Parent's Night & Halloween

October 31, 2014

The third week of October was centered around midterm exams.  I spent a great deal of time creating review sheets & activities, and writing up the exams & answer keys for my three social studies classes.  My drummers would have a midterm performance test.  Prior to administering the exams, my students and I reviewed all the necessary content they would have to remember.

            

The Grade 10 exam focused on the Staking the Claim module.  The topics in this module include: traditional Inuit way of life, the Transitional Period (1950s-1970s), the four land claims agreements across the territories, and the creation of Nunavut.  The Grade 11 exam centered on the Industrial Revolution in Britain and European Imperialism in Africa & China.  The Grade 12 exam concentrated on the characteristics of a democracy & dictatorship, and how they affect the lives of everyday citizens.

            

I spent the weekend after midterms correcting the exams & class work, and inputting the marks into the school's database.  Once that was completed, I wrote comments for each of my students.  My midterm report cards were done.  Parent-teacher interviews would take place in early November.

                

3045 Army Cadet Corps held a Parent's Night on Wednesday, October 29th at Inuujaq School's gym.  There were promotions, awards, and important announcements to be made.  Parents also saw their children being inspected in their green dress uniforms by the guest reviewing officer and marching on parade.  The guest reviewing officer was the town's mayor, Philip Kalluk.

            

The awards that were presented were the Top Cadet and Most Improved Cadet.  Many cadets received fitness and marksmanship badges.  There are four fitness levels, bronze, silver, gold, and excellence.  Marksmanship also has four levels but they're numbered.  A couple of junior cadets were promoted to the ranks of Lance Corporal and Corporal, and two senior cadets were promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer.

            

The big news of the night was the upcoming 70th Anniversary of Victory in Europe trip being planned by the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 168, Iqaluit) and the Order of St. George.  Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the end of World War 2 and the Legion and Order would like to "entrench that important [piece of] history in the memory of the next generation," by taking selected cadets across Nunavut to Europe in May 2015.  The trip is being planned and organized with Educational Tours.    

            

The cadets will be chosen from the territory's six units: 795 Iqaluit, 3055 Repulse Bay, 3045 Arctic Bay, 3004 Cambridge Bay, 3008 Igloolik, and 3019 Rankin Inlet.  One adult staff member from each unit will also come along for chaperoning and supervision.  Two representatives from the Order of St. George will be leading the excursion.  Each cadet will be paired with a fallen Canadian soldier.  They have to research the soldier's history and visit their grave.  The excursion begins in Amsterdam and ends in Paris. Along the way, cadets will visit many historical sites, such as, the Anne Frank House, Ypres, Flanders Fields, Vimy Ridge, Normandy, and the Juno Beach Centre.           

            

3045 Arctic Bay has been allotted 4 spots (3 cadets & 1 staff).  Civilian Instructor Swoboda is currently fundraising $12K, which will go towards paying for the tour and the plane tickets for two extra cadets.  If you're interested in donating, you can send a money order or cheque to Friends of 3045 Army Cadets, PO Box 31, Arctic Bay, NU, Canada.  Donations in Canadian dollars or Euros are preferred.  Friends of 3045 is a non-profit organization; donors will receive a tax receipt.         

            

The parade ended with a small "embarrassing" moment.  The cadets found out that it was my birthday and decided to put me on the spot and sang Happy Birthday.  I also got a free cupcake with a lit candle.        

            

Grade 9 Classroom Door.

The last day of October is Halloween and the staff & students of Inuujaq School celebrate by dressing up in costumes and participating in a variety of activities.  One of the activities was a door decorating contest.  Winning designs were chosen based on creativity, organization, theme, and scariness.  My students went with a minimalist style this year.  I photographed all the decorated doors on the morning of October 31st and was impressed by the variety of designs.  Personally, my favourite was the elementary school door covered in orange with black bats, white ghosts, and a black zombie.  The scariest looking door was the Grade 9 classroom door because of the hanging spiders, zombie hands, and a possessed baby.

           

The Halloween festivities officially began after an extended lunch.  School was dismissed thirty minutes before noon so that students could eat, change into their costumes, and come back to school.  Last year, I power walked home, but this time, I used my new skidoo.  Yes, I finally made the commitment and purchased my first tracked vehicle. 

            

After researching various models, speaking with Northern Store Management, and much thought, I bought a Skidoo Expedition model.  The Northern Store ships in a set amount of skidoos and atvs on sealift and they sell pretty quickly.  If I had waited too long, I would have been forced to order a skidoo from down south and have it airlifted at a much higher cost.  Or I could have gone to the Co-op and bought one.  When I finally took possession in early October, I got a quick crash course on operation & maintenance from the assistant manager.  It's been a few weeks now and I'm riding comfortably. But I'm still a novice; I won't be taking it out on any land trips anytime soon.  I still need to acquire a qamutik, tent, and camping supplies.

            

I drove back to school with my costume, packed in two boxes, and attached to the back of the skidoo with bungee cords.  I changed into my costume after entering my classroom.  Last year, I wore a black Bone Daddy Skeleton Tuxedo with a matching top hat, but this year, I wanted to wear something that had a face mask.  I searched the Spirit of Halloween website and settled on V, the anarchist freedom fighter from the movie V for Vendetta.  My costume was an immediate hit with everyone.  Many students found it creepy & scary.

            

Everyone, including parents & elders, assembled in the gym to begin the costume contest.  Starting from kindergarten, each grade paraded around the gym, showing off their costumes, and letting the judges decide who had the best costume.  Each winner received a $25 gift certificate from the Co-op.  I won the best dressed teacher category. 

           

The costume contest was followed by my drummers performing several rhythmic cadences.  Unfortunately,  I didn't have all my drummers because several of them were in Cape Dorset, participating in a soccer tournament.  The audience crowded in a semicircle in front of the drumline, holding iPods and cameras, eager to record & hear the crazy beats we would play.  We performed five rhythmic cadences and received loud applauses at the end of each one.  Two of them were aptly named Vampire and Raven.  At the end of the performance, I shook the hands of my drummers and congratulated them for a job well done.  Several parents came up to me and said they really liked the performance and hoped to hear more at the Christmas concert.

            

Haunted House with lights on.

The remaining afternoon was devoted to a round robin of activities planned by the teachers.  There was Pictionary, colouring activities, circle games, and a haunted house made by the high school students.  The haunted house was in the science room and it had been completely turned upside down.  Tables were turned onto their sides and covered by long sheets to form a winding tunnel, and a tent was placed in the middle to form a large opening.  Turn the lights off, add some scary music, and get a few students to scare the brave visitors and you have a star attraction with a very long lineup.                    

            

School was dismissed at 3pm so that everyone could get ready for trick-or-treating from 5-7pm.  I raced home on my skidoo to get the Halloween candy ready.

To Be Continued . . .