This week I have been really busy!
The project I’m working on is due to end on the 29th October, so life has been hectic. There are 11 courses that have been redeveloped, so 11 Learning Designers that need to be supported, and their work reviewed all before the end of next week. Everything seems to come to me at the same time!
Things I am loving this week:
- It’s nearly my birthday!
- Getting back into GirlGuiding
- Portrait Photography class
It’s nearly my birthday!
I had been planning to go away to Rotorua, however the event I was planning to go to has been cancelled and so i’m staying home. Now i get to plan fun things to do in and around my house 🙂
I’ve been away from GirlGuiding for a few years.
When I came to New Zealand I was fresh from being a Unit Leader in both Guides (girls aged 13+) and Rainbows (girls aged 5-7 years) back in the UK. I sought out a local unit in Wellington near to where I was and became one of the three Unit Leaders for Island Bay Guides (girls aged 9-12.5 years). It was fun, but the age difference in girls was a little bit of a shock to me. There is a HUGE difference between a 9 year old and a 13 year old!
Anyway, after I moved away from the city I found it increasingly hard to get to the weekly meetings and harder to put the time in that the girls deserved. So I left the unit with a heavy heart and hoped to keep going elsewhere. Sadly this didn’t happen, but I took a role behind the scenes for a little while before deciding that this wasn’t for me.
Now life has settled down, I’m looking for new Guiding adventures, so this week I have been to visit Upper Hutt Rangers (girls aged 12-17 years).
The unit was taking part in some outdoor sports activities and some indoor table top games that they had made up themselves.
- The outdoor games were chaotic, but fun! The girls chose the sporty activity that they wanted to do and either paired up or split into groups to do them. There was tennis, a small game of football, running, skipping and lots of rouge balls!
- The table top games were loud! I took part in a sort of general knowledge quiz crossed with Pictionary. Each team took turns to first select a card with something listed on it that one person would draw, then, if the team guessed correctly, they had the chance to answer a general knowledge question to recieve a point. It was actually really fun. The questions were a bit random, but I was impressed 🙂
I have started a new class with Wellington High School Community Education Centre: Portrait Photography. I have taken their ‘beginner’ and ‘next steps’ classes, so I felt that this might be another interesting one to take alongside the Diploma.
It says that by the end of the course, I’ll be able to:
- take location, environmental and group portraits,
- compose successful portraits and describe what makes them successful,
- demonstrate the use of effective lighting, and
- take effective portraits of children and adults.
The first lesson was all about discussing what actually makes a good portrait. We looked at examples of portait photographers that the tutor liked and what made their photos jump out. We also talked briefly about things like light and how the space that the person is being photographed in makes a huge difference.
One thing I am not loving this week
Failing my motorbike test. Again. However, I have renewed my license, so i have another five years (i think it’s five) to gain a bit more confidence and to pass the blooming thing!
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