Hey Everyone!

Hope you week went well. Mine's been uber busy but really good.

On Tuesday I ended up teaching huge lessons all darn day.  I started my Water sustainability Unit first with the kids. That proved to be interesting lol The first question I asked was where I can find water everyday. I ended up getting a variety of answers, my favourite being Josephs (“Well Ms Denman, meteorites have ice on them so we can get water there” LOL ) The next question I asked is what do we use water for everyday. This question also got me a variety of answers here’s how it went.

Me:  What do we use water for everyday?

Owen:  to drink

Sophie: to give water to our pets

Gabriel:  to wash cows.

Me: hmmm Gabriel when was the last time you washed a cow?

Gabriel: um …. Yesterday?

Me: Nice try. I want everyday uses, like using water to take a shower. Things like that

Buddy: I don’t shower everyday.

Matt: I haven’t showered in a week

Girls in the back : EWWWWW

BAHAHHAA I had to fight a laugh on that one… I got a bunch of other answers but none as funny as those.  Next thing I did with them was discuss the difference between fresh water and salt water and explain to them what recycled water and purified recycled water was. Then I did a ‘Water Treasure’ activity with them. I gave them all a piece of paper with a photo of something on there. They then had to connect the object to water and to humans. (example with photo of fish: fish swim in the water, people eat fish) One of the girls, Helena, got an elephant. Her genius answer: “Elephants drink the water with their trunky thingies and um… poachers kill the elephants and eat them” LOL ok then I just said to her “a simple ‘Elephants drink the water, people go to the zoo to see and feed the elephants’ would have sufficed”.  Well they def keep me on my toes that’s for sure. Also on Tuesday I did some more graphing work ‘cause I noticed in their work that they needed to work more on interpreting line graphs so we did a lesson on that. And I did a lesson on Haiku poems. I’m super proud of their Haiku poems they are turning out so freaking awesome. I’ll post some of their creations this weekend when I make a poster of them.

As for Wednesday the whole morning I was off with the year 6’s to The Gap State High School Experience – which is where they take all the yr 6s and invite them to attend 3 classes so they can learn what to expect when they get to high school. In a way they are also recruiting as they want these kids to choose their high school. They don’t do it with the yr 7s because they figure they’ve already decided where they are going. Besides the fact that the school was way more high tech and had access to a ton of cool stuff, it’s exactly like the high schools in Canada. The kids really enjoyed it though. My group (the other 2 class’ 6s) first went to a shop class and made these really annoying toys that they loved, then went to science where they learned about light and did some experiments and lastly went to P.E. The other group from our school (my classes gr 6s) went to math where they played math board games, then went to P.E. then to a graphic design class where they were doing 3-d creations (like in movies or TV when they are creating things like a car and it’s the green lines on the black background) exactly like that only they did it with a yo-yo, wine glass and spinning top. It was so interesting.

As for today, Sandy took a day off so I was solo with the supply teacher. It was really good actually because I got to deal with all the problems and disputes, pretty much anything they normally would have gone to Sandy for. We did another maths lesson and some English writing and then had buddies then watched BTN.  – BTN (Behind the News) is this FANTASTIC program that’s online for Aussie students that takes news topics and breaks it down for them into words they can understand. Each week they watch an episode and then do a poster about one of the news stories. If you want to check it out go here -> http://www.abc.net.au/btn/video.html  Episode 13 is this weeks (I think its 13… it’s the one on top) It goes for about 30 mins and the kids like it.

Speaking of the kids, Sandy had them all sign photo releases so she could post their photos online. Here they are working together during class http://www.ithacreess.eq.edu.au/home/slewi143/student%20learning.pdf  and here is our class and the class across the hall when (after discussing the winter Olympics in Feb.) Sandy brought in her Olympic medals, softball Team Australia outfits , flags and signed shoes from all the athletes on her team. http://www.ithacreess.eq.edu.au/home/slewi143/Olympic1.pdf  

In other news, when I was looking for info about the local creek here I found one page of the site devoted to my old landlord Terry. Here it is à http://www.saveourwaterwaysnow.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2198

Also I heard it though the grapevine (aka some other roommates) that the place I’m staying now was sold to a new owner. When I talked to the other 3 roommates I found out that I’m the only one with an actual signed lease for this place. The other three are only here with verbal contracts. So if the new owner decides to he/she can kick em out.  The next few weeks should be interesting. In addition, we got a new roommate – he moved into Gabby’s old room. His name is Maxime and he’s originally from France but has been living in a downstairs unit with his friend. When his friend went back to France he moved up here with us… and he is my new favourite roommate. He’s clean, super nice, and best of all quiet. I barely even notice when he’s home. AND his girlfriend is very nice and not annoying which is more then I can say about the other guys in my house lol.

Well I think that’s all for now… except YAY for tomorrow being Friday!!  

Manda

xoxoxox

Ps: If you haven’t figured it out yet I’ve finally gotten the cord  

Hola!

Today was a good day for me so I thought I'd make a post. Nothing spectacular happened today really, it was just a good day for the simple reason that nothing went wrong.

In the morning I did a poetry lesson with the students - looking at both traditional and non-traditional Haiku Poems. The kids had a blast reading the non-traditional haiku poems i made and trying to figure out what books they refer too.

After this they worked on their graphing workbooks then had P.E. then break. After their first break the guest speakers i organized to come in came. They are from Green Heart Brisbane - an campaign for making Brisbane a "Green" city. They came and talked with the kids about why sustainability is important etc. The kids seem to enjoy it (altho it could be because the kids got I <3 BNE stickers and mini buttons - not gonna lie the mini buttons were my fav part LOL) and it made a fantastic kick off lesson to my Water Sustainability Unit. After the lesson they had LOTE (Language other than english -- they learn German at this school) till after the break. While they did this I worked with Zane on some basic Maths. Then they changed desks and jobs on the job chart then started their title pages for the unit.

As for tomorrow im teaching 3 lessons. Another graphing one about double column graphs. One on how to write haiku poems and then a massive first lesson for my unit about how we use water everyday. Hopefully it all goes over well ....and hope even more that my cord is there when i get home...

Well im off to go home and mark the rest of the Graphing Tests . (woot?) LOL

xoxoxoxo

Manda ~43 Days!

Ps. In other news, Jessica Watson made it back! Heres the story: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/spirit-of-sailors-guides-our-girl-home-to-glory-20100515-v5d3.html

Hey Everyone

 Hope your week went well, mine was super busy. I had my first full week of prac which also happened to fall on the same week as the Naplan testing (the national testing) which meant I was in charge of the yr 6s while the sevens did the testing. I had to take 21 of them down to the hall to do work for the three days. It actually went really well so i was happy with it.

On friday all of us Canadian ladies decided to have a girls night and get all dressed up to go clubbing downtown. We met at Kristens at 6 ish then had pizza and cookies while we had Daquris (Amazing Amazing Daquris) till about midnight then we left and headed to Fridays. We wernt sure which line up to be at so we chose the smaller one which turned out to be the guest entrance but the bouncer let us in anyways - i didnt find out till later but he didnt make us pay the $5 cover ethier! WOO!- where we danced until about 3 when we decided we were hungry. One of the girls - Amy- was way to wasted and left so the other 4 of us went to Hungry Jacks (aussie version of Burger King) mmmMmmm i love french fries when im wasted lol =P All in all a fantastic night with crazy photos. (which when Holly posts them i will link it to you too)

As for this week I start my SOSE unit on water sustainability which should be fun. We have alot planned so hopefully ill get it all done in the 6 weeks im there.

xoxxoxo

Manda ~ 44 days

P.S. sorry for the boring post... im still awaiting my cord when i can go back to posting everyday.  

Hey Everyone

Just wanted to wish all you Moms out there a very very

 Happy Mothers Day

Here are your presents that took a lot of hard work to make :

Nonas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A86nJka1C5E&feature=digest

Moms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-5Wj4ugTSs&feature=digest

Aunt Kats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3o9hlFwgss&feature=digest  

Aunt Jens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQhmhdFPrs0&feature=digest 

We hope you like them. Love you all so so much and a huge THANK YOU for all you've done :)

Mothers Day Quote of the Day :

"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people,
promptly announces she never did care for pie." - Teneva Jordan

Manda

xoxxo

Im feeling lonely today and i miss you Nate, so damn much. I heard this song on the radio and it made me think of us.

I love you Babe <3

Keith Urban -  Only You Can Love Me This Way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCd84rUMnnY

Well, I know there's a reason
And I know there's a rhyme
We were meant to be together
And that's why

We can roll with the punches
We can stroll hand in hand
And when I say it's forever
You understand

That you're always in my heart
You're always on my mind
But when it all becomes too much
You're never far behind

And there's no one
That comes close to you
Could ever take your place
'Cause only you can love me this way

I could have turned a different corner
I could have gone another place
Then I'd of never had this feeling
That I feel today, yeah

And you're always in my heart
Always on my mind
When it all becomes too much
You're never far behind

And there's no one
That comes close to you
Could ever take your place
'Cause only you can love me this way
Ooh

And you're always in my heart
You're always on my mind
And when it all becomes too much
You're never far behind

And there's no one
That comes close to you
Could ever take your place
'Cause only you can love me this way
Ooh

Only you can love me this way

Hey Everyone!

Well for those of you that havnt heard I am currently computerless (at home) because it decided to attack me and burn the crap out of my finger. While it sucks that its screwed for now I am grateful that it didnt electicute me or that it didnt do it when i wasnt there to keep it from burning down my room :S . The crappy part is now i have to come to the Uni in order to go on the computer. So if you send me somthing and i dont respond for a while you now know why. On an up note my finger has returned to its natural paleness cept for one small burn blister YAY (when my comp attacked me my skin turned balck on the top part of my finger)

As for my assignments 2 of 3 are finished (YAY!) including my MASSIVE SOSE/Arts assessment. I do have to say that Im quite proud of it :) Ive named my Unit of Racism/Discrimination "We Will Make The Difference". Its unique i think and empowers the students to (as Ghandi said) "Be the changed [they] wish to see in the world".  If you would like to view my assessment (all 18 pages of it) let me know. We had to do activity plans, a sumative assessment task with rubric, teacher resources etc. which is why its 18 pages :)

Since my Ipod needs my comp to charge it ive been without any music devices :( so when i get on the school comps i pull up my fav canadian radio station  (KX96 ) and have been listening to it while i do my work. Its been aweosme to hear news/traffic from places i actually recognise lol Altho i have to say the night announcer needs some practise but the musics good and i get to listen to the newest country and get caught up on some GTA news.

Just a reminder to check back on Sunday for links to see your Mothers Day gifts from Myself, Jess, Jay, Cam and Maddie. I wil be posting them on Sunday my time so they should be here Sat night/Sunday morning Canadian time.

Todays Quote of the Day:

"Aw, poor guy. I understand. It's not easy being banished. Take my buddy Bigfoot. When he was banished he fashioned an enormous diaper out of poison ivy. Wore it on his head like a tiara. Called himself "King Itchy". - Monsters Inc

xoxoxox

Manda

Hello Moon, Hello Stars...

 Well i had a had a super busy (and yet productive) day today converting oxygen into carbon dioxide...oh and doing my SOSE/Arts assessment :) Cant wait to hand it in tho...common friday!

Yesterday I had prac where i taught my first full hour long lesson to the 7/6s. It was a maths graphing lesson and we looked at Picture graphs and Double Column Graphs. Overall it went really well. They took a little longer to do the graphs then expected so i had to cut one of the activities out but they were really engaged with the tasks once they got started. Sandy said I need to work on my diciplinary skills and be firmer with them, but i always seem to get that feedback after the first lesson (or at least i did last semester with the 2/3s) so im not too worried...its not like they were running round crazy or anything lol. But when im not so nervous then im much better at it so im sure itll be much better next time. 

On another note we got a new kid in our class today (which brings our total to 28). His name is Zane and while hes in year 7 he reads/writes/does maths all at a yr 1/2 level. maybe even lower for maths since he got most of his simple addition questions wrong. With spelling we determined that he cant spell most three letter words so were starting him on the yr 2 spelling booklet come monday. I thought at first he was so far behind because he was ESL or from a different country or somthing but Sandy informed me that theres no real reason except his mom is a single mom and has been really sick and not able to bring him to school so he has a really really high absence rate. Very sad case. But so far an okay kid, although I already caught him hanging out with one of the troublemakers so only time will tell. 

On a completely random note I want to know why everybody in this damn country needs things to be chicken flavoured!? Like really, there are chicken flavoured chips and chicken flavoured mac and cheese and thats just the start. Im disgusted with this. If you want chicken then HAVE SOME! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr you dont need your chips to taste like it. **grumble grumble**

Todays quote of the day (and my new fav philosophy on life) :

When life gives you lemons make chocolate milk and leave them wondering how you did it! 

Thats all for now...to INFINITY AND BEYOND!

Ps. a huge THANK YOU goes out to Jen and Julie for the fantastic birthday gift. Thanks Girls!! Miss you both <3

buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

I could not, would not, in a house.

I would not, could not, with a mouse.

I would not do them with a fox.

I would not do them in a box.

I would not do them on a boat.

I would not do them with a goat

I would not do them here or there.

I would not do them anywhere.

I have too many assignments to cram

I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

LOL I heart Dr. Suess ..On a random note did you know that there are only 50 Words used in the entire book? Kinda cool.

I have some cool random stuff to share today:

This article is about a faked pregnancy that made me laugh… maybe she just wants the husband to stick around ? LOL

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100428/sc_livescience/nobabypandamomwasfakingpregnancy

This is another random thing I found. Theres actually a small place in Aussie names Canada Bay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Canada_Bay

Oh so I forgot to share this a few weeks back when it happened:

Some Aussies were talking about a Billy and how it transfers heat etc. So I leaned over to ask one of my friends.. here was our conversation:

Me: Wtf is a Billy?

Mike: It’s a can that’s used to boil water over a fire..

Me: OH! I understand now, I thought it was a person or something.

Mike: What do you guys call it in Canada?

Me: A can that's used to boil water over a fire. LOL

Have a Good Day!

Ps: i saw a Demotivational Poster the other day and i thought it was pretty funny even if i dont agree with it lol

Atheism: Look, nobody reallly knows where the world came from. But i think Id rather trust the dudes in labcoats who aren't demanding I get up early every Sunday to overdress and apologize for being human. 

Hey People

Hope your enjoying your weekend. I saw this article and thought it was cool so im passing it along. Check it out http://news.yahoo.com/s/ygreen/20100427/sc_ygreen/sixamazinghybridanimals  its all about hybrid animals. I think the zebra ones my fav. I would name him Zonk... or socks cuz he reminds me of the socks thats the wicked witch wore in Wizard of Oz

 Anyhow other then that i battled a giant moth today which im quite proud of myself for.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Manda

xoxoxox 

Bonjour Encore Mes Ami(e)s :)

 Just wanted to give you and update on the marks i got back:

I got a 6 on our presentation from last week (WOOT)

and six 6s and two 5s on my science assessment one.

 If your wondering what that means :

I could fail the rest of my assessments and still pass WOOT as long as i get over 30% lol that makes me happy to know. YAY for me kicking ass.

Also before i was just guessing as to what 7/6/5/etc meant as far as percentage but the other day a friend showed me this. Its the breakdown of each number:

Pass Grades

7 - High Distinction

Work provides evidence of an exceptional level of achievement of unit learning outcomes, such as

• thorough and well reasoned critical analysis and evaluation of concepts, theories and practice from the field of study
• creative and insightful application of well integrated theoretical and practical knowledge to professional contexts.

Percentage range: 85%-100%.

6 - Distinction

Work provides evidence of a very high level of achievement of unit learning outcomes, such as

• thorough critical analysis and evaluation of concepts, theories and practice from the field of study
• insightful application of integrated theoretical and practical knowledge to professional contexts.

Percentage range: 75%-84%.

5 – Credit

Work provides evidence of a high level of achievement of unit learning outcomes, such as

• critical analysis and evaluation of key concepts, theories and practice from the field of study
• effective application of theoretical and practical knowledge to professional contexts.

Percentage range: 65%-74%.

4 – Pass

Work provides evidence of an acceptable level of achievement of unit learning outcomes, such as

• adequate analysis and evaluation of key concepts, theories and practice from the field of study
• sound application of fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge to professional contexts.

Percentage range: 50%-64%.

Fail Grades

3 – Marginal Fail

Work provides evidence of limited and/or disconnected learning which fails to demonstrate that unit learning outcomes have been achieved. Students who receive a grade of 3 in a unit may be eligible to apply for supplementary assessment.

Percentage range: 40%-49%.

2 – Fail

Work provides evidence of minimal learning in relation to unit learning outcomes.
Percentage range: 25-39%.

1 - Low Fail

Work provides little or no evidence of learning in relation to unit learning outcomes.
Percentage range:  less than 25%.

See and i wasnt aware that there was three different levels on which one can fail LOL and none of them said "Epic Fail" (i think they should use that instead of Low Fail). Its still makes me happy to know that so far this semester Ive gotten nothing less then Distinction (very high level of acheievement).

As for all the Assessment 2's they are BRUTAL. So much work needed and for my group one i feel like im the only one doing any work. I might need to go rambo on someones ass. ..and just cause i could id make a kicking ass rubric where i would score at least a 6. Because i can. actually that sounds like a fantastic idea.. if i get bored enough i might just make one. LOL instead of a 7 it'll be called "Chuck Norris", a 6 will be "Jackie Chan" - or someone whos really good at martial arts, a 5 will be "Rambo", 4 would be "Rocky", 3 would be "someone who works out"  , 2 would be "Paris Hilton" and One would be "child" yes youd have the fighting capabilities of a 1 yr old. LOL. this is fun.

Alright enough of my nerdy rubric making. Hope you all have a fantastic day!

xoxoxo

Manda