Heavy Traffic - The Journey to Sydney

My study tour has officially kicked off! As I left the periwinkle blue skies of Lightning Ridge and commenced my 10 hour drive on Monday, I had no idea what I was in for... Heavy traffic, directional challenges and of course, the never-ending torrential rains.

Heavy traffic on the Castlereagh Highway

The first stop was at the DEC office in Dubbo where I met with Rebbeca Hutchings. Rebecca supervises the Instructional Leaders in my area which are positions that are federally funded as part of the Early Action for Success initiative. 300 schools have these positions (Lightning Ridge is one of them) and are selected based on factors such as socio-economic status, isolation, NAPLAN results and the number of Aboriginal students.
Rebecca and I had a fantastic chat about the ways in which iPads can be utilised in learning centres in K-2 settings to support literacy programs such as L3 (Language, Learning and Literacy). This is a fabulous program that focuses on explicit teaching in targeted groupings and has been designed to support students that do not come from rich literacy backgrounds.
Another of the key focuses of our conversation revolved around Aboriginal English. Rebecca has completed a Masters degree studying this area and had some excellent information to share with me. One of the key messages I'll be taking home from this was her comment "you can't learn Standard Australian English until you understand your own language first". Meaning that our students can't possibly succeed at reading and writing in SAE until we teach them about their home language and transition them from "home talk to school talk".

After a further six hour driving marathon in rains that would have sent Noah running to his Ark, I arrived in Sydney where I met with the wonderful social and media team from my scholarship sponsors, Teachers Mutual Bank. I shared my travel plans and some stories from the 'coal-face' and received a cute bag of treats (including a TMB blanket for the plane!).

Leaving here to head to my accommodation, was were things got really fun... Driving in the rain, in the city (which I'm not familiar with at all!!!) made it an extremely nerve-wracking experience. Google maps kept directing me to the wrong place and I ended up having a minor nervous break down in a car park. Thank goodness for Rescue Remedy (it says take 5-10 drops, this situation called for a swig) and the patient guy from reception who talked me through the directions (I think I understood after the third time). The rest of my stay in Sydney involves some school visits (stay tuned, they will be mind blowing) and a private workshop with Dr Kristy Goodwin (THE iPad guru). Looking forward to the explosion of my mind that will undoubtedly ensue this week!

See you later, Lightning Ridge!

Anyone interested in seeing what the wonderful town of Lightning Ridge is like, check out this video by Chris Bucanac
https://vimeo.com/125318187