Cork

Last class for 2006

2006-11-21T18:36:00.000-08:00

Who's this?

G'day all,

Well this will be our last computer class for 2006 because we have to finish at 12.00 next Thursday so that I can do the paperwork required for the class for the end of the year!

Today, I'd like you to finish up any work you didn't complete last week, especially the grammar!

What will you do for Christmas? Do you celebrate it in your country? If not, what do you celebrate? Is New Year more important to you? Do you have a person like Santa Claus in your culture? If you have children, do they know about Santa from school or friends? Put your answers in your blog.

Well, I've really enjoyed teaching you all this year and sharing a little bit of your lives with you. I wish you and your families all the very best for Christmas and I hope to see you in 2007.

Don't forget to keep writing in your blogs. I'll try to keep mine up regularly with what's going in with me!

Thanks for a great year!

Another busy week!

2006-11-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

Who's this? and why is he on my blog?

G'day all,

Well, the end of the school year is drawing to a close very quickly, isn't it? I'm delighted at the progress that some of you have made with your English and especially your writing on the blog. Well done!

I've had a really busy time lately. Last Thursday evening my husband and I went to a reception with John della Bosca to launch the fundraising bid for the Australian Paralympian team for Beijing 2008. I met some interesting people there including a hand cyclist called Kahi Puru. He used to be a power lifter! He hopes to represent Australia at the 2008 Olympic Games in the hand cycling event!

On Saturday night my husband and I went to see the rock band called U2. They are very famous all around the world and they come from Ireland! By the way, there is an Irish man in the final of Australian Idol! I hope he wins!

It was great to see everyone so busy in the library last Monday. I hope all the research for your short talk is finished and I look forward to hearing your biographies next week.

Remember the story we read this morning called 'Do the Right thing'? Well, check out the 3 stories on culture and cultural misunderstandings in Time4English . Then write in your blog about something funny that has happened to you or someone you know because of a cultural mistake.

Also check out the grammar section to get more practice with Modals!!

Peter, the teacher from Dublin is really keen for you to write to his students. Lookwhat he wrote in a comment to me in the post before last. It would be great for you to do it.

I must go now because I have to interview new clients for our English classes! I might get back to my blog later but maybe not! Well, I mustn't spend any more time doing this so bye and happy blogging!

Melbourne Cup winners!

2006-11-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

G'day all,

Well, what an exciting week it's been?? While I was off learning how to do podcasts, the class were entertained by Andrew! I'm looking forward to reading your recounts of his talk all about Bangkok and adoption.

The Melbourne Cup has been run and I know that there are both happy and sad punters out there today! Congratulations to our class sweepstakes winners - Timmy, Ling, Gordana and Nancy. Nancy got the consolation prize for her horse which finished in last place! My horse is still running! I think he's heading back to Ireland!

By now you will have received the name of the person for your research and presentation. I hope you can find information easily. Make sure you ask me for help if you need it.

If you need to do more work on the Passive, remember to check it out in the Grammar Book in Time4English .

By the way, welcome to our new classmates- I'm sure you'll make them feel at home!

All my efforts to add images to the blog today have been blocked by Internet security so sorry for the boring looking page!

Happy blogging!

Report writing and more!!

2006-10-31T23:03:00.000-08:00

What's this flower????

G'day all,

I hope you are having a good week! It was great to hear some of you telling your Dreamtime Stories to the class on Tuesday! I was very impressed! Well done! Now I'll be looking forward to reading your opinion of a story of your own choice! I hope that some of the expressions from this morning helped you!

Today, you'll have a chance to do some research for your report on an Aboriginal item! Do a Google search for the topic you have to research. Please remember NOT TO COPY the text. You can print the information but you MUST write asbout the item IN YOUR OWN WORDS! Do not plagiarise! You can submit your work on your blog but I would like to have a hard copy of your final copy! It makes it easier for me to correct! Remember to include a picture! You'll also have to include a bibliography!

If you finish your research, please log on to Time4English and go to the menu on the left side of the page. As you are doing a unit of work on Health with Gordana, I thought this work would be useful for you!!!!!!!!!Click on to Stories and then check out the following: Elementary- Doctor's Appointment; Intermediate- Acupuncture & Chiropractic! These are interesting listening activities!

Finally, open Our Class 2006 and listen to the podcasts by Rosa's students from the Health Expo! Of course, this is all dpeendent on you have sound and or your headphones!!

Happy Blogging!

PS Check out Nancy's opinion of one of the stories in Comments!

Welcome to Term 4

2006-10-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Why are these pictures here ?

G'day all,

It was good to see that some of you actually went on the web during the break and worked on your blogs. Very well done to Ling and Nancy who have added some interesting posts on their blogs! Have a look!

Today we'll be quite busy getting our quiz up and ready for next Tuesday. It would be advisable to work in groups so that we get everything completed! It should be a fun day... if we're ready! I'm looking forward to trying all the yummy food you're going to prepare!

Speaking of quizzes, some of Peter's class have written some questions in the comments section of a few of your blogs. I'll print of the questions and the whole class can try them on Monday. If you'd like, you can post the answers on your blog in a new post.

New friends in Ireland!

2006-10-06T04:40:00.000-07:00

G'day all,

Hope you are all enjoying the break. I'm having a real lazy time but I'm loving it!

If anyone is checking the blogs, check out the blog s of an English class in Dublin, Ireland!

Peter's class come from very different countries to ours! Notice how many Chinese students he has!!!!

Their teacher would like us to be online friends! For starters, you can check out their country quizzes and see if you can do a Google search to find the answers. Perhaps you could do a similar true false quiz about your country!

Last class for Term 3!

2006-09-27T00:44:00.000-07:00

G'day,

As usual I'm rushing to get something on the blog! I really will have to try to manage my time better next term! It's been a long term but a good one I think! I hope you agree!

I hope you all had a good excursion to the Camellia Gardens yesterday. I tried to put a link to the gardens, but I think they are all very disappointing links unless you want to plan a wedding or check out the tea house! I'll be waiting to read a recount of your excursion on your blogs VERY soon!! Don't forget that you are also to post the research you did on your country/town!

Congratulations to Vicky who did a great job on identifying the objects in Rosa's puzzle pic! Ling came a close second though, as did Maria whose answers were very similiar!!!! Poor Li Ping inadvertently deleted the template of her blog so is unable to publish any posts! (Rosa suggests you just change your template design and you may be able to continue! I hope so!)

By the way, check out the comments on Wendy's blog post from last week! She had an interesting visitor to her site! Did anyone else????

Please be careful when writing your posts! It is very important that the words you use are your own and NOT taken straight from a websie. That's plagarism and it is cheating! You must also be careful of infringing the copyright rules. If you DO copy someone else's words then PLEASE acknowledge the source.

Anyway, to today's work! Open Ourclass2006 and read Rosa's instructions for the activities about the Health Expo. Try the surveys and do the BMI test! It's fun and interesting, I think!

Any of the work you don't finish today you can complete during the holidays! Remember too to try and get some donations for the raffle! Everyone is depending on our class!!!!

Thank you all for a great term's work. I hope you have a bit of a break and come back refreshed and ready for a short 8week term.

Happy holidays and happy blogging!

It's been a hot one, hasn't it?

2006-09-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

This week's puzzle! Identify this building! Where is it? When was it built? What is it used for?? Post your answer in Comments!

G'day,

What a burst of summer we've had this week? I'm certainly not used to it! I still have all my summer clothes and sandals packed away! How long will this weather last? Will there be a return to winter next week?

I was delighted to see 7 comments on last week's post! You all correctly identified the flower as a waratah which is of course the emblem of NSW. Well done!

Some of you have correctly identified most of the items hidden in Rosa's picture but I'm very surprised that no one guessed the little picture on the right hand side, - you should recognise it, as you always notice everything about me!!!!!!!!!! I'll give you one last chance to identify the items and I'll post the complete list next week!

Look at Rosa's blog for this week and do the activites she's posted. I especially want you to do the one about thin models!!

Some of you are way behind in completeing the weekly tasks. Please try to catch up on all the work from previous postings! You want to pass this computer module, don't you?
Happy blogging!

The week that was!

2006-09-12T22:42:00.001-07:00

G'day,

Well, it's been a very busy week in class, hasn't it? We've been practising the Present Perfect and hasn't that given way to lots of questions? I thought I'd be able to have a break from Grammar until Vicky's question opened a can of worms!! Now we're doing the Present Continuous AS WELL as the Past Continuous! When will I get a chance to give you some assessments!!

Gordana has asked me to give you time this afternoon to do research for her. I've no problem with that but, as she and I discussed, I'd like you to post your FINISHED report on your blogs.

I'm not setting anything really new today, you have a few things to finish up I think. Hopefully the sound/microphones are working and you can add the narration to your photostories.! Have you all finished the puzzle questions? Let me know and I'll check the blogs to see who wins a prize!

If you want to do some grammar, have a look at Time4English
Click on T on the alphabet and under Tense look athe the Present perfect exercises. I think there are about 3 or 4 of them! And the new one is Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous!

Happy blogging!

CARPE DIEM

2006-09-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Gday,

The tragic news of Steve Irwin's death has made us all realise that we should make the most of each day as we just don't know when the end will be! The title of today's blog is written in Latin. (Latin was a languge spoken in Italy many, many years ago. Many of our English words come from this language - especially legal words.) Can you work out what it means? Click on the link and by scrolling through the list of Latin idioms you will find the meaning of Carpe Diem. Tell me what it means by posting a comment to me!

Rosa has posed a few questions in her blog which should keep you busy for two hours! When you find out what's in the picture, you can put your answers in a new post and I'll give you a prize if your answers are correct! Don't let Vicky be the only person to do it this time!!!!

Remember to finish your photostory and show it to me. I'll tell you how to put it in your blog then!! Hopefully, we'll get the sound working soon!

Until next time! Happy Blogging!

Photos from last Thursday's party

2006-08-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

G'day all!

Last Thursday we had a party to celebrate the fact that some of our class had completed the Citizenship preparation Course called 'Let's Participate' (Click on this link if you want information about the course).

A good time was had by all! As you can see from the photos, there was lots of yummy food. A big thank you to all those who cooked for the party. I still can't believe the 'eggs' that Warsi brought!

The photos are some of those taken by Dan and Timmy! If you want to see them all, ask Green for the disk!

The work for today can be found in Our Class. Last week you wrote a refusal to an invitation for me as a practice. Now it's time for the 'real' assessment! Please open the invitation on Rosa's BLOG but send the reply to me! If you have your headphones, please listen to the podcast and complete the task.

Remember too to work on your photostory!!!! I still haven't seen any of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's time too for some of you go go back through the blog posts and COMPLETE the activities! Some students still have lots of work to do!!!!

Until next time!

2006-08-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

Well, what a fabulous group of attractive, good-looking people! I wonder why they're all so happy? I wonder where they're going? Who are they?? Where are they? When was the photo taken? Who took the photo? Is anybody missing from the photo?

Post a comment with any or all of the above answers!

2006-08-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

G'day all!

Hope you all enjoyed the little party this morning and congratulations to all the students who received the certificates! Well done to all of you! I hope that next time we run the course, some of our 'new' students will do it too!!

Now for your work! Well, did you have fun on Tuesday doing the photstory? I do hope you brought or saved some photos so that we can put a story together today! It will be much better too if you have your headphones with you!

After you've written a refusal to the invitation I've sent you, please open Rosa's blog and listen to the podcasts about the Pylon excursion and the other suggested ones. I'll be working on postcards with you on Monday so you don't have to write one 'till nest week! Ok?

Once again, have fun and ask me if you have any problems.

Bye bye

Reading Our Class 2006 blog questions

2006-08-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

G'day again!

Rosa has some interesting activities for you to do on the Our class 2006 blog. Have a look and see how many of the activities you can do! I haven't given you the Elvis worksheet yet but you can still try the activities! I just have to make sure that Issues in English is available in FG.03!!

It should be easy for you to answer the questions about the timetables but many of you have already done the forum question so you don't have to worry about that for this week.

As we won't be having a computer lesson this week I won't give you anything else to do. Remind me to give you a copy of all the things you MUST put in your blog before the end of the term!

Well, that's enough for now! See you all on Thursday ready for an exciting excursion up the Pylon!!!

Take care! Be good!

A Computer lesson on Tuesday? Fair Dinkum?

2006-08-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

G'day all! J'ava'good arvo yesterday?

Isn't it great to have nearly all the class with us today! I hope that these students work as hard as the others in the class!! I also hope that you can all remember your BLOG information today... no forgotten passwords etc!!!!

In this week's forum we have an interesting topic about punishing children. Read the introduction and don't forget to make a comment. Remember to ask me for the user name and password. DON'T use your name except to sign the comment you make. If other people have left a comment, read that too!

When you have finished in the forum you can open the link to the podcast with Patricia: A Librarian. Remember to read all the text and print off the questions before you start!! When you have the answers, post everything in your blog. Maybe even include a photo!!!!

Finally, if you still have time go into Time4English. Open the Grammar book link from the menu and try your hand at doing the exercises on modals. Some of them are hard so be careful!

What's in a Forum?

2006-08-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

1. In my email to you this week I asked you to go in Our Class (Rosa's blog) and join the Forum. Don't forget to look up what this means! Come and ask me for the username and password too.

2. I'd like you to do the exercise on the Computer Health and answer the questions I gave you in class.

3. Don't forget to look at your new classmates' blogs and make a comment about what they have written.

Term 3

2006-07-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all and welcome back to TAFE for term 3. I hope you had an enjoyable break from learning English or did you miss us all?

Welcome to our new classmates and we hope you enjoy learning English with us and having fun too!

For your first blogging task for the term I would like you to look at Rosa's blog and her post dated Sunday 22nd July.

When you have finished those activities, I'd like you to open Time4English and log on. Please go to the MENU on the left hand side of the page and click on Grammar Book. Then go to the exercises on adjectives and adverbs. How many can you get right??

Read Rosa's instructions from numbers 1 to 4. I would like you to follow the links for numbers 1 and 4 and check them out! Rosa has told me that the computer exercises might be a bit hard so if you have difficulty, please let me know! I will give you some questions later to help you.. (but not today)! If you are new to blogging, you might want to read numbers 2 and 3 also!

During our class on Tuesday morning we read about different places in far western New South Wales - places like Dubbo, Wilcannia, Silverton and Broken Hill. I'd like you to Google these places and write 3 interesting facts about them. Post the information on your blog and add a picture too. I'd also like you to look up the link to the Western Plains Zoo and answer the following questions on your blog.

When you open the link to the zoo, click onto the About Us icon to find the information you need.You can spread this work over 2 weeks if you like. Don't forget to incluide a picture or two!

1) What was on the site at Dubbo before it became the Western Plains Zoo?

2) When did the zoo open to the public?

3) How many animals were in the zoo when it first opened?

4) The zoo is an open-range design. What does this mean?

5) What else is Western Plains Zoo apart from animal displays?

Happy Blogging!

Posting comments

2006-06-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Today you need to finish the work I sent you last week to do on your blog. Congratulations to Vicky who has completed all the work! Well done too to Anna, Green and Li Ping who have completed the part about hobbies.

Today, you also have to open your classmates' blogs and leave a comment for them. You will need to read what they've written and post a comment. Good luck!

When this has been done, I'd like you to do research about an animal which lives in your country of origin. I'll give you a model report outline to follow before you publish on the blog..

Catching up!

2006-06-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I'm sorry that I haven't kept you busier on the blog but I find it very hard to get time to 'play' with it. I do like to go home sometime and relax in front of the television. What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you have hobbies? What do you watch on TV? Do you watch programs in English or only in your own language? Do you think watching TV is a good way to learn English? Can you think of any other good ways to learn English outside the classroom?

I'd like you to answer these question in your blog. It will give a good profile of what you're like.

As have been looking at writing information reports this week, I'd like you to complete the following activities for me. Again in your blog.

Look at the pictures of these animals and answer the questions about them. I have given you a link to a web site to find the answers, but if you want to search Google for other sites, that's ok too.

What are these animals called?

Where are found?

Write 2 things about:

their appearance
their habitat
their behaviour

http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter-nsf/WebPages/BHAN-53F7KJ?open

There will be a small prize for the first student to complete this activity!!! Remember, you must answer all the questions I've asked and you post post your answers in your BLOG!

Our excursion to the Sydney Aquarium

2006-05-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today AMEP-B and AMEP-C went to the Sydney Aquarium in Darling Harbour. AMEP-C met their teacher, Sally, at the Hogben Street campus and AMEP-B met me at Kogarah railway station. All the students had dressed up very nicely for the excursion. For some students it was the first time on the train to the city without a family member. Sally and I were very proud of the students as they either asked the clerk for a return ticket to the city or bought their ticket from the ticket machine.

Once we all had our tickets, we headed down to the platform to catch the train. However, two students were missing so Sally went out to the front of the station to look for them. There was only one student there! I rang Dan, the other student. I was very surprised when he told me that he was already at Darling Harbour! I told him to wait for us there.

The trip to the city was very quick. We got off the train at Town Hall station. Then we walked past Sydney Town Hall. It is a very big, beautiful, old building. Some of the students took photos here. Next, we walked past a huge statue of Queen Victoria and through the Queen Victoria building.

2006-05-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

In March I attended the winter paralympics in Turin.

Listen to me talking about my trip here.

Hi class!

2006-03-21T21:59:00.000-08:00

I've joined the blog community too. I'll post something as soon as I get time.

This is a photo taken with my AMEP class last year. We were celebrating my birthday. We had a lovely party. One of the students brought a cake and an unusual candle.

2006 Student Blogs

2006-02-20T15:39:00.000-08:00