September

After almost three months of school holidays - the kids finished school in Australia on 31 May - we were finally back into a routine. They were well and truly ready to start school and looking forward to making friends (Ben especially, Laura was already attending cheer practise).

The majority of kids in the US attend their zoned public school as private schools are very expensive (upwards from ~US$30k per year). School here is exactly as you see it in the movies. Cafeteria, lockers, gyms, sports fields etc. Each county is responsible for running their schools, which in our area are very well funded. Ben received an iPad, and Laura a MacBook, free of charge for the year.

School start times are staggered here. Middle school (years 6 - 8) starts at 7:50am and finishes at 2:35pm. High school (years 9 - 12) starts at 8:20am and finishes at 3:10 pm. Elementary school (years K - 5) starts at about 9am and finishes about 3:30pm (unsure of exact times). This is done so the same school buses can be utilised for each school run and helps to reduce road congestion.

Ben attends Dorothy Hamm Middle School https://dorothyhamm.apsva.us/ which is about 2km away, just far enough for him to qualify to ride the school bus. The schools bus is also exactly as you see in the movies. Ben's bus picks him up about 300m around the corner from where we live and drops him home again in the afternoon. He leaves home at 7:05am and is back about 3:00pm.

DHMS has about 900 students.

Ben has made some lovely friends, all of whom live within walking/biking distance which makes it great for hanging out after school or on weekends.

Laura attends Washington-Liberty High School https://wl.apsva.us/ which is about 3km away, but unfortunately as the kids get older the bus zoning increases so she doesn't qualify to ride the bus. Occasionally Laura walks, but for the most part I drive her to school.

WLHS has about 2,700 students. It's a huge school spanning four levels, with a planetarium and a multi-level car park.

The first week of school ended with a long long weekend to celebrate Labor Day, with both the Friday and Monday off. We decided to take the opportunity to visit Harpers Ferry, located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, where Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland meet.

It only took about an hour and a half to drive to Harpers Ferry, and the scenery was absolutely stunning on the way, so green and lush.

Harpers Ferry is another significant town in American history, at one time becoming the northernmost point of Confederate-controlled territory during the American Civil War https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/harpers-ferry

As you'll see in the pictures, we had the most amazing weather while we were there, with the exception of a crazy summer storm that hit on the Friday afternoon - fortunately we were already in a bar having afternoon drinks by then.

Looking down the main street

...and again

Park between the train and river

View back up towards town - note the church in the background

The church!

The fam.

While we were in Harpers Ferry we did white water rafting and zip lining. The Potomac wasn't flowing particularly fast while we were there, so the rapids were reasonably tame (grades 1 - 3), but we had fun nonetheless.

Saturday - white water rafting

The zip lining was lots of fun - no action shots as our phones were away for the duration.

Sunday - zip lining

After the zip lining we went to Harpers Ferry Brewing https://harpersferrybrewing.com/ for a delicious pizza lunch before heading home.

Inside the brewery, so many beers on tap

The view

The brewery

The fam, again.

Ben and Russ continued to hunt fish during September, even renting a boat one morning to try and increase their chances, to no avail. Their enthusiasm has waned.

No fish were harmed....!

Mid September Russ and I were invited to "Prayers", a Friday night happy hour hosted by Rear Admiral Ian Smith, Defence Attache Washington on behalf of the Australian Embassy, at his residence in DC. It was so lovely to be surrounded by Australian accents at the function. The house is next door to the residence of our US Ambassador, Kevin Rudd, who appeared to be home, but did not join the party!

High school football (American rules) also kicked off in September, with Freshman (year 9) and Junior Varsity (essentially the B grade) played on Thursday nights and Varsity (A grade) on Friday nights. For anyone who watched the television series Friday Night Lights, that show is so accurate in reflecting high school football. We were blown away by it, from the crowd, to the commentator, school band, cheerleaders and just the game itself. So much fun.

Laura's cheerleading was in full swing in September, incorporating both sideline cheer (at the football games) and competitions.

Sideline cheer

Competition cheer (second place performance)

All the cheerleaders waiting for the results

During the last week of September, Russ had another American Studies trip, this time to Boston.

Russ travelled up to Boston on the 24th of September, with the aim of the week to learn about the American education system , and its interaction with US Government Institutions.

On arrival in Boston they paid a visit to Fenway Park https://www.mlb.com/redsox/ballpark, the home of the Red Socks baseball team. Fenway Park is the oldest baseball park in the US, and perhaps the most famous. It does not meet the size regulations for Major League Baseball, however due to its history it remain able to host MLB games.

Fenway Park

The famous press box

Wednesday 25 September saw a visit to Nipmuc High School, where Russ was hosted for a few hours by a year 12 student. The day included attending class with the student, and participating in class discussions and having a school cafeteria lunch!! That afternoon they visited Blackstone Valley Technical School, a school that focuses on vocational education preparing students for a career in things like hairdressing, machining, or plumbing. The school offers 18 different trades with state of the art facilities to either award the trade at the end of the high schooling years, or be well advanced along the path of qualification, making them ready to take on apprenticeships. It's kind of like TAFE for high school students.

The trip also included a visit to Harvard, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and the USS Constitution - the US Navy's oldest ship which is still in commission. Russ returned back DC on the 29th of September.