Today
is NT day, or as it is better known to the kids ‘Firecracker Day’. For those
non-Territorians reading, NT day is the only day where it is legal to sell, buy
and use fireworks. A big packet of fireworks costs about $160 from Quinn’s
shop, and will keep a big mob of kids entertained for the better part of a day.
We have been hearing the cracker whistles since 9am. The anticipation of
waiting until dark is clearly much too difficult for many of the kids. I’m
expecting quite a display as soon as nightfall hits.
Today
is also our friend Hilda’s 63rd birthday. Hilda is one of the
traditional landowners in Minyerri, and has been involved in most of the
Teachabout programs. She declares that she doesn’t know her actual birthday but
chose the 1st of July because there would always be a party.
Given
all of the excitement around the community, we have had a relatively quiet day
with a total of 16 kids attending the morning session, and 12 in the afternoon
compared to the 25 to 30 kids we have had during our other sessions. We took
advantage of the lesser-than-usual numbers and took the kids on a field trip to
Ballaglen. Ballaglen is one of the subtropical delights that the Alawa country
has to offer; it is a waterhole, surrounded by rocky cliffs and palm trees. One
end of the waterhole is home to a couple of freshwater crocs that, to my
knowledge, have never really bothered anyone.
The
kids busily got to collecting, catching and sketching insects and other
creatures that they found in the rockpools around the waterhole. They found
spiders, tiny fish, yabbies, and red dragonflies, to name a few. The visit
ended with a quick dip and a few of the braver kids jumped from a rope swing in
a tree. We played maths games in the car on the drive home, with “If we went to
Ballaglen with 16 kids and 6 activity leaders, and we left Daryl behind… how
many people are in the troopies?” being the stand-out.
The
afternoon session consisted of a couple of art activities, and the kids who
hadn’t got to paint their Tijimbat T-shirts did this. Amy ran a landscape
drawing activity; each picture had a photo from a National Geographic magazine
and the kids where challenged into completing the picture. Eamon ‘the
scientist’, surprised us all with his artistic flare. We also had some impromptu renditions of Man
in the Mirror, the song that Amy and Jess sang with the kids last week.
Tonight
we are having the principal of the school, Alan and his two daughters over for
dinner.
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