EMPIRE NIGHT

During the last week we have had a few sprinkles of rain in the form of 2 showers which lasted a couple of hours each. The damp earth was wonderful to smell both during and after the showers.
Teaching continues to the end of the Easter term on April 5. With Parent's Week and Parent-Teacher interviews approaching there is a flurry of in-class testing of the students. It is great to see how well some of the students have done on their class tests!
The main activity since the last blog entry was the Student Council Empire Night which was held on Saturday, March 23 in the Sports Hall.

The Student Council Executive and Committee members really worked hard to showcase some of the different empires which  have existed over the centuries. The main entrance was transformed to resemble one of the pyramids, completed with a Sphinx on either side of the doorway! (in the likeness of the Student Council co-presidents.

Many of the students dressed up in various costumes representing the Egyptian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire and one empire which you could only find in the history book. Thank you to the Graham's and their dorm for this portrayal.

The staff also dressed in varied costumes as Darth Vader, the Empire State Building, Don Quixote, the British Empire. There were representative from the Mogul Empire and many other empires.
All participants were issued a booklet of coupons of various values in Drachmas to pay for food, horse rides,  and games. The Dosa stall was as always very popular with the staff and students. The bar served ice-cream floats which sold out early in the evening.

Entertainment was provided by students and staff. There was a music-video competition as well as the popular 30 seconds of fame!

Today, Good Friday, was a very special day with a full school assembly at which Mr. Ralph Buckingham, former staff, spoke. A group of 4 A-level students presented a scriptural drama of the events of the first Good Friday. It was very simple and yet extremely powerful as they recounted the events of the Garden of Gethsemane and the Crucifixion.

With the end of term and Easter, in addition to the Buckingham's, we have several former staff visiting at the moment. They include Karen Neff, German teacher, Mr. and Mrs. Dickey and family, DPD, and Miss Wendy Ballis, music, and Paul.

If the weather is good, some of the Staff and IG's will hold an Easter Sunrise service on the road to the Tea Factory. This provides a good view of the valley and should permit us to see the sunrise.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter.

Bench Walk!

Well, you are saying to yourself, what on earth is a "Bench Walk" and a very good question indeed!
The excitement at the Dorm Meeting reached fever pitch when Saturday's activity was announced. The boys went wild! They were so excited. Earlier in the week the Standard 10 and Standard 11 students had been advised of their teams for the weekend activity and the need for an identifying costume. They were not told what the activity would be. That was kept until the Friday night Dorm meetings.
Bright and early Saturday morning 9 of the benches from the Dining Room at Lushington were transported down to the Ooty railway station. The students all assembled at 10:00 A.M. and Mrs. A. explained the activity. It was really quite simple. As a team you had to carry your bench back to school as quickly as possible without being photographed by the paparazzi which were all over town. The paparazzi were actually staff members  who were assigned various areas of town to be on the lookout for a group of students carrying a bench.
If the students were spotted by the paparazzi, a photo was to be taken and a 3 minute penalty was added to their time. If the students were all able to get on the bench before the photo was taken, then there was no penalty! Quite simple! One team was only photographed once, if you can imagine. Another team was caught on camera for a total of seven times!
My spot was up near the State Bank where three roads came up from Commercial Road. As I was walking up the hill I saw a group of women police officers on their way to work for the day.
 One group almost got by as I had gone down one road and just turned around to see the bench going by at the top of the hill. A quick run up the hill and they were caught on camera. A "Good morning Hebron" brought them to a standstill as the clambered up on the bench for a mandatory 10 second count.
The second group actually spotted me. I had just put my camera down and was in the process of opening my water bottle when I noticed a group of students standing on a bench and waving at me! They were good natured enough to stop and let me take their photo. Of course they stopped right in the middle of the road much to the astonishment of many of the locals who were going about their Saturday morning affairs.
The first team made it back to school in 50 minutes and the last team took 65 minutes. This was before penalty times were added. Once back at school the students gathered on the Titch Pitch for a time of games and relaxation.
During the afternoon, Roger put together a slide show with some video clips and all the photos taken were examined to discover which teams had been caught by the paparazzi.
In the evening  we all gathered in the GSMH for games, snacks, and the prize giving. Group games such as Streets and Roads (cat and mouse), Pan drop, Mop twirl, and Chivalry, Horsemen and Knights rounded out the evening. It was great Saturday.
This week has been a normal teaching week along with dinner at the Weber's Monday night, Music Tuesday, Wednesday night Bible Study followed by dinner at Valsa's, and Thursday night staff meeting.
One of the treats of the Saturday morning activity was a chance to have a look around the Nilgiris Library which dates from the mid 1800's. The building is in quite good shape. The smell of musty old books is the first thing which greets your nostrils as you enter the building. You must be a member if you wish to borrow books and the parking is reserved for "Members Only!"
Friday night is the weekly Dorm meeting and there is a Student Council event scheduled for Saturday. While all this is going on there are the trails for the Track & Field events. This afternoon I spent time with one of the Phys. Ed. staff doing the trials for the Discus Throw! We have some great throwers. The actual Field Day will be held during Parent's Week just before the school break in early April.
 

Lushington Day

The last week was a very busy week for me as I had to monitor the preparation of the Standard 10's for their second Oral Assessment. As part of the process a topic was given and the students were permitted 6 in class periods to prepare their material for presentation. In accordance with IGCSE procedures the students were allowed a sheet with up to 5 small drawn images and up to 30 words which they could use as they presented their speech and then answered questions. All this was recorded and then listened to twice or thrice more until I was able to evaluate the material using a marking guide. It is quite a process when one has never done this type of exercise before! The speeches were completed by the end of the day Friday, March 9 and the marking was completed earlier today, Wednesday, March 13. It was important to grade the speeches in a relatively short time in order to maintain the same marking criteria.

In the middle of all this was Lushington Day 2013! Saturday, March 10, saw both the Lushington Campus and the Selborne Campus organize activities for all the students. We started the day with breakfast outside in front of the Hoz flat. I had a great view of the set up from my window.

At Lushington there were games for the students in Middle School on up as well as special activities for the Junior School students. We had basketball, football, and relays. My task was to be the time-keeper for the Middle and Senior school basketball games. Fortunately it was a bright, sunny day and I was quite comfortable for the three hours I sat on a concrete wall in the sun watching my watch!

A wonderful lunch was served outside the Administration building before the Scavenger Hunt for the Junior School took place.

In the afternoon both the staff and the students were treated to high-tea! This is really quite a special occasion as many of the staff have spent countless hours baking special cakes, cookies, and other delicacies for all to enjoy. Tickets are issued to everyone with a 3 piece limit. This is to ensure all are able to sample the delicious treats. Once all have been served, then there was a rush as the students indulged!

Supper was served on the Big Pitch. There was a bonfire which chased away the damp evening chill when the sun went down. Once supper was finished and the Smores were being served it was time for the Barn Dance. A quantity of hay had been brought in and spread on the Big Pitch. Miss Abbott led the most male students through all kinds of dance routines. There was much hilarity and enjoyment all around.

By 10:00 P.M. it was time to wind up the festivities and clean up. Well done to the Graham's, Miss Abbott and all others who contributed to the success of the day.

Leaver's Weekend 2013!

The week after Support Staff went by rather quickly. On Sunday 2 other teaching staff members and I were invited to the home of one of the administration staff to enjoy a home cooked meal! The meal was delicious and not at all too spicy. We enjoyed the meal and had a great time around the table as we shared about our families and how we are adapting to Hebron and Ooty. Later in the afternoon we walked back to school using the back roads and alleys rather than the main road.

On Monday night I was able to share a very western style meal with the Weber family. The apricot chicken was simply delicious!! Finger licking good! The broccoli and cauliflower in cheese sauce went down easily! I will certainly have to have another meal with the family.
After school Tuesday I went to Concert Band Practice. At the moment I am playing the Euphonium part on a Baritone! There is a need in the lower brass section. We have more than enough violins and flutes.

My Standard 10 students are in the middle of preparing for their GCSE French Oral Assessments. There is a fair amount of tension as I, as teacher, am not to help the students. They are required to present their own work!

Once again this year the Leaver's Weekend was held at Brooklands Guest House in Upper Coonoor. You will notice the gate in the photo which is to keep the wild bison out of the compound. There are other entry points and a bison was found grazing in the grass just in front of the building in which some of the girls were housed! The students were each given 20 rupees and had to make their own way to Brooklands. The whole point of the Leaver's Weekend is to prepare the students for going to university. While they are here at school mostly everything is planned for them.

They all arrived in time for supper and then the programme commenced. The first session was an introduction to culture,  TCKs (Third Culture Kids), and transition. The Saturday session dealt with practical aspect of settling in, closing Hebron well, and what to expect at university.
There was free time in the afternoon and many walked into Coonoor and went to Café Coffee Day.

One surprising element of the weekend was the arrival of a ''clone'' of one of our students. There were several Freedom Firm workers also staying at Brooklands and one of them is an exact copy of Ved, one of our students. The resemblance is remarkable from the dark hair, the dark eye glasses, the facial features and the blue fleece top they were both wearing. It provided much amusement over the weekend.

Saturday night was given over to acting out solutions to real life problems which former students had encountered either at uni or in life.
It was a great weekend and I took the school bus with 32 students back to school. There were 18 students who came back by public transportation. All in all, it was a great weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the staff and students.