The Later (Many) Days Of April

Kindergarten.

On April 15, the teachers and students of Inuujaq School gathered in the gym to recognize students with perfect attendance for the month of March.  Since coming to the north in 2012, I have learned that one of the greatest challenges for educators is getting students to regularly attend classes.  (I'm pretty sure this problem also exists down south).  Also, there is the argument that awarding perfect attendance is trivial and not fair to other dedicated students.  Medical appointments, illnesses, family events (up here, that includes camping & hunting trips), and being late are all facts of life.  Nevertheless, the recognition alone encourages students to take their education seriously.

            

Grade 2.

The attendance awards were handed out from kindergarten to high school.  Naturally, the entire kindergarten class received certificates.  The remaining recipients are as follows: two for Grade 1, five for Grade 2, three for Grade 3, six for Grade 4, two for Grade 5, four for Grade 6, six for Grades 6, 7, 8, and one for high school.  Each student received a certificate and was photographed with their teacher.  The one high school student had her picture taken with the principal.  In total, forty-one students received perfect attendance certificates out of a student population of 235.

            

Grade 4.

In English, my students watched and studied the feature film Stand & Deliver.  To make sure my students were paying attention, they had to answer four sets of questions.  Judging from their expressions, some liked the movie while others didn't.  Made in 1988, the film is based on the true story of Jaime Escalante, an East Los Angeles high school teacher.  In the 1980s, he successfully prepared his students for the Advanced Placement Calculus Test, which awards students with college credit.  However, problems arise when the test scores are challenged by the Education Testing Service.  What happens next?  Sorry, you'll have to rent/buy the movie to find out.  Jaime Escalante passed away on March 30, 2010, while undergoing treatment for bladder cancer.  He was 79 years old.

            

Flag of NATO.

In Social Studies, we finished the Staking The Claim Unit (looking at Inuit land claims) and moved on to the Security Unit.  The unit looks at the 20th century history of Canada becoming a safe and secure country.  The four condensed chapters look at Canada's role in both world wars, the cold war (NATO), and the defence of North America (NORAD).

            

For the later-half of April, my guitarists had two more performance tests.  The first one was the Canadian national anthem and the other was 'Yankee Doodle'.  For 'O Canada', they could read from the paper that contained both traditional notes and guitar tab, but for 'Yankee Doodle' they could only read traditional notes.  We also looked at several classic rock and pop song melodies.  I also introduced my students to the use of accidentals in music (flats, naturals, sharps) and dotted notes.  For them, the toughest part was understanding that notes with accidentals can share the same sounds.

            

April 30th.

The month of April is when the temperature usually stays above -20ºC.  This was true for the remainder of the month.  Even though there was snow on the ground (there still is right now), kids were out riding their bicycles.  Of course, 'brown patches' began to appear, revealing rocks, dirt, and the dark gravel roads.  Night no longer exists, having been replaced by constant dusk.  Pretty soon, the sun will never drop below the mountains and just circle the town.

            

However, the weather wasn't always sunny and clear, with strong cold winds blowing through town and out into the bay.  It made watching the dog races out a little challenging (more on that in a future post).  What surprised me the most was the morning blizzard on April 30th.  I thought blizzard season was over?  I guess not.  It was quite an adventure walking to school, dressed as a 'polar man'.  Afternoon school ended up being cancelled that day.    

            

Going back to the morning of April 17, I stumbled upon a small discarded antler on the side of the road.  I waited ten seconds before picking it up.  After assuming it was a caribou antler, I placed it in my bag and continued walking to school.  Along the way, I pondered on how it got there.  The best reason I could come up with was that a hunter had shot a caribou out on the land and brought it back to be skinned.  He either discarded the antler or the wind blew it away.  I asked several teachers at the school what it could be and they too concluded it was a caribou antler. I have to admit that it is one of the most interesting objects I have seen/found on my way to work.  The first were the white Arctic hares.

            

Speaking of Arctic hares, two (or the same one) ran by as I was walking to school in the morning.  I forget the days but I was surprised to see them again.  The last time I saw a hare was way back in January.  If I stay here longer, maybe I'll catch one and keep it as a pet.

            

On April 22, Inuujaq School received an over sized cheque from the Northern Store to go towards the community cleanup.  Every year, the teachers and students clean up outside the school and other designated areas after the snow melts.  The money will go towards cleaning supplies and an after cleanup barbecue. 

            

During the month of April, I was approached by Iga, the high school Inuktitut teacher, who wanted to know if I wanted to help her with organizing student council.  I agreed, wanting to become more involved with students.  Ironically, I wasn't involved in student council when I was in high school.  When I arrived in Arctic Bay in January, student council had been put on the 'back burner' because there wasn't a teacher who had the time to run it.  Now, there was Iga, myself, and Paulette, the art teacher.  

It was good to see a large turnout of high school students at the first after school meeting in Iga's classroom.  The first order of business was arranging a snap election near the end of the month to choose a president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary.  Next was deciding when student council should meet (weekly or bi-weekly) and informing middle school students that the council was looking for a student to speak for the middle school grades.  The first and following meetings were very productive and it was good to see students wanting to improve the school's learning environment.  

And finally, the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa hosted a Northern Scene festival from April 25 to May 5, "featuring more than 250 artists from Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut."  Musicians, actors, dancers, writers, filmmakers, storytellers, and chefs from the north came together in the nation's capital to "paint a living portrait" of their lives and cultures.  The festival was the sixth Scene festival organized by the NAC, the previous being: Atlantic (2003), Alberta (2005), Quebec (2007), British Columbia (2009), and Prairie (2011). 

            

Judging from the pictures, videos, and stories on the NAC website, the festival appears to have been a great success.  It would have been nice to attend and experience the festivities but I'm too busy living and teaching in the northern scene.  Even though the core events are over, there still appears to be several ongoing events related to the festival.  If you're in the Ottawa area, set aside some time to check them out.       

         

April 30th.