Brooks High School

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Brooks High School. Because of its demographics, it is considered a disadvantage school. Test scores are below the state average.

To enhance students' learning and performance, Brooks has introduced 3 new programs. The first program is block scheduling where they have grouped English and math in the first block. Secondly, 7th grade teachers have a teacher assistant. When you enter the class, you can't tell who is the teacher and who is the assistant. Both work side by side in planning and helping students. "Catch up" is the last section of the program. Twice a week for 15 minutes low performing students are sent to the "hub" where they spend time working on individual programs on a computer program called Lexius. ( Matt, I hope I'm spelling this correctly.)

Also, they have a wide selections of electives which include: mountain biking, junior computer programs, photography, a variety of cooking classes, and model making.

A big thank you goes to Matt Donaldson who gave us a guide tour of the school and discussed the school's new programs. He also explained a literacy and math project called " the band". The students create their own band. The project incorporates math, writing, design, creativity and interviewing.

At the end of the day, we left with new ideas to add to our "tool boxes".

Cataract George Reserve

Yesterday we visited the Cataract George Reserve. We took a chairlift over what is suppose to be the longest central span in the world. The scenery was breathtaking, and we became buddies with the peacocks that would come to your table looking for food. We were able to get some great pictures!

Last night we went to the Prickly Cactus Restaurant which was suppose to serve Mexican food.
Let's just say that I don't know where they found the recipes because the food was not like our Mexican food!

Odds and Ends

• The average house price in Hobart is $290,000
• No one expects a tip. We found this out Tuesday. We had been tipping everyone.
• Waitresses earn $20.00-$30.00 an hour.
• If possible Tasmanians are more crazy about sports than the United States.
• Last night cricket, rugby, soccer, and football were televised.
• Sweaters are called jumpers.
• Both Hobart and Launceston roll up the streets early.
• Shops close between 4 and 5 PM.
• Their pace of life is slower and less stressful.
  

Old Richmond and the Tasmanian devils

Friday we traveled to Old Richmond and the Bonorong Wildlife Park. Richmond is a quaint town where many of the homes were built by convicts.

At Bonorong Wildlife Park we encountered Tasmanian devils. The guide kept assuring us that they were not dangerous. The ugly animals kept making a fierce, piercing sound and showing their teeth. I wouldn't want to be in the same room with them!

Also, we not only saw kangaroos but were able to feed them. We saw some of the babies in their mother's pouches. Unlike the Tasmanian devils, they were adorable.

Koalas are very shy and cute. Our guide brought one of koalas out of the trees so that we could pet it.

Tomorrow we leave for Launceston. We have enjoyed staying in Hobart and are looking forward to the rest of our trip.

Port Arthur

Thursday we spent the day at Port Arthur which is a notorious prison. This is where England sent its convicts. Men and boys were housed here. Women were housed in Hobart. Two to three thousand convicts were sent here. Punishment for disobeying rules involved whipping with a knotted rope soaked in salt water.

When the whipping no longer worked, a new type of punishment was devised. The prisoners were housed in cells without any light for 23 hours. They had 1 hour of exercise and wore masks to conceal their faces. No talking was allowed by the prisoners or guides. I don't think I would have lasted very long there!

Across the harbor, was the isle of the dead where we heard interesting stories about the men buried there. Even in death, there was a class system. All of the prisoners were buried on the lower side of the island, and officials were buried on the upper side so that they could look down at the prisoners.

Rosetta High

Graham Speight is the principal of Rosetta High which has an enrollment of 610 student in grades 7-10.

It is the first high school in Australia to use "the big picture". It is designed for students in 9th and 10th grade. "It caters for all ability levels and is aimed at providing a different kind of learning for the secondary age." Students select questions to research. They list skills they will need to answer the questions and include work projects and excursions. Three "r's" are stressed in this program: relationship, relevancy, and rigor. Since this program has been initiated suspensions and absences are down. The center of this program is to find what interests the students.

Another learning strategy used is called the lesson cycle. For those of you who like me were teaching in the 1980's, it is similar to Madeline Hunter's lesson cycle. Posters in classrooms indicate the various learning stages: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating..

Like all Australian schools, tenth grade is a crucial grade. This is when students choose either to attend a technical school, become an apprentice, or going on to the 11th and 12th grade to prepare for the university tests.

We enjoyed touring the school and learning about "the big picture" and their literacy cycle. Student were well behaved and teachers friendly and informative.

New Town High School

New Town High School has 800 boys. We started the day with a visit with their principal Darryl Moir who answered many of our questions about the school. The tuition for the school is $450.00 to $500.00 a year plus uniforms. Their school day begins with a 15 minute homeroom. After second period, they have a 20 minute recess. After fourth period, they have a 45 minute lunch. The day ends after 5th period. Sports are outside of the school day. Students bring their lunches because there is no cafeteria.

We observed a 9th grade English class which was set up much like the classes at Kempner except there were windows on two walls of the room. The class first did some journaling. Next, the teacher distributed a new novel and began asking questions about the cover. From there, they began making predictions about the novel. At the end of class, the students wrote the answers to 2 questions.

Next, we visited a history class in the library where the students were researching different topics. Some students were on computers and other students were watching a DVD. The students showed us some of their projects on Captain Cook. We saw power points and my face book pages that the they had created.

Overall, the students were well behaved, and the teachers were friendly and eager to share ideas with us. I was even given a Tasmanian curriculum guide. Jill Alexander suggested that we visit Rosette High School to see their lesson cycle and "big picture" curriculum. That's the next school to visit.