Saturday Morning

Lovely spring morning today. Sturt Street is covered in blossom which is falling from trees with the breeze like snow.( Photos don't do it justice.)

This morning I spent some time updating my anecdotal records, writing the newsletter and attending to other jobs I can't do during the week. I'm preparing our next units at the moment. Today I spent time developing learning tasks for The Witches and also hunting out my unit plan for Stig of the Dump and Dinotopia. Currently I'm finishing off work on Murder on the Orient Express ( still waiting for the graphic novel version of it I've ordered ) and Holes. ( Holes was one of the books I developed a unit plan for about 10 years ago for my first book for User Friendly Resources. I need to hunt up my manuscript. I might have to buy a copy of the book! One way to boost the royalties I suppose. I bought a cup of coffee with them last year)

Below are photos of work the grade 6 kids have completed for King Solomons Mines.  I watched the movie today at work while I was creating a split pin grasshopper for James and the Giant Peach. I'd forgotten what a good old movie it was- full of misogyny,( 'Take a woman on safari, you must be mad sir!') racism ( the White mans burden type) ,'stiff upper lipness' and general daring-do. We'll find time to watch it during the week.

Yes I know she spelt connection wrong.

Has Victoria got enough schools for the future? apparently not. according to this report in The Age we will need hundreds more over the next 20 years.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/political-promises-fail-to-match-need-for-more-schools-in-victoria-20141017-117l6x.htm

This could happen to us ( Story from Huffington Post)

An education group that represents more than 90,000 local school board membershas decided to end its fledgling partnership with a major tobacco company after hearing from tobacco's critics.

On Tuesday, the National School Boards Association announced it would be severing ties with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which makes Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes. The NSBA had intended to help promote the company’s “Right Decisions, Right Now” education program, which is designed to discourage kids from smoking.

Tom Gentzel, executive director of the NSBA, told The Huffington Post that the partnership had been in the works for months, but it only gained attention earlier this month when R.J. Reynolds announced it in a press release. Much of that attention was negative.

YES a school organisation representing 90000 local school board members was going to use curriculum materials developed by the makers of Camel cigarettes to discourage young people from smoking! “Using the message that kids need to wait until they are adults to use tobacco products in effect dares or invites them to begin smoking now,”  said a Democrat Congressmen earlier this week,  “Big tobacco’s goal in this deal is to promote smoking, not prevent it.”The deal also had a financial component to it.

Water color art ideas from Buzz Feed of all places. I like the Geometric art painting.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/diy-watercolor-projects