Today (November 15) was my first day of school at Whites Hill State College! I woke up fairly early because Deanna and I had purchased internet for 24 hours (mainly for the BU game) and I wanted to do one last update…Turns out I had the chance to Skype with three of my friends studying abroad in London: Allison, Lauren, and Lisa! It was such a joy to see their lovely faces and get to talk to them; they are truly amazing women who inspire me daily! I also had the chance to Skype with my sister; I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER! Once again, another blessing!
We took the bus to & from school and we did not get lost! Yay! We have to catch the bus at 7:33am at the bus stop and don’t arrive to our school until 8:20. We spend about an hour, both ways, just getting to and from school! After the bus drops us off at “our stop” we have a 15-minute walk down a hill and back up another…Jessica, Deanna and I will definitely get our work out in! We arrived at the school and had an orientation with the principal, Belinda. She informed us of everything we needed to know and gave us our placements! I am with Robin, or Ms. Buchanan as the students call her (this is her maiden name, but she is married with two sons), and she teaches Year 9, which is equivalent to 8th grade in the States.
Robin is a very fun and fabulous teacher! She is very energetic and I could tell that she truly loves teaching…I think we’ll have no problem getting along! The school day is very short. It starts at 8:45 am and ends at 3 pm. In between the students and teachers get a 20-minute tea break and a whole hour for lunch! White Hills State College definitely wins when it comes to breaks & a super short school day…sorry Connally. Students, how would you like to have an hour lunch!? I bet some of you would have more time than you would know what to do with! Robin teaches social studies and English! Hmmm…I bet some of you are wondering, but you teach math?! Yes, I do, so every now and then I’ll be going to the Math/Science teacher, but I will mainly be with Robin! On the first day, my students were researching other countries government and comparing that type of government to Australia’s. The students will have a test at the beginning of next week comparing the two. Another class was working on their play for English class entitled “The Brute Family.” It was SO much fun seeing the students practice and getting to see their personalities come out through the play! They’ll be performing this Friday or this coming Monday…I can’t wait! I also had the chance to watch Robin demo for the Home Ec class; we made Pumpkin Soup in the summer...in Australia. Interesting choice, but I can now say I feel that I can efficiently make my own Pumpkin Soup!
All in all, my first day of school was a successful one! My Australian students are EXTREMELY excited about being pen pals with my 2nd and 3rd periods. One student has consistently asked me questions about it and what not; he is SUPER excited! Can’t wait to start the process of pen pals and get to help out more in the classroom.
Oh and just FYI: the male teachers here are participating in what the Aussie’s call MOvember. They are growing out their mustaches for Prostate Cancer! It’s much like No Shave November in the states, just with mustaches!
That’s all for now!
Kelsey
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