Getting ready

"School's out for summer",  (Alice Cooper).  Now I can focus more on cleaning up at work and getting ready for Australia. 
Today I went to the bank and picked up my order of Australian money. Don't know who all the faces are.  Also, it is interesting each bill is a different length.  They get progressively larger from the $5 to the $50.

Time's a-ticking

Time moves on!  Three weeks today, the exchange officially begins.  Three weeks from now the exchange, the actual fun of this adventure will begin.  It will be here before I know it.

Right now I feel the lines of Robert Frost seem appropriate "...and miles to go before I (leave)..."

One month to go!

Oh my!  Today is June 15.  A month today the exchange begins.  So much to do before I go.  It will be here before I know it.
Flights are confirmed.  Flying out July 11 in the evening on Air Canada to Vancouver.  Then connecting on to Air Canada to Sydney.  Arriving in Sydney on July 13.
Coming home August 2 flying the same route.  Sydney-Vancouver-Toronto.

Once the booking was done it hit me.  I will be on a plane for over 15 hours!  What do you do on a plane for that long?  You can watch only so many in-flight movies, and read so many in-flight magazine articles.  Read a book?  Play sudoku?  I am going to load up my iPhone with music.

Getting there is half the fun?

As people heard that I was heading off on the exchange they asked if I was excited.  My answer, yes, but between now and when that plane takes off there is so much to do.  And that does not only mean packing my suitcase.
As a Principal of two schools this year, there are two schools to close up.  One of them is closing permanently.  While I have a great Vice Principal at that site doing most of the preparation for that (thanks, Rob), I still am the ultimate person responsible.  
Then when my paperwork to TDSB for the exchange was lost I began to wonder if this was only going to be a dream.  Many thanks to a number of people who worked from the 'inside' to make it happen.  Late Monday, I finally heard it was a go.

Let the Learning Begin!

For many years I have known that the Australian school system is well established in education children for now and the future.  Because of that I know this exchange I will learn so much that I can bring back and put into practice here at home.  Undoubtedly I will refer to them as I go along.
In early May the participants of the exchanges to Australia and the UK got together for a day in Toronto.  It was great to see a few familiar faces and to meet new colleagues from around the province.
As we talked it was obvious that the learning was not going to wait until our planes landed on another continent.... there was much to learn just from this group at the table.
The networking has begun.
As I sat I learned from one of my Ontario colleagues that the Australian school system has a strong mental health component in it.  This is something that is of great interest to me as well.  I feel that it is an issue that can consume us in our work as educators as we deal with students, and is not, at least from my experience well addressed in the Ontario school system. 
If only all PLCs could have this much energy!
(Ooops!  Another acronym... PLC (Professional Learning Community)

Got a match!

Many weeks ago, I got an email.  I had a match!
The school is in Mount Druitt which is in the western suburbs of Sydney.  
I immediately went to the website and read about the school. http://www.mtdruitt-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/ 

I chuckled.... what a close match.  Mount Druitt is larger than J. R. Wilcox, but so much is in common.  Both schools serve diverse communities.  There is a strong focus in both schools on early years and on literacy and it goes on.  
Since then the Principal, Mike (Mick) Kelly and I have been in contact a few times.  I am looking forward to continued professional discussion with him before, during and after the visit. I already know there is so much I can learn.  As well it sounds like it will be a good time getting to see the Sydney area.  Mick lives in suburbs further west than Mount Druitt, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains.  Many people have said that is a MUST area to visit... and I believe it is also home to some of Australia's vineyards. http://www.greaterbluemountainsdrive.com.au/highlights.php?type=wineries-vineyards-and-breweries 
Mmmmm, definitely worth a visit or two or three... or....

Meeting old ('former' sounds better) friends

This venture LEAP (Leading Educators Around the Planet) is sponsored by OPC (Ontario Principals' Council).  It is organized by Ralph Cuthbertson and Helen Evans.
Ralph and I go way back....to another century and many decades ago.  When I was a new teacher entering the profession in 1975 I met him.  I joined the staff at R. H. McGregor School where he was already teaching.  Since then he has been my Vice Principal in 2 schools where I taught.  In one of those schools he became my Principal as well.  Later, as a Vice Principal at Secord School he joined me as Principal.  As I reflect upon my career, I now realize how much he influenced me in my career.  A great mentor!  It is neat to work with him again, and in such an interesting experience, as I come to the other end of my career.  Hmmm, what goes around comes around?  Or should I start belting out  "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King?
I remember meeting Helen years ago at some meeting for school administrators.  Later she became the Chair of TSAA (Toronto School Administrators' Association) another professional organization that represents me locally.  I always remember Helen for her great smile and positive outlook on things.  In our jobs as administrators we sure need that.  It is so easy to bear down and get lost in a lot of stuff.
(For those of you who are not in education, you have likely begun to note that we are a profession full of acronyms.  We have letters for everything... not just the usual TTFN, WTF or LOL.... You thought this was just a travel blog.  It's also a vocabulary builder .  And the Aussie vocab is still to come!)

A chance of a lifetime!

What!  A chance to link professional learning and travel.  Especially travel to an area of the world I have long wanted to visit.  Awesome...
July 2012 I will be heading off on a 10-day exchange with a Principal of an elementary school in New South Wales.  What an opportunity!  What a find!
Australia here I come!  Kangaroos, koalas and wine!  Yes!