Jobs, Placement & School - Oh My!

Hello everyone!!

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last 6 weeks. July was a very busy month down here! Heather has found a job at Bondi Pizza; a gourmet pizza restaurant in the very busy Bondi Junction. She's been putting in a lot of hours to save up as much money as she can before she starts to travel and see the sights of Australia.

Showing our team spirit at ANZ Stadium

Leah has ticked off another box on her Master's "to-do" list. July 30th was her final day of placement at St. Joseph's hospital in Auburn and she's already started the new one. At the hospital she was working with adult clients who have had a stroke or have degenerative diseases, and are experiencing speech/language difficulties. Her new placement is at The Sheperd Centre in Roseville which is in the Northern part of Sydney. She is working with hearing impaired children who have hearing aids or cochlear implants. On her first day she observed and participated in therapy sessions, and the rest of her week has been clinical meetings with all staff members of the various centres in New South Wales and Canberra. The meetings have been a great way to learn a lot of background information about the field of Auditory Verbal Therapy, and the various factors that contribute to cases of individuals with hearing impairment. She was nervous heading into it since it is so different than most speech pathology practices, but she seems to be excited about what she will learn this placement.


I have almost three weeks in the books as a full time teacher with my year 1/2 split class at Coogee Public School. The weeks are already flying by! There have been a lot of things going on at the school so far this term. There has been at least one day every week where something is going on that eats up a whole day. Whether it's the Athletics Carnival, NAIDOC Day (celebrating Aboriginal Heritage) or Sustainability Day where the kids learn about the 3 R's, it's been fun for the kids (and for me!). It has made it a bit tricky to establish a routine with the kids, but it's coming. I'm really enjoying the kids and the life of a teacher; the days are pretty busy, it all seems hectic while it's happening, but all of a sudden the bell goes and another day has gone. I put in some pretty long days the first couple of weeks, but now that I'm organized I feel like I can sit back and enjoy my evenings.


Even with all of this going on, the three of us are still managing to get out once in a while. We met up with Luke, Tamara, Tamara's sister Claire, and their friend (also Claire) for a BBQ on Saturday followed by our last visit to ANZ Stadium to watch the Sydney Swans. They got slaughtered by the defending champions, but it's always a fun time. And just in case that wasn't enough fun, we're planning a big night out Friday in the Rocks... we're all very excited!

Heather taking in the view of Bondi Beach

The weather here has been up and down lately; there's been a lot of rain, but also some pretty warm and sunny afternoons - today especially! It felt a lot like spring, which is appropriate since spring kicks in September 1st here. I think we're all about ready for the warm weather to return, especially since we've been hearing about the wonderful weather back home.

I guess that's all for now - we'll try and post more frequently as we're coming down the home stretch down under - CHEERS!

Jeff, Leah & Heather
xoxoxo