Day 5 : Coffs Harbor

The day today was spent at a local high school. It was for students in years 7-12. Our morning started in the library where our students were paired with members of the school's SRC (student representative council). They gave a tour of the school while the principal walked us around. The school is shaped like a boomerang and was a combination of indoor and outdoor areas. There were approximately 750 students who attended Toormina school, but since it was the last day of there term maybe half the students were there. Schools in Australia are on a year round cycle that starts in February of every year. They have a 2 week break at the end of every term and then a six week summer break around Christmas. 

The school day runs from 9-3:20 and the kids have six classes. Each class is 50 minutes and there is a 20 minute morning tea after second hour and a 40 minute lunch after 4th. They do not provide lunch at all, just a small snack bar kids can purchase food from. They were surprised to hear we have a hot lunch program. 

There were many similarities between their school and ours. They had Smarboards in many classrooms and computer labs. Their electronics class was really impressive and they made some really cool projects with their laser cutter. The kids mostly wore uniforms, but the principal stated they can't really enforce the rules for kids to wear them. Rather they provide one uniform to eaxh student and will make a phone call if the child doent wear it, but not much more. She also explained that students pay fees (ex. $50 for electronics class) but those aren't always paid either. The school population is about 17% Aboriginal and they have many refugees from Middle Eastern and African countries. 

I asked about their foreign language requirements and they recently changed it to a native language in year 7, but used to have options like Italian or French. Now they learn Gumbungee which is an Aboriginal language. 

The kids spent the day learning about the Aboriginal culture. They rotated through stations to learn about language, dance, sport, nature, and arts/music. The boys got to try the didgeridoo but the girls are not allowed to even try. Instead they did some beading skills. 

Lunch was a sausage on a piece of bread for a bun. They don't use ketchup but "tomato sauce" or they put BBQ sauce on their meal. 

After spending the day at the school, the local Rotary Club took us to some lookout points to get a better view of the city. Along the way we saw many banana and blueberry crops.

On the way down the cliff, our bus driver was on the lookout for kangaroos. We had only spotted a small group on the side of the highway quickly on our way to Coff's Harbor, so we really wanted a closer look. We also looked for koalas, but learned they are very difficult to spot. We pulled into a location where kangaroos are common and saw many at once. They ranged in size, and would hop away if we got too close. 

I was surprised as we drove away how many there were throughout the neighborhood. We headed back to town to meet up with our Homestay families after seeing the Kangaroos.

My evening at Marilyn's was much like the night before. Lots of food, wine and conversation.  We had lamb both nights, once a roast the other more like a pork chop style. Plenty of cooked vegetables and then Apple pie again for dessert. 

Bob & I watched two games on the TV for the rest of the evening. One Aussie Rules football game (the Swans) and the other was Rugby League. They call it all football and tend to watch on Friday nights.