Fridays

As it turns out, Fridays turns out to be rather interesting days here at Frankton Primary. Every Friday the school provides an opportunity called Maori Gate where students who desire to learn and/or retain the Maori native language can go to receive instruction. This however means that a lot of students are absent from their regular classes on Friday. So in order to keep them from falling too far behind, most teachers don't teach a lot of new material. Instead they review or extend current material, or they do fun activities.

This last Friday my class got to do something really fun with their younger "buddy" class. As you know, it's currently Summer here in New Zealand, and as the Sun was shining bright and hot we all went outside and played on Felicia's water slide!

We spent an hour outside playing. It was a really fun time and the kids absolutely loved it. It was really just a black sheet of tough plastic, some dish soap, and a hose, but man was it FUN!!! 

Of course, the boys got really into it and decided to get a running start on their slides to see how far they could get...

others took it a little slower...

but everyone had a blast!!

New Zealand Schools

Over the last couple days I have had the privilege of being introduced to my new school and students here in New Zealand. It all started Monday morning when Denise took me in to her office at Waikato University to meet with her boss Mark. Mark is the head of the student teacher placement department and was kind enough to set up the meeting to get me familiarized with the NZ school system and curriculum.

I was very intrigued by many of the things that Mark told me about how things are run. In NZ they do not have school districts the way we do. The NZ government sets standards and (to a degree) curriculum, but then each individual school acts separately with its own individual board of trustees. They are somewhat akin to charter schools within the US.

In addition, NZ’s funding structure is also rather different. Each school is given a decile ranking based on the average family income, wealth of the area, and types of employment within the school’s boundaries. Lower SES means a lower decile and higher SES means a higher decile. Low decile schools then receive the most funding from the government and higher decile schools receive less since parents are able to contribute more to their own schools.

One last thing I found interesting is that in NZ students start school on their 5^th birthday. Instead of there being a “cut-off” they join the school as a “New Entrant” right at age five and attend a special room in the school until they are ready to move to the main school grades.

After meeting with Mark, we went to the school where they took me through a traditional Maori welcome ceremony called a Powhiri. At the beginning I waited by the entrance to the school grounds until one of the female faculty members called to me in Maori to invite me in. As I entered, I was led to the school hall where the students were singing in Maori as I was seated. Then Mark and one of the male faculty members did an exchange where they spoke back in forth in Maori. Mark told me beforehand that they would be exchanging information about the school and myself and that the faculty member from the school would formally extend me an invitation to join their school. In between their exchanges the student body sang traditional Maori songs. It was really neat and special and I felt really honored and welcomed by everything they had put together.

Entrance to School Grounds

I have discovered since then that including teaching about Maori culture and language is part of the national curriculum. At Frankton, where I am, the teachers are all required to teach the students Maori songs and poems, most signs include both languages and the teachers themselves will often give simple instructions (such as “sit down” or “line up”) in Maori instead of English. I have found it to be a really neat experience to see how they blend the traditions and heritage of the Maori people into their everyday school experience.

The Students' "Mihi". Everyday one student takes a turn presenting it to the class. It is a Maori way of describing one's genealogy or place within the community.

I have found many other things about their schools that are fun and different from the US. For example, at Frankton shoes generally seem to be optional. Most students take them off in the morning and leave them in their cubbies until they leave in the afternoon. None of the teachers seem to care and the students all seems very used to it. Also their school is built very differently. Instead of one big building their campus is made of several small building that house different age groups as well as a building for the library and one for the assembly hall. In between most of the buildings are large grassy areas for students to run around and play in. I have also noticed that many of the architectural aspects that I noticed in Denise’s home stay true such as their propensity for having lots of large windows.

My Classroom

Play Area and Other Buildings

One thing I found interesting in their curriculum is that swimming is an almost compulsory part of elementary education. At Frankton (and, from what I've heard, most schools) they have their own swimming pool and every day each class is required to go out for 20 minutes and learn and practice swimming. It makes sense when you remember that they live surrounded by ocean, but it is still very different to think that I have to make it a part of my day.

Lastly, I thought I would bring up that in the morning they have a half hour break that they call “morning tea time”. The students are released to play and have a snack while the teachers are invited into the staff room. There the school provides mugs, milk, and hot water (which comes from an installed water heater just for this purpose), and the choice of coffee, tea, or Milo (a malted barley drink) for the teachers to enjoy. I think it is a really fun idea and I get the feeling that I will enjoy it a lot during my time here (especially when they provide cookies as well)!

Home Away From Home

My first experience in New Zealand was seeing Denise's beautiful home that I will be staying in for the next couple months. It is a one floor house in the Chartwell section of Hamilton. One of the first distinguishing features about her home is the small but beautiful backyard.

In it she has a rose bush, raspberries, a plum tree, as well as various other flowering trees and bushes. The yard itself is not very big, but it feels very welcoming and relaxing. There is a porch off the back door that spans the whole back side of the house and wraps around the side. There is a stone barbecue, and a couple of outdoor seating areas off to the right of this picture. You reach the backyard through one of the three glass doors throughout the kitchen and living room. There are also tons of big glass windows that let in lots of natural light and provide a pretty view.

Dining Area

Lounge Area

The room I will be staying in is the room that her grandchildren usually stay in when they visit. It also has lots of windows in it which I really love. The view from my window is out to the front yard and the surrounding neighborhood. Another thing I am impressed with is how much green there is here. There are tons of trees and bushes that Denise say stay green all year round. 

 My Bedroom

View From My Window

One of the things about her house that surprised me was that there are three different rooms for the things we would usually have in one bathroom. There is a room with a bathtub, a sink, and a vanity; one room with a toilet; and one room with a shower. 

I really love her house. It is simple, and not too large, but it is really bright and open and feels incredibly welcoming. The windows let in lots of light and a cool breeze runs through the house to cool it from the afternoon heat. I am excited to see if the architectural style is similar when I visit other buildings and my school tomorrow. I hope so because so far I really love the feel of it.

A Long Journey - Getting to New Zealand

               Yesterday night I set off on my next adventure abroad. This time I am heading across the Pacific to the island country of New Zealand. I will be staying in a city on the North Island called Hamilton which is an hour drive south from the capital city (so I am told). The reason I am heading out there is to do the second half of my student teaching before graduation. I am very excited to learn more about New Zealand’s school district as well as the people and culture.

                Leaving was the hardest part of my trip so far. Even harder than the 14 hour plane ride from LAX to Sydney! Unlike the other times I have traveled, this time I unfortunately had to leave my amazing husband behind so he could hold down the fort back home. I cannot believe how amazing he is to be so supportive of me leaving for 7 weeks. However, I can promise this will be the last time I willingly part with him for this long again! It is much more fun to travel with him than without!

                Getting to New Zealand took me 3 plane rides and about 23 hours. First, I took a pretty uneventful ride from Salt Lake to Los Angeles. Pulling into the airport there was really cool. This city lights are so gorgeous from above. Plus, there were buildings super close to the airport so when he landed I felt like we were getting way close to those rooftops! I only had about an hour layover in LA which gave just enough time to switch terminals, go to the bathroom and then wait for about 10 minutes before boarding. My second flight went from LA to Sydney, Australia. The plane was surprisingly spacious, but then again I’m pretty tiny so what do I know! However, I have to say I had forgotten how much they feed you on these long trips! There was a dinner service, a mid-flight snack service, and a breakfast service. Plus they were constantly bringing drinks around. I was pretty happy with it though since I will be travelling for so long.

                I was able to sleep for a lot of my second flight. However, near to 2 hour mark we started flying into a storm and there was some pretty heavy turbulence. I have to admit it did freak me out a little bit! I’m talking some really bone-jarring shaking for a bit there. That passed though, and most of the flight was decently smooth from then on. I couldn't see anything out my window most of the time since it was a red-eye flight so instead I kicked back, watched a movie, and then slept. I got up about 45 minutes before landing to watch to sun rising across the ocean. It really is cool to look down from so high above and watch the clouds and the water go by underneath you.

                After we landed I had about 2 hours before my next flight which would take to the Auckland, New Zealand airport. Sadly not enough time to see anything except what I can see through the windows, but hopefully I will be able to come back someday.

                My third flight was from Sydney to Auckland and was about 2 hours long. There was not a lot to do so I just pulled out my laptop and worked on putting together a slideshow to introduce myself to my students on Wednesday. Shockingly, they actually did not offer any food or snacks during the flight. The only thing that was complimentary was water, coffee, or tea. I have to say, I was not very impressed with Virgin Airlines.

                This was the hardest flight for me because I was hungry, tired, and sick of travelling. However, I have to say that when I got my first glimpse of the New Zealand coast line I was filled to the top with excitement and wonder.

                As we flew inland, I saw miles and miles of rolling green hills dotted with farmhouses. It slowly started to become more crowded until we reached the capital city of Auckland. There were definitely many more buildings there, but none of them were very tall. They still seemed to fit in with their natural green surroundings, and bright green bushes and trees dotted every block and yard.

                The plane landed and I was finally here, but my journey was not quite over. I had made it to New Zealand, but now I had to meet up with Denise, the woman I would be living with for the next 7 weeks. I found her waiting for me on the other side of customs. She is a short (like me!) blond woman with a charming smile and a fun personality (as I would soon find out). She greeted me with a hug and introduced me to her friend who had graciously offered me to drive Denise to Auckland to pick me up and bring me to Hamilton. The drive back was long, but fun as Denise chatted to me about my upcoming student teaching, and the house and town I would be living in. I have to say that although we were both speaking English, sometimes we both really had to listen to figure out what we were saying haha.            

                Overall it was a long and grueling trip, but here I am 26 hours later, finally in New Zealand and ready to explore! Let’s see what adventure awaits!!