Life + Times of Fenton et al.

There are many wonderful things about Australia. I like Australia because it has kangaroos. I like kangaroos because it can jump fast and far. I like Australia because it has koalas. I like koalas because they sleep a long time like my sister[1]. I like going to the beach. I like going to the beach because I can get wet in the sea. All in all, I like Australia.

[1] Editor’s Note: Mara is the sister in question.

In the past we’ve gone to some lengths to keep the children at the same school, mostly for stability while other things changed. However, circumstances change and now, with the children stretching across age group boundaries, we find ourselves with children going to four different schools this academic year.

Bryna and Ariana are in the first and fifth grades respectively at the local elementary (primary, Gründschule) school. Bryna’s reading has come along in leaps and bounds over the summer and she is enthusiastically reading everything she can get her hands on. Ariana will continue to do well in all areas I’m sure as last year’s report card was very good.

Mara has just begun her second, and final, year at the middle school, also called junior high school. She has virtually all the same teachers that Elijah had last year and Joshua had the year before that. Hopefully the teachers won’t suffer from Glass burnout. One of her favourite subjects is Honors Choir. Given my Australian education history, I’ve always thought of choir as an extra-curricular activity rather than an actual subject but they have a different point of view here.

Elijah, meanwhile, will be going to high school proper. It’s a big school (around 4000 students I believe) but seems to have decent teachers and a reasonable curriculum. He is looking forward to the sporting aspects and has intentions on trying out for the track team. I don’t think he’ll find the academic side too taxing, though he’ll still need to put in a consistent effort.

Finally, Joshua will be attending another high school — after his first (freshman) year at the high school Elijah will be attending — that is much smaller (around 400-500 students) and is located on the same campus as a community college. This high school, known as a middle college high school, allows and, in fact, encourages the students to take college courses in place of high school subjects. The student then receives a double credit both towards their high school completion and towards actual college. For high school, because it is equivalent or above the high school subject requirement and for college because, well it actually is a college course. This way a student who applies themselves and takes a fair few college courses can complete a two-year Associate’s degree, which can then transfer as the first two years of four year Bachelor’s degree — at least here in the US. We think the school and the academic challenges will suit Joshua well. The main motivation, however, for having Joshua attend there and take as many college courses as possible is to help his standing should we move back to Australia before he has completed high school. Essentially, we’d like him to be as close to an Australian or German standard as possible and that should keep his options open as to where he might attend university — be that Australia, here in the US or even back in Germany.

So lots of running around, I expect, and keeping on top of the information that’ll come from all the schools will require some diligence. But all over I believe it should be an interesting academic year.

Amazingly, one year has passed since we welcomed Micah into the family. And while the year has appeared to fly by it’s easy to see how long it really is by looking at the progress Micah has made. Apart from having his older brothers and sisters (usually) at his beck and call, he has also charmed quite a few friends of the family. Probably something about those blue eyes and easy grin …

So we celebrated his successful completion of his first year on the planet with the usual gift-giving and a family dinner, the menu being a favourite of the celebratee. Gifts included a ride-on car — he has very strong legs — and a mini basketball. He loves to throw the ball and chase it. A fairly good arm too.

The menu was chosen by Gaynor which she based on careful observation of the speed with which he wolfed down certain foods. Consequently, we enjoyed a lovely dinner of chicken drumsticks and corn on the cob. Of course, Gaynor’s now-traditional, Year One Gateaux was a particular treat.

Being Australian we do enjoy a lot of sports and, having left the country, we often go to some lengths to ensure our children receive a good sporting education. This usually involves grabbing relevant sporting events — Tri Nations, Super 14, State of Origin, AFL Grand Final — from the internet since they don’t receive a whole lot of coverage here. While the education is a whole family affair, the boys, in particular, also enjoy playing. So we felt relatively fortunate to have found a rugby club within half an hour of our place.

The club itself has only been going a couple of seasons, this season fielding both U16 and U19 sides for the first time. Rugby has an odd reputation here in the US, at least here in southern California. It is generally viewed as a brutal game without rules. Generally, American football high school coaches don’t want their players playing it for fear of injury. So consequently, the first practice of the season — which runs January to April — was bit light on with only six boys. I chatted with the coach, who had supplied a couple of the boys, and appreciated that he was working hard to develop a club with a traditional rugby team culture. I was a little concerned before hand that even rugby might have been infected by the American competitive hype and drive in sports. There were a couple of teams that we played who seemed to have bought into that but, by and large, it was usually sane.

Elijah has always been the most keen to play but Joshua — who revels in being a bit different from many of the other teenagers in some ways — also joined in, preferring fly-half to Elijah’s wing, centre or fullback. Unfortunately with only a U16 side available the boys were punching above their weight most of the season. The good news is that by the end of the season the club was sporting a roster of over fifty. Our boys did their part in spreading the word with a total of five friends training and playing for the season and a few more who came along to check it out. Too much running for some of those however. The ones who did stick it out loved virtually every minute of it, even when the team didn’t perform so well. The fact that rugby allows most of the players to be involved most of the time (well, except for those glory wingers) makes it a fun game to play. I’m hoping they’ll get involved again next season too. They’ll only enjoy it more with a season under their belts. Oh and Elijah and Josh managed a try each during the season. 😀

I also got involved in the administrative side of things. There were three coaches for the club and one of them was handling all the paperwork so it was the least I could do. Having never really played myself, I don’t feel qualified to coach but administration I can usually do without too much trouble. We ended up with some great parents contributing to the club and we will only have a better season next year. I can’t wait. In the meantime, we’ll just have to get by barracking for the Reds and the Wallabies.

More photos of the team.