A Notable announcement!

 
Last week saw the announcement by the Children’s Book Council of Australia(CBCA) of this year’s list of notables or in other words, the ‘long list.’ It is from these books that the short list will be selected next month in the lead up to Book Week. We are very fortunate in Australia to have such a depth of talented authors and illustrators producing quality books for children and young people. This is evident when you look at the diverse range of titles included in this year’s list. Have a look for yourself.

2017 Notables

 

My weekend with Sarah

Dear Diary,

Today I came home with Sarah and she introduced me to her dad and her stepmum Lizzie,(short for Elizabeth) I sat on the blanket and read Pig the Pug then she introduced me to her baby brother Darcy who is almost 5 months old. He is so cute!

Sincerely, Blog Dog

Dear Diary,

Today was a big day! Sarah took me to school and I stayed in my bag reading. Sarah’s mum picked us up from school then we drove to pick up Jas, her big sister from high school. We stayed home, I watched the TV and took a long nap. Sarah tucked me in and read my fav book. We have a big day tomorrow so I need a big sleep. We’re going to the beach tomorrow.

Goodnight! Sweet dreams & lots of hugs from Blog Dog

Dear Diary,

I went to the beach with Sarah, Angelique and Annabelle. We had lots of fun swimming and building sandcastles. Today is my last day with Sarah before I go back to Mrs Riding.

Lots of hugs, Blog dog, BD

WRAD wrap

We had an awesome day as we celebrated WRAD. The whole school stopped as one at 11am and celebrated the joy of reading by having a great story read to them.


Mrs Johnson read Stories from our street by Richard Tullock to 3J.


An inspirational local deaf woman, Pam Wells, shared Little owl by Phillip Gwynne with K/6D and then they had fun creating some art work.


Miss Wright read The book with no pictures by B.J.Novak to 2W and then everyone shared a book either from home or from the class library.


Mrs Robinson read Shaun Tan’s Rules of Summer before starting Alice’s adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll to 3/4P. Students also had a chance to choose their own book to read.


These super star students were spotted in our library.

Happy WRAD everyone!

It’s Read Aloud Day everyday for these beautiful babes.

Mrs Brown’s daughter Nicole and her grandson Ari love reading together before bedtime. Mrs Brown told me Ari has an amazing library already. The Cranky Bear is among his favourites.


Mrs Robinson and Georgie have fun reading together. Angelina Ballerina and a cuddle before bed. It doesn’t get any better than this.


Hudson loves being read to. Miss Wright says it’s his favourite thing to do. He just LOVES books!


Mrs Bull and Maxi enjoy a story too.

Are you ready for WRAD? 5/6P and Miss Penburthy are all set. I wonder what great book they will be sharing?

Everyone loves having a great story read to them. Why don’t you surprise someone special and read to them today. I’d love to hear from you.

My weekend with Chloe

Dear Diary,

Today I went home with Chloe Mc. We had so many adventures just on the first day! I can’t wait to spend the weekend with her. When we got home I chilled on her bed and watched her move her fingers fast as she did some sewing. I also met her friend Larah, she is really nice! Then at about 5.15 we walked over to the park just across the road from her house. Chloe’s at her mums at the moment and is going to her dads tomorrow. I wonder what her dads house looks like? Anyway now I’m getting ready for bed. See you in the morning.

Dear Diary,

Today is Friday. I went to Chloe’s dads house today. His house is small but neat. The heatwave is horrible today and its meant to be worse tomorrow. Tonight we are all sleeping in the lounge room because its much cooler. I wonder what we will do tomorrow? Chloe and Madi are watching TV now and I’m relaxing. Its as icy as an ice cube! I got to ride in their car too! It’s so smooth. I had a great day!

Dear Diary,

Today I slept til 8.20. Chloe packed up my blanket and we watched TV. It was so hot today so we mostly stayed home. It got up to 46.5°C. We had lots of icy poles. We watched Lego Movie, Minions and Secret life of pets. Then afterwards we coloured in and drew lots of pictures. Now Chloe is reading me Pig the Pug with a glass of cold milk before bed. Tomorrow we are going to grandma and grandpa’s house for a swim. We will have so much fun!

Dear Diary,

It’s Chloes last day with me before I go back to Mrs Riding. It was 45°C again! In the morning Chloe took me to her grandparents pool and then we went to Hungry Jacks to get a slushie. After we chilled out and watched movies again. Then we went back to Chloe’s mum’s house. Now we’re watching I’m a Celebrity get me out of here, then it’s straight to bed.

World Read Aloud Day (WRAD)

On Thursday the 16th of February Tenambit Public School will join millions of people from all over the world who will be celebrating World Read Aloud Day.

Every year World Read Aloud Day calls global attention to the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology. It is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. http://www.litworld.org/wrad

Why don’t you join us too by reading aloud and sharing a story or two?

Please leave a comment and let me know who you read to.

Fantabulous February

Isn’t it great to be back? During the holidays Sarah posted an acrostic poem on her blog that inspired me to have a go myself. Here’s my attempt.

This one’s also for you Mr Brown. I know how much you love acrostics.

 

 

Familiarity and comfort of home after a month away.

 

 

Energy, enthusiasm and inspiration gained from being back among my peers.

 

 

Blistering summer sunshine. Just perfect for long days at the beach.

 

 

Ripe, luscious, juicy stone fruit. Yum! Yum! Yum!

 

 

Unlimited supply of books. Pure bliss!

 

 

Amazing art being created for the art extravaganza.

 

 

Rewards and joy that every day brings and lastly,

 

You, the students of Tenambit who give my life meaning and purpose.

Blog Dog – Home and away

I would have to be the luckiest dog in Australia!

I arrived home from a magnificent month in Queensland and then I was off again. This time to our state capital and a spectacular dinner cruise on the harbour.

The following morning I had time to stop and smell the roses, well gazanias actually. Can you guess this mystery location? It is the northern most suburb of Sydney and where all of the outdoor filming for ‘Home and Away‘ takes place.

After a stroll around the peninsula and through Governor Phillip park we met friends for lunch.

We took in the sights from the lookout before travelling home.
What a super weekend!

I’m looking forward to seeing all my friends at Tenambit public school next week.
I wonder who will be first to take me home in 2017?

Blog Dog – From the bush to the beach

I’m still in the Sunshine State. Can you use the clues to discover the two places I visited today? If you look very closely at one of the photos it contains a huge clue to where I am.

Location 1: The bush

  • This small town is located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, 118 km north of Brisbane.
  • The population is 1,924 according to 2011 census data.
  • Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd grew up on a dairy farm here until the age of 11. Following the death of his father the family were forced to move for financial reasons.
  • Australian tennis champion Pat Rafter also went to primary school here.

The first place we visited was a HUGE book shop called the Berkelouw Book Barn. Mrs Riding discovered this bookshop by accident in 2015 and she couldn’t wait for the opportunity to visit again.

She bought Anthony a book called How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you. It’s pretty funny. I don’t think he has anything to worry about with Hercules though.

After spending what seemed like hours in the bookshop it was time for some fun in the park. The second ride was a bit wobbly and I fell off twice.

Location 2: The beach

  • This beachside town is a really popular tourist destination.
  • It is located 136km north of Brisbane.
  • The population is 3,999 according to 2011 census data.
  • It has one of Australia’s only east coast north facing beaches so it’s protected from onshore winds and storms.
  • The headland is a National Park with an amazing walking track that hugs the coast and passes places with names like Boiling Pot, Dolphin Point, Hell’s Gate and the Devil’s Kitchen.

The first thing we did was cool off in the river.

I went exploring in the park while Mrs Riding relaxed under a shady tree with a book.

After a tasty lunch in Hasting street it was off to Main Beach.

I kept Anthony company while Mrs Riding went for a swim.

It was another fun day out. Can you use the clues to discover the two places we went today?

Blog Dog – Off to the mountain

Well not really a mountain, more like a plateau.
Are you up for another challenge? Can you guess where I am today? Here are the clues.

  • The village is called Mt something.
  • It’s part of the Gold Coast hinterland.
  • Elevation is 525m.
  • Population around 7000 according to 2011 census figures.
  • The name has a musical instrument in it but it has nothing to do with that. It comes from the Anglicised version of the Aboriginal word ‘Jambreen‘ from the Yugambeh language.

I’m on top of the world! Well on top of a sculpture called Visiting Earth Angel by Antoine Bruinsma. Isn’t she beautiful!

We were deciding where to have lunch and we stopped here at what was called The Polish Place. I say was, because it burnt down the day after we visited. There was a fire in the kitchen during the night and the fireman couldn’t save it. Such a shame!

After lunch we went to a place called the Rainforest SkyWalk. The walk was a combination of forest floor trails, 300 metres of high-tech steel bridges through the highest points of the rainforests upper canopy, and a 40 metre cantilever bridge that soared a breathtaking 30 metres above Cedar creek and the rainforest below. The cantilever bridge was pretty scary as we were very high up and it was wobbling around like a bowl of jelly. Lucky I was tucked into my backpack very securely.

Gold coast hinterland, The Polish Place, Rainforest SkyWalk… Have I given you enough clues to solve the mystery of where I spent the day?

Blog Dog – Beautiful one day, perfect the next!

Do you know where I went today? I’ll give you some clues.

  • I visited an island north of Brisbane.
  • It’s the smallest of three islands in Moreton Bay.
  • Most of the island is a National Park but the southern end has 4 suburbs with a population of around 16000 according to 2006 census data.

It was very hot and I needed to cool off so we went to Woorim on the surf side of the island for a swim but I wasn’t allowed on the beach.
I hung out in the shade with Anthony while Mrs Riding had a swim.

Then Mrs Riding took me to Banksia beach on the lee side of the island for a dip. So refreshing!

There were hundreds of these strange blue-blubber jellyfish (catostylus mosaicus) washed up on the beach. I felt a bit sorry for them.

 

Morton Bay, Woorim, Banksia beach… have you discovered where I went?

Blog Dog – My SURREAL visit to the art gallery

Dear Diary,

Today I visited the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) at South Bank in Brisbane. It’s always on Mrs Ridings list of to-dos when she visits Brisbane. It was unreal, or should I say surreal. Check out the photos below and you’ll see what I mean.

This amazing crystal encrusted reindeer was created by the Japanese artist Kohei Nawa. I could see myself reflected in the crystal balls.

This was called In bed and was created by Ron Mueck. I had a strange feeling I was on the island of Lilliput and had discovered a friend of Gullivers.

This alien looking structure was by Argentinian artist Tomas Saraceno and was called Biosphere cluster. It was a bit surreal walking among the huge suspended bubbles that had Tillandsia (air plants) living inside them. They were connected by elasticised nylon ropes to more bubbles on the floor that were half full of water. If you touched any of the ropes it caused the whole structure to move. Pretty cool!

I had fun watching Mrs Riding getting creative with Lego. There was a really long table with lots of amazing building all created from 400,000 white Lego blocks. The artist behind this idea was Olafur Eliasson who called it The cubic structural evolution project.

More of the crazy art that we saw.

I even got to hitch a ride on some horses.

Outside the gallery in the garden overlooking the Brisbane river we came across the strangest thing, an elephant standing on his head. The World Turns, was by New Zealand artist Michael Parekowhai. When I looked closer there was a small native water rat not far away. Maybe that’s what scared the elephant and made his world turn upside down.

Mrs Riding said if you want to have some fun creating your own surreal art you should look for this book in our library. It was published by the Queensland Art Gallery and she bought it here on one of her many visits.

It’s been a fun day! Til next time, BD.

Reflections and resolutions

The rush and excitement that accompanies the Christmas and New Year celebrations are behind us and this, the first week of January sees a slowing of pace and for me heralds a time of reflection and resolutions. This is fitting as January is named after the Roman god Janus who according to legend was given the ability to see into the past and the future by the God Saturn. This is why we see Janus depicted with two heads facing in opposite directions, one looking to the year that’s past and one looking to the future. As important as it is to acknowledge, value and learn from the past I think it’s vital to set realistic goals and face the new year with gratitude and optimism. Bring on a healthy and happy 2017.

 

Blog dog – My first visit to hospital

Don’t worry! I’m okay! No cuts, bruises or broken bones here.

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I went to Ipswich hospital with Mrs Riding to visit her son Anthony, AJ to his friends. He had a knee reconstruction yesterday and he was still in a lot of pain this morning. A cuddle from me though really cheered him up. The doctor said we can take him home later today. He’s really looking forward to sleeping in his own bed and to his mum’s cooking. He loves her lasagne and apple charlotte. Yum!

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I will be hanging with Hercules too. Lucky for me he likes dogs. One of his best friends is a dog called Lady.