2011 Achievement

This year I decided to write this in different format, rather than focusing on each child separately, I decided to focus on music and art.

Music
I didn't realised what an important part music played in our life until this year.  (I'm a slow learner...)

Firstly, Jono wanted to do further study in music except he couldn't as he chose not to learn theory in his younger age. (I am not a tiger mum afterall!)  However, he does continue to play his guitar.  He plays 2 other instruments - tenor saxaphone and piano.

Matt still shows interest in music, achieved distinction in his Grade 3 theory exam.  He also decided not to continue with his piano lessons.  He continues to learn some pieces himself and performed a piece at school and got a score of 19/20.  To my surprise, he prefers piano and enjoy playing classical music.  He is in both the novice and junior school bands playing tenor saxophone like his brother.  By Term 4, he also played for Intermediate band and Junior Stage Band (Jazz band).    Highlight of Matt's musical career in 2011 - he was selected to play solo and got his few minutes of fame.

Matt - the Jazz man

You might recalled Fay started learning clarinet last year and joined the school social band.  She has her first band performance in May this year.  I was really surprised how well the children played their 2 pieces, considered most of them have learnt the instrument for less than 1 year and have practiced in a band for less than 6 months.  She is continuing her 'singing career' with Australian Girls Choir.  She was getting impatient as she doesn't like the songs her level is singing.  I reminded her that in 2 years time, she will be one of the 'big girl', ie concert level.  One of her many dreams is to be one of the performing choristers who get to travel around Australia and the world.  Meanwhile, she started taking drama lessons with her best friend Sam.  (I honestly didn't think drama queen needs to take lessons.)

Here is Fay performing at school end of year Soiree.

Drame queen in action. They don't have microphone, so the kids have to speak loud and clear for the audience.  If it were me, I probably died on stage!  On the contrary, Fay actually enjoyed it, watch her smiling on stage.

Did you know I have never watched Jono performed at school band?  I was banned by him.  From what I heard from others, he is actually really good at sax.  I wasn't going to make the same mistake with the other two.  So I have attended all Fay's and Matt's performance and I have enjoyed every concert I have attended.  Actually with Matt and Fay, they make it compulsory for me to attend their concert.  Matt: "I got selected to play solo, mum.  So are you going to the concert?"  Fay: "Are you going to my concert?  Well, you went to Matt's."

Fay has tried to teach me to sing and decided that I really shouldn't be heard singing in public so as not to embarrass her!

Art
I haven't updated Fay's blog this year.  She has been very busy - made her very own puppet using old cloth.  She took them to school and they are very popular with her friends.  She also learn how to knit from Pauline.  I bought her a sewing machine for her birthday.  She has sew a few things for her Barbie dolls and her teddy bear.

Matt as a 'curator' has to create a booklet on Van Gaugh for art assignment.  Let's just say it was so professionally done I didn't realised he created it until I saw the fineprint 'curated by Matt Dang'.

Fay has her drawing selected at school to be put in a booklet and submitted to New York, I didn't really have any details.  She was so happy when her drawing was selected.

There is an artist that both Matt and Fay admire - guess who that is?  Their big brother, Jono.  Jono loves sketching Japanese cartoon characters.  You might get to see them one day in some games he designs.

Other
Fay is top of her class in spelling and received an award for 'spelling queen'.  As her teacher puts it, her mind is filled with words!  (I thought it was filled with music!)  She also received an award for 'The Funniest Moment" at school camp.  Matt just can't see how Fay can be funny.

A lot of students from Matt's level are going to Melbourne High next year.  There was a rumour at school that he is too. A teacher actually asked Matt if he is leaving for Melbourne High.  Matt just laughed, he thinks it's really funny that even the teachers think he is 'that smart' to pass the entrance exam.  He didn't even sit for the entrance exam.  He won an award again this year. One doesn't find out what the award was for until Presentation Night.  In Matt's own words, "I don't really have any talents, I am not that good academically.  So I guess it's for music."  He is right.  He does occasionally get top marks in Maths tests.  The key word is 'occasionally'.

Jono was invited to become a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society for achieving average of high distinction in yearly academic result.  I actually have to google "Golden Key" to find out what it  is.  All I can say is "WOW".

At school camp this year, Fay was told by a teacher that Matt is a 'sweetheart'.  She just can't believe that. She still have problem accepting this. So I asked how did she respond to the teacher.  Being good with words, here is her response, "Hmmm, is that right?"  (Fay's godmother Regina would approve of this 'not giving away anything' response.)  As a joke, I called Matt "Sweetheat" now and then.  Trust me, he does respond to that!

Earlier this year, there was book review and a TV segment (in Australia '60 minute' program) on 'Tiger Mum", a book written by Professor Amy Chua on Asian parenting style. Fay watched the program with me and was horrified.  I am no professor, the only advice I can give anyone on parenting is the one I have used for many years. Here is the tip, it is a poem by the Lebanese-American poet and writer, Kahlil Gibran:


Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and the daughters of life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you.
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love, but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls.
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
Let your bending in the archer's hands be for gladness.

I wrote about this in more detail here at hubpages - http://hubpages.com/hub/Tiger-Mum-vs-Kahlil-Gibran

To keep up with the tradition of ending my Christmas message with a quote, I have chosen the following from Goethe which I think explained perfectly why the current global economy is in such a mess.


"None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.


I hope to catch up with some of you over the holiday.  Till we meet again, may you and your family have a safe and relaxing holiday.

2010 Achievement

I have called this year the "Year of Independence".   Read on and find out why.


Matt started high school this year.  Went to a camp where he learned ew skills - surfing and snorkelling.  He just loves it.  He is settling in high school life very happily - a bit like Independence Year.  Don't expect Matt to arrive home from school on time everyday.  Unlike his older brother, he will be having his very own 'after school social life' - it seems to take him forever to get home, a stop at the cafe to buy drink, maybe the shop to buy chip, or sit down somewhere with his friends and just talk.

He received an award for end of year Presentation Night.  He is proud of this because his brother Jono never won one at Year 7. (However he did win at least one every year since.)  Here is Matt receiving his "Excellence in Music" award.

On the music side, he started learning Tenor Saxaphone and played at the novice band at school.  Next year he has been promoted to training band.  He is also into playing piano pieces by the famous South Korean composer Yiruma.  I now listen to Matt playing "Wedding Dress" (by another Korean musician) every day.  He is even thinking about learning to speak Korean.  When he first played the piece, I told him the composer is Asian.  He asked how I know.  I told him I can tell by the music (Ha ha, now I know where he gets his musical talent.)

Early in the year, Matt went to see movies with some friends (boy and girls).  One of the girl asked if we could give her a lift home.  The girl was feeling a bit 'nervous'.  Here is what my little man said to her, "Don't worry, I will take you home first."  What a gentleman!  When did he grow up to be one?

I kept telling Matt how lucky we are in Australia, don't think they get the same opportunity in Asia.  At school, he gets to play different sports.  As he already played tennis, he decided to try out hockey.  He also played soccer in winter.

Fay started Grade 3 in high note.  Now that her big brother is no longer in the same school, this is Independence Year for the little girl as well.  She now feels free to make friends with older kids - I think big brother who was in grade 6 didn't like the idea of 'sharing' friends with her.  Her very first award came in the first month of school (February) - "Excellence in Art" (no surprise here)

I have never seen the little girl so stress before.  She kept telling me she was going to fail her music theory exam.  For weeks before the exam, she would remind me that she is going to fail and ask that I won't get upset with her.  So I told her to just do her best and not getting so stress about it.  It was scary watching her walked into the exam hall with all the other kids (most are bigger than her!).  I promised to walk her to her desk and found out parents can't go past the main door!  She was very courageous and told me she would be ok to go in by herself.  After her exam, she told me it was alright, she could answer most of the questions.  The exam turned out to be easier than she expected.  She told me she was bored at the end, so she did what she does best - daydreaming.  She even gave me instruction on how to daydream.

Then you think of things you really like, now it doesn't have to be things you actually have.  I got really intrigued by this and asked what did she daydream about. She told me dog, then corrected herself and said 'actually puppies, two, not just one!'  She lives in a beautiful world - full of music, songs and beautiful pictures!

Fay has Music School for 2 days 29th-30th May as part of the Australian Girls Choir program.  She was really excited because she will be having play time and lunch just like school.  So 7 days school week could be a possibility for her?

To apply what you learn is a very important lesson I teach my childen.  Here is an example of Fay learning the lesson.  She asked me what the word 'hypocrite' mean, so I explained it to her.   One day she said in her usual loud and clear voice, "Mum, you are a hypocrite!"  So I asked her how so.  Her response was I told her to do this, yet I did the opposite of what I preached.  There is no grey area, just black and white with her.  How do you like to have a conscience that speaks to you in loud and clear voice even when you are in public places?  How lucky of me to have a life-size conscience that walk around with me?

New instrument she started learning at school in Term 3 - clarinet.  She can't wait to join the school social band next year.

I took Fay home to visit family in Malaysia.  She has a wonderful time there 'working' in the shop.  She just loves cutting photos, helping to put picture in the frame.  The only bad thing is she missed out on school camp.  We must not missed the camp again next year, or I would never hear the end of it.

In term 4, she started lessons on Aikido and also started playing in Junior tennis development competition.  There goes my free Sundays.

Another moment to be treasured - Fay wearing the dress and sing at the annual Australian Girls Choir Concert.

The Big Screen at the concert.

Here she is in her Aikido uniform.

Jono turned 19 this year.  He seems to be smiling a lot more than last year, the impact VCE has on students cannot be underestimated.  University life must be like on a permanent vacation - he seems to be home most of the time.  His university results - HD (high distinction) for every subject.  I only to managed to get one HD for my entire 3 years of undergraduate.  He has got his name into Balwyn High School 'Hall of Honours' for his excellent VCE results.  Matt is so proud of him, he could tell his friends at school assembly that his brother is in the 'Hall of Honours'.

We are heading off to the Snowy Mountain for Christmas this year.  Fay keeps thinking we will be seeing the real snow - name can be so deceiving.

I like to play 'guess who said this' game with Matt.  After a while, he will just guess 'Einstein' or 'Gandhi' as they are the most frequently quoted.  Well after another 12 months of up and down, I will leave you with this quote from Albert Einstein. 

"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle."


The choice is yours, that's the beauty of freewill!


Till next year, may your life be filled with miracles this Christmas day and on each and every day of 2011.

2009 Achievement

Jono's study strategy - NOT recommended! Jono came back from exam early this year and was complaining that he has to write an English essay on the spot. So I asked him why he didn't prepare for it in the first place. His response was he did but the theme that he prepared wasn't one of the questions asked. So I asked how many themes did he actually prepare for. Answer is ONE! I was shocked. I told him that is NOT the right way, he has to prepare for at least 2. This is the strategy he used: he is using his 'psychic' ability to prepare for exam. He claimed he usually has 'good' feeling about what will be asked and this 'strategy' has never failed until that day! He has had dreams since primary school about what will be on the test. The very first time was 10 words that the teacher gave as a surprise spelling test, Jono dreamt about this the night before! So he got all of them right. What I didn't realised was he is using this as the ONE and ONLY strategy to prepare for all future exams!  Who is to argue with Jono about his study strategy (if you can even called that a strategy!) when his VCE results proved that he is in the top 2%.  (I thought he was in the top 5%.)

Not many parents can boast about this, I know all Jonathan's friends by name, they all seem to have the same name, "Hey man!"

I was quite "upset" with Jonathan's Term 1 Progress report, his lowest rate was "Very Good", the rest were "Excellent".  Why can't he be just 'perfect'?  As you are aware, this is his final year in high school, to achieve this type of result is really unreal.  Considering the fact that I have never ever had to ask him to do his homework, never ever check if he has done his homework.  He doesn't even attend any extra classes after school!  He is pretty much on his own, except for very little help he gets from me on Maths.  But I think he really was just getting lazy and get me to 'do' some of his homework!  Like I say, he is very smart.  Sometimes I really have problem trying to solve the problem (I did VCE a very long time ago!), his question to me was if I really graduated from university!  (I do have a piece of paper to prove that I graduated!)

I am going to miss reading his school reports as this will be the final year of his secondary education.

I bought Jonathan his first pair of jeans this year.  He hated jeans since he was a toddler!  He didn't have much choice this year, with his very 'active' social life, he needs to wear something other than tracksuit.

This is taken at Jono's graduation dinner at The Sebel Hotel at Albert Park.  The first thought that came to my mind when I saw this photo was what Jono said to Matt many years ago.  ( Matt was about 1 year old.)  Matt has always came between me and Jono or interrupted us whenever Jono talked to me.  Jono has been very patient and gave way to his brother until that fateful day.  He has had enough and this is what he said to Matt in his most authoritative voice, "She is my mum too!"  Matt was taken aback and the message sank in, the little fellow went away and never interrupted us ever since.  All mothers need a Jonathan!

I was very impressed with the way the young adults behave at the graduation.  They were hugging each other good-bye, including the boys!  There was a slide show on showing what the kids were up to in school.  I learnt more about my son in that hour than I have in the last few years!  Going through puberty and adolescent wasn't easy for anyone, he wasn't talking to me as much as I would like. (Remember when they were in primary school?  They told you just about everything!)  The slide show was really reassuring, I now know for sure he has been ok, has a happy time with his friends at school.  Not that I was 'spying' on my son, one day I was taking Matt and Fay to school, we saw Jono walking with his group of friends to school, they were chatting and laughing.  If you have a teenage kid, perhaps 'spying' would help ease your mind if you are concerned about your teenager's wellbeing.

Matt and Fay played at Westfield Shopping Centre, Doncaster as part of the Suzuki Association's effort to raise fund to build a new playground that was burnt down by the bushfire.

Here is my little girl performing her 2 pieces in front of an audience.

Then, it's Matt's turn.

 

 

Matt's tennis team managed to get into semi-final for the summer season, unfortunately they didn't make it to the final.  For the winter season, they did it!  The medal is sitting nicely in Matt's room.

This is Matt's final year at Kew East Primary.  He will be attending Balwyn High next year.  It felt like it was only yesterday that Jono graduated from Kew East Primary.  Time really does fly.  We attended music survey and instrument try-out night.  Interestingly, Matt will be playing saxophone as well, just like his brother.  He is getting very excited about attending high school next year.

Matt spent a week at camp this year and absolutely loved it.  So did Fay, a week without her annoying brother!  I love it too, it's so quiet and peaceful, it's like having one of those religious retreat at home!

On the religious note, Matt received his confirmation in August.  He was really impressed with all the seven gifts he is receiving from the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord. His confirmation name is Frederick, after Professor Fred Hallow.  He chose the late Prof Hallow because he is a great Australian.

I was really surprised at Matt's school report.  His teacher said he has great leadership potential and that we should encourage him in developing his leadership skills.  I thought I know my children well.  Matt also managed to get a few 'A' this year - he was determined to get at least one as he didn't get any last year and his sister has two.  You know which of my children is the competitive one.  At graduation, the teacher would say a few words about each student.  This is how I found out that Matt is 'the most positive person on the planet!'  I really need to spend more time with my kids!

Fay joined the Australian Girl's Choir this year and absolutely love singing!  In Term 3, she joined the Australian Girl's Dance as well.  Now I have a singing and dancing doll.  Her first performance was at Monash University concert hall, I got the tickets online and must have been one of the first to get them, got the front row seats.  It was a very entertaining afternoon, excellent performance by the choir.  For the annual concert in November, she performed at Hamer Hall at Melbourne Arts Center.  She was really inspired by the older girls and wished she could sing like them one day.

You might start to think I am a 'pushy' mother, the poor girl claimed she doesn't like singing.  So I did a clinical study on Fay.  The clinic is our home,the only equiment used was DVD player and TV.  Fay was writing down something, pause the DVD, write a few more words and restart the DVD.  Occasionally she has to rewind a bit.  I was really curious and asked her what she is doing.  She said she is writing down the words of the song so she can commit them to memory.  She really loves the song and needs to remember all the words for singing.  She 'really' doesn't like singing.  She would demostrate to me how some kids at school were singing at the wrong pitch when it should be higher.  She would sing the song at different pitch so I can tell the difference.  She knows what she is talking about.  Based on this research, I think she is in denial!  She loves singing, I don't remember a day when Fay doesn't sing.

I was reading Fay's journal that she wrote at school.  She sure can write, now the teacher knows when her mum bought her undies, what we did on weekends ...  Her writings style is very similar to her talking style.  She will tell you a story and randomly makes a few sentences that is totally irrelevant to her story.  When I asked her how is that related to the story, her response was 'none'.  The thought just came to her mind and she decided that she might as well tell me about it right there and then.  

Fay is really excited about next year - she will be going to school camp for the first time and she will aim to get her 'pen licence' early in the year.

I hope you will have something exciting to look forward to as well in the new year and have a merry Christmas and a safe and relaxing holiday.  Till next year ...

2008 Achievement

Fay went to Australian Girl's Choir audition. This is what she has to say, "We have so much fun! We have to sing 'Happy birthday', copy the movement of the teacher. Could I please goto audition again?" She got accepted and will start her 'fun' next year, we hope. We are waiting to see if there is a place for her as there is a long waiting list. Result from the audition on her memory "Excellent" - she still remember those who didn't attend her birthday party 3 years ago!

Fay has chicken for her birthday, unfortunately only one survived from the vicious attack of a 'gang' wild birds - they managed to break one of the wood at the corner of the chook house and attacked the chicken. The surviving one was the smartest of the 6 chicken (like her owner), she hid among the woods. She laid her very first egg on Saturday, 20 Dec 2008.

Fay's best friend at school is Samuel, they played 'Robin and Batgirl', isn't that cute? They won't be in the same class next year, but their classroom will be right next to each other, so this is ok according to the little girl.

Before the end of year, our little girl got a merit award, this is what the teacher wrote :
"Your positive and bubbly attitude has been such a delight in our classroom this year! Thank you for always wearing a smile!"

Even her 'mean' brother Matt has to agree that Fay is always so cheerful!

Nearly forgot to mention that Fay has got 2 'A' in her report, reading and writing at Grade 2 level.

Tennis - Matt was playing against a younger, new player who is playing for the first time. It's interesting how he automatically play it easy, let the boy win a few points and encouraging him by saying 'Good shot!'. Some of the other boys were doing the same when they played against this little kid. It's good to see that the kids know the right thing to do, they are displaying great sportsmanship.

Matt competed in 2 events for District Sports: shuttle relay and 800m run. Didn't get into zone but have a good time competing. His team came second in shuttle relay. He is very determined to get into zone next year.

As part of the award winning team, this is what Matt's teacher has to say:
"For always bringing enthusiasm and a positive attitude to the classroom. Keep up the great work!"

He also managed to win the classbook "All about us!" with informtion about each child in the class. He was shocked when the teacher made the announcement that he has won by "always completing his homework in time and doing his best even though he didn't finish the extension component of the homework all the time."

This is something that Matt declared to me one day, something he will definitely have when he grows up and Mum can't do anything to stop him, which got me a bit worried. Drum roll ... ok ready for the answer, "A Golden Retriever!" Phew, that was a relief.

Matt performed at one of the Suzuki's piano concert this year, this is what he said, "My stomach went funny just before I played. But once I started playing, I was fine, I just played." And played he did, you could hear the pin dropped while he performed. His teacher, Lisa was very pleased with his perfomance as she received a lot of complement from other parents after the concert.

Jonathan is now doing a Certificate III in Supervisory Management - sponsored by his employer, McDonald's. He gets paid for studying and is wondering why he doesn't get paid to go to school. He must be a good employee, he has won $50 from McDonald's.

At school, he has won a 'Academic Award' for 'the most outstanding performance in Year 11'. Some of the results are: 98/99 for Psychology exam, after 'standardization' he has 105% for one of the maths exam. His lowest mark is 'A' and higest is 'A+'. How does he live with himself? Despite the good marks, he still needs much soul-searching as to what he wants to do in terms of career.

Jono got his learner permit this year. I took him to take the test, as usual with government office, we need to wait in a queue, even though we did have an appointment. Anyway, he went in and before I knew it, he is out. Meanwhile there were at least 10 people who went in before him and still in there doing the test. I thought there was some mistake, the lady at the office thought the same! She went to check at the printer and there it was, Jono's test result, perfect score! (I wish I have some of his brain!)

2007 Achievement

Another year has gone, it's time to update what the kids have done this year.

As you remembered, last year Fay's main goal for the year 2007 was to be a school kid. She has achieved that quite easily. On her first day of school, while we walked to school together, she exclaimed, "I feel like a school kid!" Well, she has her full uniform on with her school bag on her back, it's hard not to feel like one! How much does Fay love school? After a few weeks in school, she asked me why there is no school on weekend. I said we all need a rest after 5 days of hard work. "But, mummy, I am not tired, we just played whole day at school!", said my little girl. I responded that her teacher needs a rest. She replied, "No, she doesn't. She doesn't work, she just has fun with us whole day!" (I am changing my job to be a prep teacher.)

Despite all the 'fun' Fay has at school, she has learnt to recognise all the 100 most common words in English by term 2. At the beginning of school, she can only recognised 2! Matthew's "Day of reckoning": Fay could read so well that Matt couldn't trick her anymore. You should have seen Matt's face when Fay told Matt that she knew he was tricking her and she read all the words out correctly. Matt was so surprised, "Mum, Fay can read?" Yes, she sure can read and at a high level too. She is reading and writing at Grade 1 level.

Fay also started learning piano at the beginning of the year. She told me it is not possible to play with two hands. Then one day she started playing with both hands. Her very first piece was "Cuckoo". In her usual excited and happy voice, "Mum, I can do it! I play with my two hands!" I told her I have never doubted it. She has her first performance in July, "Mary has a little lamb" and "Honey Bee".

Another great skill Fay has learnt is swimming, she can do backstroke and freestyle. However, if you asked Fay what her biggest achievement is for the year, it would be 'monkey bar tricks'. I lost count of how many monkey bar tricks she could do. It was compulsory for me to watch her perform her trick when she has learnt a new one.

Matt played competitive tennis for the first time this year, he is the youngest player from the club, most likely the youngest in the competition. Most of the time he plays against older kids, it is a bit like watching David vs Goliath, except he doesn't win!

We had a wonderful soccer season as well, he has improved his soccer skills and makes new friends, and become best friend with one. During one of the training session, Matt actually resolved a conflict. When asked why he got involved, his response was, "This is what we learnt at school, "Be part of the solution, not the problem!" Well said and well done, Matt. He also enjoyed learning to playAustralian football in winter.

Matt managed to qualify for 3 events in the district athletics: triple jump, long jump and shot put. Quite an achievement for a little man. He competed in district for one event only: triple jump. He didn't win but have so much fun on the day.

On a different 'note', Matt has nearly finished learning all the pieces in Volume 2 of Suzuki piano book. He will be taking his first exam next year.

Jonathan has won 2 awards this year, "Excellence in Music Award" and "Buchanan Award". (Buchanan Award is given to student who has displayed effort and personal qualities which have made a positive contribution to the school community.) Asked Jonathan how he won the awards, his reply is 'random selection'.

Jonathan has started working from September, working 2 jobs. He has worked up to 20 hours a week while studying full time. He now realised that it was great having all the money but he hardly has time to enjoy it. Most of his friends are working too, so it's getting difficult to try to find time to get together.

2006 Achievement

What a year we have in 2006!

Fay will be graduating from Kinder! At the beginning of the year, she could only 'draw' her name, now she can 'write' her name! Now that she can 'read' a few words, she realised her favourite day of the week is 'Friday' because it has her name in it. Her drawings has improved so much that she can draw pictures of things, animals that even her mum can't draw. While she has learnt a lot in kinder, she has also been busy teaching origami at kinder. So much so that her teacher Kathy decided that she would NOT want an origami book for Christmas. Looking forward, her BIG GOAL of the year is to be a 'School kid'! This goal will be achieved next year.

Matt has a wonderful year too. He participated in many sports this year, tennis, soccer and cricket. (I should keep a record of the km travelled!) He also started learning piano using the Suzuki method and has finished Book 1 and started Book 2 in December to keep him challenged. His teacher Lisa insisted that Matt is very talented in music, I nearly fell off my chair given the musical 'talent' that his parents have. Through sports, he made a few friends. In one of the soccer matches, he has a friendly chat with his opponent, and found out they learn similar subjects at school, what they like about their school and so on. That is sportmanship in my book. Matt also attended his first school camp in November and has learnt to take responsibility for himself, that was his goal before he went to the camp and we are pleased to say he has achieved it - he didn't lose a single item at camp! At school this year, the themes they concentrate on is 'Responsibility' and 'Relationship', we (mum and the teacher) think he get very close to full mark. Matt also has his first piano performance this year, he played 2 pieces of music after having learnt for 5 months.

Jonathan has a very busy year of learning too - he picked up guitar and tennis this year. He has completed his Duke of Edinburgh award this year. He attended 2 camps where they have to dug a hole as there is no toilet facility. He has also started applying for casual work at supermarket, meanwhile he has helped mum checked market research tables and decided that it is quite a boring job. However, I think he is really good at the job. At school presentation night, he received an award for "Excellence in Music", beginning to wonder if I picked up the wrong babies at the hospital!

We went to Darwin, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia this year to visit families. We learnt a lot on the trip. Matt is trying to understand why some children his age are selling things in the street in Vietnam, we all learnt a few words in Vietnamese and Malay. (Surprisingly, Fay still remembers some of the words just the other day.) Jono comments on Singapore: Singaporeans only eat and buy clothes! (I personally think he is spot on!) Darwin is a place we will go back to visit again.

Till next year, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Safe New Year.