A few more photos of Bude’s main beach (Summerleaze).
Visit to UK: 2019 – Part 4
Visit to UK: 2019 – Part 3
During my trip I took a few landscape photos around Bude. The next couple of posts will contain a few of my attempts.
Taking photos around the beaches and headlands was a trial with strong gusty winds causing significant vibration. The lighting was also difficult with cloud cover taking a lot of colour from the scenes.
On the day I took these photos, I walked from Bude along the downs toward Widemouth Bay. I didn’t get far though as the strong wind was bringing a few significant squalls and the light was fading. After a few hundred metres I turned around and returned to Bude. I didn’t escape getting soaked, but only on one side due to the wind.
Visit to UK: 2019 – Part 2
Toward the end of my trip, I visited my brother Ray and his wife Shirley and two of their grown up kids. Another brother, Dez and his kids visited Ray and Shirley also. Dez had come down for a quick visit to catch up with all of us for Christmas and my visit.
It was great to see them all. As mentioned in Part 1, I caught up with my sister and her family on a different day during my trip. The only brother I didn’t see was Ed who, like me, lives in Australia with his wife Caroline and their children.
Here are some photos of the time I spent with Ray and Shirley, some of their kids – George and Ed (with Ed’s partner Jade); Dez, along with Callum, Annie and Tom; and our mum, Peta, and brother Matthew.
& remembering our Dad, Albert, who died 30 years ago.
It was a nice afternoon, I then said my goodbyes to Dez, Callum, Annie and Tom (I was leaving the next day). Luckily though I got one last hug the next day as Dez and kids turned up while I was visiting to say goodbye to Ray, Shirley, George, Ed and Jade, prior to having lunch with Mum and Matthew and then driving to London in preparation for my return flight.
Part 3 will have some more general photos of my trip.
Visit to UK: 2019 – Part 1
In December I visited the UK particularly to see my mum but also to catch up with some of my brothers, my sister and their families.
It was great to go on a couple of trips with my brother Matthew, it reminded me of when we were kids and Matthew and I used to walk or bicycle to local fishing spots.
The following are a few photos of my trip – they are in the order I processed them and not necessarily the order I took them.
I got to catch up with my sister and her family.
It rained a lot in Cornwall during my stay but some days had a bit of sun. On one of these sunnier days Matthew, Mum and I went for a drive to Crackington Haven. We stopped for a photo of Widemouth Bay. Here is Matthew attempting, in a raging wind (which was freezing), to take a photo.
This was what we were seeing.
It was blowing a gale and here is my very sensible mum snug in the car – the reflection is me getting jostled and pushed by the wind.
Earlier in the week, first full day in Bude (the nearest town to my mum’s house), I went for a walk. I re-familiarised myself with Summerleaze Beach, the Breakwater, Ocean Pool and the Canal.
More to follow as I develop my photos.
The Implementation Dip
In schools we are often working within a process that asks our teachers and students to change their practises and routines.
At my school we have now been working for a few weeks on a whole-of-school initiative of making Learning Goals (LGs) and Success Criteria (SC) as visible and consistent as possible in every lesson.
I have been aware of some of the initial enthusiasm being eroded as our teachers work to embed the routine of writing and addressing LGs and SC. Consequently, I have made sure that our students and my colleagues know that they are very likely to experience the dreaded ‘Implementation Dip’. This is a well-known phenomenon and happens in all environments where there are changes in routines and processes.
I have warned teachers that students may complain about having to record LGs and SC, that some of our colleague teachers may feel that the practice is not as effective or as worthwhile as when they started using the initiative. The only way forward in these cases is that we must maintain and build the rigour of the process.
The concept of the Implementation Dip is similar to that of the ‘Learning Pit’ in that if we are prepared, determined, expect to feel the challenge and/or frustration of passing through the dip, and maintain our effort, then we will emerge successfully from the other side.
Day 4 – Rest Day
Tuesday is the rest day. And I needed it!
We spend the whole day in Warwick at the showgrounds and in the city itself.
Above you can see the tents and in the distance a large bank of solar panels, there were several of these. Read More
Day 3 – 100km, nearly
It’s 98km from Allora to Warwick across beautiful and diverse countryside. The tour organisers planned the longest day ride for day 3. This makes sense as the rest day is tomorrow on Day 4.
Early morning at the Allora Showgrounds.
A lot of the day was across the flat. This was easy on the legs but hard on the butt! Read More
Bicycle Tour Day 2 – Toowoomba to Allora
Today (Sunday) we rode 70km on a rural route from Toowoomba to Allora.
We started just before sunrise at Toowoomba. We ate breakfast and packed up our bags, these were loaded into the trucks along with the mattresses and tents.
Campeasy tents are packed and loaded by the camp volunteers. Meanwhile, personal tent campers pack their own tents and load them onto the trucks.
Jim Moore
Jim was a person I met at the Helensvale Goodlife Gym.
Jim, trainer at Helensvale Gym
He was the personal trainer who was tasked with showing me the equipment when I joined the gym. Later, Jane (my wife) suggested I try a personal trainer to get me motivated toward my fitness. I had been impressed by Jim’s introductory session at the Helensvale Goodlife club and, consequently, asked him to be my personal trainer for a few months. This was during the same year that my wife and her mum were off visiting relatives in the UK.
How well is technology used at school?
The SAMR model.
A colleague from another school shared a link to the article What are the Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make When Integrating Technology into the Classroom? This gives a summary of mistakes made in considering technology use in schools.
While reading this article I thought of a compounding issue that relates to these types of concerns. The problem, I posit, is that some types of technology are so ubiquitous in everyday use that there is a ‘technology so what!’ attitude that is developing. I think many students, parents and, unfortunately, some educators think that because they use their tablet, laptop, phone, and now wearable technologies, often in their everyday life they are ‘using technology’. Well of course they are using technology, but as Allan November tells us regarding 1 to 1 laptop initiatives, we are often not using our technologies above the level of the ‘$1000 pencil’. Read More