines from a song that, for whatever reason, have stayed with you. What are the words? What do they mean to you?

I look forward to your completed tasks.

Incredible Start

Well, this is usually the point in the year where I pick out a handful of students who’ve made an extra effort with their blogs and give them a shout-out on this blog. Unfortunately, I’m unable to do that this year. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, though, this is because it would just mean me listing almost the entire class in this post; it really has been an exceptional start to the year. Not only have the students been posting faster than I can comment (honestly, I can hardly keep up), but the number of students doing this has been outstanding. To cap this off we’ve had comments from new friends in Canada and visits from old friends who have moved on to high school. Check out the blogs on my class list and you’ll quickly see what I mean.

Can We Keep It Up?

Following the restructure of the first week we seem to have been running permanently in overdrive. We’ve had such an incredibly busy two weeks that I have to give enormous credit to the students who have been open to learning new technology and integrating it into their routines. Not only have they started so well with their blogs, but they’ve also started to use Google Drive and our education department’s own Connect application which allows us to complete our work online. I also have to thank the parents who have also been so positive and open towards our new technology and have even joined in, following us on Connect. This has all been on top of our general class work which hasn’t taken a step back for a second. Whilst this pace is exhausting, it’s also very fulfilling and exciting, I only hope we can keep it up!

The Giants

This week The Giants came to Perth as part of the incredible Perth Festival. The Giants are huge puppets that are powered by amazing, energetic people, pulling ropes, swinging from trucks and abseiling from cranes in spectacular red uniforms. The puppets come alive and walk through the street, although a huge part of the attraction is watching the operators as they perform their medieval-like manoeuvres. Have a read of the blogs of Savannah, Shantelle and Tarnika as they pass on their experiences of this fabulous weekend.

Blogging Task #1

This post is especially for our new students.

Now the blogs have been created it’s about time we started moving things along. Hopefully, by the end of this week, it would be great to see all the blogs with a set theme, header, background and greeting. Also, an initial post to welcome people to your blog would be a great idea, or, if you feel ready, a post on a topic you feel is worth sharing with the world. Don’t forget, all posts and images need to adhere to our strict code of conduct. The writing has to be clear and accurate and the images must either be your own or licensed for re-use. Good luck and have fun!

New Year, New Students – Again!

What a difference a week makes! Since we came back to school on Monday we’ve been through a huge change process. I originally started this week with a mixed year 5 and year 6 class, 19 year five students and 9 year six students. However, due to serious changes in the numbers and ages of the students attending the school we had to carry out a sudden restructure. As a consequence LA19 is now a straight year 6 class and we had to say goodbye to our year 5s (hopefully they may be back next year). All this means that we’re basically starting everything again with our blogs, so the names on the class list will change and so will my header photo. Hopefully we can get all the technicalities (permission notes, login details…) sorted out soon and start the students blogging. Keep watching this space.

New Year, New Students

Well, Monday is it! The first day of a brand new year with a brand new class. Last year was an incredible year for me, so I’m going to have to work twice as hard (not possible) to make this year even better. The students will be looking at blogs and investigating what it means to protect themselves and their privacy online before they post, so it may be a few days before we hear from them. However, the excitement and anticipation is building and I can’t wait to be inspired by another group of amazing young people. Watch this space!

Holiday

As we’re still on our summer hols there remains very little to write about, so I thought I’d copy some of my students and write about my holidays.
Christmas was awesome! We often travel to Waroona and stay with rellies, but this year we followed our old family tradition of getting up late, opening the pressies, having ham and eggs on the barbie followed by a trip to the beach for a cool down in the ocean. Perfect!
After Christmas we hopped on a plane for a fortnight in Lombok and Bali. We spent the first week in Lombok, which was okay, but I won’t be rushing back in a hurry. I know how a lot of people love it there, but it just wasn’t for me. The second week was spent in Nusa Dua on Bali. The hotel was fabulous, but I’d have to say that my heart wasn’t in it. After the week on Lombok my mind had sort of finished its holiday and it felt like the flight to Bali should have been the flight home. We have beautiful beaches here in Perth (better than Bali) and hot sunshine, so I tend to want something different from a holiday. A couple of years ago we toured Vietnam and that was amazing! Maybe we’ll go there again next time.
Since coming home I’ve done some solid planning for my new students in 2015, working out the English, Geography and History topics. That’s pretty much going to continue for my final two weeks, perhaps with a little relaxation thrown in. We teachers never get the amount of holidays people think we do!
And that’s about it. Nothing special, really, my best times have been the ones spent with family. I shouldn’t complain as it will soon all be over and another year with brand new hungry minds will be upon us!