The First (Many) Days Of April

Being the workaholic that I am, the last two days of the long Easter Weekend were spent preparing lessons and correcting school work.  Since I devoted Friday and Saturday to rest & relaxation, I didn't want to fall behind in my work.  The long weekend made the transition from March (maatsi) to April (iipuri) smoother . . . or unnoticeable, depending on the person you ask.

            

With the arrival of April, the days have been getting longer and longer.  People are breaking out their sunglasses to protect their eyes from the shining sun.  Night is turning into constant dusk.  The Inuit teachers & students tell me that by May, it will be the period of the 'midnight sun'.  I'll have to make sure the window in my bedroom is covered by dark curtains, otherwise I won't fall asleep.  I remember experiencing 24-hour daylight in the Yukon back in 1997.  It was tough to fall asleep as well as surprising to see kids playing outside at 1am.  In the land of the midnight sun, the concept of time is lost. 

            

The temperature is still cold but getting more manageable.  I'm surprised by how well my body has acclimatized.  Wearing snow pants is no longer a necessity but an option.  I find it humourous to hear my southern friends complaining about the negative temperatures in the single digits.  Up here, that's summer weather!  As long as there's no wind, the cold is more than bearable.

            

The Science Fair was still in the minds of students as school continued on April 2.  In English, my students reviewed characterization, flashback, and foreshadowing.  I also included some grammar lessons in sentence writing.  The main challenge my students find is remembering to add prepositions to their sentences.     

            

In Social Studies, we were nearing the end of the Staking The Claim Module.  My students watched the third (also last) documentary that explained the federal government's settlement of the four major land claims agreements for Nunavik (1975), Inuvialuit (1984), Nunavut (1993), and Nunatsiavut (2005).  Focusing on the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, I used a PowerPoint presentation to summarize the nine major guaranteed rights.  It would have taken too long to go through the entire agreement because it's over two hundred pages broken into 41 articles.  Plus, the legal wording of the document would be too difficult for my students to understand.

            

During the first two weeks of April, my guitar students had two performance tests.  The first was a review of basic open chords and the second was playing 'Ode To Joy' while reading traditional notation.  Both tests were challenging so I made sure they had enough time to ask for help and to practice.  They all did very well.  My students also looked at two pieces they requested: 'Joy to the World' and 'Jingle Bells'.  I guess Christmas will be coming early this year.

            

The week of April 8 - 12 was my second time on morning & afternoon recess duty.  Just like the first time a month ago, I was the only qallunaaq teacher on duty.  Nothing really serious happened.  The elementary kids still played on the play structures and slid down a hill using pieces of cardboard, and the high school kids still smoked.  However, the sun was much brighter.

            

Arctic Bay is home to many skilled artists and carvers.  The students of Inuujaq School are no exception.  With the arrival of spring, the windows in the high school wing have been decorated with sun catchers, all painted by Paulette's art students.  They all look really nice.

            

Speaking of creativity, two young Inuit boys decided to impress me in the late afternoon of April 9 while I was walking home after a hard day's work.  Using their arms & heads, they stood against the sun and created two eye silhouettes.