A Summary of January

The remaining days of January were mostly uneventful and full of routine.  I stuck to the same teaching "script" as the previous semesters, so there's no need for me to rewrite the same details.  (Teachers can only modify and add to their curriculums at certain times.  We have more than enough material to teach, but not enough time in the semester to cover it all).  I'll just give you a quick summary of the month.

            

My Grade 10 English students began their semester learning about literary elements and reading a variety of short stories.  To keep the level of interest and reading up, my class worked on two short stories a day.  The stories covered various topics, such as: dystopia, relationships, science fiction, bullying, and what a third world war would look like.  The three stories that proved to be the most popular with the class were: Examination Day by Henry Slesar, Survival Ship by Judith Merril, and Akua Nuten by Yves Theriault.  The reactions of the students can be summarized in three words: shock, surprise, and wonder.

            

At the end of the month, my students wrote their own short stories.  I insisted they write them in small chunks rather than in one sitting.  The end results were good.  I was glad several students agreed to have their stories posted in the high school hallway.

            

My Grade 10 Social Studies students began their semester with the Residential Schools module.  The pace of study was much faster and by the end of the month we had completed nine of the twelve activities.  The module gives students a brief history of the residential school system, its affects on Aboriginal populations, and what is currently being done regarding compensation & reconciliation.

            

In Grade 11 Social Studies, we spent the month of January looking at industrialization of Britain in the 1700s and European imperialism all over the world.  My students particularly enjoyed learning about the British inventors and their important inventions at the time of the Industrial Revolution.  Some of the inventors were: Eli Whitney, Samuel Crompton, James Watt, Henry Cort, and Henry Bessemer.

            

My guitarists learned the basics of handling acoustic guitars, the various parts that make them work, several notes on the six strings, and a few basic chords.  They also learned the basics of reading traditional music notation.  As the month drew to a close, the guitarists & I began preparing for our first public concert in February.  The sun returns to Arctic Bay in early February, marking the end of dark season, and the school annually holds a celebration.  I reassured the class that I would perform with them and we would use our sheet music.

            

January 21 & 22 were days of extreme arctic weather.  Cold temperatures, wind chill, and strong winds forced the closure of the school for a day and a half.  The blizzard was gone by the afternoon of January 22.

            

It's been three years since Inuujaq School had an active student council.  That all changed when several high school students met and decided to start one.  A meeting / election was held on January 28 in the high school science room.  Students who were interested in running for the positions of president and/or secretary treasurer had to submit their names a week before the election.  There were only two positions advertised because the high school student body is small. 

            

Leetia reading her acceptance speech after winning the position of student council president.

Christine reads her campaign speech.

On election day, the high school students body listened to the campaign speeches of two students, Rosalina & Christine, vying for the position of secretary treasurer.  The voting was pretty close, but Rosalina was chosen as the secretary treasurer.  Leetia was the only student who submitted her name for the position of president, thus winning by default.  Her campaign speech was actually an acceptance speech.

            

The meeting concluded with a What Would You Do For A Klondike Bar? game.  The game was proposed by the student council adult overseer, Kaitlynd.  (She is also Inuujaq School's Student Support Teacher).  The purpose of the game was to have fun and to get the students out of their comfort zone.  The student council members came up with several funny challenges that brave students had to do in order to win a Klondike Bar.  Some of these challenges included dancing & juggling.                

            

And finally, I was able to get all the Professional Development (PD) applications submitted and approved on time.  The PD cheques would be arriving in the mail in the next couple of weeks.

A Rough Start

Happy 2016 Everyone!

            

Source: www.DailyMotion.com

My Christmas/New Year's vacation was only thirteen days long, just enough time to reconnect with family and friends.  I brought four arctic chars.  One would be consumed at a family party while the others would be given away as gifts.  Arctic chars make great gifts, especially when they come straight-from-the-source.  I hear that one char can cost between $40 - $60 in a store down south.  I received two chars for free and the other two cost me $20.  Shipping them via First Air Cargo was just as inexpensive because they're classified as country food.       

            

I was already thinking of what to bring back when I arrived in Ottawa on the evening of December 20th.  I spent several days shopping for school supplies at various stores.  I even braved the Boxing Day crowds at a local Best Buy.  By the end of my educational shopping spree, I had two boxes full of supplies.

            

It's no secret that the cost of food is very expensive in Nunavut.  To save money, I also used my vacation time to buy perishable and frozen foods that I could bring to Arctic Bay.  My family & I bought food that wasn't readily available in the northern community.  On the day of my departure, my check in luggage included one perishable food box & one frozen food box.  I was able to pay less excess baggage fees because I phoned First Air several days in advance.      

            

I celebrated Christmas with family and New Year's with (old) friends.  We watched the Times Square Ball descend down the specially designed flagpole, counting down the last minute of 2015.  When the ball came to a stop at the bottom of the pole, all of New York erupted with cheers of "Happy New Year!"  We joined in and celebrated the arrival of 2016.  My, how time flies fast!

            

My flight to Arctic Bay was on the morning of January 2.  Half of me was sad that the break was already over, but the other half was excited to be heading back to the far north.  I managed to take care of all the items on my "to-do" list except for one.  I didn't see the newly released film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  I know.  How could I?  What was I thinking?  I've committed a "cardinal sin".  I'll exonerate myself by being one of the first people to buy the film on DVD.

            

I was one of the first teachers (from Inuujaq School) to arrive at the departure gate at the Ottawa Airport.  The others arrived thereafter.  We talked about what we did during the holidays.  They were all shocked when I confessed that I didn't watch the latest Star Wars movie.  When we landed in Iqaluit, I quickly walked over to Yummy Shawarma for lunch. 

            

Our flight to Arctic Bay flew to Pond Inlet first.  All the teachers paid attention when the sun disappeared over the horizon.  The high arctic was still in the middle of dark season.  When the plane landed in Pond Inlet, we all disembarked and entered the small terminal to stretch our legs & use the restrooms.  I was surprised to see some of my students in the terminal.  They were surprised to see me as well.  It turns out they were coming with us to Arctic Bay.  We bombarded each other with questions about our vacation.  The flight to Arctic Bay lasted 40 minutes.

            

We were all greeted with bad news when we landed in the community.  The school had been vandalized that day.  We were told the damage was quite extensive in some areas.  I went into the school on Sunday to see what happened.  Thankfully, my classroom wasn't vandalized.  I took pictures of the vandalism and submitted them to the principal.  It would take several days and a team of specialists to clean up the school.  Everyone involved in the clean up did a very good job.  This unfortunate incident was covered by CBC News North.  (The three pictures may have been submitted by Paul Mooney, but all three were taken by me). 

            

I would like to point out that vandalism is not exclusive to Nunavut.  Vandalism happens everywhere.  All you can do is recover, move forward, and hope the culprits are brought to justice.

            

The new semester began despite this setback.  I would be teaching four classes this semester:  Grade 10 English, Grade 10 Social Studies, Grade 11 Social Studies, and Grade 10 Guitar.  Grade 10 English would be my largest class with twenty students.  The students for my social studies classes needed to repeat the courses.  The content would mostly be the same, but I was already thinking of adding some new material that I have been unable to teach in the past.  As for Grade 10 guitar, I have an all-female class this year.  Maybe next semester I'll have an all-female drum line?

           

With the arrival of January, I quickly realized that there is only one & a half months until PD Week in February.  PD stands for Professional Development.  As the PD Coordinator for Inuujaq School, I have to make sure that teachers properly fill out their applications, submit them on time, correct them if necessary, and let them know if the applications are approved.  This year, teachers working in the Qikiqtani area will spend their PD Week in their respective communities.  Of course, there are exceptions.  Some teachers have applied to complete their PD activities outside of their communities, and even the territory.  I only have to worry about the teachers at my school. 

            

Being PD Coordinator is like being in charge of the Christmas Concert Committee, but with a little less stress . . . I think.  We shall see in the next few weeks.