Author Archives: milesmac
From koalas and kangaroos to snow and more snow: Stonewall Teulon Tribune article on Teacher Exchange
This article from the Stonewall Teulon Tribune is about our teaching exchange partners. It’s interesting to see your own home reflected back to you from someone else’s point of view. So glad they’re having a great time and grateful for their willingness to exchange lives for a year! Click the image to enlarge.
Virtual Faculty Meeting on the Edge of the Outback
Virtual faculty meetings bring together math teachers from small rural schools for professional development and dialogue. The most recent meeting was in the town of Cobar, about 400km drive west from Coonabarabran (almost 700km inland from Sydney). Surprisingly, I wasn’t the only Canadian there, and another Australian teacher taught in northern Manitoba near where I … Continue reading
Challenging classes are “Mettle Detectors”
Wednesday morning: Well, it finally hit. A bout of homesickness. For me, at least. There are a couple of challenging classes that make me wonder where my 23 years experience with classroom management has gone. The persuasive restitution-based strategies I have successfully employed back home for the last 12 years seem completely ineffective (so far) … Continue reading
Our Favourite Australian Bird Songs
Here are other people’s videos and recordings of some of the birds we hear regularly and enjoy. First is the Australian Magpie which we think sounds like the robot R2-D2 from Star Wars. Then the famous kookaburra which sings at sunrise and sunset. Makes for a great alarm clock and “time to get ready … Continue reading
A Day at the Races (literally and metaphorically)
You may already have read on my son’s blog about our day at the races. It was a new experience for all of us despite living so close to the Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg. Our experience at the Coonabarabran Jockey Club felt more like our favourite home-town community hall events – lots of visiting, catching … Continue reading
Click to view random images from our exchange
