Only 4 Weeks Left?!?!

It is hard to believe that I have already been here for four weeks time is going way too fast! We have been so busy we just keep going and going and going a lot like the energizer bunny. We have os much to see and o and then not to mention that I am teaching all day on top of that. We are busy girls and this week was not any different!

This week in school we have continuing with our Communications unit and poetry. This week we talked about Mail, Television, and also the telephone. I had gotten letters from my kindergarten students in the mail and I thought this was a perfect way to incorporate communication between both classes that I have taught. Before I left I also had my kindergarten students draw a picture that I would give to one of the older students to write back to them. So this week I matched my older class up with my kindergartners and my older students were so excited to get a little buddy. Every time I said a name and who their buddy was they would clap and cheer! The letters have been coming along and they have made them so nice and have really been putting time into making their cards perfect for their little buddies. They also got into groups and are making their own advertisements for the class that we are going to record on Monday. They were coming up with some great ads about the Packers, their school, and a pencil case. We will see what they come up with but it should be really fun to watch!

My students working on their buddy letters!

The students are also working in partners to research and then present on one electronic equipment that has helped in communication over the years. They had to first choose a partner and then had to choose a piece of technology from a list already given. With the information that they have collected they will be taking pictures from the internet and ones that they will take themselves to create a photo story to present to the class. They really have a great knowledge of technology and have been teaching me a lot as we have worked through this project together. Below is a picture of some of my students researching with their partners on iPads from the school.

This week had some really trying times with some of my kids so when it was Friday we knew that we needed a relaxing night. Elizabeth came over to my house to watch Finding Nemo with my host mum and her son Cory. It was a really great night with a movie that is a must see at all times but especially when you are down under! We also had some yummy ice cream but we were so tired and had to get ready for our busy day on Saturday. We also found a Starbucks coffee here and treated ourselves to peppermint mochas to get in the holiday spirit and it was sooo good!

On Saturday morning we decided to get a cup of coffee at a little cafe just down the street. It was delicious they gave us our iced coffee in a nice little milkshake cup which I had never had before. We also had a scary little bird friend that completely scared both of us trying to sit on our table. I think we definitely embarrassed ourselves enough there so we then moved on with our day. We were going to spend the day with amanda who is Elizabeth's cooperating teacher. Our first stop was to pick up our race packets for our 6k on Sunday morning. We got a lot of neat things in our packs along with a race shirt. Our next stop for the day was meeting Amanda's parents for some Chinese food at a place called Yum Cha which is is a Chinese style morning or afternoon tea, which involves drinking tea and eating dim sum dishes. It was such an awesome thing to experience. We sat at a table and the middle piece could be spun so all the food was set there and we could move that to gat to what we wanted. Luckily we were with Amanda and her parents so when the waiters and waitresses came by with all different types of food to choose from they decided what we would like and set it at the table. they would then write it on the bill which we would bring up to pay for later. It all happened so fats but everything was delicious. At first when they would keep getting more and more food I thought we would never finish it but by the end of lunch we ate pretty much everything. They also had ice cream that they brought for dessert that was in a ball. the outside was like a clear wrapper that you could eat and then the ice cream was inside it was very interesting.

Next stop was a place called Kelly Tarlton's which was an underwater shark and penguin encounter in Auckland. When we first got to the place it was only a little building but we then found out that it was underground and the tunnels where the fish swim over were actually used sewer tanks that they fixed up to benefit everyone. Our first stop was going down steps to get underground. We had to get through a spinning ice tunnel to get to the penguins. And when we finally made it to the penguins they were so cute just like in Happy Feet there were penguins everywhere in their own little home. Some were molting and some were taking care of their eggs in their rocks nests.

We then got to walk through the tunnels where the sharks and fish swam all around our heads with just plastic between us. There were so many different sea animals that were so beautiful. Here are just a few pictures that showed the great animals we got to see throughout the day.

After this we drove around town with Amanda to some places that we hadn't been before and got to have some KiwiYo which was delicious and I put some fresh kiwi in mine so I was being very healthy! Then that night I had another easy night with a movie and we were treated to fireworks right in our backyard that was put on for a celebration.


One of the main things that I have wanted to do while here was run in a road race in New Zealand. We searched a little online but couldn't find anything until on Monday Jan found a sculpt 6k run I knew we had to do it! I ran it by Elizabeth and she was all in so this morning we had to be in Auckland in a place called Brittomart (which is like a shopping area) by 7:30 am. We were up and ready to go not sure what to think because I hadn't run much since I did the half-marathon in May so I was just ready to do it for fun and we did have fun. It was an all women's race which was exciting to see all the women bonding together. We started off running and walked a little but we had fun and got fresh fruit ice cream after with Rachel which was soo good and i think we deserved it!

This week we will be talking about Thanksgiving in Room 11 which should be exciting my students have been looking forward to it! I am planning on teaching football which my class will love because they are very competitive and love sports.
A new school week begins tomorrow ready or not.

Cheers.
Miranda