Welcome to Santa Fe!
Our familiarisation and cultural session with George Otero will commence tomorrow morning with breakfast at 8.30am in the ‘Mesa A’ meeting room (near the lobby).
I hope you’re all planning to brave the cooler temperatures and kick-start your Santa Fe experience by enjoying some fantastic local cuisine and hospitality this evening.
Remember we are now at altitude (the air is definitely a little thinner and cooler up here!) so don’t forget to stay hydrated.
Hope everyone enjoyed their free day in San Francisco!
Breakfast will be available on Sunday morning from 6.15 am and we’ll be departing from the hotel at 8.15 am.
Be warned: We will be welcomed to Santa Fe tomorrow afternoon with a forecast high of 9 degrees and a low of only 1 degree!!
Well done everyone on a very successful week in Portland!
Your challenge (should you choose to accept it!) is to have a go at contributing to the Study Tour blog so that we can make sure it is a way we can reflect upon and discuss our thoughts about what are learning, and continue to network after the Tour.
Matt Karlsen from Opal School is now following our blog and is interested to hear your thoughts and follow our discussion. In case you haven’t seen his comment on our blog, here it is… 
Click HERE to reply to Matt’s comment or add your own thoughts about Opal School. George and Yong are also following our blog with interest!
There are three ways you can engage with the Tour Blog if you haven’t already:
Please ask Niki or Kylie to sit with you if you need help with any of this, we are very happy to support your exploration of new skills!
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Sorry, a slightly earlier start tomorrow morning! Breakfast is available from 6.30 am and we will meet on the bus for 7.40am departure. Pick-up point for the bus will be the same location as this morning.
8.00 am – Arrive at Catlin Gabel School for a full-day visit
A program and map of the school will be provided on arrival
3.00 pm – Depart Catlin Gabel School
Breakfast is available from 6.30 am and our bus to the Opal School will depart from the hotel main entrance at 8.00 am.
8.30 am – Arrive at Opal School
12 noon -Lunch
12.40 pm – Bus departs for the Lemelson Foundation
1.00 pm – Arrive at the Lemelson Foundation
Great to finally meet everyone this afternoon and to share where we are from and how we are coping at various stages of jetlag. We have participants on the Tour from WA, NSW, SA and the NT, and from various AIS’s and differing schools. It promises to be an interesting Tour with such a diverse group of educators! See you all at 8.30am tomorrow morning for our first official Tour briefing.
Only one more sleep until our USA Study Tour begins tomorrow!
By now most participants will be on their way to the States, and some of you will be here already and having a day or two to get over the jetlag and acclimatise to the time difference. We hope your travels are so far going smoothly and we look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow (Sunday 10th April) at 4.30pm in the lobby of the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, Portland. There will be a brief overview, and we will have a chance to meet everyone over welcome drinks before the Tour program begins on Monday morning.
The forecast for Sunday in Portland is 20°C and mostly sunny. If you need the hotel details, they are:
Hilton Portland and Executive Tower
921 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97204
+1 (503) 226-1611
We’re looking forward to meeting everyone and we’ll see you in Portland!
The teachers and staff of Opal School and the Portland Children’s Museum Center for Learning joyfully anticipate your visit next week. The following information is intended to support your preparation for what is sure to be a provocative morning together.
Opal School Visitation: Investigating the Conditions that Support Playful Inquiry
Tuesday, April 12, 8:30 am – 12:00 pm, at Opal School of the Portland Children’s Museum
In order to prepare you for your visit, we encourage you to watch Susan Harris MacKay’s presentation, School is for learning to live, not just for learning, read The Principles of Playful Inquiry, as well as to spend some time investigating the Opal School Blog.
Reflection Questions:
As you get ready for our time together, please consider:
· What do you think is the relationship between play, inquiry, uncertainty, and learning?
· How do you know when a learning community is engaged in playful inquiry?
· How does your learning environment support playful inquiry?
· What questions do you struggle with regarding playful inquiry?
Documentation:
Be sure to bring a journal/notebook and pens or a laptop/tablet to record your thinking. While photography is not permitted in classrooms when students are present, you’ll find lots of opportunities to take pictures in halls and empty classrooms.
Food and Beverage Service:
Coffee, tea and water will be available all morning. Breakfast pastries and fruit will be available upon arrival. Buffet lunches will be provided, including a vegetarian option.
Portland Children’s Museum Admission:
Your workshop badge allows you access to the Portland Children’s Museum until 5 pm April 12.
You may be interested in reading one of Yong Zhao’s most well known and widely read articles published in April 2015. It is titled A World at Risk: An Imperative for a Paradigm Shift to Cultivate 21st Centruy Learners and discusses the overemphasis of standardised testing in school systems as a measure of excellence. At the end of the article are ten key recommendations for educators and policy makers.
To prepare the talents we need for the 21st century, we need to redefine excellence in education. Instead of effectiveness in homogenizing students, an excellent education should support the development of diverse talents. (Zhao, 2012)
Time ZoneGMT ‐8 hours: 16 hours behind Perth
The rainy period of November to April can be slightly cooler than other times of the year with daytime temperatures of approx 17°C and 10°C overnight. Make sure you pack warm clothing, dress in layers and consider including a light rain coat and/or umbrella in your checked luggage.
Safeway Supermarket, Walgreens pharmacy directly across the road from our hotel in the Northpoint Shopping Centre.
Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf 2500 Mason Street, San Francisco
Hotel offers free Wi‐Fi in the lobby, fitness facilities, outdoor fireplace and heated outdoor swimming pool. The hotel is located only 500 m from Fisherman’s Wharf, is in close proximity to bus stops, streetcar stops and cable car station. The hotel is surrounded by an array of dining and shopping choices. Click HERE to view map.
Fisherman’s Wharf
Golden Gate Bridge
Walk or bike the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Visit the historical landmark island that has been a civil war fort, a military prison and one of the most notorious federal penitentiaries. Click HERE for the official ticketing site.
North Beach
San Francisco’s “little Italy” is known for its amazing Italian Cuisine, sidewalk coffee shops and lively nightclub scene. Enjoy views of Coit Tower or climb to the top on Telegraph hill. Enjoy a cup of Gelato or pick up a meal and dine al fresco with a picnic and a stroll through Colombus Square.
Presidio National Park, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, AT&T Park, Hyde Street, Lombard Street (most crooked street in the world), Historic F‐Line Trolley Cars, San Francisco Bay Ferry Service, San Francisco Bay Cruises, Beach Blanket Babylon Production, Historic Ferry Building, Wax Museum, Union Square Shopping, Chinatown, Yerba Buena Gardens, Golden Gate Park, City Hall, Historic Haight Ashbury.
San Francisco is known as a walkable city and there are many local attractions are within walking distance/via public transport available from our hotel. Click HERE for maps for bike routes, cable cars, the Muni system, taxi stands and walking routes.
The Muni system is a network of metro/subways, buses, streetcars and cable cars serving the city of San Francisco. Muni passes (daily/weekly) are valid for all forms of Muni transport, with an added surcharge for riding the cable cars. Individual Muni tickets and transfers are valid on all Muni services except cable cars. An adult bus and rail fare is $2 and cable car fare, $6.
Click HERE for routes, stops, fare information and more.
F‐Line Historic Streetcar Line
The F‐line is open 365 days a year from 6:00 a.m. until after midnight. Streetcars are scheduled to run at least every 15 minutes and as frequently as every six minutes during daylight hours. Ensure you have exact cash fare or valid ticket/pass/transfer ready before boarding. Deposit cash fares into the farebox near the boarding door or show transfers and passes to the operator. Adult streetcar fare $2.00. Click HERE for more information.
Taxis
Popular tourist areas like Fisherman’s Wharf and Union Square have a greater concentration of cabs than do outlying areas of the city. If you can’t hail a cab on the street, try the nearest major hotel for a taxi queue. For less populated areas, make a call to one of the dispatch numbers listed below. Tip 15 – 20% of the total fare.
The following are some major taxi companies in San Francisco.
Bike Hire
There are many well‐known companies renting bikes in the nearby Fisherman’s Wharf area, some having more than one rental outlet. All of these will outfit you completely: helmets, locks, maps etc.
Ferry
Returning from your ride, across the bridge, there are two different ferry companies which serve Sausalito. The Blue & Gold ferry will take you back to Fisherman’s Wharf. The Golden Gate Ferry will take you to the Ferry Building. Arrive at the ferry dock 30 minutes early or so as there will be lots of people with bikes in line to board the ferry.
AISWA USA Study Tour 