Term Three Underway in New South Wales!

My Students Came Back to School Ready to Learn!

...and I am glad!



Hello Elementary Friends,

I hope all of you in the USA are continuing to enjoy your summer!  I hope you are getting around to all of those summer "must-do's" including swimming, hiking, going to concerts, picnics, reading, traveling, or just sleeping in.  Enjoy each day so that when a cold snowy day in December or January rolls around, you can remember that you didn't waste a minute of your summer!

Mortensen Friends - I hope that you are looking forward to a new year coming in a few weeks!  I have communicated with Linda this week.  We will start up our weekly phone phone conversations this Friday - actually it is Friday for you, and Saturday morning for me! 

Mitch and I are still in the middle of winter here, but we try not to waste opportunities for learning, growing, socializing, and getting the most out of our experience here.  

I wanted to start off this blog with a bit of information on something that we did just before getting on the airplane in Cairns to fly back to Sydney on 12 July.  We went to the Cairns Botanical Gardens.  I love gardens, and if there is a botanic garden in any city that I am in, I will try to go to it!  The Cairns' Gardens were absolutely lovely!

As described on their website, "the Cairns Botanic Gardens are a tropical paradise where you can explore the beauty of tropical plants, relax in stunning surroundings and learn about tropical flora and horticulture."  Here are some photos of our trip to the gardens:














Busy Term at Beaumont Road!

One look at the Beaumont Road Term Three calendar, and you will see that the term will be filled to the brim with intriguing learning activities for students, staff, and the community!  Here are just a few of the upcoming events that I will share with you in the coming weeks:
1.  Indigenous Australian Incursion - Week Two
2.  Education Week - Week Three   During this week we will have several school assemblies, Student Led Reporting (Conferences), Spanish will be highlighted (Mitch is trying not to get stressed out about this!), Kick-Off for the Olympic Games (Each child is placed on one of 62 teams.  We will have the lighting of the Olympic Torch and the awarding of Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.
3.  Performance Nights for 3-6 and K-2 during weeks 5 and 6.

Let me just say this - Beaumont Road continues to put students and families first in any decisions that are made.  It is a pleasure to work and learn from such an amazing school community!

This is a photo of the staff at Beaumont Road.  I did not realize it, but Malcolm (on my left) deliberately put me in the "Principal's Spot" in this photo.  In addition, this is a special photo because it is the only school staff photo that I have been in 34 years with Mitch in it with me!


New South Wales Welcomes Brian and Kim Jackson from Colorado for Exchange July, 2016 - June, 2017!

We had the honor to spend last Friday with Kim and Brian from Colorado along with their delightful triplet daughters on a harbor cruise from Woolwich Wharf to Circular Quay, a few hours in the CBD, lunch at the Orient Hotel, and back to Woolwich Wharf.  They have just arrived in NSW for their exchange year.  Kim and Brian will be living about 1.5 hours from us and working at a school about 45 minutes from us.  Their daughters will accompany them to the school where they work.  We welcome them to Australia!  Here is a photo of this beautiful family!  Brian is from Jeffco, and Kim from Adams 12.


Finally, a bit about my students.  


They came back ready to work and learn.  It seems that they grew up over the past two weeks!  I have fallen in love with these children.  It has been a lot of work, but we are now in the swing of learning, and I am looking so forward to the next two terms with them.  Here they are with their "Brag Tags" (instead of dog tags) that say "I am 100 Days Smarter!"  We have completed over 100 days together, and we have less than that to go.  I will try to cherish each day that I have with them before they move on to Year Three in December, and I head home.

Until next week, take care, dear friends!













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