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When one class member of year 2 left to live in Australia, Mr Hayhurst and his class were determined to keep in touch with her through letter writing and in doing so, find out more about Australia!

 

The initial letter from Mr Hayhurst's class to St. Michael's Primary School, Stanmore in Australia:

 

Dear Grace,

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It is amazing that we are able to write to you when you are living in a country that is so far away! First of all, let me say that we really miss you. In fact, things just aren’t the same without your beautiful, smiley face. We want to know how you are and what your new school is like.

There are a few questions that we would like to ask. Here goes. How is your new life different from before? What have you asked Father Christmas for? Do you even celebrate Christmas where you are? Do Australians celebrate on the beach? It is raining here a lot and it is usually cold and dark. What is the weather like where you are? Is your school nice? What is your teacher like? How is it different to Green End? Do you have a uniform? So many questions! 

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Lastly, it would be great to hear back from you. Here is a picture from our last school trip to Portland Basin. It is sad that you weren’t there with us but at least we get to share things with each other from now on. Maybe we could face time as a class? We shall see.

Looking forward to hearing from you. We miss you so much.

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Year 2 at Green End Primary School

 

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And this is the reply we received from Grace's teacher, along with some letters from her new class mates!

Dear Mr. Hayhurst,

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Thank you for your email about your excursion and all the questions.

 

We are sending you our letters for your class. Grace was away for a while so we wrote them a couple of weeks ago. 

 

But first, some answers to your questions: 

 

 How is your new life different from before? 

What have you asked Father Christmas for?  We have asked Fr. Christmas for: a game boy, books, lots of lego, a board game, an ipad, jewellery,  a robot

 

Do you even celebrate Christmas where you are? Yes definitely!

 

Do Australians celebrate on the beach? Some of us go to the beach when the weather is really good on Christmas Day. But the beach gets really busy.

 

It is raining here a lot and it is usually cold and dark. What is the weather like where you are? The weather here is sunny and warm although we had a huge storm last week, lots of streets were flooded. 

 

Is your school nice?  - Yes

 

What is your teacher like? (well, I'm writing this so I think I'm nice!) The children think I'm kind too!

 

 How is it different to Green End? Grace can't think of any differences

 

Do you have a uniform? Yes, we have a sports uniform and a school uniform.

 

We only have a week and a half until our long summer holiday, so everyone is tired and excited!

 

Thanks for the contact.

 

Kind regards,

 

Louise White and Year 1