Max - Saturday, May 27th – Part 5

“Where are we going now?” asked Max.

“I am going to leave you with Mrs J. She is going to take you to St Joseph’s to see the children at that school” said Mrs S.

“Ok” said Max, “but can I ask you something?” he said.

“Yes Max. Are you still a bit homesick?” asked Mrs. S.

“No. I want to go on a really big adventure. I want to see other places in Australia and around the world,” explained Max. “Do you think the children could find out about other places in Australia and around the world? I would like to read all about them and go on a bigger adventure.”

“I will ask the children Max,” said Mrs S. “You will need to book a ticket Max if you want to go around Australia and the world”

“Ok. Can we book now?” asked Max.

“No Max. The children will need to research different places for you to visit first. Then you have to decide where you want to go. That is when we can book tickets for you” explained Mrs. S.

“Thank you for a wonderful day” said Max. “Tell the children at Mary MacKillop that I am having a great adventure. Bye”

“Bye Max. Have fun” said Mrs S was she waved goodbye and left.

Max - Saturday, May 27th – Part 4

“Where are we going now?” asked Max. “We are going to have some lunch Max,” said Mrs. S.

They got in the car and drove to a café. When they got out of the car Max got very excited.

“Why are you so excited Max?” asked Mrs. S.

“I can see some of my friends from Holy Family,” said Max. Max went over to the two boys and said hello. They gave Max a drink and he ate his banana.

When they left, Max started to feel very sad.

“Why are you sad Max?” asked Mrs. S.

“I think I want to go to the other schools,” said Max. “I heard some people talk about a piano and guitar” What are they?” asked Max.

“They are musical instruments Max. You use them to make music. Would you like to see a piano and guitar Max,” asked Mrs. S.

“Yes please,” said Max.

Mrs S took Max to Mrs. J's home. Mrs J had a piano and guitar. Max enjoyed playing the piano. He was a bit too small to play the guitar. Max listened to some music and began to dance.

Max - Saturday, May 27th – Part 3

“Where are we going now?” asked Max.

“We are going to the dam Max,” said Mrs. S.

As they drove to the dam, Max got very excited because he saw a camel. Mrs. S stopped the car and Max went over to say hello. The camel was a long way away and never saw Max.

Max got back into the car and they drove to the dam. Max could see the spillway but there was no water.

“Why is there no water?” asked Max.

“It is because we have not had a lot of rain Max. When it rains, water soaks into the ground. This helps the plants to grow. When it rains a lot, the rain runs down the mountains and creeks and goes into the dam. If the dam gets too full, water runs over the spillway. We needs lots and lots of rain Max for this to happen.” explained Mrs. S.

“Is that why we have the water tip at Mary MacKillop?” asked Max.

“Yes Max. At Mary MacKillop, the children are trying to save water. We have to make sure that we use water very carefully and not waste water,” replied Mrs. S.

“I will try and save water too” said Max.

“That is wonderful Max. If we are all careful we can make a difference Max” said Mrs S.

Max - Saturday, May 27th – Part 2

“Where are we going now?” asked Max.

“We are going to the library to learn about exercise,” said Mrs. S.

When they got to the public library Max saw the online catalogue. He search and found some books. He walked through the library and found a display all about sports and exercise.

Max was beginning to get thirsty. Mrs. S took him to a café that has the same name as a book character. It was called Babar. Max remembered seeing a book about Babar the elephant in the library. When he sat down he saw another friend from Mary MacKillop. Max was excited to see him. Max was beginning to feel very happy.

Mrs. S then left to buy Max some bananas. They walked into a shop. Max saw the bananas and a sign that talked about cyclone Larry. Max remembered the display in the library at Mary MacKillop about the cyclone.

“Where are we going now?” asked Max.

“We are going to the hairdresser Max,” said Mrs S.

When they got there Max sat in the chair while the hairdresser cut and coloured Max’s hair.

Max - Saturday, May 27th – Part 1

On Friday night, May Mrs S opened her door to find Max. Max told Mrs. S that he was a bit home sick and wanted to see the children from Mary MacKillop. The next morning Mrs. S took Max to netball because she knew that some girls played on Saturday.

When Max got the park he was scared because there were so many people and he didn’t think he would find the children from Mary MacKillop. After walking a very long way, they arrived where the girls were waiting to start playing netball. Max was so excited to see them. Max also saw some more of his friends.” Why are the children playing sport?” asked Max. Mrs. S explained to Max that it is important to stay healthy and to do some exercise.

On the way back to the car, Max saw some big cracks in the ground. Mrs. S explained that it did not rain enough and the ground got so dry it began to crack. “Many parts of NSW are in drought, Max and that is why the children hear the “Water Tip” at assembly each week.” Mrs S explained. “I will take you to the dam this afternoon and show you how low the water level is Max” she said.

Max @ Holy Family - Part 2

Year One put their thinking hats on! A shelter would have to keep Max out of the rain and cold, the sun and the wind. A shelter would also have to keep Max safe from predators like foxes or snakes! Max’s home would also have to have room for him to keep his things and room for his friends to come over and have a meal!

Year One took Max around the school grounds looking for a suitable place for his home. They took him to the back playground, but Max got lost when all the children started playing. They took him to the basketball courts, but he kept getting hit on the head with the ball. They took him to the prayer garden….but it didn’t feel right building a home there! Was there anywhere suitable for Max’s home?

Max looked longingly at the beautiful land surrounding Holy Family School. He looked at the beautiful gardens and the interesting classrooms. He looked at the church and the play equipment, the office and the Church.

“There must be somewhere for me to make a home in this town…..”Max thought.

Max will just have to wait and see what the children at Holy Family come up with this term!Maybe next term he will come and visit again and stay in a brand new home, made just for him! Year One are measuring up now, ready to begin!!! See you later Max!Have fun on your next adventure!

Max @ Holy Family - Part 1

Max came to Holy Family looking for a home. He had heard there was some quality Real Estate at Holy Family, but when he got there, both the ‘dress circle’ residences were taken! Max looked lovingly at Father P’s and Sr D’s houses. “I wish someone could make me a great place to live!!” He said. And so another adventure for Max began…..

Max went looking for someone to help him build a home. He asked William to take him to the school assembly so that he could ask the children. Mrs S translated for Max as the children couldn’t understand ‘monkey’! Everyone agreed to help Max on his quest!

Year 5 looked up real estate options in our town. Others showed him ideas of suitable designs. Finally, Year One agreed to help Max as they were learning about ‘shelters’. They would design and make a home for Max on our school grounds, just like Fr P’s or Sr Ds!

Max @ Good Shepherd - Part 3

Soon the word spread and everyone at school was looking for Max. Finally, Ms C, the principal found him. He was in her office on the phone. That cheeky monkey was hungry and was ordering a pizza! Ms C and Miss B returned Max safely to the library.

The day soon came for Max to leave us and continue his journey. His friends in the library threw a surprise party for Max before he left. They also gave him a special present. Max loved his new jacket. Hopefully it will keep him warm on his many new adventures.

Max @ Good Shepherd - Part 2

The first stop was the canteen where Max talked one of the canteen ladies into giving him a special snack. Unfortunately, they chose lunch-time to explore the school. The playground was full of children who were quite surprised to see the book characters out of the library.

As Max was going past the hand-ball courts, a ball came flying through the air and hit him on his head. His friends had to take him to sick bay to get an ice pack. When his friends came back later to get him, they were very surprised to find he was gone. Where could he be?

They looked everywhere. Penguin Pete peeked in the staffroom but Max wasn’t there. Lunch-time finished and they still couldn’t find him. Dougal, the Garbage Dump Bear, looked in the toilets. Max wasn’t there. Neligan’s pig checked in the classrooms but Max wasn’t there. Nemo looked on the oval but Max wasn’t there. They even asked the Kindergarten children but Max wasn’t there. Where could he be?

Max @ Good Shepherd - Part 1

It was one day in May when Max came to visit Good Shepherd. He immediately made friends with lots of book characters that lived in the library.

He was enjoying his time in the library. His days were filled with meeting all the children and hearing many wonderful stories.

Some days Mrs P and Mrs G even let Max put on the magic story cape, sit in the special story chair and read a story to the children. On really special days, Mrs E let Max help with borrowing.

He soon learned how to sit on the floor and join in discussions. Sometimes though, he was very cheeky and he hid in the story chest. He even helped Year One children find information about boats in pictures.

At night, he snuggled up close to his friends and dreamt about the wonderful time he was having.

After a little while though, Max wanted more. He wanted to see what was outside the library. He spoke to his friends and asked them to show him around the school. So Max and his friends set off on an adventure.

Max the Monkey @ Mary MacKillop - Part 2

On Thursday, May 4, Max packed his bag. His bag contained:
A bag of bananas – in case he got hungry;
A mobile phone – in case he got lost;
An address book – to write down all the places he visited;
A towel – to dry is fur in case it rained;
A peg – to hang up the towel to dry
A photo album – to keep the photo of his friends and to put any new photos he took along the way and A toothbrush – to keep his teeth clean.

Max said goodbye to his friends. Max said goodbye to the children and jumped into the bag. Hannah came to take Max to her mum. Her mum was taking Max to a new school. It was a long way away.

The principal of Mary MacKillop, came down to say goodbye to Max. “Bye Max. Enjoy your adventure” she said. “We will see you at the end of the term.” …and so Max left on his adventure.

Max the Monkey @ Mary MacKillop - Part 1

Once upon a time there was a monkey called Max. He lived in the Mary MacKillop library.

One magical night, Max was playing and jumping with his friends Benny and Bernadette the bear and Orrie the orangutan when all of a sudden he was jumping higher than ever before. He jumped so high that he landed on the light.

Max was about 4m high off the ground. He has been up on the light for months. He kept wishing he could go on an adventure to other schools.

Max has been on the light for so long he is trembling with fear. He is trying not to look down but when he did he saw kids borrowing and many kids looking at new books.

While he was up there during the day he heard kids playing and even silence some times. He heard computers

And at night Max heard buzzing noises and other scary sounds like rattling doors, trees whistling in the wind, rain hitting against the roof and lots of other scary noises.

That night, Max dreamt about going on an adventure to other schools.

During the night Max could hear a very big storm outside. When he woke up he saw a ladder. He heard the people talking. The roof in the library had leaked and the maintenance man had come to fix the hole.

What was Max going to do?

Max was frightened. He was very high up on the light. Max was scared.

Max called out as loudly as he could.

Mrs. S heard Max and climbed the ladder. She got a pole and Max climbed down the pole.

Max came down the ladder. He was happy. He was excited.

Once Max got to the bottom of the ladder he ran excitedly to the door.

Max looked out of the door. He wanted to play with his friends on the playground.

When Max went outside, the children crowded him. He felt scared so be climbed the nearest tree. He was hiding. He didn’t want to go back to the library. He could see the children playing on the concrete and he could see the teacher on duty.

After the children went back into class, Max got the key and opened the Peace Prayer mailbox. (One of the teachers must have left the key around in the library.) Max read the letters the children had read about peace.

One of the teachers had better get out there quickly before he gets locked in.

Then something wonderful happened…..

Max the Monkey

Hi,

My name is Max. I am a toy monkey and I live at Mary MacKillop.

One night I was playing with my friends and I jumped so high that I landed on the lights in the library. I was very scared. It took a very long time before someone saw me. They got a ladder and I climbed down.

I decided that I wanted to leave the library and go on an adventure so...

I packed my bag and left on an adventure.