Wednesday, July 18

Yesterday we took a tour of the Blue Mountains which appear to look blue because of the interaction of the eucalytis leaves and heat releasing a blueish gas. We took a train ride down the mountain (the steepest train ride in the world at 52 degrees).  Once there, we walked through the forest floor on trails and went back up to the top on a cable car.  Once on the top we took another cable car across to Katoomba falls and walked down to the cliff lookout.  It was an amazing day with spectacular sights.  Last evening a group of us explored China Town and ate at a Vietnemese restaurant.
Today was a full day at two different schools - St. Paul's in Dulwich Hills and St. Mel's in Campsie.  The hospitality was awesome - children waiting outside the school to greet us.  We had "tea time" and cake with staff and an awesome lunch also provided.  The multi-age schools we toured are student-centred, inquiry based with a focus on literacy and numeracy.  I took a ton of pictures of student projects, artwork, bulletin boards and students. We were able to debrief at the end of the day with the staff of both schools who were more than willing to answer our questions.  Natalie and I have some ideas for our classrooms next year.
This evening, the Canadian team headed off the Sydney Opera House to see the performance "Terrain" performed by "Bandara" an Australian indiginous dance group.  It was a great experience. 
Linda took a bus to the harbor today while I was touring schools.  From there, she took a ferry to the Sydney Zoo. She took lots of pictures and said it was a fabulous zoo.

Three Sisters rock formations at the Blue Mountains

                                         
                                              Part of Katoomba Falls at the top of the Blue Mountains.

Staff from St. Pauls School in Dulwich Hills, team from Arizona and Canada

We are leaving Sydney tomorrow and flying to Cairns for the next three days.  I am planning to facetime Sydney from the Sydney airport.  Greg tells me that she reads my emails several times a day and asks him over and over "how many hours 'til mom comes home?"