New Zealand National Lead Comp (Top Rope for Youth D) MP

Jonah competed in the New Zealand National Lead Climbing Competition this weekend. 

On Saturday his division of Youth D Boys climbed two qualifying routes. The boys did their very best with two different style climbs. The first climb was more technical and the second was more based on power having the climbers manouveure through an overhang. Jonah and five other climbers topped out on both climbs. They are all basically tied going into the finals today. They will have one climb that gets progressively more difficult. The climber that gets the highest will win.

Through this competition, we met Nat and his Dad. They live on the South Island near Wanaka. They love the outdoors. Chris is an outdoor adventure guide with heaps of climbing experience. Nat is his 10 year old son who Ives the outdoors and is making a film about his adventures. They invited us down to visit them during the summer. We hope to take them up on the offer.

On Sunday, the nine Youth D boys made their final climb. 8 of the 9 climbers topped out leaving the competition in a dead heat tie. Here is his final climb.

The tie was broken by a measure of each climber's time to the top. Jonah placed 2nd! What a fantastic accomplishment!

Next, Jonah would like to learn how to lead climb.

We came home after the comp and passed the rugby ball in the park ("reserve") beside our house. And this happened.

I checked the white house for leprechauns and pots of gold. I found no evidence.

Extreme Reading 📖 Competition - SP

Extreme Reading 📖 Competition 

By: Siena

A few weeks into school, I was doing fun things like going to bible, and  discovery. I also did an art week it was 3 days long I did a full activity. I was doing Japanese Batiks with my friend, Marine. She is really nice. 

After art week was over on the Friday and I had bible and discovery. The next week at school was BOOK 📚 WEEK! 

On Monday my class and teacher, Miss. Campbell, went to visit a poet. She told us some of her poems and talked about them. That same day my class started our own dust jackets for a book that we brought. I brought Judy Blume Otherwise Known as Shiela the Great if you haven't read the book you should it's very good 😊. For the Reading comp I had to do a picture in an extreme place for a picture. Here are some pics

A little update...LP

Hmmm, although we continue to experience new things on a daily basis, we have settled into school & work life and are starting to get into a bit of a routine. Monday is Siena's field hockey and Thursday is Jonah's climbing club, activities they are both enjoying. I had a bit of a #momfail at Siena's hockey last week. Apparently the "Player of the Game" from the previous week is responsible for "lollies" (treats) at the next game. Unfortunately I didn't know this tradition and showed up empty-handed...I felt like a bit of a fool when they all looked my direction after the game. 

Oops 😳 Don't worry, I rectified the problem at hockey practice today:)

I have continued to relief teach everyday. I'm  booked up until the end of next week. It is actually quite busy because I teach all five periods every day. I keep on teasing Mike that I am going to make more money than he is:) Too bad he can't quit...we're here on his work visa.

Last week Mike got keys to an unused bouldering wall at his school. He collected up the tools required to reset the holds on the wall. We spend most of Saturday taking the holds down and then putting up new problems. The setting crew was pretty proud of their efforts.

Taking the holds down.

Organizing the holds.

Ready to reset the wall.

Feeling pretty proud of their finished product!

Siena's school is having a book week next week. One of their challenges is to take a picture of them "extreme reading". Here are two of Siena's pics that she will send in for the competition.

Today was an exciting day. We bought a TV. The house did not have one and Mike and I have been debating whether to get one or not. We decided that since we are sticking pretty close to home at nights that we could use a bit of entertainment. (I can only win so many games of Scrabble and President:). The best part; the NZL government provides 13 channels for FREE! And, HGTV is one of them...why even bother with cable if you have HGTV?! 😜

As a family, we have decided that we want to try sailing. We live 7 minutes from the beach where there is a local sailing club...so why wouldn't we?! We have signed the kids up for sailing lessons during the October school holidays and then Mike and I are going to take lessons on Saturdays. Today Mike and I bought wet suits in preparation our lessons.

Although the vast majority of our experiences have been very positive, there are a few things that we (mostly me) are still adjusting to. Winter in Auckland is very damp and wet. It rains approximately 4-12 times each day. No, seriously, it's true!! Two days last week the kids and I got soaked walking to school and I ended up having wet feet all day long. (Not sure either of them noticed or cared?!). And clothes take FOREVER to dry...like I can hang clothes on Tuesday and they might still be damp on Thursday. And the dryer is small...people don't really use clothes dryers for big loads of laundry. Still working through that process! Don't even get me started on bath towels...the heated towel racks just warm the dampness in the towels.

The other thing I am getting used to is the lack of central heating or insulation. The indoor temperature is basically the same as the outdoor temperature. We have electric heaters that we use in the bedrooms at night time, but when we come out of our rooms in the morning...BRRRR! Thankfully winter will only lasts a few more weeks and over that time I suspect the temperature will steadily increase. 

Alright, enough "whinging" from me:)

I think that brings you up to speed.

Next weekend Jonah is going in a climbing competition, so stay tuned for an update on that. We are talking about going on a little weekend getaway the weekend after...we'll keep you posted on where we decide to go.

Cheers.

Weekly Happenings - MP

Three weeks of school are complete and we're getting into some routines. On Sunday mornings, there is a farmer's market in Takapuna which is a 10 minute drive north. We've headed there to buy produce and baked treats. The kids like the hot chocolate!

Last weekend we took a walking tour or the Wyndard Quarter and Auckland's main business district. The WQ is a redeveloped space along the harbour front. There are lots of bars and restuarants in this district. The WQ was celebrating it's 6th birthday and had lots of things to do for families. We then walked north to Victoria Park where a league rugby game was being played with the Sky Tower as the back drop.

We have one car for the family. So on Monday and Thursday mornings, I take the ferry and train to school so Lynn has the car to take Siena to (field) hockey practise and Jonah to climbing club. It's a great way to start the mornings. I read in the train and look at the architecture and don't have to concentrate on maneuvering through traffic.This is downtown from the ferry as it arrives into the ferry docks.

To celebrate our first NZ pay cheque with the kids, we took them to Jump - Trampoline Park. They had a riot jumping all over the place. The place also had a ninja course that the kids played in. Lynn and I read the NZ Herald, the local newspaper and took a pass. The kids insist that we jump next time we go.

While in Victoria Park, the kids spotted a playground. We quite often get redirected to the playground for some kids time. Lynn and Siena thought this sew-saw was funny. 

Here's a little video of the ferry arriving into Auckland. It's a 10 minute ferry ride from Devonport to Auckland. Our home is a 25 minute walk to the Devonport Wharf. I can do the walk in 20 if I'm trying to make the ferry. 

All the best,

Mike

Kids & activities LP

Our kids are rock stars! They have done an amazing job of transitioning to a new life in New Zealand. Although they are still kids & annoy the stink out of us AND each other on a regular basis, we are feeling very proud of how well they have settled in.

Both kids seem quite happy with their schools & their classes and from all reports, they have fit in seamlessly. 

Our next step is to get them hooked up with some play dates so they are engaged with other kids & spend a little less time together 😳. 

Siena has her first play date scheduled for Thursday ✅. 

Although we are not looking to completely fill our weekly calendar, we are also looking into some sports/activities in the local area for the kids to get involved in to be active & meet some kids their own ages.

On that front, Siena has just joined a field hockey team this week. She had her first practice on Sunday and first game on Monday. Her well-developed ice hockey knowledge and skills have given her a solid base for field hockey. Although there are still lots of skills and tactics she can learn, she is staritng from a good place.

She got a goal in her first game and was awarded Player of the Game by her coach. 

Mike and Jonah are scheduled to go climbing tomorrow and we believe there is a kids' climbing club starting mid-August that Jonah will likely participate in. He has been led to believe that he will be able to lead climb, which he is VERY excited about. 

My activity of choice right now is running. The location is beautiful, but the hills are killing me! My pace is even slower than normal...which stinks. I am confident that with some training it will improve, so I am willing to work through the growing pains.

I expect Mike will find a balance between running & climbing to fulfill his exercise needs. 

Week Two Update: Relief Teaching LP

Now that I am three days into relief teaching, I feel like I am an expert. I can now find all of the classrooms, I know where at least 3 staff toilets are AND I know where morning tea is served (I even managed to make it there today in time to have a tea:). And, let's be honest, who wouldn't love a country that schedules and provides morning tea AND makes it socially acceptable for adults to dip their biscuits into their tea?!

Today was especially fun as I got to actually teach a lesson (vs. handing out an endless number of worksheets). I was teaching an ESL class filled with International Students. They had to do some written work to start & then we had a discussion. For the discussion, I broke them into 4 groups & asked them to move their groups to each of the four corners of the classroom. They had clearly never been asked to do that before. The looks on their faces was priceless, as if to say, "You really want me to stand up from my desk, move somewhere else in the room and TALK to other people?!" I think they may be more used to the 'sit and get' style of teaching. Fortunately, they are also used to doing what they are asked, so up they got. I might save some of my other 'fancy' teaching techniques for a little later in the term. LOL:)

As for the rest of the classes I have covered, they have generally been uneventful...teens are teens, students are students & courses are courses...there is good, bad and ugly in all of those things. Although, I do have to admit that there is more good than bad or ugly at Takapuna Grammar. For example, from my classroom today I could see the PE classes and EVERY student was in PE gear...a novel idea:) The funny thing is that most of the students were in bare feet, which is also very common here. 

At this point the VP has booked me until next Friday. Two full weeks of teaching. I am also teaching five periods a day (most teachers would have a prep period each day), so I have been teasing Mike that I am going to make more money than he is...and he has to prep his classes, go to meetings & mark student work. Although, having said all of that, I do miss being a part of a staff/department & having classes of my own to build relationships with staff & students.

Moving forward, once the kids get settled in their classes, I am hoping to take at least one day off a week to spend some time volunteering at the kids' schools. 

And that's my lengthy teaching update. I don't expect it will change much over the next few weeks, unless something exciting happens, my blog focus will be on other more interesting things...like our kiddos & life in NZL. Cheers 🍻