Stripping the Willow

The three of us before our last day of school (It was a free dress day for me- thus the kilt and Scotland strip)

It's hard to believe, but the school year is now over. Both St. Columba's and Masterton finished up yesterday with a half-day schedule. The past few weeks have been difficult, with many goodbyes to our new friends, and yesterday might have been the hardest. We still have three weeks here in Scotland and some travels to finish off, but the clock is ticking on our big adventure. The school celebrations actually kicked off on Wednesday night, when Christa and I went to the Retiral Ceilidh to help send of those teachers who were retiring from St. Columba's.

Since we were going to attend the end-of-year ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) celebration, I figured I should go in style. I found a kilt rental store downtown and chose the Silver Thistle pattern. I went with a "fashion" tartan instead of a family pattern- I didn't want to start any fights by picking sides.

The band warming up before showtime!

Prior to the dancing, the three retiring teachers were acknowledged with speeches from colleagues and then were given a chance to share their own personal remarks. It was clear that all three of them had devoted a great deal of their lives to the school, and they will certainly be missed. The senior management also took a moment to bring me up and thank me for my efforts at the school this year, even presenting Christa with a bouquet of flowers. I took the opportunity to announce my retirement from teaching (I got caught up in the moment), but soon realized that might not be possible yet. Once all the talking was out of the way, it was time to dance!

Fortunately prom had given me a chance to work on my Scottish dancing technique the week before. The dance lasted for about two hours and included a number of different dances such as Gay Gordons, Canadian Barn Dance, St. Bernards Waltz and the Orcadian Strip the Willow. Christa was a good sport and spun her way around the dance floor as well. We closed with a traditional dance to the Scottish poem by Robbie Burns, Auld Lang Syne.

More spinning than the teacup ride at Disneyland.

The next day it was time to say goodbye to the students and staff at St. Columba's. Seeing as the last day of school was a half-day, many students (about 700 I would guess) didn't show up. You can understand not wanting to bus yourself into town for a few hours of school. For the small amount of time they do have, students tended to roam from room to room, talking to friends and sharing plans for the summer holiday. For me it was time to tidy up my classroom, gather up my belongings, and say those final goodbyes. The students were very sweet, and had many kind words for me before leaving school. It was hard to say goodbye to many of the kids who have left me with such fantastic memories of my time at St. Columba's, but the bell rang and it was finally time to go. 

The last time with my registration class (the half that showed up today). This is like a homeroom class that meets every morning during the first 15 minutes for announcements and attendance. I didn't have any of these kids as students, but they kept me right with pronunciations and terminology, as well as explaining to me what my announcements meant every morning.

The lunch area in the staff room. I always tried to strategically sit in the middle in an attempt to keep up with conversations.

Interior of the school foyer. Every day I climbed those steps to pick up the bulletin and check my "pigeon hole", or staff mailbox. You can see that Olympic spirit is in the air this year.

One last picture before driving away.

Next week we go in search of the Loch Ness Monster! Stay tuned.....

Friday 5's

My friends from Friday 5's presenting me with my very own Scotland strip (jersey) on the last Friday

When people ask me what I'll miss the most about St. Columba's, the first thing that always comes to mind are my Friday afternoon football games. Friday 5's were always something to look forward to and a great way to burn off any remaining energy at the end of the week. Not having grown up playing football (soccer) my whole life I felt a bit anxious at the start, but everyone was always encouraging and fun to play with. The games were always hard fought and competitive, without being taken too seriously.

My Friday 5's group (not all of which are pictured above) were also the core group of teachers I would eat lunch with each day. I can remember sitting in the lunch room at the start of the year, trying desperately to keep up with what everyone was saying (thick accents and speedy conversations). Over time my American ears adjusted and now I can almost keep up with all the different words for "lousy weather". It was through these daily conversations and stories that I learned so much about Scotland, and shared countless laughs. As I think about this whole experience, it's the friendships I have made with the staff that will be the hardest part about leaving. Also the fish and chips.

Some members of the staff took me out for paintball as a special goodbye. The flyer in the staff room said the outing was going to get me ready for my return to America, where I would be getting shot at.

Now for the last week of school......

Life at St. Columba's: Prom night

It was Prom Night this week at St. Columba's High School. The prom here is only for 6th year (seniors at home) students and is their last official school event, seeing that they finished with their exams a few weeks back. The Prom was held at the beautiful Balbirnie House Hotel, and in most ways was just like proms back home. There are a few subtle differences however, as students do not invite dates to the prom, many students are old enough to drink alcohol, I didn't hear any rap music, and of course the kilts. The kilts I was expecting, but it was quite strange to see students wandering around with a pint of beer. To their credit they were very well behaved throughout the evening and nobody seemed to be overdoing it. Can't say the same for the staff. Just kidding.

Students finishing up their dinner prior to the dancing.

Hanging out at the staff table after dinner.

The first part of the eventing was spent with some traditional Scottish dancing. I jumped in and gave it a go, thankfully not kicking too many people or stepping on toes along the way. Everyone was very patient with me and happy to help with the steps.

The girl's dresses seemed the same as back home, but I loved seeing the guys in their kilts.

Outside there was a photographer taking pictures of the students. These lads were happy to practice their pose for me. Do they look sharp or what!

I left the dance around 10:45, you can see it stays light pretty late here during the summer.

All in all I had a terrific night of dancing and hanging out with my fellow teachers. This group of 6th years seemed to have really bonded during their six years at St. Columba's and looked like they were having a great time as well.

Belfast: Starting to say goodbye

Belfast City Hall

Amazingly enough our adventure is beginning to come to a close. This past week was the first major step with my Fulbright End-Cap Meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland.  The British Consul and Fulbright brought together the remaining twelve American teachers for a few days of meetings to share our experiences and talk about the re-entry process as we prepare to finish our exchanges and make our way home. Additionally we were treated to some live music, a bus tour of Belfast, school visits, and a trip to the recently opened Titanic Belfast exhibit. This was the first time since September that I have seen the whole group of Fulbright teachers and I couldn't wait to see everyone again and hear how all the exchanges have gone.

Titanic memorial outside of the Belfast City Hall

Albert Memorial Clock. Completed in 1869, the tower leans four feet to the side.

The Fulbright group outside Queen's University

We started the year with nineteen American teachers in the UK, but seven were on a term exchange and went home in December. Through the magic of Facebook we have been in contact throughout the year, but hadn't been together as a group since our embassy visit in London last September. Teaching overseas has been an amazing experience, but certainly comes with unique challenges. The Fulbright group has been a tremendous source of support during the school year and I'm very thankful for the friendships made.

This year's group had teachers at a variety of locations, from elite boarding schools to small, rural primary schools in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. During the meeting each teacher gave a presentation about their experience and we shared quite a bit of laughter, and even some tears listening to everyone's stories. We talked about our personal highlights, what we've learned, how we contributed to our host schools, and how to implement our experiences back at our home schools. I felt very proud of the work done by my colleagues this year and admire the way all of us challenged ourselves with new experiences and persevered through the difficult stretches.

Titanic Belfast Museum. Click here to visit the museum website.

On our last day the teachers were divided into groups for classroom visits at local schools. Four of us spent the afternoon at Belfast Royal Academy. The school was quite beautiful, with its stone buildings and pristine landscaping. The school might not have been the most typical of schools (a bit "posh"), but surprisingly there was a warm, casual feel to the classes. Make no mistake, when it was time to work the students got right to it, but overall there was a happy atmosphere about the school and a good relationship between the staff and students.

A bonus to our visit was spending time with a Maths (they add the 's' here) teacher who had recently been on exchange to the United States in 2009-2010. He had been teaching in California and shared his experiences about coming home after the exchange. Re-entry issues were a big theme of our Fulbright meeting and it was interesting to hear how he adjusted to life back home after his year abroad. If you had to go home, the Belfast Royal Academy would certainly be a nice place to return to.

Entrance to the Belfast Royal Academy

We concluded our stay in Belfast with a bit more paperwork and some emotional goodbyes.  After three years of applications, interviews, a whole lot of waiting, and the actual exchange, this adventure of ours has been a lengthy process. My group came together in Washington D.C. a year ago with a million questions and a fair amount of anxiety and excitement. To be honest it was quite surreal to be sitting around the tables together on the other side of the exchange wondering how it can possibly be coming to an end soon. This first round of goodbyes was tough, as so many of us have leaned on each other this year for support, and strong friendships have been built. The folks at Fulbright have been equally fantastic and I can't say enough about the support they provide throughout the exchange.

We really are nearing the finish line, but there's still a ways to go yet. Two more weeks of teaching, end-of-year activities, and a few more adventures around the corner. Next up, Prom!

Finishing up paperwork at the British Consul

The Making of Harry Potter

In a year of all things Potter, we were fortunate to be in the UK for the 2012 unveiling of the Making of Harry Potter exhibit. The tour is a collection of sets and props from the eight films, as well as special exhibits on the make-up, design and construction of the movies. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, feel free to check back next week for the latest blog entry, otherwise enjoy this little overview of the tour.

Main reception area before you enter the tour

Pictures from the Dursley household.

The cupboard under the stairs

Entering the Great Hall at Hogwarts

There are displays for each house along the hall with costumes. The robe on the far left is Harry's original robe from the first film.

The main table for the teachers with costumes

Looking back at the Great Hall

Some deserts that were used at celebrations in the Great Hall

Diagon Alley and the Great Hall were called "hot sets", meaning they were film ready and could be used at any time. The ceiling in the Great Hall is open because they used digital effects to close it off for special occasions.

Large exhibition space for interior movie sets

Hanging out in Ron and Harry's room

Will gazing into the Mirror of Erised. Will says he saw himself as a pro footballer and BMX biker.

The Griffindor Common Room

Ainsley at the moving staircase which leads to Dumbledore's office

Dumbledore's office- notice the sorting hat on the shelf.

The Tri-Wizard Cup

The display case shows the wands of every major character (about 25 in all)

There were a number of display cases with special props

Snape's potions classroom

Hagrid's Hut

Inside the Burrow

One of the amazing things to see during the tour was the attention to detail. Individual packaging on magic tricks, sweets, and hand-written labels on wand boxes were impressive to see up close.

Some Every Flavor Beans

We had to get ourselves some Butterbeer. It tasted a bit like a cream soda float.

The Knight Bus

Checking in on the Dursleys. I almost expected them to open the door and yell at me.

Dobby and a few copies of the Care of Magical Creatures textbooks.

Ainsley visiting with the mechanical Hedwig

Shops from Diagon Alley

Architectural drawings for the Burrow. It's fascinating to see the process for creating the sets and characters.

Paper model of Hogwarts used in pre-production

Model of Hogwarts (1/24 size)

At the end of the tour there is a large space similar to Ollivanders Wand Shop. Each of these wand cases is labeled with the names of people who worked on the film.

Hand prints from Harry, Ron, and Hermione

Catching the bus back to the train station

Ainsley wanted to say how much she liked the giant Hogwarts model at the end and getting a Pygmy Puff like Ginny, and Will says "It was awesome".