Well my time at Pukeatua School has come to an end. What a fantastic school. I actually ended up staying here for two terms, which is something I haven’t done for a long time (my positions are usually only one terms duration). It was so nice to be able to continue to build relationships and do even more with a class over a longer period than just one term. The staff and kids here were fantastic and I really enjoyed my two terms with the same 19 year 4/5 class kids. This is one school that I won’t forget for a long time. Never once did I ever think I have had a bad day and asking myself, what am I doing. It’s just that it went too fast. I remember my Dad when he was alive saying that as you get older time moves faster. Of course back then I said get a grip Dad. The bugger is, I have a feeling what he said was true! Below are a few images of some of the things we did in Term 3. Thanks so much to all the staff and kids at Pukeatua School. I genuinely had a fantastic time being part of the team.

 Pukeatua School is a 4 teacher school (full primary) in the Waipa district. This is where I will be teaching a class of Year 4/5 kids for Term 2, 2018. As you can see by the images, the grounds are very spacious and well kept. I have now settled into a new place (after finishing at Pyes Pa School), so look forward to putting my roots down again in a new home and new class/school for another 10 weeks during Term 2. Roll on Monday.
Other images of Pukeatua are shown on my MG4 (2018) page.

Well my time as the reliever in Room 9 (Years 4/5) has come to an end. I ended up with a class of 32 munchkins in the end. I must admit, I have not had a class of 32 in quite a few years. I have had a great time in this class and we have certainly had quite a few laughs. I must admit, the term has just flown by. It only seems like yesterday when I first arrived, having left Cambridge for this job which started 3 days after I got the job. Now I can say I have now taught in a school in the BOP region (as I have never taught in this region before). To all the staff, kids (especially those kids from Room 9), and parents of Pyes Pā School, thanks for a fantastic term, and all the very best to you all for the future. Now you can have a break from the chaos of the Room 9 teacher-haha. Many thanks again Pyes Pā for allowing me to come and teach in this fantastic school.

This position happened very quickly, as some of them do. I won the job on the Wednesday to start on the Monday. It is a fill in job during Term 1 from Weeks 5-11 teaching a Year 4/5 class. So it was a matter of moving very fast to pack up from Cambridge and move to Tauranga. Despite a bit of a panic of whether I was going to get some suitable accommodation in a very short period of time before Monday, I did, and moved in on the Sunday before starting work on the Monday. I am having a great time at a great school with a great bunch of 30 kids. Below are a few images of around the school.

This term has seen me on average at Walton School for a 0.8. The interesting thing is that I consider myself more of a middle/senior end teacher than as a junior teacher when I am in bigger schools, yet 99% of my time at Walton has seen me working with the embryos (juniors). I have certainly leant a lot being down in the junior end. I very quickly learnt to make sure the instruction are simple and not too many, especially in the Year 0/1 classes (I learnt my lesson on that one very quickly, but shhhhhh, don’t tell the boss-haha). Thanks Walton for helping to make me a better teacher in the junior end. I really must find out what the kids are eating that gives them even more energy at this level so I can have some, (they were just all go all the time, although if you are a junior teacher you don’t need me to tell you that).
I have had a fantastic time at Walton School this term (travelling from Cambridge). Fantastic staff and fantastic kids with lots of fun and laughs. One of the things I loved about this school is that although it is a bigger school, (as my preference is in sole charge/2 teacher schools), which Walton has about 130 kids, it still has a nice relaxed family atmosphere with it. It really was a pleasure to teach in.
I got to do some of the things that I have done at other schools but I also got to try some new things this term to try and keep it varied and interesting. One of those things was a bigger emphasis on Dance with a little bit of Drama thrown it. I certainly got a lot of laughs out of it. Having a bunch of kids who are happy to just get in and try new things makes it all that much easier and fun (and educational of course if the boss is reading this-haha).
One minute I was starting and now we have come to the end. Don’t ask me where that term went.
Although this year saw the passing of a child at Walton which happened before I arrived, it was a honour to be able to be part of the unveiling of the Friendship Chair in Term 4 in memory of her.  The Friendship Chair now rests on the school grounds which is a fantastic idea both in memory of the girl as well as it being something that the kids can use. Again, thanks Walton for allowing me to be a part of that. I shall take that away as yet another special event I was allowed to be a part of.
There are some images below which are mainly from Walton School which shows some of the things the kids were involved in. There are also a few at the end of it from Maihiihi School where I also did a few days on the days I wasn’t at Walton (those are the images with the kids in yellow and black uniform).
The end of this term also sees a fantastic person and teacher retiring from Maihiihi School. I first met Noeline at Maihiihi in my 2nd year out of training college when I won a position at Maihiihi. That was about 20 years ago (now I am really feeling old). So to be able to be back at Maihiihi in the term Noeline retires is also a honour. She will certainly be missed by a lot of people, including myself.
At this stage I have no idea what is happening for 2018 so as usual I shall just make it up as I go and see what happens for Term 1.
Many thanks to everyone at Walton (and Maihiihi) for giving me a great term and for taking on this old teacher to come and cause some chaos in your classes with your kids. I certainly take away a lot of fantastic memories.
Cheers, Chris.

Well, my time at Kiwitahi School has come to an end. It only seems like yesterday went I shot up to the Waikato from my previous terms relieving in the Taihape area to take on this position at Kiwitahi.
I have had a fantastic time and it really has just gone too fast (don’t ask me what I did, but shhhhh, don’t tell the boss haha).
Kiwitahi School is a fantastic school with fantastic kids, staff and parents. Although my main work was in a Year 3-6 class (contributing school), I got to be involved with the Years 1 and 2 on a daily basis as well. It is being able to be involved with all levels which is the reasons I love these small schools that I have spent most of my career in. It really is a fantastic way to teach and to truly be a part of the whole school, well it is in my opinion anyhow.
Many thanks to everyone at Kiwitahi (kids, staff and parents). It was a pleasure being part of your school during Term 3 and I am so glad I came up to take on the position.
While working at Kiwitahi, which was a 0.5 position, I also had the pleasure of working in 3 other rural schools on the days I wasn’t at Kiwitahi during Term 3. To Te Poi School, Walton School and Maihiihi School, many thanks to all of you as well. I had a fantastic time at all 3 schools when I was employed for day relief. All 3 schools are small rural schools in the Waikato and like at Kiwitahi, the time just went too fast. Many thanks to the staff and kids at these three schools for allowing me to have a fantastic time in your schools and classes during Term 3 while I was in this area.
All the very best to all four schools (Kiwitahi, Te Poi, Maihiihi, Walton), and I sincerely wish you all the very best for the future. Kind regards, Chris.

Well my time at Mataroa School has now come to an end. It only seems like yesterday when I first arrived (this job was only for Term 2). I have had a great time and I must admit although most of my recent positions have been in sole charge schools, I have had a great time working in a two teacher school again. I got to do so many different things at this school and also having a really competent junior teacher, I was also able to learn alot about that area of the schools as I had someone to bounce off at this school in relation to juniors. I wish all the staff all the very best for the future and thanks for keeping this old dinosaur of a teacher on the straight and narrow. You really were a great bunch of staff to work with. To all the kids from both classes, many thanks for all your efforts guys. You were a great bunch to teach. Remember to keep pushing yourselves and keep striving for gold. All the best to Michelle in her new role as the permanent principal of Mataroa School. Again, many thanks to everyone at Mataroa for making my time with you a really enjoyable one. Until next time, “Go Mataroa!”. Below are a few more images which were taken showing the kids in action during Term 2, 2017. It also includes a few images of the snow that decided to come and make a mess in the first week of the holidays.
My sincere thanks to Marton New World who gave us a discounted price off milk and bread for our school families during the powercuts and road closures due to the snow. That was very much appreciated Marton New World.
Added 21/7/17: A couple of short video clips (excluding the one on FB) of the snow around the Mataroa area taken last Saturday.

Mataroa School is a small 2 teacher school (32 kids) about 10 kms out of the Gumboot Town of Taihape. I have gone straight from Piripiri School (Term 1) to Mataroa which is where I get to play the boss for Term 2. I loose the juniors at this school and teach the Year 4-8 kids. Below are a few images which the kids and I have taken in the first 2 weeks. Have a great Term 2. Cheers, Chris

Well the end of my time at Piripiri has now come to an end (either time flies or perhaps I am just getting slower with age haha).
As I write this, I am now in Whanganui (having travelled down today from Piripiri), so am now officially having a couple of days to do absolutely nothing.
I had a fantastic time at Piripiri with my 13 kids (Years 1-8). It was so nice going back to a school that I taught at 13 years ago, as well as being close to an area (Tahaaroa) where I grew up as a kid (that was mannnnnnnny years ago-haha).
The downside is the term just went too fast (I was only filling in for Term 1, 2017).
To the school community, the wider community, the staff and parents of Piripiri School, and especially to the kids, thanks for a fantastic term and putting up with this old teacher for 11 weeks.
Below are a few images as well as the newsletters which came out while I was at Piripiri.

Well the end of Term 3 has finally come, and so has my position as the Relieving Principal at Ngatapa School.
It has been a flat out term and as we all know, there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done.
Our last week saw us put on an evening assembly which lasted about 90 mins just with the kids items. It’s amazing how long you can make something go even with just 13 kids. The next day saw us take it easy with the kids wanting a PJ Day. The final day then saw the kids heading off for mini putt, to the Botanical gardens. Then we ended the day and term with lunch and a final class meeting at a café. I must admit, leaving another bunch of kids I have got to know, never really gets any easier no matter how many different schools/classes I go to.
These guys were a great bunch to work with. It only seems like yesterday when I first arrived from CHCH, and now I have just finished packing it all up again. Either time flies too fast, or perhaps it is just me getting slower with old age.
Anyhow, many thanks to the kids, staff, parents and BOT’s of Ngatapa School for allowing me to have a great time during my time here in Term 3. I certainly wish them, as well as the new permanent principal, only the very best for Term 4 and beyond.
I can now tick off the Gisborne area as having taught in this area (as I have never taught in this area before). Thanks Gisborne!
If you are a teacher, enjoy the break and try and get some ‘you’ time during the break. If you are a parent, they are all yours for another week and a half (haha).
Now, to wait for the next position. Where that will be, your guess is as good as mine.
Cheers, Chris
The images below are just of a few things we did towards the end of the term, which happened after the final newsletter went out.

Well it has all been go and as usual there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I have warned the kids I may have to extend the school hours until 6pm to fit it all in. The downside is they happily agreed so I very quickly took that back-haha.
While I had a few seconds spare, we’ll o.k, I was procrastinating from the actual work, I thought I would throw up a few images and the newsletters that have been done up to the end of Week 5.
As a new permanent principal has now been appointed at Ngatapa (I was only employed as a fill in which I came up from CHCH for), my time is now very quickly coming to an end, with only 4 weeks left to cause chaos. So, Term 4 will either see me in another position somewhere in NZ, or unemployment.
I have been having a great time at this little school, and must admit I will really miss having to leave (although that comes with the territory in the work I do).
Anyhow, I hope that your term is going well, and you all have a fantastic 2nd part of the term. Cheers, Chris.

Well I finally made it to Gisborne. A long hike from Christchurch, especially with a caravan in tow. Ngatapa School is about 30 mins West of Gisborne, which is where I will be relieving during Term 3. It only has about 13 kids and is a farming district. Below are a few images of the school which I took today. As the the term continues, I hope to have a few more images and bits and pieces posted on here about all the chaos I am causing here. Cheers, Chris

Below are a few images of Tua Marina School, which is located just off SH1 about 10kms north of Blenheim. A fantastic small/mid sized Year 1-8 school where I worked mainly in 2 classes this week (Years 3-5 levels). Great kids, great staff, and a great location.

In between a holiday job on my days off during January, 2016, I decided to do a few walks in the Christchurch and Canterbury area (I got bored). This included tracks on the Rakaia Gorge Walkway (about 75kms from Christchurch), Styx Mill Walkway (in CHCH), Travis Wetland Walkway (in CHCH), Glentui Track (on Mt Thomas about 65kms from CHCH), and the Wooded Gully area also on another part of Mt Thomas.
All of the images taken on these tracks are shown on my 'Photo Gallery 1' page in the above menu. This new page (as of January, 2016) for photos has been set up as a gallery which is where I will post images/photos which are not school related. Most school related images/photos will continue to be posted on this blog page.

Well, the end of the Term and 2015 has finally arrived. What a term! I got to spend most of Term 4 at Southbridge School. A large part of this was working with a bunch of Year 5/6 kids to put on a small special assembly in the last week of the term. I ended up with about 29 kids, and the final assembly/mini concert actually went for an hour so it ended up being a lot bigger and going a lot longer than I originally thought. The mini concert included quite a few dances. The music range also included some old school music of Grease and the Wombles (for those of us who remember those). The group of kids I had now know who the Wombles are. It also included some comedy acts which included a Billy T James act along with another comedy act which used an old Benny Hill music theme. Ahhhh, the memories came flooding back listing to this music of the past. I also decided to try something new this time and included two new acts which I have never done before. The first was having 3 kids do a midway audience involvement dance. This was done as we had the whole school as an audience, and especially with juniors, it got them up and moving halfway through it to give them a break from sitting. This worked extremely well both with the 3 kids who took charge, as well as having a full audience involvement. Music used was a bit of Madagascar, Wombles, Taylor Swift and Spongebob Squarepants, so the music was well known by all in the audience which of course had the hall humming with everyone singing and dancing. The second new thing I tried this time was an illusion/magic act. This was an act where two kids had to do the whole act (about 5 mins) without talking throughout the whole thing. It actually worked very well. The real plus is that most people had no idea of how the illusion was done and of course I played dumb and said I had no idea. Basically it included a pack of cards, getting an audience member to choose one, then cutting that card up in front of the audience, only to find that same card uncut and stuck on the back of an audience member. Both of these new things are certainly something I will try again (I like to keep adding new things when I get chances to do so).
Because we ran out of time at the end of the practices, this whole group of kids never got to do a dress rehearsal before the actual performance. However it all came together in the end, and made the previous 3 weeks work well worth the effort. As it has been a number of years since I have been able to do a longish type mini production, it was really nice to be able to put one together again from scratch. A lot of work (and madness at times), but really glad to have been able to do this again.
Below are a few images from the performances done. Unfortunately some of them are blurred a bit as my little camera person got shaky hands. However at least they give you some idea of what we did.
You all have a very safe, happy and relaxed Christmas and New Year. Remember to have time to relax and spend time with family and friends. The work can wait, as by the time you know it, the start of Term 1 will be upon us. So, have some 'YOU' time while you can. Take care. Kind regards, Chris 

Well I have finally got to put a few more images up from this term.
So far, this term has seen me mainly doing lots of work at Southbridge School (Canterbury), with a couple of days at Governors Bay School and a further day yet to come at Dunsandel School. All the images shown below though are from Southbridge School with kids in the Year 5/6 areas.
One of the things I have not done for ages has been technology challenges. Last week saw me taking all the Year 5 kids for 4 afternoons in a row (as the Year 6’s and 5’s were separated for something the Year 6’s were doing). I must admit, it was really nice to have the same kids each day. As a result, I tried to do a number of new things, of which one was doing a few technology challenges. These included making a backpack out of paper, a bridge that could support a weight (which is what the cans of baked beans in the images were used for just in case you were wondering), and the most popular one being making a tall object using pasta and marshmallows. The amount of marshmallows we went through though could have fed an army, and unfortunately, many never made it until the end (marshmallows that is, not the kids). I have done technology challenges before (actually many years ago when it came out by BP in a book), but never the pasta/marshmallow one. It was certainly a hit, although having marshmallows may have had a bit to do with that.
We also got quite a bit of sport in, including some nets which I have never used at Southbridge before (simply as I had them up in the North Island), a bit of wood pokering which was done during the technology challenges, as well as of all things, a bit of 5 minute drama skits, (now those were interesting especially as I was just making them up as I went, although if the boss is reading this, they were all planned for).
Overall, the time just went too fast with these Year 5’s. It started to feel like I had a class of my own again. A great week with great kids at a great school.
There are also a few images of some mini pizza making/cooking I did last week, although that was actually done with a Year 5/6 class before they were split. All the pizza making was done under an hour, but boy what a mess (but don’t tell the boss). Luckily it was about making and cooking them, and not about the financial costs of the ingredients (which I would have failed big time with). Some of the kids pizzas were up there with Mount Everest!
It’s back to Southbridge again next week to finish off the pokering I never got finished as well as something I have not been able to do for a few years, a bit of work in Dance and Drama. Basically this is an opportunity which is given to any Year 5/6 child in the school to be able to do anything they want in front of an audience. The kids seem to be excited about it and have been asking all last week about it. I sounded like a record saying we don’t start until next Monday. Hopefully that enthusiasm remains. We have 6 one hour periods, 1 dress rehearsal, and then a performance in front of the school, so there is not a lot of time to get a lot done (now where is my spare bottle of wine). There seems to be a lot of dances, including hip hop, ballet as well as some comedy, or at least that’s what it says on the sheets I have. No doubt what we start with and what we end up with will be two completely different things, although that is half the fun of it.
Anyhow, you all have a fantastic last few weeks of the term, although I know most of you will be going flat out with reports (there are some good points to being a reliever-haha).  Have fun, and remember to make time for you, somewhere in the madness of Term 4. Cheers, Chris.

A new NZ Kids Quiz has just been completed for 2015. This is probably the only one I will get up for this year. As always, there is no charge, and there are no strings attached. An answersheet is also shown (in PDF), at the bottom of the page. The direct link to the NZ page is: www.kiwikidszone.weebly.com/quiz-20151-september-2015.html

Well, it’s been a while since I have posted on my blog, simply as there hasn’t been much to write about. I even had to look at my own blog to see what I had last written, or perhaps that is just old age haha.

As I write this, I have jumped islands again, and am writing this from the big smoke in Christchurch (brrrrr). With the amount of times I cross Cook Strait, I should think about investing in my own ferry. Of course if that was the case, I guess I would have to do a Google search of how to drive a ferry (now that would be interesting). I would call it Technology PD, with a high risk of Health and Safety PD.

After my time at Tangimoana School in Term 2 (which I jumped from the SI for), I stayed a while in the Masterton area hoping to pick up some regular relieving. However, after a number of weeks in Term 3, it became clear that there wasn’t much work in the area. I did get a few days, which allowed me to work in another couple of great little schools during the first part of Term 3 (Hillcrest in Pahiatua, and Kumeroa-Hopelands near Woodville).

So I decided to jump back to the SI, to be closer to a city with more options of trying to pick up some casual work until my next teaching position came along. Brrrrr, did I know I had jumped islands again. Hopefully I will be able to pick something up in the SI for Term 4, as opposed to having jump back to the NI, especially as it can get really expensive, as all my travelling, accommodation and ferry costs have to be paid by me personally. It seems that when I am in one island, I get called to the other island. Then when I shoot back to the other island for work, then it comes up back on the other island. Go figure. At least I can’t say I am stagnant.

While I was waiting for something to come up, I decided to try my hand at something different (boredom was setting in). I ended up getting a casual job as a merchandiser, which is just a flash word to say shelf filler, as I found out. Having to get up by 5am for a 6am start in the CHCH cold was interesting. What would take a normal person to do in about 9 hours, took me about 12 hours. I’d start in the dark and finish in the dark. Talk about being a turtle, although driving between 10 different shops and fighting traffic didn’t help, especially in a city that I don’t really know my way around. However, after all the driving all over the city, I now know where a lot more McD’s are. I was merchandising eggs. Let’s just say, no chickens were ever harmed, but there were a number of eggs which needed hospitalisation. OK, I’ll be honest, a number of eggs never had a chance. Prior to the job, to me an egg was just an egg. I can at least now say I have done some PD with egg knowledge. Needless to say, I didn’t do too well in the job (lucky it was casual). At least I have some fluro gear (which I needed to purchase) for duty time at school. Now if you are a school looking at getting me in, please disregard this part of the blog which mentioned dead eggs (I am better with kids).

After I finished the job, the next time I shot into the supermarket as a customer, from habit I went straight to the visitor check in computer. The person looked at me strangely. “Opps, sorry”, I said, I forgot I am just a customer now. Of course I will just blame that on old age. I guess at least it gave the person behind the counter a laugh.

Anyhow, I hope you have all had a great term, and are looking forward to a bit of a break at the end of this week. Make sure you at least get some time away from all the work. It’s not going anywhere, and as I am sure you are aware, the pile never ends. By the time you know it, Term 4 will be here, and then of course for many, it will be reports and Christmas/ end of year concerts.

By the way, I have just updated my Christmas resources page for 2015. This includes a number of resources both in PDF as well as in Microsoft Word (which allows kids to be able to do it on computer, as well as allowing the teacher to edit any of it). There is also a generic Christmas Certificate from Santa which could be given to your class. As always, these are all free with no conditions or strings attached. I hope some of it is useful, and feel free to share either electronically and/or in hard copy.

Well it seems I can write quite a bit when I am not writing about anything. Cool, I pass NS in writing.

Until next time, have a great time, keep having lots of laughs, and make sure you have time for you in all the rush. Cheers, Chris (22/09/2015).

Kumeroa-Hopelands School is a fantastic little 3 teacher school out the back of Woodville (Tararua). Fantastic staff and kids. I taught in the middle area, Year 3-6 kids.

Hillcrest School is a small town school in the heart of Pahiatua (Tararua region). It has a roll of about 32 (two classes). Great kids and great staff. The staff of this school certainly made me feel very welcome and part of the school when I was relieving there. As you can see by the small video clips, what a great setting the school is in. Their school website is: www.hillcrest.school.nz/