Week 2

I can't believe it's only the end of week two. I was talking to the other music teacher on the phone tonight and she also swears that it's been three or four weeks since we went back. I think it's because we manage to fit so many things into a week. There's the classes, new students to teach instruments- and chase up out of class in order to teach, two other bands of students to teach instruments, a concert this weekend to prepare for, parent teacher interviews, strike day, assembly, and also both music teachers called up on the same case to attend jury duty. No wonder that when you include in all the students who constantly come to see us for a myriad of different reasons, and also the school things like home group and meetings and rolls and notices it's no wonder that it's easy to argue that working in a school is a tiring and demanding job. Can't believe we did all that in two weeks!

This sunday the music department is putting on a little show. We have some of our soloists and small groups playing for a few hours at a winery. We'll have classical piano, flute quartet, piano and vocals and also guitars. I'm planning to sing a few songs myself, so tomorrow I'll be spending a bit of time rehearsing and working out my vocal chords. I'm contemplating playing guitar too, if it fits in to the program. Then again I don't know if the song fits the mood of the afternoon. I'll see when I get there. It's a great song, Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box. It's really easy to play, but still I am very proud of myself for learning a whole song on guitar.

So on Thursday night I finally did it. I finally went to orchestra rehearsal. It was a really nice feeling to stretch out the horn chops and remember what it actually sounds like when you aren't playing along with year 7 trombone/trumpet students. It's welcoming too, how easy it is to fit into the orchestra, but when I looked around I realised that I knew half of them very well. And they know me too, even though it has been quite a few years since I was home to play anything. And sorry to the Brass Band, but one night a week is quite enough thank you very much. It's still a late night. Settle into this thing first, and see if it balances out against the school stuff.

Jury Duty

Today I finally went down to the court to attend my jury duty. I had to turn up to the court where a group of about 55 had been called up. We were all seated in the court to listen to the accused be arraigned and then the names of the jurors were pulled out of a box at random. THe accused had 6 challenges, where he could say he didn't want a particular person. So when my name was called up, I was challenged. Thus I don't have to be on the jury. Which, considering the type of case it was, is a good thing.

So I wrote this huge post last time, and went to post it, and the virus protector software stopped 'sensitive' information being posted. And then 'poof', post gone! Bah!

Back To School

Back to School

I'm on the eve of going back to school. What an awesome holiday I've had. I had a great chance to catch up with friends and family, but most of all to catch up with myself.

I have been getting some recipes from online and having a go at cooking some things. Not all of it was successful, I tried making a custard slice, but there were some issues with the construction and then the icing tasted horrible. Anyway, today I made pancakes which were great, and I'll be able to take them to school for recess tomorrow.

I've done a lot of planning for classes, however I know that a lot will change throughout the term. Parent teacher interviews are on tuesday night and wednesday, and I'm a bit worried that I'll have students come up that I wont know what to say about, or worse - I'll forget their names! I've been more disadvantaged when I've been unable to access the roll marking program over the past term. The roll is marked with photos of the students, however I have been taking the roll in my book, where there is only a name. I've done my best to put names and faces together, hopefully this skill gets better over time. And when I have Idattend back up and running.

I'm supposed to be getting a new computer soon, hopefully it comes over the next few weeks. There might be the possibility of getting a Mac!