Random Thoughts From the End of the Week

1) Weather

This from the Official Meteorology website.

Persistent high pressure system triggers southern heat wave

Much of southern Australia has just experienced an exceptional and prolonged heat wave, the result of a persistent high-pressure system in the southern Tasman Sea, according to a Special Climate Statement issued by the Bureau’s National Climate Centre.

Many centres, particularly in South Australia, set records for the most consecutive days with high temperatures.

Adelaide had 15 consecutive days above 35 °C and 13 consecutive days above 37.8 °C (100°F), breaking the previous records of 8 and 7 days respectively. These represent new records for any Australian capital city. Also breaking consecutive day records were Ceduna which had 12 days over 35°C, Mildura which had 14 days over 35 °C, and Kyancutta which had 13 days over 40°C.

Now for Chris and Sinead who are moving here soon (ohboyohboy) here are the winter rainfall statistics for the last few years.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/sa/archive/200708.adelaide.shtml

http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/sa/20060901.shtml

(and scroll down past the pastoral stuff to Adelaide rainfall....)

so......not sure the raincover for the stroller was the most essential purchase Sinead but reaaaalllly hoping I am wrong and you are bringing some Irish luck, and weather, with you.

Today, Good Friday, is the most glorious day you could imagine but as you can see from our withered landscape, we could use a little rain.
Dotted around Adelaide are green spots of gardens with pointed signs on the gates and fences;

THIS PROPERTY USES BORE WATER.

Who knew there were so many bores in Adelaide (yuk yuk yuk).

Our garden is not one of these little green spots. It is more of a brown, spiky, dusty, patchy spot, with sticks. Here is our cat with one of the sticks.
I think it has fewer green leaves since this photo was taken two Thursdays ago. (Rats: missed another Theme Thursday)

2) School.

It has not been a good week in Special Ed. One of our Asperger's students was expelled after enormous amounts of input and heartache on the part of my lovely colleague. My very best friend E lost the plot completely and had a go at me (literally). I am still talking to mental health professionals about her. And finally, the test I left for my Year 9 Maths class to do while I was on a Conference was a complete disaster with only two of them passing >:-(.
This, I think, was my biggest disappointment.

I have been attending lots of courses on maths for themiddle years and all 'best practice' would suggest the use of concrete materials and rich activities as the most effective style of learning for not only
Sp Ed kids but most pupils. If however, I get out the fraction kits for Y9, they greet me with groans and 'this is primary school' and 'you treat us like preschoolers'. They then switch off and end up building houses with the fraction kits, or throwing them across the room at each other. Therefore, I went back to worksheets and explanations which they all worked through happily....and then only 2 passed the test. *sigh* Back to the drawing board.

On a positive note, of the two who passed, one got her highest mark ever with 98% and the other is one of my most disaffected learners who rarely passes anything :-D. So I suppose every cloud has a silver lining.

So Easter is a chance to rest and recuperate and regroup for the next big offensive. (We've been doing WWI in History) Plan, plan, plan is going to be my approach. And blog when I am bored with planning.