Jamie's school photos

Jamie came home with his school photos this week. They came in a lovely presetation booklet that included this page which gave me a giggle.

The quote reads: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" and it appears from this page that the quote comes from both Nelson Mandela AND our Jamie.

I don't remember Jamie telling me about meeting this great man but then he never tells me anything about what happens at school.

Again, double click to see the picture full size.

NAPLAN results

In May Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 did some literacy and numeracy tests as they always do. This year was a bit different in that the test was a National test, the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).

Ishbel's results are below. I thnk if you double click on the image it will make it full screen size. To help you interpret the result:

• 
  the lighter blue bit within the blue column tells you the range of achievement for the middle 60% of Yr 3 students in Australia
• the black triangle shows the national average for Yr 3 students
• the clear triangle shows the average for Yr 3 students in Ishbel's school
• the black dot shows Ishbel's result.
  
  As you can see she has her black dot off the scale in several areas - this means "the result is well above the expected level of achievement for Yr 3 students".
  

Go Ishbel!

Some links for you

Finally uploaded and ready to look at:

Dust storm video - commentary by Rob. Unfortunately doesn't look quite as ORANGE on screen as it was here.

Xavier - it starts off sideways; don't worry it gets righted.

2009 Photostream - includes our latest day with the wee one.

The weekend in review

Image via Wikipedia

Still not back at work. I write this wearing my pyjamas and my RFS fleece with a hot water bottle down the back of my trousers and I am using the keyboard and mouse on the ironing board so I don't have to sit.

The back cracker lady (osteopath) wants me to have a phased return to work but when Vicki raised this with Council's HR/HB&S dept they said I have to be fully fit for work before I can return. If I'd hurt my back at work I would be covered by Worker's Compensation and they would be doing everything they could to get me back to work so I am quite cross and frustrated at this. (Not entirely surprised though - Gillian broke her collar bone a couple of years ago and they said the same to her). Because I had to take so much time off to look after Ian and take him to appointments over the past 6 months I have used half the sick leave I had accumulated prior to 20th March and will run out of sick leave this week. I am going have to eat into my annual leave which I was trying to build up so I could spend time at home with the kids during the long summer/Christmas holidays. I don't know if this will be taken into account by Ian's Worker's Compensation claim.

Anyway enough of my woes.

Had a lovely visit from Karen, Ben and Xavier on Friday. Ben and Jamie played XBox while Karen and Xavier entertained me in my bed. Jamie had finished his exams and had a couple of days off. Rob finishes his exams today but has to go right back to full routine - I think.

Everyone had a busy weekend.

Rob went off to the City all day on Saturday to meet up with half a dozen of the kids he went to Japan with. He had a great day. He borrowed my camera but I haven't seen the photos yet.

Jamie meantime was on duty in Springwood town centre for the RFS Open Day. Valley Heights man a stall with Winmalee and Faulconbridge brigades each year. Later he went on to the Walker's house. His mate Nick's parents, Graeme and Kim, are involved in a re-enactment society and Jamie has been going each month for quite a while. He is busy making his own chain mail something. Weeks of work has resulted in a square of chain mail about 10x10cm. This week he came home with a sword he'd bought from Graeme. Very pleased with himself he was.

Ishbel had a date with her pal, Zanny, for a sleepover. Ian and I thought we were going to have a lovely quiet day just the two of us but then Zanny rang to postpone picking Ishbel up until 3pm! Not long after that Jamie arrived home.

On Sunday morning Ian and the boys were up early to go paintballing with Nick and Graeme. They came home early afternoon not only covered in splodges of blue paint but also in large bruises that look like burns from a particularly large cigarette. Brutal stuff! Asked if he'd had fun and if he'd go again, Ian said Yes and No.

TGIF - What not to do with a library book

Some of you might be astonished, stunned, flabbergasted, astounded, gob-smacked, speechless, amazed, dumbfounded, incredulous or just plain dismayed by what some people do with their library books. Some may not be astonished, stunned, flabbergasted, etc. that someone has felt the need to make a poster like this one :

The need for most of those instructions beggars belief. I'm pleased to be able to report that the injunction not to "Fight bears with this book" is one that we will be able to leave off the Blue Mountains City Library version of this poster - all our drop bears (koalas) have been to koala training and are fairly tame!

Paul McGreevy on TV

Paul McGreevy was on last week's edition of the ABC science show, Catalyst. They had shown a program from the UK about the miseries of pedigree dogs that had been shown elsewhere on the ABC the week earlier.

Here it is: Pedigree Dogs

Life on Mars

All (or most) of NSW was issued with a Severe Storm Warning last night. It sure got a bit gusty and there were reports of cricket ball-sized hail stones in Crookwell but as we were going to bed last night it was pretty calm.

I woke up not long before 5 this morning and could hear the wind in the trees - it sounded almost like the surf. I opened the blinds to watch the sunrise. And watched the sky turn from pink to orange. The storm has brought a whole load of soil in from the Red Centre and dumped it in the Mountains and Sydney.

Jamie initially thought there was a fire.

You can see other people's pictures on the ABC radio website and on the Flickr blog and here is a Youtube slideshow also from the ABC:




It was one of Jamie's work mornings and he said it was the worst ever - the wind was really strong and he had trouble keeping hold of the papers and magazines! Not to mention the drying, choking dust.

Hopefully I will be able to upload the video Robbie made this morning here (I'm making my second attempt just now) or I might have to do it on Flickr. NO, it can't do it - will try uploading it to Flickr.

Worthy of TGIF - but this sadly, bizzarrely is real life

With our tax returns done for this year, we got our annual child care refunds and stimulus package money. We discovered we qualify for a special Large Family Bonus (first time we've been aware of getting it even though, presumably, we've been a "Large" family at least since 2000).

The full amount of the bonus, for one year?

$29.20

We're hotly debating how to spend it now - groceries, shoes, text books . . . Any suggestions?

We babysat Xavier today

After a rocky start (we didn't realise he hadn't had his breakfast) we had a lovely day.

Ishbel was main care-giver and did a great job.

A room with a view

I hurt my back last Thursday morning (the 10th) and have been in bed mostly all day every day since so this is the view I've had all that time.

The upside is all the reading I've got done.

Went to see an osteopath lady this afternoon. She's written me off for Monday too and I've still to stay off my feet and on my back as much as poss.

It's killing me to miss out on all the shopping, washing, cooking and cleaning that needs to be done.

TGIF - WARNING! GRAPHIC BOATING ACCIDENT PHOTO

THIS IS A PICTURE OF A MAN WITH JUST SECONDS LEFT TO LIVE

Follow up on World Survey

Was going to put this as a comment to the last post but it's too funny to miss.

Not long ago we had "Mumbai Calling" on TV. One of my very favourite TV programs this year; I found it hysterically funny.

My favourite episode was where the workers in the call centre were having trouble with British regional accents. Richard E Grant played a failed actor who was brought in to teach them how to identify and deal with those regional accents.

TGIF - World Survey

Last month a world-wide phone survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was:-"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure because of the following:

• In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant.


• In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant.


• In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant.


• In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant.


• In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant.


• In South America they didn't know what "please" meant.


• In the US they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant.

And Finally . . .

• In Australia they hung up because they couldn't understand the Indian accent.

It's spring!

TGIF - toilet humour

I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying: 'Hi, how are you?'

I'm not the type to start a conversation in the men's restroom but I don't know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat embarrassed, 'Doin' just fine!'

And the other guy says: 'So what are you up to?' What kind of question is that?

At that point, I'm thinking this is too bizarre so I say: 'Uhhh, I'm like you, just traveling!'

At this point I am just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear another question. 'Can I come over?' Ok, this question is just too weird for me but I figured I could just be polite and end the conversation. I tell him, 'No........I'm a little busy right now!!!'

Then I hear the guy say nervously... 'Listen, I'll have to call you back.. There's an idiot in the other stall who keeps answering all my questions!!!'