Wrap Up of Term Two

I know our blog posts have been few and far between lately. It's the end of term two at Ponatahi Christian School, which means piles of marking and report cards/assessment folders. Its been a fantastic term, and I feel satisfied with how much content we've covered in our English classes. I can't believe that we are already over half-way through the school year! Time is whizzing by! In a few more days, it will be the beginning of another two week school break, during which I plan on preparing for the next school term, attending some professional development courses and maybe squeezing in some time to see a bit more of New Zealand! Hopefully I will have more time to keep you posted :).


Below: Hanging out in the English room during the 24 Hour School Day for World Vision.

What we like about New Zealand...

1. Gorgeous variety of landscapes and places to visit! Breathtaking! (see pictures below)
2. Tangelos- the sweetest, juiciest oranges/tangerines you've ever had!
3. Stop signs are almost non-existent. Since we live in a rural area, roads only have yield signs or roundabouts, and the speed limit on almost every road is 100km/h.
4. Short winter months
5. Some of the finest chocolate in the world
6. No rust on cars (Mechanics freak out if they see the smallest spot of rust on a vehicle, and won't pass a "warrent of fitness test" which allows you to drive your car legally!)
7. Accent is pretty intriguing
8. Openness to visitors and immigrants
9. Slow pace of life- it's quite relaxed. Although it can be frustrating at times, we do see many positive sides to this. We find that we are really enjoying our quiet evenings together. Everything in town closes down around 5p.m. and on weekends the shops are usually shut by lunchtime! People are also less interested in having the "biggest" and "best" homes, furniture, cars, kitchen supplies, clothing, etc. There are many homes which we thought were "outdated", but that is simply because families usually squeeze the last drop out of everything they own. Things tend to be rather expensive when you live on an island, so it would cost too much money to try to keep up with the latest fashion crazes.
10. Turquoise ocean and white sand beach are only 30 minutes away! Great for dates and picnics together.

For Your Info...

Just an update on what Sam is up to here in New Zealand. When we first arrived, he was hired for a variety of jobs- building a large shed, painting the pastor's house, picking onions (he reeked the house up for a week!), and a few other odd jobs. It kept him busy nearly every day which was a real blessing. However, he was soon offered a job from a man in our church who owns a business called "The Heat Shop". Sam accepted the position and is currently installing fireplaces. This involves different tasks like plumbing, welding, design, installation, etc. He enjoys it a lot and is always grateful for more hands on experiences. Not to mention, he's already dreaming about someday owning a real fireplace which will efficiently heat our water and entire house. We have been so thankful to God for hearing our prayers and providing Sam with constant work ever since we arrived in this new country.

I Love Teaching and Bulletin Boards! III

I Love Teaching and Bulletin Boards! II

I Love Teaching and Bulletin Boards!

Here are a few current pictures of my English classroom. Its one of my favourite places to be. Teaching rocks. I don't know why you don't all get into this profession. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely the "off" days. But, overall, I love my students and job... sometimes a little too much. It sounds pathetically cliche, but it really is incredibly rewarding when you see development and growth in a student's learning and character. It gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling when I see a student suddenly "get it". For example, today a student pops in at lunch time, while I am eating cold leftovers, and wants to chat about "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. How cool is that?!

I used to think I was the type of person who would study something in university and then, for some odd reason, the information would just vanish from my brain; however, teaching has made me realize that so much of what I have learned in my past studies is safely stored in various corners of my noggin. It really does all come back when you begin preparing lessons and take rabbit-trail tangents in the classroom. Sometimes I even shock myself. Once, while teaching a Canadian history lesson, I had this vivid memory of my old history teacher drawing a picture on the chalkboard which demonstrated a new, World War I army tactic. I can still see the stick-men climbing out of the trench and awkwardly moving through no-man's land, while artillery flew overhead in the upper realms of the chalkboard. I thought, What a random piece of information to so accurately recall from my teenage years! Up until the time a student asked me a specific question about the Viet Cong, I seriously thought I had forgotten every single detail from the ENTIRE course I took on the Vietnam War at McMaster University. But, immediately when she brought up the topic, I remembered the answer, much to my relief! I definitely don't know all the answers to the questions I receive, but sometimes certain ones do bring back those wonderful, educational memories. (As an aside, I do think bulletin boards are important for triggering ideas and creating visual imprints in students' minds. Random teacher tidbit...)

As my hubby knows, I really can go on for hours about teaching and the various challenges and joys it gives. I better cease this rambling.

Posting

I have changed the settings so that anyone can post on our blog now. Sorry it took me so long to figure it out!

Weekend Get-a-Way II

Sorry, the pictures are rather inconsequential, and don't tell you a whole lot...

Weekend Get-a-Way

In case you haven't heard, this past Monday was the Queen's birthday. Thanks to New Zealand's Commonwealth ties, we had the pleasure of enjoying a Monday off of work! Sam and I drove the windy, treacherous road over the Rimutaka Hills towards the city of Wellington. Although it was a wet weekend, we still enjoyed window-shopping (let me stress WINDOW, as prices of items around here are sickening), digging through piles of literature at the second-hand book shops and reading our inexpensive, new treasures in local cafes. We chuckled at the idea of a "weekend get-a-way", as if we are not far away enough :). Still, it was nice to leave behind a house that always needs cleaning, laundry that always needs washing and lessons that could always use more creativity and planning.

Just for Fun...

To kill time, Sam and I often dress up in costumes that start with "P"- hence "Plastic-Man" and "Pink-Lady"... that is how bored we are in New Zealand.
Jokes- this was for a fun activity with some youth from the community whom we work with on the weekends.