Refreshment

Scott and I have made sure we stay hydrated and cool in the hot weather. Lots of water, Popsicles ("Icy Poles" here) and slushy cocktails, like our version of Cosmopolitans, Piña Coladas and the yummy Rose Porteous have been consumed!
We're also trying very hard to maintain our running schedule in the heat.... It will get easier when the temperatures drop a bit!

Valentine's Day happened too

....and there was chocolate!

Oh yeah, Australia Day

...the day where everything is red, white and blue and yellow and green! Check out the Australia Day wares at the local Woolworth's!

Back into the Swing of the School Year

So, school has been back in session since the week after Australia Day. This year I am teaching full time Drama to students years 7-11. It is a lot of fun! I thought it might be hard going back to full time after a 5 year hiatus, but it felt very much the same way it sometimes feels when you go back to school after summer holidays: like you never really left!

Teaching in Melbourne in the first term has challenges quite different from the ones I was used to when I taught back in Canada...
Case in point: the exceptionally warm weather Australia is experiencing this summer and autumn. Records all over the country are being set for heat. Meteorologists have had to designate new colours on the heat radar to describe heat over 50 degrees Celsius.

It's not that hot here, but we are in the middle of a heat wave (9 days in a row with temps over 30!) Surprisingly, some rooms in the older buildings on our school campus just have ceiling fans for air conditioning. At these temperatures, those rooms can be fairly unpleasant to teach and learn in.