November 26

Remembering our Brave Armed Forces and Giving Back

During our preparation for Remembrance Day, many discussions were had about the life and conditions of the armed forces during wars and conflicts. I shared my experiences of visiting Anzac Cove in 2006 and we talked about the battle that had taken place. I also shared with them the poem written by Ataturk and showed them a statue of soldiers helping each other out.

A deeply moving poem.

Headstone line the foreshore, young men who paid the supreme sacrifice.

Courage, Mateship, Bravery on both sides.

While discussing the past, the children were stunned to discover that in the present our service men and women  are still working to defend our country and help out our allies. They had also just watched the Christmas pageant and their thoughts are turning to fun times with their families.

I had heard from my husband Peter about a wonderful idea to spread some Christmas cheer to our scattered defence force. With the help of Australia Post, we could say thank you and acknowledge their hard work.

I put out a request for some donated items to place in care packages. The response was overwhelming.

Thank you all so much, I was touched by your generosity.

 

Each box could only be 2 kg. After weighing everything individually, the students had a task.

What was the total weight of our items and how many boxes do I need to get?

Each team was given a list of weights and as a team they needed a sub total. Once that was completed they could find the total weight. They could use any procedure to get their answer and could check it later with a calculator.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

They eventually worked out we that had 22.5 kg. of donated goods and that we would need 11 boxes. Given we had 7 teams, if we shared the donations we could make 2 boxes per team. They agreed and set to work!

Making and assembling the boxes was tricky. Then they needed to decide on what to give the soldiers they had selected.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It was a great collaborative effort, thanks everyone young and old. We included a photo of ourselves so they knew we were thinking of them.

The words say  We wish you a Merry Christmas  Thank You 

Something to think about.

What did you enjoy about making the care packages?

What did you put in your box?

What do you think the soldier will say when they open their box?

Have you ever had to be away from your family?

How would you feel to be away from your family for a long time?

What are you hoping will be in a box for you at Christmas time?

 

Category: History, Literacy, Maths/Numeracy, Team work | 6 Comments on Remembering our Brave Armed Forces and Giving Back
November 26

She’s back … with a few exciting photos to share.

It’s been a little quiet for term three, you see I was on long service leave and spent a fabulous time exploring the Pacific North West of America. Initially I went there with my husband to be in the path of totality for the Great American Eclipse, but as it is such a long way, we decided to stay longer and get in some hiking. It meant being away from my class for the term, but I knew they were being looked after, so I put my energy into this adventure.

Solar Eclipse August 21st 2017

For the first time in quite a while a Solar eclipse was visible across most of USA. Keen astronomers, we had known about this event and had booked our accomodation many years in advance. We were able to film the entire process as the moon passed over the Sun. Our vantage spot was in a small town called Driggs, where thankfully the conditions for viewing were excellent, here are a few snap shots.

Peter is getting ready to film the process.

The Moon begins to cross the path of the Sun.

As the Moon begins to cover more and more of the Sun the light gets dimmer. The air gets colder. We notice birds flying home to their nests.

Totality, we see the corona dancing and some solar flares. We begin to see stars, you can see Jupiter. It is amazing, there is a lot of excited whoops and hollers.

The Moon continues to block the sunlight, but as it moves on its way, we begin to see Sunlight and the diamond ring effect begins.

The Moon keeps moving, the eclipse is over. Daylight has resumed and life gets back to normal

The entire eclipse took over two hours, with totality lasting just 2 min 40 seconds. It was awesome.

From then on we spent the next 6 weeks hiking some fantastic places, experiencing the grandeur of the Rockies and great parks in that neck of the woods.

Our first hiking was in The Tetons

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our next stop was Yellowstone National Park. A spectacular geothermal area that had me in my geological element. A lot of wildlife roaming about including large carnivorous ones, so we had to be quite alert. So much to see… never enough time.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

From there we went to The Saw Tooth Ranges a relatively young mountain range which certainly lived up to its name. The jagged peaks were stunning. Fantastic place to hike. This was true wilderness…bears everywhere!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our next stop was Columbia River Gorge, sadly wildfires were to cause us a few problems. This area was lush and green, a contrast to the mountainous vegetation of the Rockies.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Mount Rainier would be our next destination, a towering ice covered dormant volcano, that sadly was obscured by the relentless smoke from a plague of wildfires. This park had many hikes, ranging from rainforest trails, to alpine glacial treks. We were like kids in a lolly shop! Which ones to do?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Cascades were close by, so we couldn’t go past without a hike or three! These are called the American Alps and rightly so.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Around the corner was Glacier National Park which drew us in too! How could we resist the views, a lot of hard yakka to get there mind you.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We left that amazing alpine scenery for some more rainforest hikes at Sol Duc, another geothermal area. That required a trip on a ferry.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our final hiking destination before going back to Seattle and home was Forks in Washington State. This town may have been famous for the Twilight movies but for us it was the Ho River and spectacular rainforest walks that were the draw card.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

While I certainly missed my class during term three, I was kept quite busy taking in the wonders that the wilderness of the Pacific North West had to offer.

 

Category: Integrated Tasks | LEAVE A COMMENT