Pomp and Circumstance

K’s handsome, brand new gown arrived by courier today. It really is an impressive piece of craftsmanship, worthy of the years of academic slog it represents.

All the lads had to try it on. Some had to stand on stools - on account of being more vertically challenged than others! But all enjoyed the feeling of pomp and academic pride it exuded.

Somehow, when wearing the cloak, it served to make the wearer lift their head high, nose pointing to the clouds, chin jutting out. Kind of like Batman with a bad case of whiplash.

I will spare you the photos of the gown in consort with Spongebob Squarepants pyjamas! Pure blooded Academics may find such a sight too sacrilegious to contend with!

However, I do wonder whether some day, this beautifully crafted academic gown might be relegated to a nothing more than a magnificent superhero dressup….

Maybe next weekend?!

Long Live the Queen!

I fully support Queen Victoria.

I love her so much that I gladly celebrate her birthday! And I'm particularly grateful that the government of Canada encourages me to celebrate by giving me a holiday Monday somewhere around May 24 each year!

Yesterday, we feted Victoria by spending the day at Whistler. It's always a fun place to be.

We shared a wonderful lunch with Barb and Larry on a patio (steamed mussels, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, sticky chili chicken, satays, and foie gras poutine) as we watched the world walk by. The boarders are always most picturesque!
The youth in Whistler are largely derived from other countries; every other restaurant and shop employee has an accent. Lots of Aussies! When they're not working, they're skiing and riding down the mountain.

Yesterday was the last day to ski and board, but it's just the beginning of the season for bikers.

Every pub had its "parking lot" outside for skis, boards, and bikes; as the afternoon turned into evening, the action revved up and snowboards were even hanging in the trees. Everyone (under 25) was networking with drinks and getting extremely loud. I don't think I'd have the energy... Good thing I'm old!

There was a bike wash station at the bottom of the chairlift, and every second chair was outfitted to carry bikes.
It was fun to have a day away - a little teaser for summer break.

Happy birthday, Vicky, and may you have many more!

An ode to weekends and breakfasts!

Don’t you love the weekends

Don’t you love the food

Don’t you love to sit and ‘lax

Don’t it feel so good…

Love to brew my coffee

Love to steep my tea

Love to munch on muesli

Heaped with fruit for me!

I just love the let up

I just love to chat

I just love to cogitate

Time for this and that…

[Gotta share my breakfast with you – this was a GREAT concoction!!!]

Toasted muesli, rolled oats, & boysenberry cornflakes, piled high with dried blueberries, cranberries, sultanas, coconut, and FRESH fruit - honeydew melon, apples, peaches, grapes, raspberries, bananas, kiwifruit….and finally, dollops of creamy yoghurt! MMMMMmmmmmmm!

Oink....

A Day to Celebrate

We just celebrated a milestone birthday at school: Ellen turned 50!

The staff had a potluck lunch, and at the end of the day, the whole school turned out for a surprise assembly. (A marvelous little actress was sent to interrupt our meeting to frantically report the PE teacher unconscious in the gym. Ellen wasn't sure she was for real, but the fake tears were quite convincing! When we arrived in the gym, everyone was waiting with the surprise.)

I had put together a slideshow that we played for Ellen; I'm pretty certain that our normally stoic principal even shed some tears!

I'm so glad the day went well and that she was surprised. I've laid awake planning and plotting, wondering how it would all come together. And I uncharacteristically put a Rod Stewart song into the slideshow. I really don't like Rod Stewart (especially in leopardskin tights), but the song was just right!

You can see the slideshow here. If you feel like listening to Rod...

Eccentricity

How I love interesting people.

I particularly love that my boys are not ordinary.

How many mums come home to find their boy smoking a corncob pipe and reading Milton?
No sir, he's no ordinary boy!

Groundhog Day

Ange of the North, it sounds like your May Ants are like that Groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil – you know, the groundhog that traditionally emerges from his hideyhole in Pennsylvania to do his annual weather forecast of Spring being on its way….maybe the Canadians could have May Ants instead….

I would be totally distracted too if I had all those crawlies zipping around my feet whilst I was a potential sitting target in class! And I would have my feet on my desk!

However, I am reassured that your ants and spiders look a lot more ‘refined’ and ‘genteel’ than the stock Down Under. Actually, the ants and spiders in NZ are similar to the ones in your photos, but it is the ones here in Australia that are sensational in size, colouring, and CHOMP. I have discovered, that everything of that ilk, BITES here. Even the wee black ants that seem so innocuous….I have learnt to keep my feet moving, especially when hanging out the washing on the line. Green ants, red ants, sugar ants, bull ants, wee innocuous black ants, fire ants etc etc etc. They all bite. I think someone should tell them to pick on things their own size!

This is a sugar ant I think. It was hoofing around in our garden with some bull ants and green ants. I haven’t yet been bitten by a sugar ant, but I still have the scars to show from my green ant bites!

And this was the spider that caught my eye, not so far away from the sugar ant. I had to go inside to research this one on Google…..only to discover that I’d photographed it’s underside! It’s topside was even more spectacular but unfortunately, none of my photos were adequate. It was also the first time that I have ever been squirted at by a spider! Enough of a warning shot of silk to scare my camera away….This is the female of the species and it was about 10x larger than the male. She guarded the centre of the web, whilst he scurried off to the edges. We named them, “Samson & Delilah”…

This was Samson. He was wee and nondescript compared to his flashier partner. These spiders are some sort of Ariope. And since we are showcasing our vibrant garden wildlife, here is one more of our resident Golden Orb spider who has spread her enormous intricate web out the front of our house. Like her supplies?! Last night, E came in from the dark outside, pulling silvery strands off himself and muttering something about walking into a spider’s web….then I heard him say with disgust, “UGH! It’s a pantry!!” BLERRKKKKK....

And one might well think it was Spring here too with the noticeable abundance of caterpillars we have observed in our garden. The monarch caterpillar is easily recognisable (well, I think it is a monarch, though there are so many species here I could well be barking up the wrong tree on that one!) :

This caterpillar was VERY hungry indeed and reminded us all of the children’s book – The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Can’t remember who the author was, but they must’ve had some of these in their garden! This particular caterpillar was a very chubby module, and managed to gobble up the entire plant overnight!

And the boys weren’t keen to share their pool with this one…..it looked distinctly unfriendly! And since we’re in Australia-the-land-of-chompy-wildlife-exotica, it was probably a wise choice!

Whoops. I think you got me on a bit of a roll there with the garden wildlife! I’m looking forward to reading your upcoming post about the ‘really really bad part’ of the Education funding furore. I can’t confess to knowing much about this issue, so it’s great to have the insight of one who’s truly embroiled in it and up with the play! So enlighten us….please.

Distractions

It's really and truly spring in Vancouver! I'm not talking about shivery early spring when the blossoms come out but the temperatures say it's still winter. I mean SPRING!

I'm waking up to hear birds singing. Love it.

It's time to put out the annuals in my garden (but that never gets done until school lets up).

And the ants are here!
Every May, the ants arrive at school and come into my classroom.

How do they know it's May? Do they have little ant calendars?

I tell my students it's because they want to learn how to read.
And then this morning, they brought a spider friend with them (not quite as spectacular as the Aussie spiders, but still, a spider!).

Nobody can focus with all these insects wandering around the classroom.
So distracting!

Happy Mothers’ Day

It’s that day again Down Under.

I’m presuming that it is the same Up There too…? I love Mothers’ Day.

Firstly, because I feel like I can “legitimately” have a ‘day off’ and get spoilt rotten! Princess for a day…..I have some wonderful lads who DO make me feel quite special!

And secondly, because it is an opportunity to focus on some incredibly wonderful people who shape our families and our world.

I lay in bed this morning (listening to my lovely family preparing breakfast in bed for me!), thinking about my mom who is the most dedicated, loving, and sacrificial woman. She would do and give anything for her family, and continues to be an amazing and accepting mother through the thick and thin. And from what I remember of my grandma, she was the same. It’s an incredible legacy that has far reaching benefits beyond one’s immediate family!

And then I thought about the amazing mothers I have had the privilege of meeting over my life’s journey. Many of them have inspired me at some time and in some way to be a better mom. And all of them exhibit a love and a selflessness for their families that is often beyond the ken. To all you wonderful, beautiful mothers out there, I hope you have a truly special day however you choose to spend it.

Enjoy every moment of time spent with your families;

celebrate the privilege of Motherhood!

A VERY HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY TO YOU!

More on Education

Well, my last post didn't seem to be very controversial; so little dialogue and discussion! You must be waiting with baited breath to see what I say next. Or maybe it's just not a big deal outside my little world.

OK. Onward.

So, I was talking about independent schools in BC and the controversy over government funding.

Every year, schools are ranked according to their scores on standardized testing (after a number of mysterious adjustments that have to do with numbers of boys and girls and other factors), and results published in the newspaper. Scores of parents look for the highest scoring schools and start plotting to send their children to those hallowed halls of learning, so that they can be smart, too. Others take a quick peek and roll their eyes violently at the predictability of it all. How could it be? The top performers are all independent schools - specifically, prep schools!

Everyone loves to hate those exclusive "private" schools. They're the first thing that comes up in the debate about government funding. Members of the BC Teachers' Federation (some of them) start to froth at the mouth when they think about all those wealthy families sending their darling cherubs to schools that can cherry pick the brainiest and send the mediocre ones packing. No special needs students. Nothing but the best.

If all that public money was put back into public education, it would solve many problems. Those wealthy families, one opinion piece opined, can afford to pay the full ride; take away their funding!

But the real thorn in their flesh, the true cause of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth isn't really the small number of prep schools that receive funding. It's the religious schools! Gasp!

Here's where it gets really ugly.

According to a vocal number of British Columbians, public money has no place in the religious arena. Therefore, yank the funding away from all those schools that teach that there is one way to God. Better still, anything connected to faith. That would include Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Christians, and even worse, those Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints who still teach that polygamy is cool.

In a tolerant, multi-cultural society like Canada, the worst sin is to say that your own God is the only one. And then get government money to help you teach kids.

What do you think now?

Next time I'll tell you about the really really bad part of it.

On Education

Southern Ange, school is on my mind again; could it be because I spend all my time there?

Controversy seems to be dogging my footsteps this week. Not my personal footsteps, but it's everywhere I look. The current issue is government funding of private education. Care to dive into it with me?

Since 1977, the BC government has been partially funding independent schools. Currently, schools are eligible to received up to 50% of the per-pupil operating costs given to public schools (capital costs are not provided). Schools must go through a rigorous inspection process, employ only certified teachers, and follow the BC curriculum in order to qualify for funding. Only 35% is given to schools who exceed the operating costs per pupil; this would be university prep schools that offer many extra programs and classes.

Public schools are currently facing huge financial constraints due to declining student populations, increased demands from the ministry of education, and... I don't know what else. It sounds pretty bleak. The Vancouver school district has an $18 million shortfall, and 190 teachers are being laid off. Programs such as music are being cut.
And now, the big question: if public education is being threatened by a huge lack of money, should the government cut all funding to independent schools and redirect it to public school districts? Is it right that the province should subsidize the tuition of exclusive, often faith-based schools with public money?

What happens Down Under, SA? And visitors, how about where you live?

Opinions, please! Leave your comments; a little discussion is always welcome!

I'll follow up tomorrow.

Ocean ruminations

What a great week you’ve had at school Ange of the North! I would have LOVED to have cruised your corridors – those photos made me feel rather nostalgic! Ocean Week sounded like huge fun and I’m sure the kids learnt a lot! My family enjoyed watching the cool video clip you posted. I had no idea octopi could camouflage themselves so effectively!

I know you’ve finished the week now, but due to a lack of recent photo taking and lack of headspace to ponder the deeper questions of life, I thought I’d share a few ocean-type photos with you…from our trip earlier this year to the Sunshine Coast’s Underwater World.

 A very cool waterdragon-type seahorse! Isn’t it quaint!

Jaws 

Brightly coloured coral etc. 

 Giant Ray

Baby shark growing in a simulated embryo…it was very cool!

And finally, I feel you need a photo of the ocean just to finish off!

A Salty Week

Here's a non-controversial topic. A happy change from my last two posts...

Southern Ange, I miss your presence at school. We just had the big primary theme week, with an ocean focus. The hallway was all dressed up in blue paper (don't tell the fire marshall!), with ocean creatures swimming everywhere. The regular schedule was suspended and we all participated in oceanic activities, with children in multi-grade groups. Had you been here, you could have been one of the faithful mums helping out all week (except your kids are too old now). And you could have gone out for tea with Angela and her cronies!

Everything went swimmingly.

The children brought beach pails to carry all their supplies and decorated them with foam stickers. At each workshop they went to, they received a tag to hang from the handle. It was very cute. Lots of fun, too!
And what's more, they all learned a lot!

So did their teachers. We could sit you down and tell you all about the ocean zones, different kinds of sea life (love those bio-luminescent creatures!), tides, and the plastic that floats in the Pacific. It's an amazing part of creation.

Here's a cool video to watch that highlights just a few astounding creatures and the ways they adapt to their environment - the octopus at the end is the best!

Faces and Faith

I've been thinking.

About my visit to the LDS Langley temple on Tuesday night.

Although I've never been on the verge of converting to Mormonism, I was really disappointed.

It was kind of like going backstage after an elaborate show and finding the actors without makeup and costumes, having shed their stage roles, except that I'd missed the show.

Is there a public face to the LDS church, one of friendliness and welcome, that is removed behind the scenes? For all the happy volunteers who guided visitors and showed gracious hospitality during the open house, those church members I encountered later were extremely unwelcoming and ungracious, even to the point of rudeness. The wonderful picture of Mormonism presented in the blogs suddenly doesn't look so great. Which makes bells ring in my head and lots of question marks float through the air.

The other thing that has been running through my mind is the high emphasis on performance. LDS members must successfully submit to an interview every year in order to enter the temple. (Please, if you are a Mormon and I'm getting the facts wrong, set me straight. I am at the mercy of blogs and websites for my information!) The questions are all about living up to church standards and principles, keeping all sacraments and covenants, and sustaining the president as God's representative and prophet on earth.

I have no problem with accountability. In fact, we probably all need more of it in our lives. But to limit entry to the House of the Lord based on performance, after the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus that gives us free access to the presence of God, is just like taking people right back to the Old Testament laws. The New Testament is pretty clear that salvation is based on faith, and that our good works (following rules, etc) are "as filthy rags to God". I can never be good enough on my own, but fortunately, the blood of Jesus cleanses me. It is enough.

I feel sad about all those Mormon women I have come to admire. They're so enthusiastic about their faith, which I see as a great virtue, but it looks to be built on lots of rules and regulations, secrecy, and expectations for performance.

Blogs are like windows into people's lives. I feel like I know so many of the bloggers I follow, although they (mostly) have no idea that I exist. I like to think that my Mormon blogger "friends" would have been themselves - fun, friendly, welcoming - if they had been the ones carrying chairs at the temple on Tuesday. But what if they weren't?

Isn't life mysterious...?

The Adventure that Never Was

For a long time, I have been an ardent admirer of a number of scrapbooking gurus. And more recently, as a regular blog reader, my list of cool women has grown. It features such names as Lisa Bearnson, Becky Higgins, Jessica Sprague, Nienie, and C Jane.

What do they all have in common?

Mormons, every one.

So although I find it kind of inexplicable and mysterious, I've come to associate Mormonism with smart, interesting, creative women. And I've done a bit of reading and research on the topic.

I was intrigued when I discovered last fall that British Columbia's first Mormon temple was being built in our area. According to what I've learned, a temple is a place that only active Mormons may enter (with a signed recommend that affirms they are worthy and up to date). Certain ordinances are carried out there, and there are even special clothes to wear.

Recently, there was a whole article in the newspaper, complete with photos of the ornate interior, all about the new temple and announcing TOURS FOR THE PUBLIC!

I was up for it! My only chance to see the inside of a Mormon temple!

Today was the day. The temple is being consecrated this Sunday, and after that, will forevermore be closed to me and my ilk. I rushed home after school, changed into some jeans (possibly a big mistake), and jumped back into the car. I enlisted Little Bear to accompany me, and we somehow acquired Lesley and her son, Elliot along the way.

We sat in traffic. It poured with rain. We suffered for this cause. It took almost an hour to get there.

But alas and alack, we were too late. Days too late. Tours ended on Saturday.

However, there was a U-Haul truck parked at the door, cars in the parking lot, and people going in and out. Maybe, just maybe, I could plead my case and get us in to take a look. I was not quite ready to throw in the towel.

We went as far as the entrance, where a group of people was going back and forth from the truck with chairs, making a big stack right in the doorway.

What is it about those Mormons? Why do they work in dress shirts and ties? We stuck out like a whole handful of sore thumbs in our jeans and casual... everything. Even the little boy helping out was wearing a tie!
But despite my expectations of extreme Mormon awesomeness, there was a distinct chill in the air. We stood there, waiting for one of this understandably busy group to ask us if we were looking for someone, or even why we weren't dressed properly, but to no avail. Silence and no eye contact was all we got. Finally, I picked a youngish man as he buzzed back and forth, and asked who we could talk to, but he said he didn't know. Didn't know? Hmmm... Even I could see the grey-haired man at the front desk just inside the door. Frowning harder than I thought a person could frown. Actually, I think he was a human pit bull for all the welcomeness that was oozing out of him (maybe it was our clothes). I attempted to squeeze around the chairs that were being unloaded in the doorway; maybe, just maybe I could charm the pit bull into letting us see something. I said, "If I could just get through here..." But all I could hear was a chilly silence, and nobody was moving anywhere for me.

I took a breath and asked the youngish man again, but he then said that he thought everything was being cleaned. He showed very little interest in my sad, sad story of missing my only opportunity ever to see the inside of a temple.

And that was that. What else could a girl do?

We took some pictures of the exterior. It's all covered in marble from Brazil, and there's a gold Angel Moroni (a kind of unfortunate name, I've always thought) on the tippy top of the spire.

I was really, really sad.

So we went for sushi. Eating always helps when one is sad.

And I was going to take a photo of the sushi for you to enjoy, as sushi is always quite artfully presented, except I forgot and we ate it all. Sorry.

One day, I'll have to go somewhere else in the world to see the inside of a temple. There must be another one opening some time. Sigh.

In Print!

Just an update for you about my brother's recent trip to Nicaragua - one of our local papers picked up the story and published a 2 page article with 5 of his photos! You can see it online here, but there's only one photo shown.

Very cool!

Cross Cultural Experiences

Time for the annual principals' conference at Cedar Springs in Washington.

Oh, how I love crossing the border.

In return for a brief moment of pain, I get to enter the USA, Land of Opportunity. Somehow, everything is different on the other side. Accents change, shopping is better, and tea is called "hot tea".

The brief moment of pain, this time, lasted just 45 minutes. Don't misunderstand me; it really wasn't too bad. As we sat in the border lineup, we got to watch the guy with a very large gun, and a dog who happily sniffed all the cars down the line. We speculated on what he was trained to detect. Explosives? Drugs? Illegal fruit? (Don't EVER try to bring an apple or a plum into the country. I'm serious.) And then there was the guy with the mirror on a stick. He was checking under everyone's car. Maybe some people ride without a seatbelt under the chassis. That doesn't sound too comfortable.

Anyway, we made it through and I fell slightly in love with the grey-haired official who said we looked far too young to be school principals.

At the conference, we hung out with other high-powered principals for a couple of days and talked about very important things. (not really.) It's always lots of fun to reconnect and hear about what's happening in other schools.
It was beautiful at the retreat centre, and we all tried to dress like it was spring. But the temperature didn't match. Brrr, my feet were cold, but I just had to wear open-toed shoes!
We did some shopping on the way home. The Canadian dollar is just above par, and we were able to partake in the delights of American retail therapy without any guilt... Well, less guilt than usual!

How refreshing it was to leave the stress of school behind and escape for a couple of days. And now I have to work all weekend to make up for lost time!

Surprise visit to Aotearoa

Perhaps you should patent this new marital tool (see "Wedded Bliss"), Ange of the North….I note, that there is room for two on board….SNUGGLY! Looks far more ‘together’ than shopping…. :)

Here Down Under, life is cranking back into gear again after our first term holidays. On our first day back for the second term of school, E forgets his tie (It is the winter term here and thus, all senior boys have to wear a tie. There must be a logical reason…), his holiday homework, and an important book. And we are late. Despite great intentions.

Day Two begins with E having to be up at the crack of dawn in order to be at Cross Country Training by 7am. We are late.

I drive home to pick up son #2 for school. Then L tells us that he needs 4 iron rods of unspecified diameter or length, 8 wheels or suitable alternatives, 1 large iron rod again of unidentified length, a toy car (oh that’s an easy one!), some string, 4 hooks…specific but again obscurely defined, and various other bits and pieces. And he needs them for an assessment….by TOMORROW thanks! We are, naturally, late for school. Again.

It is at this point that i am yearning for holidays gone by and counting down to the next set of holidays. We have just returned from a whirlwind trip to NZ.

There’s something indescribable about coming home. It was bliss.

Even better when the country turns on it’s most perfect Autumn weather. I love Autumn with its crisp, clear days, blue skies and warm sun, and I especially love the autumn colours.

And on a beautiful day, NZ has gotta be one of the most fabulous spots on earth.

The locals are a very friendly & hospitable bunch,

though some can be a little scary…

but some are downright cute!

Sadly, due to the lightning quick nature of our visit, we were only able to catch up with a small number of friends & family this time.

But each occasion was a bonus and well worth the surprise!

Hanging out for the next holidays!