Monday, January 3, 2011

School begins today; Flood situation in Queensland, Australia

Happy New Year! This is the greeting that's going around in the office today - afterall today is the first day after a long weekend. Some parents are still away taking their Standard One or kindie-going child(ren) to their first day at school.

It's back to getting up early and bracing traffic jams for some of us. Today is the first day of the 2011 school year after a 7-week long year-end school holiday. In case you (as a parent with schoolgoing child(ren)) haven't got a copy, here's something useful, an (FMM-published) School term and School holiday schedule for 2011. I know parents in my office appreciate such a schedule.
While we're busy getting back to regular year-beginning schedule, people in parts of Queensland, Australia, are having their lives disrupted by floods caused by cyclones. Some lives have also been lost.

Floods in north-eastern Australia are causing havoc of biblical proportions (according to the papers). News.com.au of Australia reported that the Fitzroy River will rise for three more days. With 75,000 stranded, the city of Rockhampton is still days away from peak floods - but that's not the worst of it... more cyclones predicted. Floodwaters could hit 30 feet deep and the ultimate damage could amount to exceed A$1 billion.

7 comments:

  1. Not only parents I for one would be glad as jams would be lesser during school holidays. One parent one child travelling the car imagine the numbers on the roads? Oh dear sorry lah DownUnder looks quite bad. Seems like the weather has gone crazy. tQ

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  2. Anonymous9:22 PM

    The flood situation is Queensland is really serious. Watched it on the new last night.

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  3. i guess there are still a number of people taking today off and really back to work tomorrow.. some still enjoying new year, some brings the kids to school..

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  4. Bananaz, sounds like school holiiday = holiday from jams.

    Weather gone crazy is close. Australians even had snow a couple of weeks ago and it's not even Winter!

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  5. Mei Teng, indeed it is. Floodwaters at 30ft is no joke. It's like everything in the house is totally destroyed. My heart goes out to them.

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  6. SK, true - more like an annual affair. A pleasant change in a way. No?

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  7. I have seen this news on TV and I was shocked to see the situation there in Australia. The school was about to begin but I don't see that it was possible.

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