Lucky in Oz

Swimming

Z is 4/5 of the way through this holiday’s swimming intensive.  She goes every morning for 45 minutes for 5 days straight. (Tomorrow is her last day.) I think that this is one of 2 ways kids’ swimming skills improve quickly in s short time ... The other is peer pressure – going to the pool or beach with a friend who is a slightly stronger swimmer – it does wonders! She is in the YMCA program at Ashburton Rec and is a “High Salmon”. Being from Seattle, where salmon are such a big part of the regional culture / identify we think this is hilarious. The level below is “Low Salmon” (and the level above is Tuna). Do Low Salmons swim out to sea (easy!) and High Salmons swim back upstream? And then what?! (Stop the metaphor before spawning, please.) Anyway, as per the Y, Tunas can swim full-on, proper laps with correct form. High Salmons spend a lot of time finessing their strokes and building endurance.  I reckon Z is probably a “very high salmon” (hahaha). She can swim the whole 50 metre pool back-stroke and is nearly there for free-style (breathing both sides - which I didn't learn how to do until I was in my 20s).

Last summer, towards the end of the pool season, her friend F screwed up the courage to jump off the diving board at our local pool. The main challenge for Z wasn’t the swimming back to the ladder or even the depth of the dive pool, but the fact that they don’t allow goggles when jumping off the boards. The end of summer approached and she had stood in line for the board ... but never jumped. This summer came around and the FIRST DAY we went to the pool she jumped off the diving board (sans goggles, no worries). Then, L took her to the pool next time ... and she JUMPED OFF THE HIGH DIVE! I asked her if it was scary the first time she did it and she replied, excited, “it’s scary EVERY TIME I do it!” I have yet to witness this feat ... but when I do I'll snap a photo and come back to upload.

ETA (and not but a couple days later!) - as promised:

 

Swimming Carnival

There was a swimming carnival at school today. Prep through grade 2 was the first session, then grades 3-6 went later. Our school was generously given free pool time at a Catholic boys’ school. The events for the young kids were: kickboard, free-style, piggy-back, “running” and peg scramble (grab as many floating clothes pegs as you can and put in your bucket before the whistle). They went width-wise across the pool so it was 10 metres instead of 25. Everyone got a ribbon for everything they did. They accumulated points for their houses. At schools here they kids are assigned to houses (like in the UK or in Harry Potter) – typically they stay in the same house their entire career at a school, and siblings get assigned the same house. So, they are multi-age groups. They get points at events like this and by being well-behaved in assembly, etc. Our houses are named after Aussie birds: Emu, Kookaburra, Rosella and Brolga (Zoe’s). We won’t find out until Monday which house won the swimming carnival. I happen to know that Brolga was ahead when the little kids finished. Shhhh – don’t tell. Zoe got 4th in the kickboard race and 2nd in the free-style race. I was proud of her – she doesn’t do swimming lessons continuously / year-round like a lot of her friends (Aussie parents are very committed to their kids being excellent swimmers – it is such a part of the culture here) but she swims very well – doing nice big arms and breathing well, etc. Good on you (Aussie for congratulations) Zoe! Go Brolga!

First / Last

Well, almost anyway. Next Friday is actually the last day of school and I took the photo on the right yesterday ... I can't imagine she'll age dramatically in the next week. So, here we go:

Day 1, grade 1 on the left. Day nearly-last, grade 1 on the right. February 09; December 09. We got new summer uniforms at our school. And she lost some teeth (oh my god, I sooo love the 7-y-o smile!). She also looks, somehow, more confident? Something? Anyway. Wow, she's officially entering big kid territory. Sniff.

For reference, here is Kindergarten's First / Last post. (That would be Kindergarten in Seattle, not to be confused with Prep in Melbourne - of which she did just one term last year when we arrived - or with Kinder here, which is equiv to pre-k there. Ok, gotta go. My head is exploding.)
 

Quotes from School Interviews Today

Here we call parent / teacher conferences "interviews" and having just finished half of grade one, we had ours today with Kid's teacher (and her Japanese teacher). Some memorable quotes:

• Delightful child

• Very conscientious

• Almost a goody-goody

• Has a great time with her friends

• REALLY pays attention to stories

• A great reader

• Very good pronunciation - that's why I gave her such a big part in the production [about a giant turnip ... performed last term in the library during Friday assembly]

• I'm not supposed to compare the children, but she is one of the best ...

Apparently, she now knows enough Japanese characters that she is onto reading. The take-home books that they use in Prep for learning to read English? They have a set of the same books (same stories & illustrations) in Japanese. How cool is that?!

Bush Dance: explained

When I first heard the announcement about the annual Bush Dance at school, I really had no idea what to expect … Croc wrestling? Sheep shearing? Arcane Aboriginal rituals? An all-didgeridoo band? Turns out that it is just a country-western-type dance (like a contra or square or barn dance) … with frequent references to kangaroos and yes, the band did feature a digeradoo. And, there was the requisite Waltzing Matilda. It was quite fun. We all got into our bush / western duds (cowboy hats and such) and brought food and wine and wine and wine and there was hay strewn around the school yard and we watched our kids dance and danced with our kids and danced with each other. Zoe achieved her life dream of dancing with Fleetwood, the dreamiest grade five boy. The school raised a bunch of $$ for Bush Fire Appeal through the sale of tickets and donated sausages. I still have strains of “Emily the Emu” – one of the circles dances – running though my head: “Emily the Emu [repeat], possums too [repeat], wallabies and wombats [repeat], kangaroos [repeat].”

 It took DAYS of angst-ridden debate to decide what to wear. The Laura Ingalls dress was ruled-out because it didn't match the purple sequin cowboy hat (Spotlight $6.99 thankyouverymuch).

  Three grade-one girls on a hay bale, L, Kid & F.

 Trying to look cool, sitting next to F, she appears to be ignoring him but was positively giddy.

 Giddiness more apparent. (Notice the little prep boy either hanging on or climbing up the Japanese teacher ... WTF?)

 Notice the wine in the camp chair cup holder ... and my half-mast eyes.

Grade One, Day One

 

Well, drop-off was easy and pick-up was routine - she tackled me begging for a play with Annoushka, then asked for 50 cents for an icy pole, then I had to pry her off the monkey bars to actually leave school. Apparently they are going to study bees this term and she wrote a story about her holiday; about her dog having his third birthday. While true, it is hardly the most exciting thing that happened in the last two months, IMO. But whatever. “My Nona’s Heart Attack” probably doesn’t have as much allure for first graders as a labradoodle birthday.

Summer Reading

These are the books Kid read during her summer holiday:

     

     

 

For a grand total of 330 pages! We made a chain; she wrote the title and number of pages of each book on a strip of colored paper. She is going to bring it for show and tell. I bribed her along with downloads of Zack and Cody. As you can see, there are a few pretty easy level 1 books in there – they’re good confidence builders I think. We probably didn’t do enough writing practice. It is amazing how far off her skills can be from one another – that she can be reading books like that “Prairie Friends” one but still taking wild phonetic guesses when writing. And most of the sight words come totally naturally to her when reading – she doesn’t even hesitate – but she’ll write “wen” for “when”, etc. Not that I’m worried. I’m remarkably unworried about Kid academically / developmentally … for cripes sakes, she finished Kindergarten in the States ahead of grade-level expectations, and then … got to do another three months of it essentially when we got here. So, she’s fine. She’s snug in her bed anticipating the beginning of Grade One tomorrow. Socks and undies are laid out (the rest of the outfit being a no-brainer, with the forecast in the mid-80s her summer dress uniform is pretty much to only option). I love how not-a-big deal going back to school is this time! No supplies to buy (school provides everything in terms of pencils, markers, crayons, glue and whatnot and all the uniform stuff we got for last year is still practically new), she knows her teacher and all her classmates … no drama. I like no drama these days.

Swimming!

The preps (prep being the grade Kid is in – equivalent to Kindergarten in the States) have been going to swimming lessons 2-3 days per week at this amazing super cool fun pool. There is only one class of preps at our school – and only 20 of them – so excursions (field trips) are not quite as exhausting as at her school in Seattle, where the three K classes (and sometimes the first graders, too) would be packed into big yellow school busses. (Not that it stopped me; I went on nearly all the field trips. I'm a glutton for punishment.) On Monday, I accompanied the preps, their teacher Helen and a couple other “mums” (I still refer to myself as “mom” but it is sounding weirder every day) as we boarded a plush, air-conditioned shuttle-type bus. We got to the pool and of course the mums immediately made a beeline to help the kiddos as they started to change into their bathers (swim suits). "No. Stop. Step away from the children. They can do it themselves. Have a seat. Who wants a coffee?" That would be Helen. She runs a tight ship. It is her firm belief they the children need to get undressed and into their suits by themselves. After each student had made a neat pile of his or her clothing – towel on top, shoes underneath – they went to sit on the bench and wait for the lesson to begin. So, we mums sipped lattes while we watched the theatre (theatre, centre, cheque, colour, organize … see how I’m assimilating?!) that is 20 five- and six-year-olds get naked and pull on goggles and bathing suits. (Australians are so much less prudish. The area they were changing in was a bit out of the way, but nonetheless totally in public there next to the pool. There would have been issues with people walking by taking photos or something (they’re laid back, but not stupid) but the whole scene was so much easier than it would have been if we had to send the boys & girls into their respective locker rooms.) Then, the fun began. Since this was the last lesson of the term (they’ll come back as grade one students in term one next year) it was a play day – they went on the water slide (most went down with the instructor), in the wave pool and in the teaching pool with noodles and rafts. Kid’s swimming skills and her confidence in the water have improved by a gazillion percent. I was amazed. She was diving under water and swimming along like a fish halfway across the pool. Her swimming on top of the water needs some work – she’s still flailing as she tries to coordinate arms and breathing and kicking – but she goes for it and makes decent progress. The best part was to see how much fun she was having. She was never one of those water-phobic kids, but she wasn’t a huge fan of swimming lessons at the Y either. Being with friends in a warm pool where she can touch the bottom seems to have made all the difference. Her hierarchy of favourite activities at school lately has been:

1. Swimming

2. Drama class

3. The mice

4. Lunch recess

5. Morning recess

6. “All the other stuff.”

And now I really believe it – she loves swimming lessons! (BTW, I think the hierarchy will likely change … a chick incubator just arrived in their classroom.) Here are some shots:

 

  ... having just emerged from that gigantic water slide, which she went down with that hottie swim teacher.

 

  ... having just swum (is that right? looks wrong.) 1/2 way across the pool.

 

 

 

Sorry they are so grainy; they are from my phone. Remember? Guy has the camera with him on his business trip to the Middle East ... where he also took a dip (in the Dead Sea):

  Being an international water engineering technical expert looks like hard work, doesn't it?

Settling in at School

Some new additions to the lexicon:

• Preschool is Kindergarten, or “Kinder”
• Kindergarten is Prep (the first year at primary school … the grade in which we enrolled Zoe)
• Elementary School is Primary School (Prep – Year 6)
• High School is Secondary School (Years 7-12)
• College is University (“Uni”) – TAFE is the other tertiary option (Technical & Further Education)
• (I am confused by what “College” means to an Aussie. There are “Colleges” that are independent K-12 schools and some that are “Blah blah blah Secondary College”, which I think means “Secondary School” – i.e. 7-12. Also, “Grammar” school here is, I think, an independent K-12; some with boarding.)
• Sweater is Jumper
• Jumper is Tunic
• Sneakers are Trainers
• Hats are compulsory in Terms 1 and 4 – “No hat no play” (plus most play equipment has shade sails erected over the top; they are v. concerned with UV)
• Morning Snack is Brain Boost – each child must bring fresh fruit or veggies to be eaten while they are read a story at around 10 AM
• Lunch is an hour long! They eat in the classroom then there are often activities or clubs they can go to (there is a choir and a garden club during lunch at our school – those are the ones I know about at this point) or they just do the monkey bars for the rest of the hour until their little hands resemble hamburger.

Some things seem fairly different. Prep seems less academic than Kindergarten was in the States. (But they all do seem to be reading by now – nearing the end of the year.) Swimming is part of the curriculum at most schools. Preps will start their swimming lessons next week. I think the curriculum is standardized across the entire state (Victoria) – which in theory makes school choice less fraught. The differences are: which second language is taught, size and facilities. ALL schools here – public and private (with the exception I guess of the alternative Waldorf-type places) – have uniforms. Public school ones are not unlike those at Zoe’s old school (basic two-color (colour) – pants or skort or shorts with a polo; or the v. cute dress option) but the private school ones are … um … well, I am at a loss for words! The boys’ blazers! The girls’ skirts! I’ll try to snap some discrete photos. Also, no school busses. See below re: tram.

Some stuff is different just because we are living in a different kind of city. Melbourne has a lot of urban village-y type areas (because of the train and tram network, I recon). So, while the house that we’re renting is a nice-sized “California Bungalow” (I kid you not! It is among the most popular types of turn-of-the-last-century residential architecture here) with a much bigger yard than we had in Seattle on a pretty, leafy street … we are a block away from a shopping area, a tram line and a train station. We take the tram to school most days. (It is walk-able … but further than our walk to school in Seattle. It will be great when we get our container and can scoot or bike – it’s all flat.)

A lot, of course, feels just the same. I am being pulled into the orbit of parents’ committees, etc. (I must have a “look”); there is play-date negotiation at pick-up every day (it is hard to keep up with Kid’s social obligations!); Kid brings home her reading assignment and school notices in a red folder in her backpack each day … including the Scholastic order form yesterday.

I am pleased that we chose a small school; it is nice to have Kid be known by all the staff. (And, it makes it easier for me to remember whom everyone is!) People are very, very friendly. Word got out around school that we were moving into a house with no stuff and now, after being members of the school community for exactly 3 days, we were loaned: dishes, pots, pans, beds, linens, kitchen stuff, table, chairs ... It has been amazing! The folks I met at the school when we visited raved about what a great community it is ... and they proved it! So, yes, I feel like we made a great choice.

 

  

 

Phase: The Next

Kid starts school tomorrow and after drop her off we’ll pick up keys for our rental house. So, we are moving into a new phase of this relocation; less limbo, more routine. Of course, we have no furniture, etc. yet (our container is somewhere … Singapore?) so we can only settle so much. But, as we’re kind of eager to get into the house, we might just get an air bed and some dishes and essentials at Target or the op shop (“opportunity shop” – like Goodwill) and camp out in our new place just like we did for the final few days at our house in Seattle.

Kid will be going to school at Caulfield Primary. We like it for a few reasons:

·         It is small. This never seemed important before; the more kids the better in Kid’s opinion. But as a new kid in a new country, small seems right. And, while for some schools it is a drawback (not as many resources) here it doesn’t seem to matter because they still have drama and art and music and PE and swimming (yes, swimming!) because they get extra funds due to

·         the semi-immersion program in Japanese. All of the above (arts, sports and so on) are taught in Japanese. Cool, eh? All Victorian primary schools offer a second language (they call it LOTE: Language Other Than English) – but this goes further than a lesson or two per week and we are pretty stoked about it.

·         It is diverse (more so than it looks online – I was very pleasantly surprised when we visited when we first arrived). You know me – educating kids in a diverse environment is my soapbox issue. I prioritize socioeconomic and cultural diversity over a lot of other aspects of school / education. Here, there seems to be a higher percentage of white kids than at her old school (which would be the case almost anywhere considering her old school was about 85% kids-of-color) but there are more cultures and language backgrounds represented (including among the white kids - Russian, Greek, Dutch...).

·         The neighborhood is great: amazing public transport, lots of parks with good playgrounds, a ton of cafes with many, many different kinds of food. And I love the residential architecture - some early turn-of-the century stuff (lots of filigree ironwork, like in New Orleans), 1900s "California bungalows" and 20s - 40s deco, which I think is my fave. The house we are renting is about 1.5 km from school and we can take the tram. When we buy, we’ll be looking for somewhere within walking or tram distance of school.

·         The uniform is navy and PURPLE and the monkey bars are AWESOME! Um, these are not our reasons. Someone else had a say and this is what she said. (BTW, all schools here – public and private – (with the exception maybe of the really alternative Steiner-type places) have uniforms.)

So, she is snug in her bed – a bit nervous I think but mostly excited. She reminded me as I headed to Safeway that I needed to get bananas for her “brain boost” – they snack at 10 AM and it must be fresh fruit or veg. (They collect all the peels and cores and bits in a bucket for the resident possums.) Guy and I will go to drop her off then figure out what we need for the house until our stuff gets here. (Link to the house on the realtor’s site here … might not work since the house has been let. Exterior paint job aside, it is a great house and I think we’ll be happy there once our stuff arrives. Singapore. Sheesh.)

For the past few weeks we’ve been exploring and trying to make AUSTRALIA AS EXCITING AS POSSIBLE!!! (so as to ensure a fairly painless assimilation for Kid). To wit: the Royal Melbourne Show (basically, a state fair, much like our beloved Puyallup back home), the Aquarium, Lollipops indoor playground, many, MANY excellent outdoor playgrounds (our favorites so far being Glen Eira’s own Princes Park, Halley Park and Caulfield Park), the animal farm in Ballarat, the Melbourne Museum, Collingwood Children’s Farm, lots of afternoon stops at cafes featuring hot chocolate and pastries, and on and on. It has been a veritable feast-of-stuff-a-six-year-old-loves. I have photo-documented all of course so I’ll try to get those uploaded ASAP. In the meantime, cross your fingers and hope for a smooth transition to this next phase. (Oh, and please buy our house. Thanks.)