Holiday Bloggers

chris hope

As we are now fully into the summer break, posts are a little bit thin on the ground. I am on holiday in Lombok at the moment (a small island in Indonesia), so my blog has also taken a bit of a back seat. However, there have been some notable and interesting posts by a number of blogs. Some of the posts have been from the students who left my class at the end of last year, but who were so prolific and interesting that I’ve decided to leave them open for as long as they wish. These students are Abbey, Aimee, Demi, Caitlin and Georgia. Other posts have been from our brand new bloggers. These students were shown how to blog by last year’s students and have been honing their skills over the holiday. The new holiday bloggers are Abbie, Dinesh, Shantelle, Mitchell. It’s always great to see how some students maintain their enthusiasm when they’re away from school and I’ll keep checking in to read more interesting stuff. In the meantime below is a photo from my own holiday.

Lombok Waterfall

Lombok Waterfall

A Great New Blog

chris hope

2014 was one of the best years for blogging in LA19. We had such amazing bloggers such as Demi, Aimee, Abbey, Georgia, Pyin Ye, Kianne, Caitlin and Michael, all of whom (even though they’ve left our school) can still be seen on my list of class blogs. This means that the new group of bloggers have a lot to live up to. One student, Shantelle, has already made an amazing and dedicated start and she hasn’t even joined her class for 2015 yet. Her blog is on my current class blog list on the left – check her out and see what her great blog looks like.

And The Tears Flowed!

chris hope

Sadly, today was the last day of the year and the last day ever for our amazing year 7s. I must say, they held it together brilliantly throughout the day, signing each other’s shirts and, as we’ve come to expect from this group, running around the school to help move desks and chairs to different classes. However, as the final siren approached the cracks appeared and the tears flowed. This was the first group of year 1s in the school and they’ll be the final group of year 7s, so they had a special kind of bond between them. This was clearly evident as they made their final farewells to each other, the teachers and their school. Whilst some may stay together, others are going it alone at a variety of high schools, so for them the farewells were final.

As a teacher, we often receive the thanks of the students and the parents at the end of each year for the time we’ve spent with them. However, the thanks must come from us to them. We become teachers because we want to help children, to make a difference and to see our students grow both educationally and emotionally. This only works when we have the cooperation and commitment from students and parents and with this group we had both, in spades. This meant we could do our jobs properly and, in my own case, go even further with some topics than I ever thought I could. Consequently, the rewards I received from them, the immense feeling of satisfaction and pride was the embodiment of why I love my job. I only had to drag my ageing, aching bones into the class and receive their smiling “Good Morning” to feel refreshed and energised for the day ahead. Our job satisfaction is measured in smiles, growth, those amazing “Aahh” moments of discovery, the creativity and imagination that blows our minds and the knowledge that we have made a difference and have had the trust and friendship of incredible people. The rewards we get are a reflection of the partnerships and relationships grown over the year and the commitment and effort from everyone working together. These rewards are massive and are the reason we are teachers. So, for the incredible rewards I’ve received this year and the reaffirmation that teaching is the best job in the world I say a big “thank you” to the wonderful (ex) students of LA19. Have a great summer break and enjoy your new adventures in 2015.

What Can I Say..?

chris hope

A couple of weeks ago our amazing Art teacher, Ms Sveinbjornson, asked me to put my homemade Tardis DVD cabinet in the school’s art exhibition. Whilst a little tentative I agreed, but what I didn’t expect was that it would win the People’s Choice award! I was very taken aback and not a little guilty, thinking I’d stolen the award from the students (as my wife still thinks), but also very humbled that the students had actually voted for it. To show my appreciation here’s a photo of it in my movie room with the certificate on top and a few very meaningful and cherished accessories on and around it.

Award Winner!

Award Winner!

The End!

chris hope

This week is going to be a huge one for the students in LA19 (and LA’s 16, 17 and 18) as it’s not only the end of the year, but it’s also the end of their primary school life. All the students will be moving on after their final day on Thursday. Some students will be going to our local high school, so will be with some of their friends, but others are going to different high schools around Perth and in some cases are the only ones from our school going there. However, wherever they are heading off to, I’m sure that when Thursday comes around and the students leave the comfort of the school they’ve been a part of for many years the emotions will overcome many of them. This has been an awesome group of young people and the school and myself will miss them. Let’s hope they pay a visit to this blog occasionally to let us know how they’re going.

Four days to go!

New Bloggers

chris hope

Last week we invited some of our year 4 and 5 students to start blogging with us. We did this for a very practical reason; the year 7 students will be leaving us in two weeks, as usual, but unlike every other year the year 6 students will also be graduating from primary school at the same time. This is due to the government’s shift to have students start high school a year early. Unfortunately, this means that the main core of our blogging talent will be walking out of the school. So, with a slight sense of panic, we realised that we needed to have the amazing year 7 bloggers pass on their skills and knowledge to the next generation before they go. The new blogs are on the same class list on the left as my current students just for now, but for a clear list (with all the hard work done for me) check out Abbey’s blog where she lists the new students with links to their blogs.

Blogging Task #7

chris hope

As this could be the last blogging task I’d like it to be something different. Make a short list of what you’re looking forward to as you move to high school and what you are concerned about. Are you leaving close friends? Will you keep in touch (not always easy)? Do you feel you are ready to leave primary school? I’d like this post to be a podcast and posted as soon as possible!

Lapathon

chris hope

Last week the whole school turned out to complete our yearly lapathon. The year sevens had to run 20 laps around a set course within around 40 minutes. The students did a great job, especially in the hot weather. The money raised from the lapathon will go to a number of great causes to support the school and the students. Check out the photos.

William, Demi (hidden) and Nathan.

William, Demi (hidden) and Nathan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rii Rii, full of energy!

Rii Rii, full of energy!

 

Blogging Task #6

chris hope

This task is all about each other. I want you to have a look at each other’s blogs and pick two that are very different. The differences should be related to the way the blogs look and the style of their content. Then, write a detailed post about them, explaining the differences and what you think about them. Don’t just pick your close friends, I’d much prefer to see you looking at the blogs you don’t usually read. Also, include a link to the blogs you are discussing. This has to be quite a long post, not just a few lines.

Claymation

chris hope

The students have, over the past few weeks, been working with plasticine and technology in order to create claymation movies. The whole process is a very slow one, but the general feel is one of patience and a desire to produce something very worthwhile. In fact, for the first two weeks the students didn’t even get their hands on the plasticine, they instead had to write a storyline and create a storyboard for their movie. The story had to be “do-able” within the timeframe, make sense and not be full of blood, guts and chainsaws! As they were being marked on their plans, the students had to make sure their efforts were their best with clear images and notes. Following this process the characters had to be made from the plasticine before moving on to the filming. Many of the groups are nearly finished and are now in “post-production”, adding credits and music to their movies. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some soon, but here’s a couple of pictures to show what I mean.

Filming

Filming

Evil Snowmen

Evil Snowmen