Weekend Trip to Hamilton, NZ

The Beach house!!


Beach View


At our hotel before leaving for the Rugby Game


On Saturday morning I had my first facial/massage. It was neat to experience this for the first time in New Zealand. It was very relaxing it almost put me to sleep. After the massage Jane and I went for a walk on the beach. Then I arrived back home and Karyn and I began our trip to Hamilton to watch the All Blacks play against the Wales. It was so exciting, I did not know much about Rugby prior to this adventure. I have learned so much about Rugby in the past few weeks, it reminds me of American football the only difference is that in Rugby the clock does not stop for Time Outs and such it is an 80 minute game and the only time the clock stops is at half time.

Getting Candy for the Rugby Game


My First Rugby Game!!!


On Sunday morning we woke up in our hotel, Narrows Landing and had breakfast. I had poached eggs for the first time in my life. Karyn and I then packed our bags and went into Hamilton and went down River Walk. This is a walkway that overlooks Waikato River, the largest river in New Zealand. We then started our trip home and stopped at Candy Land for New Zealand chocolate and fudge. We had a great weekend adventure in Hamilton, I can’t wait for the weekends ahead!

ALL BLACKS vs. WALES


Food of the Day: Thai Food, Poached Eggs, Blue Cod Fish, Cadburry Milk Tray, Dairy Milk Macadamia Nut, Ernest Adams Raspberry Slice, Pinky Bar, Gold Rush Fudge, Peanut Butter Fudge, Chocolate covered jelly beans from CANDY LAND and Gooey Caramel Memphis Meltdown (Tip Top Ice Cream Bar)

Week 7 at Point View Primary School

Second Week of Full Control!

The finished web with spiders and WILBUR poems!


After a long day of teaching!!


Teaching is getting more natural and rewarding every day for me. I am learning so much every day as well as the students. On Monday, I showed a PowerPoint about Georgia and my life as a child raised on a farm. I showed them pictures of me showing pigs at the county fair. Jane and the students call me Fern. It is so funny how my life correlates with our class novel, Charlotte’s Web so nicely. My personal PowerPoint also helped get the students more excited about our thematic unit, Charlotte’s Web. Monday I noticed that I am more confident and excited about Mathematics than I ever have before. Mathematics is something that you have to plan on a daily basis. For example, today I had to change my whole MATHS lesson because the students do not understand fractions and therefore do not grasp the concept of (1/2 past, ¼ past, ¼ to) when reading the clock. I am so fortunate to have such a great supervising teacher. Jane has really stood back and all the students see me as a teacher. I am also learning that it is not always best to use pre-cut-outs. The class made spiders on Tuesday and the American side of me wanted to give them a design to cut out or trace. However, the New Zealand side of me allowed the students to create their own unique spider. It was amazing how funky and creative the spiders turned out just by me not touching the pencil and letting the students be creative in their own way.

Wednesday was a big day for me, I got observed teaching a reading lesson. I used new Guided Reading teaching strategies that I learned over the past weeks. We had lunch to celebrate my successful teaching observation. We had lunch at the Plant and garden center. Haha In New Zealand they have restaurants in furniture stores and even in a greenhouse. I must say it was kind of weird eating in a store with lots of plants.

In New Zealand the teachers have to teach physical education. I am finding that very challenging. I feel that you use a different tone of voice when you are teaching physical education. It is almost as if you form into a new teacher when you teach this subject area. The children respond so differently when they are outside and they have free reign to move around.


All Whites Spirit Day!


On Thursday all the students wore all white to cheer on New Zealand as they play in the World Cup this week. It was fun to see all the creative costumes that the students came up with at school. On Friday morning the children arrived at school around 6 a.m. to watch the ALL WHITES play in the Soccer World Cup. The students, faculty and staff are FIRED UP, to say the least! This is the first time that the ALL WHITES have scored in the World Cup in 28 years. Everyone is ecstatic.


Thursday night I had real Mexican food for the first time since I have been in New Zealand. I had chicken quesadillas, chips and salsa. Jane, Marie (another teacher at Point View School) and I then went to a live performance at the SKYCITY Theatre. The show was called Stepping Out starring Suzanne Paul, dancing with the stars champion. The show was very entertaining and at the end of the show two male dancers jumped off stage and came running to dance with me. So in front of the whole audience I had a chance to dance with the male performer from the show. It was hilariously funny and Jane, Marie and I left the theatre laughing hysterically.

At the SKYCITY Theatre with Marie


Eating our delicious triple chocolate trumpets!!


On Friday morning all the children arrived at school at 6:30 a.m. to watch the All Whites play in the Soccer World Cup. The game was played on the big screen and the teachers fed the students toast and jam. The children were so excited and cheered on the All Whites together as a school in the assembly hall. However, the excitement did not end there. We started the morning creating dragons out of clay. The children loved it and designed some amazing clay dragons. Then my visiting lecturer gave me a surprise visit during morning tea. He is so nice, we had a good time catching up and he recommended a few things for me to experience while away in the South Island in the upcoming weeks ahead. After school a few teachers and I went to a local restaurant and caught up on school things and just life in general. The teachers are so friendly and welcoming, I almost feel part of the teaching staff at Point View School.

Cheering on the ALL WHITES at 6:30 a.m. in the assembly hall before school!


Cutting the Clay


Creating Imaginary Clay Dragons


My supervising lecturer, Dareen and I


Food of the Day: Flake (Milk Chocolate), Pink-Iced Buns, Lemon Fudge, Milo Bar, and Triple Chocolate Trumpet

Day at Matakana Markets, the Coast and Omaha Vineyards

The Toilets!!!


Brick Bay Vineyard




Well, I survived my first week of full control teaching Year 3 and started the weekend off with a bang and a little celebration. I had an exciting weekend adventure with Jane and her husband to the Matakana Markets on Saturday. We spent the day looking at the farmer’s markets and enjoying the art galleries and other sites. We visited Omaha Bay Vineyard, Brick Bay Vineyard and Tapianos tasting wine at the local Vineyards. Then we went to visit The Craig’s beachfront property and caravan on the coast it was beautiful. We took a walk on the beach and enjoyed the breath taking view. It was a nice relaxing drive to the North part of the Island that I have yet to see. We ended the day with Fish and Chips on the coast.

On Sunday I took it easy and slept a lot to rest up from the day before. I also experienced Italian food for the first time since I have been in New Zealand.

On the Coast with Jane



Food of the Day: Picnic Bar, Vogel's Toast and Poppa Jacks (taste like Funyuns)

Week 6 Teaching side of things

Making Grandma's Recipe of Ranch House Cookies



Monday was the Museum visit, which I updated you all on earlier this week. On Tuesday I taught all by myself all day. Jane was absent from school today so I learned a lot and gained a lot of control. The students really respond to me well and I seem to have a handle on things better than I ever have. I am learning new reward systems and behavior management strategies that work well with students. I introduced my own unique reward system today. I decorated a special box and when I catch students being good they get to put their name in the box for a drawing on Friday. This Friday, the three students that were drawn had the special privilege of making grits with me for the class and teachers. I have found that behavior management is of upmost importance when teaching because if you don’t have control then the lesson is useless. I have also learned that as a teacher you must constantly think about what you must do next in the classroom and how to make the most of each day in order to get everything done. The school days seem to fly by so fast and I find myself constantly playing catch up from the days before.

Wednesday was a good day of teaching as well. Jane was busy in her office with parents and conferencing so it was another good day of experiencing full control as a teacher. I am getting the hang of it more and more each day. I feel more confident in my teaching and feel prepared for the challenges ahead. Jane says that I am doing well so she does not interfere with the teaching at all, I finally feel like a real teacher. It is a great feeling.

On Wednesday and Thursday I observed parent/teacher conferences. I found it very unique in New Zealand primary schools. At point view primary school the conferences are called “Triadic conferences.” It is were the student, teacher, and parent form a triangle and talk together about the child’s learning goals at school and home. The teacher has the student read their individual goal to the parent and teacher. The child then explains what it means and how they can practice it at home and at school. The teacher then allows the student to go play on the computer and talks to the parents alone while going over key competencies with parents alone. I found the conferencing to be very effective for the whole family and teacher.

On Friday I had the chance to make grits with a few students and we had a great ending to my sixth week of teaching. It is unbelievable how much I am learning each day. I am enjoying full control and the freedom I have with it.

Cooking GRITS with a few of the students at school.


Away from school-
I experienced Kiwi style fish and chips for the first time today! We went to the fish market where the fish is fresh and we had the opportunity to pick our fish and get it battered and fried in front of us. It was an awesome experience, the fish and chips are wrapped in newspaper....they are very tasty.

On Wednesday and Thursday I stayed at school until 6:30-7:00 with Parent/Teacher Conferences. On Friday a few teachers and I went out after school. It was fun and exciting to mix and mingle with a few of the staff members away from the teaching side of things.

I spent all day Saturday with Jane and her husband at the Matakana Markets and other areas North of Auckland!

Food of the Day: Neenish Tart and Toffee Pops

More pictures from the Medieval Banquet

Mrs. Craig, Kyle and I before the Medieval Banquet


Teaching the class how to make cinnamon toast


Getting ready for the feast!


Reading to the class before the banquet


Teaching room 15 how to make cinnamon toast

Day at the Museum June 14th

Before we went to the Museum I finished Charlotte's Web. The children are so excited about our new vocabulary words and theme Charlotte's Web.


The Museum was full of lots of information on the wonderful and unique life on the islands of New Zealand. The museum was divided into galleries. The first gallery was about the origins and the story of the country's beginning. The next two galleries were about land and ocean taking the students on a topographical journey from mountain top down to the shore and out to the sea. One gallery was about Volcanoes and even allowed students to experience a pretend volcano eruption. It was a little scary, I must say. The last gallery was about fossils and dinosaurs.

The very rare kiwi bird


Well, today was my first day as Miss. Burton as the teacher, fully in charge and in control of the 26 students of room 15. It was a great success and an awesome experience for me. I have learned so much over the past few weeks, but actually being in charge of 26 excited students in a museum was quite a learning experience. I have learned that parent help is an essential with whole day class field trips. The parents that Jane and I picked to help out with the field trip were exceptional, there were four parents plus Jane and I. The four parents already knew all the students name through volunteering in the classroom over the past few months so they were great help.

The whole class in the Auckland Museum!!


The FAB 5 a.k.a DISCOVERERS

My beautiful group of five students that I took around the Museum today we called ourselves the Discoverers



We also visited a dinosaur exposition in a classroom taught by a Museum Educator. The session was a hands-on session where students had the opportunity to handle rock collections, fossils, lava bombs etc....The students at Point View have been studying about dinosaurs so the course was very interesting and educational for all students. Even I learned a little something about the difference between fossils and dinosaur bones!

Food of the Day: Vegemite Sandwich (YUCK!!!!), New Zealand Apricot Jam, Seedless Blackberry Jam and New Zealand Peanut Butter, Gaiety, Caramel Oaty slice and Karyn’s famous FUDGE!!!

Weekend Update June 11-13

Jane, Jessica and I out on the town!!

Wow, I can’t believe I have just finished my fifth week of student teaching. Time is flying by so fast. I had the opportunity to catch up with Jessica Srdar, who is student teaching in Auckland as well. She is a student of the University of Georgia so it was good to see a familiar face and catch up with an American and talk about our experiences. We met up with my teacher, Jane and her husband at a local restaurant. On Saturday I went shopping with Jane and a friend, Marilyn at Sylivia Park, the biggest mall in New Zealand. I then came home and made Hokey Pokey with the Webster family and then we went to the Cock and Bull for dinner and wine. After we arrived back home for dinner we ate Choc Bars and port wine while watching All Blacks (The notorious rugby team of NZ). I have found that you have to have New Zealand chocolate with New Zealand/Australia Port Wine. On Sunday we went to the Victorian Markets. I am beginning to love New Zealand people, I have been said to look like Carrie Underwood, Reece Witherspoon, talk like Britney Spears and today a lady asked if I was a model!! Needless to say, my self-esteem has increased immensely. The highlight of my day was buying New Zealand UGG Boots for only $100 US Dollars. Anyone who has bought UGG Boots knows that this is a STEAL!! I found out that the UGG Boots originated in New Zealand and Australia just stole their idea and put UGG on the back...supposedly NZ called them UGGLY BOOTS!! haha

Karyn, Deanna and I at Sale Street!!


All the children with our new UGGLY BOOTS (Deanna, Kathryn, Nick and I)

New Drink of the Day: Shingle Peak New Zealand Pinot Noir, Kiwi fruit Vodka and Midiori and Pinapple
Food of the Day: Choc Bar, Banoffee Dessert Pizza, Hokey Pokey, Chocolate and Caramel Slice and Steak and Stout Hot Pot, Wagyu Burgers and cookie bear chocolate chip cookies