Freddo Frogs going begging here... my thoughts on Halloween

On Thursday after school I raced into Coles and bought bags of Freddo Frogs in preparation for the onslaught of kids at my door for the evening. Halloween - it happens once a year, and while I'm not a big fan of the event, there's no denying its popularity!

Halloween or Hallowe'en, also known as All Hallows' Eve, is an annual celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival at which communities in Scotland and Ireland took stock of their supplies and prepared for winter.  The custom was taken to America during the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the nineteenth century and by the twentieth century was celebrated by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds. The customs have spread to other countries as a result of increased American cultural influence through American television and other media.

And don't our kids love it! The dressing up, the wandering around the streets at dusk and in the dark, the knocking on doors and yelling 'trick or treat', the collection of lollies, fruit, nuts and toys - it's enough to whip any child, large or small, into a frenzy! 

I watched all the children passing down our street from our kitchen as I was preparing dinner and wondered if they had any clue what it all means.  Our teachers are reluctant to teach about Halloween - it's one of those topics that's a bit 'politically incorrect'. Some years ago a school was hung out to dry in the media because a few teachers decorated their rooms and explained the story behind the custom. Parents didn't want any learning about witches and ghouls going on in that school. And even in our school we have been taken to task about using such topics in lessons. And so, unless parents are telling their children the narrative behind Halloween, all it really is in Australia is an excuse to have a sugar high!! I mean, we can't possibly argue that we are storing up for winter!

We have quite a high wall and a gate around our house and as the evening trawled by it became obvious I would be eating the Freddo Frogs.  It was wonderful that parents wandering the streets with their kids concentrated on doorways they could see and people they knew. I could hear kids laughing and every so often someone yelling 'trick or treat'! 

So really, at the end of the day, who cares if Halloween in Australia is only a chance for parents to spend time with their kids, dressing up and collecting goodies from the neighbours. It has to beat an evening in front of the TV.

Next year I shall make sure our gate is wide open so all the little witches, ghouls, mummies and pumpkin heads know they can staunch their chocolate fix at our door! Happy Halloween!

'OMG - she said NAKED!'

What is it about certain words and their ability to create paroxysms of laughter in kids?  The usual sections of our vocabulary that achieve this are to do with certain body parts and most often to do with bodily functions. But a few weeks ago just before our Preps started their swimming lessons, classes were reduced to chaos because the teacher said, God forbid, 'UNDIES!'

Not just as baldly as that, of course, - it was in the context of naming all their clothes before Friday but the very word 'undies' and the fact the teacher was saying it was enough to produce screams of laughter from some and shocked hands-over-mouth actions from others. One Prep teacher told me several members of her class kept looking at the classroom door as if the language police were about the descend and haul the teacher away to be reprimanded!

And then, of course, last week we had Nude Food Day.  When one of our Student Leaders did a skit on stage at Assembly a few weeks ago to promote the event, he said the word 'nude' about six times. 730 kids were either aghast, collapsing with laughter or looking like they couldn't believe their ears! (Actually, that's an exaggeration - there weren't 730 - one class was at art and a couple at swimming lessons.)

Nude Food Day was a hit - nearly every child got into the swing of bringing a rubbish free lunch box to school. But despite the tag name for this new movement in our community being well known and documented, and a commonplace practice in some other schools that our children have come from, some kids could not get past that you could say 'nude' at school, and what's more, the teachers, upright citizens in our community, kept saying it!

Image courtesy of http://www.nudefoodday.com.au/gallery.php

After morning tea, I went around to most classes to see how rubbish free lunch boxes had been. The kids were excited that there had been no rubbish in the playground (actually the teachers were more excited about this, and our cleaners more excited again!) and they all told me that they thought we should do it every day (especially as most of them were sporting big stickers for their efforts!)

I stuck my head in the window of one classroom and said 'So, how naked were your lunches today?' You should have seen their faces - 'Oh my God, she said NAKED!' And they were off again. (The class teacher wanted to kill me!)

You have to love our kids. In other schools it takes really socially inappropriate language and references to raise such mirth. But not ours - you only have to mention undies and suggest rubbish free lunches to pull off a laugh that would be coveted by the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Joyful about achievement - so lovely to see

Not so many years ago as a new Deputy Principal I had some awards to distribute to children on Assembly. I called the children out and told the Assembly how well they had done, and to my horror watched children very reluctantly stand up and come to the front - some had to be cajoled by their teachers and one flatly refused. A couple of boys stood uncomfortably trying to hide their faces behind too long fringes and surf burned hair. And so was the culture of this school - it's not cool to achieve, to stand out in front of the group, and learning was not publicly congratulated. For these children, it was more like public humiliation. Over the years, I've seen this a lot - especially in Queensland. And even though I never stopped trying, it was hard to change

But not so at Peregian Springs...

Our NAPLAN results arrived in the school last week and over the last few days I've been congratulating children (and whole classes) whom I've noticed have done exceptionally well. By exceptionally well, I mean not just those children who performed above the average scores in the state and nationally, but also, and probably more importantly, those children who have made faster improvement than expected.

In the Drop Off Zone the other day, I said to a boy from Year 5 - 'Congratulations on your NAPLAN results. Mum and Dad are going to be very pleased when they see your report. Good job!' The other boys around him clapped him on the back and echoed my congratulations, and this little bloke was just beaming. Then before Assembly on Friday I did the same thing with one of Year 7 boys. His teacher was there and so were his friends - a risky environment to applaud the learning efforts of an adolescent boy! 'Well done, *, on your NAPLAN results. You have made a huge leap in your learning since Year 5. Good job!' He looked kind of surprised, and his teacher joined in saying 'Yes, I saw that too.' And again all the boys around him nodded and one shook his hand.

This is what I love about our kids. They highly value learning and they readily applaud achievement - their own and the achievements of others. They happily offer their congratulations and are genuinely pleased when one of their mates does well, no matter what the area. In a country that regularly cuts down its tall poppies and where there is a culture of not standing out from the crowd, it is exceptional to see children breaking the mold and raise the 'cool factor' of doing well, of doing your best, and being pleased with your efforts.

Same, same and also different - the benefits of both

I go to a yoga class once or twice a week. I love it... I love the feeling of inner calm and stretched muscles. I have a favourite teacher - Jeff. He is amazing. He knows everything about anatomy... and also about a lot of other things. Yoga in his classes is a work out for the mind as well as the body. The familiarity of the classes is soothing in a routine way, and he really knows us all as students and can adjust his planning and expectations. Sometimes he is away and we have a different teacher - the structure of the class is different, we 'om' at the start instead of sitting silently, the pace changes, the expectations are higher (or lower), and the outcomes are also changed. Different muscles ache, a new pose we've never done before is introduced - and we all moan and groan (some silently, and others not) but there is always a benefit.

And so it is with our children in their classrooms. Having the same teacher for a year or two has enormous benefits. The teacher knows how the children learn best, he or she knows when to give a child a break and when to put the foot down on the accelerator, the routines and structure are familiar and comforting - kids don't have to think about it. However, when there is a change of teacher the mind is sharpened and perhaps focused in a different way. The change can be unsettling and it forces the reordering of thinking, activity and process. And in this, children always learn something they would not have learned had there not been a change.

In Term 4 we start planning class allocations for children - we are gradually introducing the concept of looping for teachers who are interested. This means children stay with their teacher for a second year. This year 2B became 3B and they have had the best time together - they have also achieved some pretty cool learning outcomes over the last 24 months! When they go to Year 4 they will experience an unsettled period - and then they will move on with their learning and friendships, being stretched in a different direction with new ways and new resources being introduced. Some will moan and groan as they get used to it, and there will be a benefit for all.

Some teachers will choose to 'loop' for 2014, some may choose a different year level all together, and others will start with a fresh group of kids - no matter what, there will be academic and social benefits for all (teachers as well as students).

School holidays are coming... and Fiji, here we come

You have probably read the title of this blog and thought to yourself 'It's all right for some...' And you would be well justified in that!

The Spring break starts in five days. Three teachers and I are off to the Yasawa Islands, Fiji for 7 days on Friday night - that's right, no time to waste. Come bell time on Friday Melanie Timbs, Maree Johnson, Sara Hollonds and I will be off at breakneck speed heading for the International Airport Brisbane.

Approaching Nasomelevu from the sea

We are spending a week with the Head Teacher, teachers and children at Nasomolevu Catholic Mission School in the northern Yasawas - a five hour boat ride from Nadi. Those of you who have been there will know what a beautiful place the Yasawa Islands are, and also how remote and distant they are from services as we know them in the western world.

We hope to form some lasting relationships with this little school of less than 100 children - relationships that our children at Peregian Springs will benefit from in the years to come. This is the early phases of our Twin School Project which started as a seedling idea in 2010. It's still a tiny seed idea but has the potential to bloom into something wonderful.

Maree's library

Many of us have links with this area stretching over years - Maree set up the school's library about 12 years ago when she worked in the Fiji Islands as part of Education Queensland International; Bridoen Schloss has spent time there as part of a mission visit; I have travelled to the area over many years since my daughter was small and have seen many Head Teachers pass though - it has been interesting to see the links emerge throughout our school as the project has grown.

Just as fascinated by technology as Aussie kids

 This year 3L, 2M and 4G as buddy classes have spent time learning about Fiji culture and geography. They have written letters for us to take to the children so that we can start some communication. We have also collected sports equipment, books and maths gear to take with us - there is so much we only have room for togs and a sarong (and a bit of sunscreen) in our bags!

The reading material of my childhood is still used here

School rules are still important

In the future we would like to take children with us on this trip - and maybe sponsor children and their teacher from Nasomolevu to visit us.


Just can't wait for the holidays...

No fancy whiteboards here

The amenities block