Sports

Another busy week.
On Tuesday the Secondary department went off to our sports centre at Surubii for their annual Sports Day. This was swiftly followed by the Primary Sports Day on Wednesday. This was one of the quietest Sports days on record, due to a new arrangement by the P.E staff. I was confined to the library so I did not go this year.

On Thursday morning the winners received their medals in assembly.

Baby doing well

I have been nurturing my "baby" with sunshine and lots of water and now it is growing to look like a pineapple.

I have had a busy week with my sixth grade class. There are only ten days to go until the mock Key English exam and some are not putting in the effort so we will see what happens.

I had a bit of fun this afternoon. Ben and Sam were sent out to sweep the car park in front of the house (normally a ten minute job). Being Ben and Sam it took over an hour and they built up a huge audience of Paraguayans on the opposite side of the road, who were laughing their heads off at their antics and arguments. Unable to resist I decided to go and water the garden with the hospepipe at the same time. You can guess the rest. Fun was had by us all, I ended up a bit wet and the Paraguayans now think that I am nuts.

Panchos a la parilla

"Lazy day, Sunday afternoon," as the song goes (I'm sixties vintage!). We had a lovely service in the English church this morning. It was a beautiful day so I decided to invite my neighbours round for some panchos (a simple barbecue with hot-dogs.) We had a pleasant, relaxed time on my patio, gorging on panchos and drinking terere to keep cool. The temperatures have gone from 2C on Tuesday to around 40C for the weekend. Fortunately my patio is quite shady.

Here you can see (left to right), Sam, Kim, Ben and Matt.

Avid readers

This year we have been really promoting reading in the library. At the beginning of the year the children could read better in English than in their native language, so we bought in lots of new books in Spanish and held competitions.
Yesterday I reviewed the number of books read in the primary department and in what language. The children are now reading more books in Spanish. I sent out certificates yesterday to two pupils, one in second grade, who had read 52 books this year and another to a fourth grader who had read 40 books.
The exams are now on so as they finish an exam teachers are sending children along to the library to relax. Today first graders came in and sat, enjoying reading books in English.

Business Enterprise

This afternoon some secondary pupils set up stalls as part of their business enterprise initiative. They had a variety of goods on sale and were in competition with each other. Some had concentrated on cheap cakes and biscuits and others had made some boxes of chocolates and some photo frames, which were relatively expensive. There was some high-powered sales chat going on (as well as some flattering of staff!) in an effort to raise the most profit. I have yet to hear what stall made the most profit (if any).

A Saturday treat

Last Saturday I was given a real treat by my lovely new Irish neighbours. They took me to the nurseries with them. They were on the hunt for plants to brighten up their back yard. I made the most of the opportunity and came back with a new pot and some new plants, whose names I did not know. (I wrote to a friend in  UK for the names, so I now know them.) We came back laden with plants, including two quite large bougainvillae.
In the evening I was taken out for a delicious churassqueria meal. That is a restaurant where you pile your plate up with a delicious range of salads and then the gaucho waiters come around with swords full of all types and cuts of meat, which you add to the pile and then attempt to devour. (One always has "eyes bigger than" but we cannot throw precious food away so it just has to be eaten!) This is followed by a delicious array of desserts, my favourite being passion fruit mousse.
Here are some of my new plants on my patio.

I also have some new visitors to my garden. Ha! Ha!

Today I was very excited. I noticed something red in the middle of my pineapple plant. (I stuck a pineapple top in a pot six years ago.) It is a flower. That could be the sign of a pineapple growing. The last pineapple I grew took four years to flower and produce a pineapple. I had to go back to UK and while I was away a rat ate it!!!..... or so the story goes.

Children's Day

There was great excitement today as the children came into school. It is Children's day.

The Primary department was herded onto buses and whisked off to the school Sports Ground for a morning of fun and games. This was organised by the fifth form together with the P.E. staff.

Goalie of the year? (Auntie Rocio)

Hunt the tennis ball.

Football?

Anyone for Terere?

Round the pole ten times, keeping head contact

and kick the ball!

Traffic Cone skittles

Volleyball with a giant ball.

Being dragged in a bag.

Not too high!

Local spectator gauchos.

EeeeeeH!

They had organised a carousel of activities for which everybody won some prizes. The weather was beautiful with just the right amount of breeze to make life reasonably comfortable.
The games were interspersed with a time for panchos (hot dogs) straight from the barbecue.

Pancho preparation

Ketchup?

Even the teachers had one.

Finally they all had ice lollies and received a gift of a bag of sweets each.

They all went home for the afternoon, tired but happy.