2012/05/16

Thursday class

Hi all,

I've been getting messages that most of you will not be present in the class tomorrow. Since there is no real point in me giving a class to a handful of people (and I'd still have to catch up on all that with others), let's just do the class "virtually".

So:

1. You don't have to come to the classes tomorrow.
2. But please study the materials I will post later today, and I mean STUDY them - watch all clips and read linked articles.

Deal?

So, there we go:




1. Sport

"Australian sport deserves quality piss taking or none at all."


Australians are a nation of active people and they like to joke that they spend more on excercising than on education, but it doesn't mean that they are going to worship their sportsmen and sportswomen blindly. They always retain a healthy dose of irony and humour.

Asked about cricket, they would say something like that:

Cricket is a game that moves about as fast as a Jamaican on valium. It involves watching 11 men in white clothes stand around a field for a few hours, then break to have lunch, stand around, then break again to have a cup of tea, stand around, then go home. The same thing occurs for another 4 days, and then after all that effort, both teams call the whole thing a draw...

Remember, "Australian sport deserves quality piss taking or none at all." So true ;-)


Australians pride themselves on inventing football. That's correct. Football. (see the link under science). However "footy" may mean different games in different states. More on that here.

AFL



2. Talking about sport, we can't possibly forget about Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.















But the main point is to be able to have fun.

Have a listen to this commentary. Pay attention to how Polish audience react to Aussie scoring goals, and how the commentators react to the goal scored by Poland. A bit eye-opening, eh?




3. Science and the inventive Australian mind.

Have a look at the long list of Aussie inventions.

Here is the history of one of them:



4. Subcultures

This is a trailer of a film that not only started off the great career of Russell Crowe but at that time was a very important voice in the discussion about Australian youth.




*

2012/05/09

Tomorrow the mysterious letter "T"

Yes, I know we're skipping "S" for the time being, don't worry, we'll go back to it later.

What you'll need tomorrow is just general knowledge and ability to make associations. That's also your chance to score a lot of points for your team.

Good luck and see you in the class :)

2012/04/25

The Letter "R"


Tomorrow we'll be focusing on the following topics:

1. Radio

We have already seen what the wireless was like at the beginning of 20th century, with its aspiration to become the "new BBC". Follow the link above to learn more.








I'm not that much interested in names, dates and details. Instead concentrate on the impact that radio has had on the community in a country where many citizens live in very remote areas.

2. Religion

3. The Rabbit Proof Fence (the history of introducing new species: sheep and rabbits)

4. rocks and mountains

5. rivers (Murray-Darling)


*
**
***
****
*****

2012/04/17

Call to arms!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we need to get most things done for the Open Day.

When you finish your classes please come upstairs to our four classrooms - I'll be there from 1:15 pm.

Just a quick reminder who is doing what:

NATIONAL PARKS (210)
Paulina Majka
Kasia Smajdor
+ me

DEADLY ANIMALS (207)
Gosia Zwolennik
Ania Owsianka
Ania Kowalik
Kasia Adamek
Gabi Wójs

AUSSIE RULES (211)
Alicja Strączek
Agnieszka Joniec
Marta Citak
Adam Motyka
Mirek Zaręba
Grześ Szwala

ABORIGINAL ART (209)
Kinga Bołoz
Agnieszka Damasiewicz
Sylwia Grzegorzek
Justyna Schabińska
Asia Gragas

POSTERS
Karolina Starostka
Ania Gardoń

FOOD CORNER
Diana Lisowicz


I'm sure I've omitted somebody, so please add your name in the comments section. Thank you :)

If you want to start earlier (but on the sole condition that your teacher agrees ;) ) our materials are in rooms 004 and 107.

If you need me for anything, I'll be in 107 (8:00 - 9:30), 209 (9:30 - 11:00) and 210 (11:30 - 13:00)

*

2012/04/14

OPEN DAYS - SOME LINKS

1) What it was like in the past:

"Australian corner" photos here (taken by me)
Lots of photos here (taken by Ms Bogacz)

2) DOT PAINTING:

Aboriginal symbols - 1
Aboriginal symbols - 2 (lots of galleries - left hand side menu)
Aboriginal symbols - 3 + a bit of history
Aboriginal symbols - 4
Aboriginal symbols - 5 (animal traces and fruit/vegetables)

3) AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL

AFL rules nowadays - from Wikipedia
MCG (the "G") - a programme about the Melbourne Cricket Grounds and Aussie Rules history

4) Dangerous Animals - less typical ;)



will be continued ;)

Man dies after knock during football game...

This sometimes happens... :(

A POPULAR West Australian amateur footballer has died in hospital after collapsing during a match.

Josh Henderson, aged in his early 20s, was playing a C-grade Australian Rules match for Mosman Park Football Club in their first game of the year today when he was knocked as he went for the ball during the second quarter.

"It was in the course of the game, a bump, going for the ball, nothing untoward and he died of a heart attack at the hospital about an hour later," club president Ian Earl said.

"It wasn't even a big bump to speak of. They went for the ball, he stood up, and took two steps and went down."
Mr Earl said the club was devastated by the news.

"Everybody's mortified," he said.

Mr Henderson had been a popular member of the club, where he had been playing for four years, and was among the top five players.


"Without any shadow of a doubt, he would be the fittest, strongest, biggest bloke in our club and he was playing reserves because he had been injured and he was only playing reserves because that's the sort of bloke he was," Mr Earl said.

"He was a big strong young man, very popular young man.

"He was just everybody's friend, a complete guy, a wonderful character, one of the most popular guys in the club."

Deaths during Australian Rules matches are not common, but nor are they rare, with three deaths reported last year.

Last September, Melbourne man Shaun Bergin died after being knocked unconscious in a suburban Melbourne match 16 days earlier.

The 26-year-old had been in a coma after hitting his head on the ground following a mid-air collision while playing for Balwyn in an Eastern Football League semi-final.

His death came three weeks after another Victorian teenager, Nathan Prince, died following a match in Ballarat.

The 17-year-old went into cardiac arrest after receiving a knock to his body during a game on August 20.

He died in hospital on August 31, with an existing but previously undetected medical condition believed to have contributed to his death.

Another young man, Kyle Thomas, 25, died of head injuries after colliding with another player during a match in Perth last September.

He was placed on life support in hospital but died the following day.

Police said at the time that Mr Thomas had a pre-existing medical condition and had been warned about the dangers of continuing to play.

2012/04/11

TOMORROW AND FRIDAY

***

No "standard" class but I want everybody be present!

We'll be doing some preparatory work for the Open Days.

I hope that everybody remembers that April 19th IS NOT a day off, and EVERYBODY must participate one way or another.

Basically till tomorrow you have a choice between working on things you want, and doing things I'll tell you to do ;)

So make your mind up on how you want to be involved and let me know tomorrow.



***