7 things….

I’ve been tagged by Mark Spahr to contribute to this meme. The idea is that you share 7 things about yourself that would be unknown to your readers. So here goes…. 

1. I met my husband at high school when I was 15 yrs old.

2. I wasn’t much into sport at school, but could rollerskate the pants off most of my friends. I won a gold medal in a school comp for speed skating.

3. I worked in a bookshop for 7 years from the age of 15 though to 22. Loved it. I used to borrow books off the shelves and make sure I didn’t bend the spines so that they could still be sold. I read copious amounts and have found the knowledge I accrued invaluable in life.

4. I once lived in a rented house that was occupied by an unearthly spirit. Confirmed my belief in the spirit world.

5. I love lifting weights (even though I haven’t done much of it of late!) Body Pump classes are a favourite of mine. Just wish I had time to get to the gym.

6. I was with my Grandmother in the hours before she died. I was the only person there but she could see a man beside me. She died a couple of hours later. I felt comforted by the presence of this ‘man’ and felt he was there to help her.

7. I had an emergency Caesarean when I gave birth to my daughter. As I was being put under by anaesthetic my leg spasmed and I fell off the table. I wan’t yet intubated and doctors were called into the room. My husband was waiting outside and could hear them saying 1, 2, 3. He thought they were performing resuscitation. They weren’t, they were just trying to get me back on the table!

Now, my turn to tag some people! I tag;

Tania Sheko

Frances Manning

John Connell

Dean Groom

Sheryl Nussbaum Beach

Kim Cofino

Susan Carter Morgan

I hope they give it a go. A fun thing to do.

School’s out Friday

Tania Sheko, who writes a great blog called Brave New World, tagged me recently to come up with a top ten list. I’ve decided to share with you my ten favourite School’s out Friday videos that I’ve posted over the course of this year. I’m really happy that School’s out Friday has been popular because I enjoy the levity of it all. If we spent all of our time taking ourselves seriously this world would be a very dreary place.

1. OK Go – Here we go again  My very first School’s out Friday post!

2. Frozen Grand Central The improveverywhere crew’s fabulous effort at Grand Central Station.

3.  If Life were a Musical – Hardware Shop. The Chaser’s War on Everything’s musical number in a Bunnings store.

4. The best first dance at a wedding ever. Posted in tribute to Clay Burell who was getting married the next day.

5. What teacher’s make. Slam poet Taylor Mali’s take on teaching.

6. The world of chemistry. Very funny take on how the elements work.

7. Sneezing Panda. My mum loved this – she watched it again and again. 

8. Best game ever. Another effort from the improveverywhere crew.

9. Where the Hell is Matt?  Matt Harding’s 2008 effort that took 14 months to put together.

10. Hamish and Andy – Team Ghosting. The Australian comedy duo and their new sport of ghosting.

So there you have it. Ten of my favourites this 2008 in no particular order.

Enjoy your weekend. If it’s anything like mine you’ll be busy finding novel ways to polish off leftovers!

School’s out Friday

Brace yourself. This time next week it will be Boxing Day. In between now and then I am sure you will have a million things to do. Like shop, eat, laugh, eat, stress, eat, sing, eat, socialise, eat, drink, eat, wrap presents, eat, drink some more, eat, cook, eat and on it goes. On Boxing Day I intend to cut down on the eating (and drinking) and embrace the walking and weight lifting. This year has seen my brain active but not much else. A situation that needs a remedy!

While you contemplate the next week and all it will bring, enjoy this little festive number from  madeinakqa. This little ditty accompanied the video;

Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.

Stockings were hung
by the chimney with care,
as the microwaves’ thrum
was filling the air. 

I can’t begin to imagine the time it took to put it together, but it makes for compulsive viewing to see the outcome. 

Merry Christmas to you all. Enjoy the festivities with your families. 
 

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School’s out Friday

Yay!! I really am out from school this week. Holidays are here in Australia for some of us. Sorry Govt. school teachers- I know how hard that last week is – you have my sympathy although I don’t think that will count for all that much! 

And yes, I realise it is Saturday and I am late getting this up. I’m in Perth with my husband and we’re having a great time in this wonderful city. We’re meeting up with Sue Waters and Jane Lowe and possibly others this afternoon. I met Sue last week in Melbourne but I’ve never met Jane. Both of them have provided me with a lot of help this year- if not for them I wouldn’t have been posting from China. They both directed me to Posterous and Jane suggested Blogger as the platform that would be accessible in China for the blog I wrote for parents while I was there.   

Anyway, enjoy Charlie Todd and the improveverywhere crew as they entertain us once more. I’m looking forward to a Christmas extravaganza from them – hope they have something planned.

Enjoy your weekend.

School’s out Friday

Couldn’t resist. Today was the last day for students from my school. They have now headed off for the holiday and Christmas break. I had a wonderful Yr 7 group who I am going to miss- they really gave me a lot of joy this year.

So this video from YouTube is for them because I know this is something they would enjoy. Have a great weekend. I intend to!

School’s out Friday

That’s it.    I’m never complaining again.    Imagine having to do this everyday when you went to work!!

He does have some incredible skill. It reminds me of my recent time in China. One of the things I liked to do was to watch the people riding bikes with the most unbelievable loads attached. Made you very thankful for the life you lead.

Thanks to Paul (a parent from the school I teach at) for alerting me to this video. 

I think I am almost free of reports! Should mean a good weekend ahead. Enjoy yours.

School’s out Friday

I loved Star Wars when I was a kid. I will never forget being 13, sitting in a cinema and seeing that Star Cruiser pan across the screen. It was truly an amazing special effect at the time. I was hooked and returned to the cinema on a further two occasions to take my fill of Luke Skywalker‘s story. Part of the special experience that was Star Wars was John William’s soundtrack. I even purchased the album. I lived Star Wars for a period of my early adolescence!

That’s why I love this a capella effort. It’s a tribute to Star Wars and to John Williams. Another thing I enjoyed growing up in this era were the musical soundtracks John Williams created for classic films like ‘Jaws’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind‘ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark‘. They all feature here. Clever lad who created this. I think he may have breached copyright somewhere because his original upload to YouTube is no longer available for viewing. I had to revert to someone else’s upload of his work.  I found it after someone put out a tweet about it on Twitter earlier this week. Sorry, I can’t remember who it was to give them credit.   

I face a weekend full of correction and report writing. Lucky me. Hope you are doing something great. I’ll be thinking of you!   

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School’s out Friday

Well, I’m finally home from my 18 day tour of China with the students from my school. Another great experience. Not only great because I had the opportunity to immerse myself in another culture, but great because I had the opportunity to see the students in a different light. When you essentially live with one another for an extended period of time, you forge lasting links. That’s special and something that I value.

One of the linking experiences we had in China was our shared amusement over signage. Despite the best efforts of the English Language teacher in the above video in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese just can’t seem to get it entirely right at times. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a deep respect for the Chinese people. They are friendly, engaging people who work very hard in trying conditions. You would think, however,  that there were some fluent, english speaking people in the country who could vet the signs before they were displayed prominently or etched into concrete. One of our students took nearly 2000 photos. There would have to be 100 or so that are signs displaying English translation that cause much mirth.

My amusement was heightened because I was reading David Sedaris’ latest compilation of essays throughout the trip, ‘When You Are Engulfed In Flames‘.  If you’ve never read anything by David Sedaris then you really need to treat yourself and get a hold of one of his books. He writes about the ordinary and not so ordinary things in life and his observations are often laugh out loud funny. In this book he describes his experiences in Japan and he makes comment about English signage there. Very close to our observations I may add as we would pass yet another highway sign reading ‘Do not follow clowsly other drivers’.

Have a great weekend. Recovery is on my agenda before the start of the next week and my return to the demands of classes, correction and running the Library.   

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School’s out Friday

Thank God for Hamish and Andy. Sometimes it’s really hard to source a School’s out Friday post, but not when Hamish and Andy are around to provide good fodder. This time they are indulging in the good old Australian tradition of knick knocking. This involves going around and knocking on people’s windows or doors and hiding before you are detected.  They’ve added a twist. This time they have a bag over their head when they knock on the door and have only three steps to take to hide. The results are typical Hamish and Andy.

I’ve got a weekend of hard work before I head off to China very early Tuesday morning for 18 days with students from my school. I really don’t know how I’m going to get everything done but I’m going to give it a red hot go. Hope your weekend is nowhere near as busy!!

School’s out Friday

Yes, I know it is Saturday. Got a bit behind myself this week due to heaps of commitments. We had the Powerful Learning Practice launch on Monday and my school’s Speech Night last night. I organise all the prizes for that so I was quite literally run off my feet this week.

A funny accidents video this week. Thought I’d go with this because it reminds me of my effort on Monday at our Powerful Learning Practice launch. I sat down only to discover my seat had flipped up and I landed on the floor. Caused much mirth and Dean Groom saw fit on Twitter to nominate the day as ‘Jenny Luca funniest Librarian day’. I could only agree.  

Weather is gorgeous in Melbourne, friends are coming over for a barbie tonight, life is good. Hope the same goes for you. Enjoy your weekend.