God I love Face Book - Last night I found one of my students from Trinity Grammar. 
Edward was in Grade 3 when I taught him and he's just turned 19 years old!  Holy shit - where did that time go?
In the course of catching up I discovered he is studying graphic design and and he offered to make me a movie poster of my choice - can you imagine my excitment?!  There was only one choice for me - GREASE 2 and the sweet boy was too polite to scoff at me.

I came home from work today to discover that he has already done it and it is amazing.  I absolutely love it and can't wait to have it framed for the new house.

Not only is it a unique portrayal of one of my favourite movies but it has been made by a boy who I spent a year of my life with and quite frankly adored.  He was a gorgeous boy and it looks like he's turned into a lovely man. 
Thank you so much Edward!

I've been making the most of Facebook lately after a slow start. I used to only look at it if I was contacted through it but now I check it daily and keep up with what everyone's doing and it's addictive. My favourite part of Facebook is staying in contact with some of my students through the years. Quite a few have found me and added me as a 'friend'. I now get to see them as they get older and move on to new and exciting phases of their lives. I can't belive that my babies are now grown men!

Grade 4 - 1997

Boy in Blue (my, hasn't he changed!)
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Grade 3 - 2000

Skater Boy (with cigarette I notice!)

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Grade 4 - 1997

Ok, so they didn't all turn out to be rocket scientists - but at least they're having a good time!

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Moondoggie and I have been Halloweening our front verandah this morning.


We were in a bit of a quandary as I was unsure when you were allowed to start decorating for this holiday. It is not one that is widely celebrated in Australia so I did what all good bloggers do - contacted the lovely Whitney in America and asked her advice! Apparently, like Christmas, decorating starts as early as possible to eek out maximum enjoyment, hence this mornings pumpkin hanging.

When I was teaching I celebrated Halloween with my class as we had quite a few international students. I felt it was important to explain the origins of Halloween and spent quite a few sessions on it's history and cultural significance. I did not want it to be seen as just another American invention as it has such a wonderful, rich history and is a fascinating celebration.

(If I can lay my hands on my Grade 3 synopsis of Halloween I'll post it for anyone who's interested.)

This year, (or to be honest, yesterday!) I decided it might be fun for the kids to talk about Halloween and decorate a little. They loved the idea and having been brought up on Australian TV which has a scary amount of American programming, they knew heaps more about it than I thought they did. What they didn't know is the background to the celebration so today I'm going to put on my teaching hat again and fill them in. Surprisingly there is more to it than re-runs of scary Simpson's episodes!

And just because I'm in the mood - here are some Halloween decorations that I wish were at my house..... maybe next year!

Photos courtesy of Martha Stewart.com

One more thing - how can we make a fabulous Halloween tradition of our own here in Australia when our seasons are reversed and many of the traditions are related to Autumn?? I guess it's the same as our Christmas dilemma - snowmen, sleigh rides and hot turkey lunches in 40 degree heat!!