how many...

... episodes of Angel is too many to watch in a day?

the meaning of life?

Right now it's Angel.

shepherds

are we there yet?

this has been a fantastic year

Work has become a bigger part of my life, with the moves from supply to contract teaching, classroom to music teaching, and working in a group of schools to working at just one school. I'm loving it and feel like I'm doing a good job. With the change of address and now living just across the road from school, family, church and work life feels smoother and more integrated. The kids love having me based where they are.

Still waiting to find out if I have a job next year. If I don't, it's back to the supply circuit (which is easy and lucrative, but not as much fun.)

loving...

angel series 2.

musical

ideas for 2011

Can't do another bible musical next year. That's stretching the friendship. And 'Easter - The Musical' is a little confronting. So how about a Roald Dahl musical? The Enormous Crocodile? The Magic Finger? Any other suggestions? Needs to be pretty short.

But what about RE? Need something big to draw things together. How does this sound. An art show. We go hard at teaching all year and try to draw out certain themes, have a few little riffs that we keep repeating (We know God loves us because he sent Jesus to die for us, Faith is believing that God will do what he said he'll do...) then towards the end of the year give the kids our list of themes (God's love, faith etc) and ask them to create an art work depicting one of them. We give them a few weeks (in RE time) to work on it, and offer prizes. We get them to write a couple of sentences about their art work, then mount them up nicely and display them in the school hall (hmm... or church hall). We have a special week at RE where we give out prizes and choose a few paintings to talk about - maybe we'd chose some depicting God's power in creation, God's sadness at sin, God's love in the cross - and give a little talk tying them together.

We could make it a whole family event. Put on afternoon tea or something. Make it look like an art gallery.

What do you think? Would it work? Would it be worthwhile?

A success

Our musical went really well. We had three performances - each got better. Everyone pumped. We've invited the kids to perform it again at our carols service sunday week.

Thanks for your prayers.

Trouble is, where do we go from here?

formophobia

It's not just me.

I need a disability allowance to pay for a secretary.

adrenaline

I've been living on it for the last couple of months.

I go cold turkey tomorrow.

Pack away the steak-knives.

Musical on tomorrow

Please pray for us. Another week to pull it together would have been nice. The costumes are brilliant - all made over the weekend by an extremely dedicated and capable mother. There are some nice moments in the show. The songs are good but before we publish we need someone who knows about drama and acting to rewrite the narration. It's adequate, but only just.

Tomorrow the whole school is walking to our church (in three shifts) to see the show. Hoping for good things.

Bold and Beautiful

Nathan pointed this out.



I have a soft spot for the bold. When I was at uni, I watched it once a week. On Saturdays I worked in a bakery and the girls I worked with would spend 2 hours telling me blow by blow what happened in the other 4 episodes. This went on for years. I experienced many of Ridge's weddings and at least 2 of Taylor's deaths. I admit to supporting Brooke over Taylor. Probably because I'm a second child. These days I watch an episode each year or two. Good to see that the kids have all grown up and are now a part of the incestuous mix.

Anyone else have an interest?

rehearsal day

photo

I had an email from a reader wanting me to stop chopping off my head in photos that I post. Here. A photo complete with my head (most of it, anyway.) Thank you photo-booth.

I think we deserve a 'Spirit of Christmas' award

Andrew made a manger today.

An excellent way to remind ourselves of the true meaning of christmas (something about animals, I think.)

narration written

I finished it on Friday in time to give to the kids.

Today we (Andrew and Joel) made a manger. Now I just have to source a baby (the plastic variety) to put in it.

For Christmas...

... I'd like to have Mark B. and Joanna and Michael J. in my lounge room talking through these issues. I'd sit in the corner and listen.

Jo is coming (she's my sister-in-law!). Mark and Michael, if you don't have other plans, I'd love it if you could join us.

Listening to 'Undivided'

My copy came in the mail today. Our songs are first and last. I've not had a first or last song on an adult's cd before. Both dangerous positions. If the first song's a dud, no one will stay around for the rest of the cd and if any of the songs are really bad, the final song could never be heard!

Of the middle eight songs, my favourites are Michael Morrow's Lift Up Your Heads and Trevor Hodge's No Other Name.

Michael's brilliance is that he can take an obscure biblical image - the anthropomorphised gates of Psalm 24 - and make us not just understand it, but feel it. Completely non cliche. We hear the words and have a vivid picture in our minds. And so wonderfully joyful. Why would anyone be glum? Jesus has opened the gates of heaven.

Trevor Hodge's No Other Name is a different kind of song. A bit epic. But I find I'm wanting to keep on listening to it. Think it will work really well in church.

I think Undivided could be emu's best cd yet. I'll be listening for a while.

Anyone else got their copy?

musical narration still not written

Strangely unstressed about it.

4 days out from performance.

Maybe I'll just make it up at the dress rehearsal...

my choir sang beautifully.

They looked neat and nice too.

I wish...

1. Musical narrations would write themselves.

2. All parents were like the parent I spoke to on the phone this afternoon. "You shouldn't be worrying about the musical costumes. Let me sort it all out!"

3. The teachers would give me my musical kids for the whole day on Monday so I could rehearse them properly.

4. There was another day in this week.

5. We didn't have to sing a Christmas carol at parliament house tomorrow. (We'll do our normal repertoire as well, but silent night still needs a lot of work.)

6. I had shoes that matched my parliament house-appropriate dress.

7. I had time to rehearse my choir again before our performance tomorrow.

8. I had done all the paperwork for our performance tomorrow.

9. I was better at remember people's names.

10. I was better at asking people for help.

This is me not panicking. 

First things first. Write the musical narration. I can do this. I will do this now. 

[Or maybe I'll blog.]

how to make schools better.

Pay teachers significantly more and expect significantly more from them (us).

Q - How much more should they (we) be paid?
A- 150% of current pay.

Q - What more should be expected?
A - Heaps more professional development - to be undertaken outside of school time.

Q - What would the PD be?
A - Hm. Example. Primary Classroom. Teachers choose a stream that interests them - Maths, English, Science, History, Literacy, Disability, Learning difficulties, Music, Art... whatever, and become experts in their field. They need to re-enrol in an arts/science degree and each year take general subjects (not education subjects) to increase their own knowledge/understanding base. Eg. A teacher might enrol in a Calculus or biology or art history subject. A music teacher might study Baroque music or learn clarinet. A teacher interested in English might study contemporary Australian poets or do a creative writing class. A learning disability person would do some cognitive development psych.  They have to do this study like any other student, with assessment etc.

They'd do one general subject per year and another education specific subject, where they are encouraged [forced] to creatively engage researching best practice for teaching that subject.

They'd need to go to conferences and present papers and listen to others.

What do you think? Would it make a difference?

Kite flying week

This week I'll be flying some kites. Significant thought and effort (5+ minutes) will have gone into the design and construction of each. Feel free to interact.

single adoptive mothers

Should single women who long to be mothers be able to adopt children?

What do you think?

My historical knowledge comes largely from Anne of Green Gables books, but my impression is that in the past single women adopted kids all the time. Before the days of good medicine and abortion there were always kids who needed to be looked after. It was seen (by L.M. Montgomery, at least) as a godly thing for a single woman to look to adopt. So why not now?

I know that adoption is very difficult these days. There aren't that many Australian kids up for adoption and adopting from overseas countries is a notoriously long and painful process.

But if these things weren't barriers? Theoretically? What do you think?

[Single women are able to foster children. In fact, most foster carers are single women.]

'thick' and 'thin' complementarianism

This is worth thinking about.

It is worth examining that convictional pattern just a little. The label ‘complementarian’ has been given to those who believe that there New Testament does place a restriction on roles for women in the church’s ministry. However, there are those who extrapolate from the evidence of the New Testament to a full theory of gender roles grounded in the creation perhaps in the very being of God himself. This is then a ‘thick’ description of complementarianism. A ‘thin’ complementarianism is wary of ontological statements and wants to uphold the profound equality of human beings expressed through the difference of roles indicated in Scripture. It would be accurate to say that most Sydney Anglicans are ‘thin’ complementarians in the sense that they don’t seek to import some view of the essential difference between men and women in the way that some American complementarians have. The risk of a ‘thin’ position is that it seems incomplete. It invites ‘thickening’. After all, as a broad cultural phenomenon we can see how fascinated people are with gender and how confused they are about manhood and womanhood. And yet, thickening the description of gender difference beyond the scope of Scripture may result in a coagulated mess.

Are you thick or thin (or something else entirely)?

I love our new house

We've been here for 2 weeks now and I'm a fan. Here's why.

1. It's lovely. Two bay windows. Beautiful cornices. High ceilings. Fresh paint.

2. It's big. Today we had 20ish people over and it didn't feel crowded. Half on deck, half in dining room (dining room opens onto the deck). I think we could have easily fit another 30. The two big lounge rooms were empty. The other day we had 3 extra boys over. It was raining. They ran around inside and I hardly noticed.

3. It's not too big. It's basically single level so I don't feel like the kids are too far away from me. (I don't like houses where you feel like you're all alone.) Andrew has an office and bathroom downstairs so he can work undisturbed. 

4. It's only 5 steps down to the back yard. You can see the yard from the kitchen, deck and dining room.

5. It's across the road from school and a 5 minute walk to church.

Pics?

backyard

deck

dining room

family room

lounge room

window in our room

piano

reports written!

my new uke

I went to the shop looking for a $30 uke. After I saw some very nice $319 ones, the $30 model wasn't ever going to happen. This one cost me $60.

I have a ukulele!

So much fun!

I feel tropical.

even more sermons and songs

Don't miss any of these.

More sermon titles and closing songs.

I can't leave these ones at the bottom of a comment list.

This is from Mark:

The sermon this morning: BEING A CHRISTIAN IN THE WORKPLACE: THE GOSPEL AND QUANTITATIVE SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

The closing song: WHEN I SURVEY

and this is from Joanna:

sermon: Song of Songs: it's all about Jesus and the Church.
Closing song: Lord, you put a tongue in my mouth.

(and yes, that is a real song. Songs of Praise has a lot to answer for.)

Falling asleep.

3 classes to go.

sermons and appropriate closing songs.

The sermon title this morning: WOMEN IN THE CHURCH

The closing song: RISE UP, O MEN OF GOD



The sermon this morning: GOSSIP ... THE SPEAKING OF EVIL

The closing song: I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY



The sermon this morning: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES # 3 ... EUTHANASIA

The closing song: TAKE MY LIFE



Can you think of any others?

decoding school reports

some = not very much

developing = not going backwards

will improve with practice = can only improve

getting pretty good at this

11 classes of reports written. 5 left.

Here's a sample. Year 5, A- level.

Alice can read and notate rhythms in simple time from whole to sixteenth notes with a very high level of accuracy. She has participated in drumming activities and can perform a 4/4 beat on the high hats and snare drum in time and is developing the ability to also use the kick drum. Alice's recorder playing is progressing well. She is learning to aurally distinguish between different pitches and play phrases that she has heard. She can perform prepared songs on her recorder with a very high level of pitch and rhythmic accuracy. With practice, her tone will become more consistent. Alice is an engaged and capable student. She is a delight to teach.


And another. Year 5, C level.

Hannah can read and notate rhythms in simple time from whole to sixteenth notes with a high level of accuracy. Hannah has participated in drumming activities and can perform a basic 4/4 beat on the high hats and snare drum with some sense of timing. Hannah's recorder playing is developing and with more practice she will be able to accurately play simple tunes.


Are those comments meaningful to a non-music teacher parent?

how long can a meeting run?

oh. man.

Thank goodness for pcq wireless internet.

beautiful christmas bonbons for RE

They have a very loud bang.

dissecting party poppers

My aim is to make a bon bon with a big blast.