What a difference a day makes

Sports Day - it happened! After two cancellations, finally the kids were able to show off their skills today. Each grade is assigned a dance they perform en mass, so after a month of practice they were very proud to be able to show their parents and the rest of the school their moves. This is a small section of the nearly 400 students that make up Grade 3 doing their tambourine dance which involves every method of shaking imaginable and quite a lot of sly swiping the person in front too.

One of the most interesting aspects of teaching here is being able to make direct comparisons with the UK. Sports Day is one of those times where something that you think will look familiar surprises you with how different it can be. No demure sack races or hurdles here. There are much more interesting and dangerous games. Grade 1 get skittled over trying to push bouncy balls twice their size through an obstacle course. The parents' relay race was a slidey, cheating mess of adults elbowing and cutting corners. The Grade 6 boys build themselves into wobbling towers and lurch full speed at each other to knock down the other team. Grade 5 girls have to trolley each other around on splintery go karts. The tug of war was furiously fought but won with one team being literally dragged on their bellies through the dirt. It's really exciting.