Havelock Mussel Festival.....

Last Saturday my family went to the 

HAVELOCK MUSSEL FESTIVAL....

We had an excellent time and the weather was AWESOME!

My son Lance got chosen from the audience to help

CHRIS FORTUNE with a cooking demonstration.

Chris Fortune won 'Hells Kitchen' on television in 2003.

He is now the Executive Chef at two restaurants in Blenheim.

Lance loves cooking so he was a good choice.

 This is a photo of Chris Fortune from his website.
(Chris is the one with 2 legs)

Chris is  confident speaker and presenter and is the current Chairperson of Farmers' Markets New Zealand and the Marlborough Farmers' Market. 

He has run extensive workshops and training  programs for market organisers, stalholders as well as cooking classes - public speaking -  demonstrations  -  product launches through out NZ.

One of the hardest positions that I have held over the years is that of full time father and husband to my wife Tina and two children, Kacey Lewis Fortune and Holly Nancy Fortune.

Chris is the Executive Chef at the Blenheim Scenic Circle Country Hotel and

the Marlborough Convention Centre

This is Lance (in the red apron).

He really enjoyed this experience.

Chris Fortune also does cooking demonstrations in schools.

He likes to make use of local produce, often from the garden in the school.

This is a photo of Chris Fortune at Fairhall School, they were making

Potato Gnocchi!

I wonder if Chris would do a cooking demonstration at Birchwood School?

We would have to sort out our EDIBLE GARDEN first - any volunteers?

Check out Chris Fortune's web site.....

....still GROWING LEADERS @ Birchwood!

CONGRATULATIONS to Ruby and Cade....

elected as SCHOOL LEADERS at Birchwood School for Terms 1 and 2.

SEE... we are still growing LEADERS at Birchwood.

A Competition for YOU....

... I wish!

People keep giving me a hard time for all the cars I have owned since I have been at Birchwood School (only 4).

Mr Butterworth even included this in a Quiz that he ran for the teachers!

Because we live in MOTUEKA I have been trying to find the right car to travel in every day. A bit like the THREE BEARS who were looking for the most comfortable bed to sleep in!!

NOW... here is the competition.... I am going to post a picture of each of the cars I have had since being at Birchwood School.

NOW... what do you have to do?

1. list (or draw) the cars in the order that I owned them.

2. then name the make of each car - (HINT: either Honda, Mazda, Peugeot or Toyota)

GOOD LUCK!

NOW... write / draw this on a piece of paper and bring it to me in my office.

...and by the way... thank you for checking out my BLOG, it's great to know that YOU are taking an interest in what happens at our school.

THIS Competition ends as soon as I have had 10 winners!

(and that's REALLY HARD because everyone is a WINNER at Birchwood School)

PS: WATCH out for the next competition too.

St Martins school is HALL TOGETHER again.....

HALL TOGETHER: Two classes at St Martins School in Christchurch are being held in the school hall because of earthquake damage to at least eight other rooms.

Quake-hit St Martins School has reopened but at least eight classrooms are out of action.

Two classrooms, each with about 20 pupils, are operating in the hall.

The library, music room and a room that usually houses resource teachers have also been converted into classrooms.

"We have no space," principal Rob Callaghan said.

The school, which has a roll of about 480, reopened yesterday, with most pupils returning. About 60 pupils were still away.

Callaghan said the school had faced "hurdles, but we've jumped over each one and pushed them aside" to reopen.

He said he had never seen so many workmen in one place at one time.

"One day we had three roofers, seven people installing heat pumps, people doing repiling, others checking the heat pumps, two builders, two technicians doing wiring, and plumbers as well."

The school also has a 30,000-litre fresh-water tank in the playground so children have drinking water.

Callaghan said the two classrooms would operate in the hall for the rest of the term. He hoped temporary classrooms would be delivered next term.

Teachers and pupils were coping well with the change, but it was still a novelty, he said.

"It's going to be a lot harder with the classroom next door, but it's a lot bigger than our old classroom," pupil Cathy Reimer, 12, said. "We're going to get used to it, I suppose," she said.

The Press - 22/03/2011

We are GROWING leaders....

At Birchwood we are GROWING leaders....

We are trying to see if Bronte will grow as tall as Jarrod?

(just joking)

Bronte and Jarrod are our School Leaders.

They were elected by the students.

Well done to you both, you will represent Birchwood well.

I have been VERY slack....

It has been a very long time sine I last wrote in my blog.

This is my VERY first post for 2011.

In January we had a fantastic time in Collingwood.

Do YOU know where Collingwood is?

Have YOU been there too?

If you have, you will have to write a comment and tell me what YOU did there.

(There will be a special prize for everyone who posts a comment

- remember to write your name and room number on your post)

WE went on a BIG RED BUS and went all the way out to the light house

on Farewell Spit.

In the photo YOU can see Lance and Timothy standing by the BIG RED BUS.

Te Papa Adventure....

I hope everyone is having a GREAT holiday!!

In the first week of the school holidays we went to Wellington.

We travelled on the InterIslander Ferry the Aratere.

Aratere means 'Quick Path'.

It was built in Spain in 1998 and can carry 369 passengers.

The Aratere uses 35 litres of diesel every minute!!

It is 150 metres long and 20.3 metres wide.

It travels at 19.5 knots, which is 36 kph.

The Aratere weighs 12,596 tonnes (gross).

It can carry 60 rail wagons, 20 trucks and 130 cars....

and us!

We spent a day at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand -

Te Papa Tongarewa

Here is a link to a short video on Te Papa...

Preview the Museum with our 2-minute video tour

Dinosaurs....

This is John Britten's motor bike that he built in his back yard.

I thought of Room 8 when I saw this boat, it was just like the ones that you made.

Have you been to Te Papa?

When did you go and what did you think of it?

Write me a comment and let me know.

Remember to sign your name and room number when you do.