It's a long way from Waimate to Venice, but in April we were there, and now in August we are back here. We had a wonderful time in Europe and are very grateful that we were given the opportunity to go.
Back to school now, perhaps a little wiser, but certainly with a greater "world view". I used to listen to people talk about their time overseas & couldn't really relate to it - now I can.
I think our school is still in really good heart. Being its Principal is, I believe, a relatively simple job, certainly when you compare it to some others. Never a dull moment but I really can't think of a better place to be!

Overseas

Kia ora
I'm not sure if anyone is going to read this, but I'll write it anyway.
I'm sitting in the lobby of a hotel in London, having arrived here yesterday after spending 4 days in San Francisco. It is an amzing experience, this overseas travelling! We really enjoyed exploring SFO, spending a lot of time walking, cycling, bussing & travelling by cable car around the city. Today we started looking around London with 5 hours of walking, looking at places we had previously only read about or seen on tv. The history here is amzing, looking at buildings that date back to the 10th & 11th century. It makes you realise how young NZ is as a country.
Tomorrow we have an 11 hour bus trip looking at Warwickshire castle, Oxford, & Shakespeare's birthplace, Startford on Avon.
If I get a chance, I will up-date our travels as we move on through Europe.

Back to School 2010

I don't like beginning a new school year on a negative note, but recent comments by the Prime Minister, John Keys about school teachers being only concerned about themselves to the detriment of our children has really riled me!
Mr Keys is adamant we must introduce "National Standards" into our schools, claiming that if we set standards, test children against them, and report on them to parents, this will somehow mysteriously improve their skills in reading writing and maths.
Now I'm not a farmer, but I know that if you keep on weighing the pig without feeding it, it will not get any fatter.
I will always support an initiative that will increase standards of achievement in our schools. Mr Keys & the Minister of Education are flying against opinions and advice from NZ & around the world (given by people who have already forgotten much more about education than they will ever know) that this is not a good system. Unfortunately, they are hell-bent on implementing it. It is my intention to look again at how we report to our parents. It is not my intention to blindly follow the edicts of people who don't know wha they are talking about!