Where do I begin?  It seems like it’s been a while since I last wrote; in fact it is the longest time between blog posts.  Part of it is because I am having such a great time with my family, minus Kevin, and I’ve been without Internet for the past week.  I also put off writing this blog for a while so you’ll have to keep with me through this one…it could get long.

My parents arrived in Oz last Thursday, when their flight arrived in Sydney.  After a night in Ulladulla, they made their way to Bairnsdale.  As I was wrapping up the successful day of parent teacher conferences, my dad rang to tell me that they were in town and settled into their hotel.  I had them meet me at school, so I could show off what a wonderful predicament that I was in! 

I was so pleased to see them and was extremely excited to show off BSC.  They seemed to be quite impressed with the science center…who wouldn’t be- you can’t see anything like it back home.  While at BSC, they met a few of my colleagues along with Domenic and Sheryl, who kindly invited my parents to a BBQ for dinner at their home that night. 

That afternoon, I decided to take mom and dad to Raymond Island to see a few Koalas.  I assured them that they would see many kangaroos and wallabies but may not have the chance to see too many koalas in the wild whilst they were here.  Little did I know, we would see a multitude of them while driving on the Great Ocean Road later on the trip throughout Victoria.  On the way we stopped at Eagle Point so they could get a view of the surrounding area and to see where the Mitchell flowed into King Lake. 

After spotting a few Koalas and a couple Kookaburras, we headed back from Paynesville to Bairnsdale for tea at Domenic and Sheryl’s house.  They had a little bit of everything on the grill, from lamb to Kangaroo sausages (kanga-bangas is Aussie speak), along with a ton of vegetables.  After dinner and a great conversation, it was time for the best part of the meal- the Pavlova (Pav)!

 Pavlova is a meringue covered in various different fruits that are in season.  Australians and Kiwis will both tell you that they invented this sweet piece of heaven but it really doesn’t matter- it is the BEST.  I made sure my mom left with the recipe!

The following morning, I took my parents to Lakes Entrance to walk to the entrance through the Banksias and Eucalypts on the Cunninghame Arm of Ninety Mile Beach.  I had done it prior with Linda, but it was nice to be able to point out a few things to my parents, like Linda had done for me; I really felt like I was a local.  At the entrance, we watched boats fight the intense current coming from the lakes to get into town.  After a few minutes, we headed back to the bridge linking the town to Lions Park along the beach.  The weather was clear and the water in Bass Straight seemed to be relatively calm; it couldn’t have been a better day to take the adventure out to the entrance. 

After making in back to the car, I decided it was time for a beer and some lunch, so we headed to Metung.  A beautiful town on the lakes, Metung is home to beautiful real estate, and mega sailboats and yachts, along with views that I knew would remind my parents of Northern Michigan.   After a pot of Carlton and a chicken Parm each, we took in some more of the view and decided to head back into town.

We headed back into Bairnsdale, stopping at Linda and Ernie’s house so I could show their property and views off to my parents.  I am increadibly jealous whenever I go over to their home; they have an incredible garden and a spectacular view of Jones Bay.  I would love to call a place like theirs home one day!

My parents decided to take out Linda, Ernie, Domenic, and Sheryl to dinner that night.  I decided on the Main Hotel since their menu is outstanding and it was only a few doors down from my parents’ hotel.  Dinner, of course, was outstanding, other than the noisy children at the table next to us who seemed to be unsupervised the whole time we were there.  After getting fed up with the whimpering children, we decided to move the after dinner conversation to the pub, just across the dining room.  Luckily footy was on so Domenic and I had a chance to fill in my parents on the rules of the unfamiliar sport.  I was very pleased that my parents had some time to spend with the people that I have become very close to while here in Australia!

We awoke the next morning early to make our way to Melbourne for the next few days.   The three-hour drive was quick, especially with minimal traffic.  Our apartment was situated about 150 meters or so from the Yarra River in Southbank.  We were stunned when we entered the 17th story apartment we stayed at.  The main room faced southeast and overlooked the funny-looking Rectangular Stadium (AAMI Park), the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), and the beautiful Port Phillip Bay. 

We decided to make the most of the rest of the first day and headed into the city for a walk around.  We first started in Southbank, where I decided to point out the largest casino in the Southern Hemisphere, the Crown Casino.  Whilst browsing, we noticed the Ohio State Final Four game was on.  After getting some lunch at the food court, we headed back into the casino to catch the last few minutes of the game.  We weren’t too pleased when we left the casino.

We decided to take our sorrows up the street, across the river, to the Queen Victoria Market.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have too much time to walk around since it was about to close.  The market was immense and full of fruit and veg, as well as various crafts.  We came across a stand with aboriginal crafts with a few didgeridoos on display.  I remembered the vendors for the following market day so I could return to pick one out.

After a quick walk around, we headed back south toward the river, where I took my parents to see Chloe on the second floor of Young and Jacksons, right across from Flinders Street Station.  Chloe looked as beautiful as she was the last time that I had seen her.  If you’re wondering who she is, please find a link to my first blog about her to the right.

The next morning we decided to have brekkie in St. Kilda at a café on Acland Street.  After something quick to eat, we made our way out to the pier so I could show my parents a little penguin.  We eventually found one of the blue-feathered little animals in the rocks, but it wasn't easy.  The pier also provided us with a great chance to take pictures of the Melbourne skylinesouth to Phillip Island.  We didn’t plan to go see the penguin parade, but we decided to head to the Nobbies to see the seals.  On our way to the western most part of the island, we stopped at a Koala sanctuary; I guess my parents didn’t get enough of them at Raymond Island!  It was a great stop since we were able to see so many of them and a few wallabies that had hopped the fence to graze within the sanctuary boundary, where there was no risk of cars.  I was amazed at how close we were able to get to one of the koalas.  It walked across the railing of the boardwalk, which took us up into the trees of the sanctuary.  I could have easily reached out, without fully extending my arm and pet the koala.  I decided not to risk and finger and kept my hands to myself.  In fact, we had to stop a lady from touching the koala.  Blatantly disregarding the rules of entry to the exhibit, she reached her hand out to touch the koala, and the three of us yelled at her to keep her from bothering the animal.

After a fantastic experience with the koalas, we headed out west to see the largest fur seal colony in Australia.  The seals were situated on an island in the distance and could only be seen with the use of a telescope.  The views from the island’s edge were spectacular, overlooking Bass Strait and the mainland. 

The following day, we headed back to the market to pick up a few souvenirs and that didgeridoo that I became fond of during our previous visit.  I chose to get an authentic didgeridoo, which was made by an aboriginal, and had been bored out using termites, rather than by machine.  After choosing the didgeridoo that I wanted I was shown how to apply the beeswax to the end of the instrument and was given a quick lesson on how to play.  I have a feeling I’ll be learning for a few years to come.

We headed deeper into the market, where we found ourselves in the seafood area, where I decided to get a ½ dozen fresh Tasman oyster.  I was surprised to only have to pay a dollar for each of them.  We later saw the same oysters in on the of the Crown restaurants for more than five dollars an oyster…we made out quite well!  They were delicious as well!

Once our time at the market was over, we headed southwest to Southern Cross Station to take the pedestrian bridge over to the Docklands where Etihad Stadium is situated.  We made it to the docklands just in time to see the end of a dragon boat rowing competition.  There were thousands of people from all over Australia; there were even people from Perth…FROM PERTH!  We made our way back to the hotel along Southbank.  We went out later to Federation Square to finish our stay in Melbourne with a pint of beer…not a bad way to say goodbye to one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to!

The following day, we headed southwest along the Great Ocean Road…


Part 2 to come tomorrow.

It has been a few days since my last post but I have been really busy with school, finishing out the end of the term!  My parents are currently on the flight to Sydney and will be traveling for the next few hours!  I'm extremely excited to see them on Friday when they arrive in Bairnsdale.

Yesterday was a busy day with two dissections in the last two classes of the day.  They year-7s were busy during their class dissecting squid and the "Animal Inside" group were dissecting mice!  I would much have preferred the mice the entire day; they didn't smell as bad as the squid and they certainly weren't as messy.  I had ink all over myself at the end of the lesson with the youngins.  Calamari certainly didn't sound great for dinner; good thing we had steak instead!

The "Animal Inside" crew really enjoyed the mice, well, at least most of them did.  A few of the students had to leave the room because they couldn't handle the dissection.  They spend the lesson on the computers doing some research on a task I gave them as an alternative to the dissection.  The rest of the students, working on the mice, did a fantastic job!  I was really impressed with their keenness to preform the task.  I dissected a rat, along with the students, to help them with the procedure.  Before making any cuts in the mice, I gave the students a demo of how to preform each of the necessary cuts.  I probably should have worn gloves looking back; my hands still smell of feral animal.

Today, the students in "Bones" finished up their projects on the computer.  Unfortunately, a few of them were having computer issues and weren't able to finish on time.  At least they have the next two weeks until they see me next in class, so they have plenty of time to complete the assignment.  Students were told that they could make any additions to their site over break if they wanted to make them look better.  If you would like to see some of their progress, you can go to www.bscbones.weebly.com

One of the students put together the home page today after he finished his project.  He put together all of the hyperlinks to the rest of the students' sites; I was quite impressed!  

I arrived home today and started the laundry so I have fresh clothes when I leave for Melbourne on Sunday with my parents.  I also submitted my project to Miami; I'm so relieved that it's done! 

Tomorrow I only have one class and then will be swamped with grading and then parent-teacher conferences after school until 8 or so.  I'm excited to meet students' parents but am a little nervous since they are my first ones.  I'm sure they'll go well and there will be a lot to take from the experience!

Rain again in East Gippsland!  I woke this morning to an overcast day thinking that the rain would hold off, but I was wrong, it poured all afternoon!  I rode the bike into school this morning and went through my morning routine (thankfully it held off until the afternoon). 

I stopped to see Rhonda in the kitchen first thing to order my lunch for the day; I ordered a bacon and pumpkin focaccia (this has become my favorite and I will never consider anything else when it is on the menu).  I think a few schools in the U.S. could use a lunch lady like her.  She has a few recipes that she has for the students that are absolutely fantastic.  Other than the hamburger that I order once in a while, all of the things that I have at lunch are healthy and full of vegetables, even the pasta carbonarra has vegetables in it!  And did I mention, everything is made from scratch- could you imagine if the lunches in the US were all made from scratch?  I think students would be quite content with homemade meals at school instead of the processed junk that I see quite often in schools back home.  Rhonda is the best and will be missed when I go home!

After a quick chat in the kitchen while ordering my lunch, I headed to the teacher’s lounge to start work.  I had the first period to plan.  The time was used to finalize the zoo assignment for Friday.  After a few tweaks here and there, I was content with the final product!  I have “Animal Inside” tomorrow and will introduce the assignment to the students then.  I will use class to scaffold the assignment since they will be off on their own for most of the time at the zoo and may not get a chance to ask me questions while they are there.  I think the students will find the assignment manageable and worth their time. 

It looks like, after some discussion, I will be staying in Melbourne after the students are done at the zoo.  An option was given to me to stay in Melbourne for the night rather than just coming home on the night train with the group and having to travel back to the city the next day.  I was happy to accept the offer since I am welcome to stay at David’s house in Box Hill.  He and a couple of his mates are going to be getting together that night to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. 

On Saturday, the plan is to go into the city to attend the Moomba Festival, which is Australia’s largest free community festival, and has been running for over 50 years.  There are supposedly a whole bunch of activities for all ages in an area along the Yarra River.  There will be a few bands playing at the event; live music is always great, especially in an unfamiliar place.  I’m curious to find out what sort of music is played at a festival with a name like Moomba.

I will also be spending Saturday night with David and will then be meeting his family in the city for lunch on Sunday afternoon.  The plan is then to go with Domenic and Sheryl to Phillip Island, around 150 km southeast of Melbourne, in the evening to watch the Penguin Parade.  Little Penguins (Eudyptula minor), yes this is the common name, can be seen daily returning to their colonies at dusk.  I am extremely excited for this part of the weekend; seems like the perfect experience for a science teacher!  There is also an open range on the island where kangaroos and wallabies hop around freely; I hope to see a few of them too!  The plans are open for that night.  We will either be finding a place to stay in the area for the night, and wake up in the morning to head home, or will just make the 3-4 hour trip home Sunday night.  Thankfully we have some flexibility with the long weekend!  Monday is Victoria’s Labour Day so school will not be in session.  Also, students will not be at school on Tuesday due to some professional development workshops that will be going on.

There is also a large celebration in Bairnsdale this weekend with the secondary college turning 100 this year!  I was so happy to find that I would be at the school when they would be celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the college!  There are festivities going on all weekend, so hopefully I can catch the tail end of them when I get back. 

It already looks like I will have quite a bit to write about when I get back this weekend!  I will not be bringing my laptop with me since I have to carry all my stuff for the weekend to the zoo, so I will just have to keep note of everything until I get back when I can type it all up.

Another fantastic day!  I don’t expect to end my day with any other phrase anymore.  Its nice to have a routine where you wake up relatively late, ride a bike to work, and do what it is that you love to do!  Unfortunately, I only had one class in the morning, but that doesn’t mean my day was uneventful!

The morning started out as it typically does anymore, riding the bike to school; it may have been a few minutes later than usual today.  I was excited to get to school to start a practical with the students in “Animal Inside.”  Unfortunately the equipment wasn’t set up in time when I got there so I had to go to “Plan B.”  The only problem was that there wasn’t one.  Thankfully I had arrived at school early enough to give me time to come up with another lesson that was appropriate for the class and where we were in the unit.  Thankfully I came up with a digestive system labeling activity for the students.  Looking back now, it was probably a great idea to have the students do some quiet work, especially after the swimming sports last night!  Linda was pleased that I had the alternative lesson set up as quickly as I did in order to keep the students from missing a whole day of content.  I’m really happy this happened to me because it got me thinking and put on the spot to come up with an engaging lesson for the students. 

After period one, I headed to the senior campus library to meet with one of the humanities teachers to go over some learning strategies.  It was a real pleasure to meet her!  Prior to starting our meeting, we talked a lot about my travels and Turkey, a vacation destination she is considering in the very near future.  I told her how much I love it there and how amazingly friendly the people are there, not to mention the great scenery and plethora of things to do.  Regardless of the fact that I am completely biased about the topic of Turkey, I just made sure that I was completely clear that she should go, no matter what!

After quite a while talking, we started our meeting.  A lot of the information that she provided me will be extremely helpful in my teaching career and I am grateful to have some new resources.  We started the meeting talking about reliable learning strategies, which was essentially the topic of today’s meeting.  We discussed Getting Knowledge Ready, Targeting Vocabulary, Reading Aloud, Paraphrasing, Saying Questions the Text Answers, Summarizing, and Reviewing, as the 7 Highly Reliable Learning Strategies (HRLS).  I had heard and was familiar with a lot of this but I was still curious to learn more.  The goal of the meeting for me was to find new ways that would help me facilitate the transference of information from short-term memory to long-term memory in all of my students.  The idea was to structure lessons based on the physiology of the brain and thinking processes.  I was really happy to have met a new colleague and to have learned so much.

The rest of my day was devoted to planning the four lessons that I have tomorrow (one of the reasons this post is so late in the evening).  My “Animal Inside” students will be working on the practical that I had set up for them today, which deals with beak adaptations in birds and how to tell what a bird eats based on beak anatomy (Darwin would be proud).  The year 11 students will be working on the inner workings of the cell and will be looking at and studying various organelles.  My “Bones” students will be engaged in the activity that I had them working on last week and should be finishing it up at some point tomorrow.  My year 7 students are going to be introduced to the microscope tomorrow!  I’m pleased that I’ll be the one to introduce them to a tool that some of them could be using for the rest of their academic careers! 

After school, I left to go home on the bike.  I arrived home, changed, and hopped right back on the bike to go for a ride around town.  It is certainly the best way to cool down after a long day at school.  Tonight for dinner we had burgers and sausages that were grilled on the barbie.  Truly delicious!

I found out tonight that I would be spending much of the weekend in Melbourne these next few days!  I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon after class to go to see Geelong, St. Kilda, and Sydney play against each other in a pre-season Australian Football League (AFL) event where each team will play the others in one evening.  The matches are shortened a bit to allow the teams to catch their breath but it will be intense!  I’ve been looking forward to this for a while! 

I will be staying in the city for two nights and will catch the train back to Bairnsdale on Sunday afternoon.  Hopefully I won’t have too much laundry to do! 

I will more than likely not have Internet while I am away so this may be the last post I have for a couple days.  But don’t you worry, I will be back on as soon as I get the chance to update the world about the fabulous times I am having in this spectacular country; hopefully with pictures!