Drop The Pop

Source: HappyHolidays2014.com

The third week of March began with St. Patrick's Day, an annual cultural and religious holiday celebrated all over the world.  People wear green clothing, public festivals & parades are held, Christians attend church services, and alcohol consumption skyrockets.  In Canada, there are parades in Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, and the day is a public holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador.  In Arctic Bay, Nunavut, the Irish holiday has yet to reach the level of popularity it is down south.  I decided to observe the day by wearing a green dress shirt and tie to school.  I was only missing a shamrock pin . . . and a green hat . . . and a pot of gold.  Many teachers and students complimented my appearance.  Maybe I'll wear a costume next year.  There's a wee-bit of Irish in all of us! 

            

My Grade 10 English students began working on the grammar unit, starting with a review of the basics (ie. nouns, verbs, adjectives).  Even though my students have been speaking English for several years, it is still their second language and they need to practice writing and using verb tenses.  English can be a difficult language to learn & understand, especially when it comes to homonyms, homographs, homophones, and synonyms.  And don't get me started on tongue-twisters.  I set aside 4 weeks for grammar and sentence writing. 

            

Kindergarten poster.

My Social Studies students  began studying the "Resolving Disagreements" chapter of the Government and Politics module.  Disagreements between individuals and groups of people are a fact of life and there's no way around it.  This definitely applies to the political sphere.  The challenge is to work through the disagreement(s) and come to a compromise, or lobby the opposing individual(s) or group(s) to change their stance(s).  The chapter stresses negotiation, bargaining, and compromise.  Unfortunately, there are moments when politicians "lose their sanity", and let their emotions take over, leading to heated verbal and/or physical confrontations.  YouTube is full of videos of politicians from all over the globe behaving badly, shouting insults, spitting, and exchanging punches with opponents.  For me, it's like observing a room full of undisciplined kindergarten students.  I think all politicians must complete an anger management course before beginning their term of service, including those who are reelected.

            

Grade 4 posters.

For the remaining two weeks of March, my guitar students learned how to count and play dotted quarter notes and syncopated rhythms.  For added reinforcement, we clapped and tapped many different rhythms.  Once they felt confident, I introduced them to the Blues genre which uses a lot of dotted & syncopated rhythms.  They learned a few catchy blues riffs, set in the keys of E, A, B, and D.  As an added "treat", they had a duet test where they were required to play the first section of "Simple Gifts", a Shaker song composed by Joseph Brackett.  They all did very well on the performance test.   

            

Small rainbow. March 19, 2014

The week of St. Patrick's Day was also the week I had morning and afternoon recess duty.  Teachers are assigned recess duties for an entire week rather than a day per week.  This was my second recess duty in the new year.  My area of supervision is the high school area, making sure the smokers are not visible to the younger grades.  It was nice to spend some time outside under the bright Arctic sun and enjoy the fresh air . . . until it became full of second hand smoke.  In the end, I didn't have to deal with any disciplinary issues.

            

In 2003, the Nunavut government began a program called, "Drop the Pop," with the aim of encouraging "students and their families to consume healthier beverages and foods."  The program has since spread to the other two territories (Yukon and Northwest), and is regularly observed each year by all northern communities.  I'm not exactly sure what the statistics are for soft drink (aka pop) consumption in Nunavut (my Internet searches have turned up nothing), but from my observations in Iqaluit and Arctic Bay, it appears to be fairly high.  I have heard stories of locals drinking one to two cases of pop a day.  If that's true, I'm not sure how their bodies can cope.  (Here's an extreme example from Britain). 

            

My Internet searches did reveal that soft drink consumption in Canada has doubled between 1971 & 2001, and childhood obesity is becoming a serious problem.  Around one of every four children and youth in Canada are overweight or obese.

            

Inuujaq School got on board with the Drop The Pop campaign by handing out redeemable coupons provided by the Northern Store.  Students would receive a free single serving yogurt beverage.  The school also hosted a community breakfast and poster contest on March 21st, sponsored by the Northern Store.  Three judges would choose the best posters from two categories: K-9 classes and high school students.  Posters were judged on design and overall message.     

            

The community breakfast began at 9:30am in the school's gym.  The walls were decorated with anti-pop posters, explaining the dangers of excess consumption and encouraging onlookers to find healthier substitutes (ie. water, milk, juice).  The teachers arranged the gym in the early morning, placing chairs along the walls, setting up a coffee/tea/juice stand, and a line of tables where the food would be served.  We also prepared the food, cutting fruits, slices of cheese, laying out bowls of crackers, and cooking hard boiled eggs.  After an elder led everyone in prayer, the teachers began handing out plates of food to students, elders, and parents.  The food was delicious. 

            

I forget which K-9 class won for best poster, but I do remember the award for best high school poster went to Emily Kalluk.  She was awarded a gift certificate to the Northern Store.  At the conclusion of the breakfast, everyone helped with the cleanup before returning to their regular routines.            

Drop the Pop poster by Emily Kalluk

On a side note, March 21st also happens to be International Day for the Elimination of Racism.  When I attended school down south in Ontario, this day was heavily promoted and observed by teachers and students.  The day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966.  March 21st was chosen because on that day in 1960, sixty-nine people were shot by police in Sharpeville, South Africa, during a peaceful demonstration against apartheid pass laws.  This event is also known as the Sharpeville Massacre.  It's a shame that racism and discrimination still exist in the 21st century.  I thought the human race would have its act together by this time, but unfortunately, that's not the case.  There has been tremendous progress in the last few decades but we still have a few more hills to climb.  (Check out Stop Racism and Collective Hate.)