Ballina to Lenox Head

Today went incredibly well at school today! I'd say first time I don't feel disappointed about anything that happened! Year 8's continued working on their bark paintings. I had a great conversation with one of my "problem" students, M. I complimented him on his painting skills and he started to talk about how his dad is a painter. He showed me pictures of his dad's work and I encouraged his own talents and told him he should show his dad his work when he's finished. It just did my heart good to establish a connection with him as I'm sure he's viewed as nothing but trouble in the eyes of many other teachers.

Year 7 was INCREDIBLE. They did such an amazing job working and cleaning up. I was so impressed. And now that I didn't have to constantly bark at them, both them and myself had a much more positive and enjoyable lesson. Now relationships can be built. I'm really glad I took the time to do some damage control. It paid off.

After school I drove 30 minutes to Ballina to get my Working with Children Check. I should've gotten this ages ago, but the school kind of swept it under the rug as no one wanted to drive me out to Ballina. I did quite well! On the drive, Helen pointed out places where the gum trees had burned a while ago. She said they spontaneously catch fire at times so they can rejuvenate. On our way back from Ballina, we stopped in Lenox Head. It's a quieter, less populated version of Byron Bay. Beautiful views and a large tea tree lake. The lake is really dark because of the tea tree oils which supposedly feel really good on your skin. I'll have to take a swim sometime!