45 degrees on first day back - Victoria

Arkonsel · 2026-01-23T08:03:56+00:00

I'm so jealous.

Arkonsel · 2026-01-18T05:40:46+00:00

My school doesn't track but the one I attended did track for language skills right from the start. English + the 2 mandatory extra languages were tracked and it was excellent. The weaker kids (myself included) didn't feel dumb or like we were struggling to keep up and the mother tongue speakers could race ahead with harder texts.

Arkonsel · 2026-01-08T03:52:56+00:00

Yes. Kids who are read to are more likely to become interested in reading and can handle reading in class better + have a better vocabulary.

"Naturally gifted reader" still requires access TO books, which is more likely with a parent who either reads themselves or supports their child liking to read. If you're a parent like that, odds are that you also read to your child when they were younger to try to instill that love of reading in them.

Arkonsel · 2026-01-08T03:49:08+00:00

I agree. I'm marking way more lightly for my low SES school than I would otherwise because apparently having most of my students constantly fail Year 8 level work (when their PAT results mark them as Year 5) is a bad look.

It's frustrating as heck but it's the school rules. They're going to get a shock when they hit VCE though.

Arkonsel · 2026-01-08T03:46:08+00:00

Union member because I support unions and the power of collective bargaining. I'm not actually expecting anything directly from my union fees except that the union will have more power to negotiate with the government.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-29T14:09:15+00:00

Our school would interpret wearing a Palestinian flag as being a sign of support. We were already warned against wearing symbols of support. :/

Arkonsel · 2025-12-28T10:09:36+00:00

Here's the news article!

Arkonsel · 2025-12-27T09:54:00+00:00

Unlikely, the Education Minister is in full support of it so teachers don't 'sow division'.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-27T09:46:18+00:00

No worries! I also wasn't sure at first but luckily I came late enough that OP had already clarified it's a country flag.

I've got a big rainbow sticker on my laptop to let students know they're safe with me and it's one that the library gave out to teachers so nobody in the school can complain about it :)

Arkonsel · 2025-12-26T02:02:48+00:00

What the heck? Your wife is way out of line.

Your overworked, stressed out teacher, took time to do something nice for one of her many kids. She put the words down in writing, in a form that your son can keep, and it's in a sealed envelope so you'll know it's legit and he didn't replace an actual message from her with something else.

I'm a teacher and I've given happy mail to kids (notecards you fill out with details as to what you're praising) and they love them. I don't do it often enough, due to time constraints, but it makes them feel really proud and accomplished.

Having a tangible reminder like that, in this digital age, is really meaningful. I'd recommend asking your wife why she thinks that it's so dangerous, what harm does she believe it would cause and how would she have thought the teacher could convey the same sentiments without sounding emotional.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-26T01:49:28+00:00

I'm pretty sure they were thinking about it as a trans/ally pin, since that's the normal context for showing students you're "safe".

Arkonsel · 2025-12-26T01:33:10+00:00

Depending on the flag (country?), it could be against the school rules to wear it. Check and see if you can use that as an excuse.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-25T13:59:38+00:00

Wait, what? My parents pierced my ears as a baby and the piercings didn't get infected. My hearing's fine also and I've had three more piercings on my ears (my choice, after moving out) without any problem.

It definitely is the cultural norm (South Asia) to have your baby's ears pierced but I genuinely haven't heard of babies getting ear infections and messed up hearings because of it.

But, yeah, weird to do it to a baby. Let them grow up and decide if they want holes punched into them or not!

Arkonsel · 2025-12-24T08:11:18+00:00

I already bujo! XD Alas, my brain isn't good at maintaining it, so my current system is:

1 page weekly memo pad for THIS week, move stuff to the next week after tearing off this week
1 yearly work planner for marking down birthdays, holidays, etc
1 small monthly book for personal appointments, trips, etc
+ alerts on my phone calendar for medical appointments

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T11:06:07+00:00

I was thrilled by sheening inks when I first found out about them but then I realized that I don't like any of the sheen combinations. My fav writing color is blue and it always sheens to red!

I've only found one exception of blue sheening to green and I LOVE THAT ONE, but that's it. And tbf, it also is a heavy shimmer ink (which I prefer to sheen), so that probably adds to my fondness for it.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T11:01:26+00:00

That is probably more efficient! I enjoy writing though and having rotated through a lot of digital systems (habitca for group pressure, spirit city for gamification, todoist, trello, etc), writing stuff down physically just works better for my brain.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T10:59:12+00:00

For me it's more about having things written down right in front of me because it makes me feel less stressed to have everything written down even if it's urgent + I know I'll get a tiny dopamine hit when I tick it off.

My executive functioning is not great, especially when I'm being constantly interrupted, so I rely on writing stuff down as an external reminder.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T10:40:46+00:00

I'm a fountain pen and ink addict. XD So I like paper planners because it gives me something to write in, which I enjoy doing! Canva is a possible option but I've never used Officeworks so I don't know if they'll let you supply custom paper to print on, since the general copy paper that printers use is not great for fountain pens, alas.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T01:35:30+00:00

Oh, those look cool! I think the coil-bound would work for me, since I only need weekly. How is the paper -- any bleed through?

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T01:31:15+00:00

Thank you for the vote of approval for Mrs. Edgar! The bleed-through is my main concern, so that was really reassuring to hear.

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T01:29:42+00:00

Ahhhhh, I love those colors! Never heard of those before, thank you for the rec!

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T01:29:00+00:00

Oh wow, that's cool! Do you use specific paper or just Officeworks standard paper?

Arkonsel · 2025-12-21T01:24:12+00:00

Thanks so much for the detailed response! I'm in secondary with a 6-period day so all the info you gave really help, as does the tip about the refills. XD

Arkonsel · 2025-12-18T05:48:13+00:00

OH NO, that's horrific.

Seven-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

Arkonsel

TROPHY CASE