School Visits...

The last few days have been hectic, but rewarding with school visits and the Reading Matters conference. To celebrate the fantastic new library at Toorak College, Mt Eliza, I worked with the gorgeous Year 8 girls. We talked about Finding Darcy, which the girls study next term and did writing exercises. What a talented group of writers!
Thank you to the girls and to the wonderful library staff, especially a childhood friend, Sue, who I reconnected with, for your support and for spoiling me.
Today I've been to a much smaller , but just as enjoyable, school - Koroit and District PS where we talked about ideas and how to turn them into stories.
Now I need to finish my last assignment for this semester - more about Reading Matters later.

Autumn and e-books...

I worked as a teacher yesterday, which I always enjoy. While I was on yard duty, a poppet rushed up to me with an injury - well a scratch, but that's an injury to a Prep. Arms waving in the air, she explained she needed a Bandaid, because she'd... She stopped, arms mid-wave, and gasped. For a second I thought I'd underestimated the scratch, but then her face broke into a massive smile. She sighed and spun around, arms out wide. 'Look at all the colours. The leaves are beautiful!'
She was right, the leaves were the most beautiful colours - rust, magenta, olive, yellow and everything in between.
Bandaid applied, she skipped off to collect leaves to show her teacher after play. I took a little more notice of the leaves.I didn't ever find out what caused the scratch!
This chilly weather is perfect for reading. Finding Darcy, After and Dare You are all available at ebooks.com.

Librarians Rule!

This week I had a quick visit to Star of the Sea in Gardenvale for the school's Library Week. What a terrific school! Gorgeous, warm, friendly staff and students and such a wonderful library. A huge thank you to Sabina, Julie and the gang in the library who spoilt me rotten - brownies and scones!

At Star of the Sea, I once again saw the importance of school libraries and librarians first hand. I am in awe of the staff's knowledge, dedication and passion to not only books, but to matching the right books with the right readers.

And yet sadly, more and more schools are phasing out librarians and library classes, leaving a room of books lacking the warmth, knowledge and passion needed to encourage students to not only read, but to LOVE reading.

In my youth I marched to Save The Whales, protest about uranium mining and nuclear weapons, stop the Franklin River from being dammed (and damned) and many other causes. Please tell me I don't need to dust off my overalls (it was the 80s), pin on Save School Librarian badges and march again!

As an aside, an unexpected bonus of my visit was renewing contact two old and dear friends, and then this morning an email from another, as a result of Tuesday. All people who are important to me, but I'd lost contact with. So Tuesday, was a busy day, but a ripper!

Visitors...

Rushed out the door to netball on Saturday morning, bellowing 'Hurry up! We're late.' only to be squawked at, and not by my daughter. I looked up to find these guys hanging over our fence, helping themselves to the neighbour's bounty.
These are just two of the seven cockatoos feasting on the berries.
This morning, on the way out the door, less vocal, but still not sedate, there they were again, totally unfazed by my presence.
Aren't they gorgeous? They're gang gang cockatoos. The males have red heads while the females are all grey, and it would seem more bashful. They stayed on the other side of the bush.

Mother's Day

Yesterday, the Colac Football Netball Club held a Tickled Pink afternoon tea to celebrate the work the 'ladies' (mums/girlfriends/wives etc) do at the club. The event also raised funds for the Colac Well Women's Clinic.
I was honoured to be guest speaker, especially when I looked around the room at the amazing women present. I'd rather have heard their stories than shared mine, but a guest speaker can hardly interview the audience. The afternoon was terrific (And the football team won a tight match, so everyone was happy!).

 Here are the two quotes I mentioned during my speech, quotes which I return to both regularly to keep me on track!
The first is a Chinese proverb -
It's not what life does to you that is important, but what you do with what life does to you.
 The second quote I discovered on a postcard in a shop in St Kilda. That postcard lives above my computer, though I don't know the name of the author.

 
Courage - not the absence of fear or despair, but the strength to conquer them.

Happy Mother's Day.

From the MCG to the Recreation Reserve...

I couldn't help but smile on Saturday when we drove into the recreation reserve where my daughter was playing and umpiring netball. My daughter plays for a local team, who wear red and black, so again I was watching the Bombers play.
What a contrast.
Last week I was sitting behind the interchange bench at the MCG, one of 90,000 people watching Collingwood do battle with Essendon.
This week, I was at the footy again, only the interchange bench was a tin shed, the crowd was a fraction of the previous week's and instead of physios, fitness staff and endless trainers rushing after the players, parents carried drink bottles onto the oval  and stood by the coach with clipboards.
But the passion and love for the game was the same.

Mind you, this week, I paid scant attention to the football, and concentrated on the netball.
This week, the Bombers had a win.