Thank-you

25^th April 2018.

5.50am. Darkness.  Marching feet.  A hush speaking volumes.  A parade halts and then comes to attention.  A semi-circle huddles close surrounding a flagpole beneath which a stone monument shines bare.  Two small bodies inch closer to mine.  This is tradition.  This is respect and gratitude.  This is honour – this is ANZAC morning.

ANZAC morning has been part of my life as long as I can remember.  At first it was along a dark footpath holding a parent’s hand – flashlight bobbing as we walked one street left and one right the the Queen Elizabeth Park where the cenotaph stood tall and imposing.  Four cadets posted on each corner – not moving an inch.  As I grew the flashlight was left at home and I stood beside a parent near the back of the crowd.  At university it was a different cenotaph, standing resolutely beside a grandfather as he wore his medals with pride – he might not have been a NZer by birth, but by golly he stood straight and tall on ANZAC day. 

Now, 30 years later I walk along the streets still.   One turn right and a lone turn left to a cenotaph that isn’t as tall or imposing as the one of my childhood.  It however still stands proud.  I hold my own children’s hands as we join our fellow town members.  We are all there in that darkness to acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifices of those who stood up for what they believed was right.  We are there to show respect for those who not only gave their life, but came back with burdens we can’t even imagine.  For families who lost members overseas and families who lost the person their loved one had once been.  We stand and salute silently – and give thanks for the peace we have in this place – while murmuring a prayer under our breath for countries and people still caught in conflict. 

My daughter grips one hand.  My son grips the other.  I do, again, shed silent tears as the anthems play.  I am proud of my student as she reads in remembrance.  To the three veterans sitting opposite the cenotaph from me – thankyou from the bottom of my heart for your courage, dedication and fortitude; but really that feels like it isn’t enough.   I am so so blessed and so so thankful for the spirit of the ANZAC – and I promise you that I will make sure that my own children and my students alike will also know that it will  be remembered, respected and returned. 

Photo credit: J McLellan 25/04/2018

2018

It's early to be up, especially for a 'holiday' morning - except this appears to be what 'normal' looks like even in the holidays for our family.

I'm up a bit earlier - bad dream unsettled me and I wasn't chancing going back there if I fell into a light sleep again.  That means it is 6.23 and I've had one and a third coffee mugs already.  In my defense, they are mocha's.  I'll switched to Tleaft after this ...

3/5 (all my boys) are up and playing Minecraft or something similar on the ipad.  The girls will probably wake around 7ish and since we've cancelled Sky (ok, put on hold) for the summer 502 will go on at 7.30 and they can watch Sesame Street before some breakfast.

Summer is some sort of holding pattern it feels - I'm squirreling away on school work in the early mornings, days are spent knitting/sewing/FEEDING THE CHILDREN ALL THE TIME/cleaning/swimming/lagooning/doing dishes .... you get the idea.  DH has been working pretty much full time, except from Christmas - New Years - an as much as I love my tribe to bits, holidays time can get a bit long in the tooth. 

So ... in terms of school - this will be the the start of my fourth year at my school. I keep pondering a #oneword2018 but nothing has really stood out for me yet.  Consolidate and pace keep popping up into my head both in terms of family and work. - I will get back to you on that one.

The Y10s I started with are now Y13s and I'm really excited for that class.  The girls have keen interests and the course is designed around what they want to study; based on discussions with them at the end of last year.  None of them (currently) plan to study or major in English at Uni, but they are keen to look deeper into how we tell our stories and the feminist voices of the past. 

My Christmas Book (thanks to our local store for choosing one for me as a surprise whilst I choose the kids ones) was The Bone Sparrow - which nicely ties in with the Y12 theme for the year of 'Identity and Place'  They will start with a study on literature surrounding the Boat People in Nauru  and the voices that we hear through media and other texts.  We will study Warsan Shire and Apriana Taylor poetry - along with possibly either the film or novel Kite Runner. 

The Y11s were keen to do something around the world wars, so rather than sticking to a time and doing Wilfred Owen over and over, we'll look at several poems about conflicts from the past and they can choose the ones they want to really dig deep into.  We've also go the NZ drama scripts Land Girls/Glory Boys and The Book Thief to explore. 

My integrated studies class (Eng/Social Studies) will have the theme of 'Turangawaewae' - My space and place .... this is the one I'm having the most fun planning the first four weeks - and then I'll work with the students as to where we head.  We will look at Rekohu (Chatham) Islands for a start and also how story is passed down and the stories of the same places but from different peoples and perspectives.   One novel I have for a class study this year is Refuge by Jackie French - which does this to an extent. 

So that is a tiny snippet/ideas about my classes.  My professional journey will continue with COL work - and I'm excited to sink my teeth into that more this year.  Other than that ... really looking forward to #NZBFC630 starting up again to join my cup of coffee!!