The class could not be busier

Man oh man we are busy in Gr. 5 & 6 English these days. Don't let the word English fool you. I teach, or try to teach, every subject but just to the Gr. 5 and 6 English class. In the North, Inuit parents can choose to have their children go thru the English sector or the French sector. I am one of two English teachers in this school and one of 4 in the village. There are 5 French teachers in this school . There are days I never hear English, except from my students.

This divison of English sector and French sector contibutes to the isolation in Sallulit. In the staff room French and Inuktitut dominate. No one is the least bit intersted in politics so I have no one to argue with about the many issues facing Canadians with a new gov't in Ottawa. I do long for a juicy arguement about something, anything...

I decided to invite the parents of my students to come in to school just before the Easter break to see their little darlings perform in class. Actually I never say parents but say loved ones as there are factured families here, as in the rest of Canada. We are busy learning a new poem. The kids really like memorizing these small little poems and showing off. At the first of the year it was very difficult to get them to stand in front of the class and speak. Now they love it.

We also want the classroom to look pretty and spring like so we are busy with paint bushes. I got the crazy idea to teach them to stencil. We have so little material to work with that everything is harder to do. I don't have real stencil brushes.. and no way of getting them. The school has no money for such supplies and the stores don't have any to buy anyway. ( DO you know how much teachers spend of their own money on school supplies? not just up here but everywhere... Staples gives teachers a fantastic discount to help with the cost)
But we are having fun.

I wore my white shirt to school yesterday since I was planning on taking some school photos. What a day to wear a white shirt. Ten year olds that were excited and running around with pails of dirty water , or brushes full of paint or their painted project... plus a very excited teacher. What a mess I was by the end of the day.

The kids came back to school this am so excited about the poem they had memorized and to paint more today. I had promised that if they worked hard during the day we would paint every day. Why do I make such rash promises?

And we started a unit on the continents and oceans. Now that we are doing video conferences with a school in Ireland it was time to go to the maps and globes. I love this . One of my special passions. It is a hard go at first. The students may travel around the north and perhaps go to Montreal but they don't do much travelling other than that. It is a concept that is difficult to grasp at the beginning for them . This winter when Elias flew from his great-grandparents in Florida to Toronto knew he must be in Canada when the cold air blasted him. He also knows that you have to go thru where Gram and Gramp live to get to Grandmammie in Clare. The children here do not have the opportunity to travel the way people do in southern Canada.

My students are very tired these days. They are staying up until well after mid-night each night. It is the most beautiful time of year in the north. It is warmer with lots of snow still down so people can travel to the fishing areas at night. I have my doors and windows open most of the daylight hours. My house has so many windows that is like living in a hot house at times. Yesterday I went for the first long walk of the spring. On the weekend I walked up the big hill to take photos... carrying three cameras. I have learned how to do video, digital as well as my old great fantastic 35mm.

I am receiving lots of mail these days. Summer plans are in the works already. Too many choices to make.

The internet has been off for several days. That always seems to happen when I need to use the internet or the phone. On the weekend we could not call out of the village , nor could we receive phone calls. My parents were leaving Florida and I always like to have a chat with them before they go. I am a bit anxious with them driving back to Nova Scotia so I like hearing from them when they are on the road. They called last night to say they were in Bangor and shopping till Dad was kicked out of the stores. Only a day or so now till they are home in their Bear River nest. I must close up shop and head to my little nest for a cup of tea.

Have a good day.
P