Bonjour!

Hiya folks!

Well, time really flies up here.  I swear it was just last week and now its... this week.  Anyways, last week was mild student-wise.  I had about 4-5 students away each day which in theory is nice, but when you teach hardcore content every day, you kinda wish your students were all present all the time.  As a kid I remember dreaming up every trick in the book to try and stay home from school.  Movies at 1pm on City TV, come on!! Anyways, as a teacher I know realize how very annoying it is when students are away and you have to find the time to catch them up.  You have to find a happy medium - pick and choose which assignments or what material is skippable and get to the core of what the students who were away need to know.

This week is an incredibly light week for me.  Today and Wednesday are teaching days, tomorrow my kids have Bush Camp (where they go and learn outdoor Cree culture and skills with Cree teachers) so I get a planning day, and Thursday and Friday are PED (Pedagogical Education Days?? Pedagogical Days?? WHATEVS) where we have a mix of GVC Literacy Training, other stuff and planning time.  Pretty sweet! Then, it's right back into the swing of things the week following.  One little golden nugget is the fact that the school has 2 PED days after Wednesday October 31st.  Raise your hand if you can tell me why that is AMAZING?

1. No super tired students to manhandle.
2. No hyped-up-on-sugar students to manhandle
3. I get to enjoy a Halloween party on Wednesday (no "morning-after" to manhandle)

Apparently the placement of these PED days was weighed in on heavily by some very smart teachers.

Last Friday I was also treated to a "walk through" by my Principal which went swimmingly!! I have been working hard to apply the expectations of the GVC and the administration in my lessons and daily routines, and I had just enough students away that day for the lesson to go almost perfectly!! Ha!! Anyways, I received some good feedback and I am very happy. 

On another note, it appears that the foundations for the new teacher housing have been poured or will be poured soon.  WHAT THIS MEANS IS:

1. Teachers high in the teacher hierarchy (teachers with families, teachers with seniority) will have the first pick of the new houses or choose stay in their current dwellings
2. Teachers further down the list have the option to stay or go if there are houses available and desirable.
3. Teachers are the low down dirty dog bottom of the list (single, new - ME) will be able to finally move out of their black-mold-infested, heat-less, only-scalding-cold-water-producing, scary-animal-living-in-the-ceiling, 50-yards-away-from-the-school-therefore-students-knock-at-my-door-all-day-and-night-HOUSES.

Needless to say I am ecstatic at the estimated time frame rumoured for me to move out.  Sure I hate to repack and unpack, especially in the dead of winter, and I actually do love my little house, but the mold problem is something I am really concerned about and I don't want to spend a whole year in a place that was supposed to be torn down...

Winter has also arrived here in Wemindji.  Last week, much to my extreme displeasure, it snowed - like, every day.  Hardcore snow! Well, perhaps I am exaggerating but it snowed in October. Enough said.  I immediately chugged 2456 vitamin D pills to expel depression and bad feelings.  You can see how well that worked..

Anyways, all is well OH EXCEPT I GOT A FREE HAIRCUT AND ENDED UP WITH A MULLET.  Nothing is free in this world, I have learned my lesson.  Also I will never cut my hair again.  That's it. Seriously.

Love Aidan 

Regard le Mullet

o..m..g..

Lunch time - depression time

Extreme displeasure

Nighttime winter wonderland! NOT

Crying walking home in the snow!

Photo cred: Shelby Issac - Northern Lights sometime last week! Amazing!!

Photo cred: Shelby Issac - Northern Lights sometime last week! Amazing!!

Photo cred: Shelby Issac - Northern Lights sometime last week! Amazing!!

Photo cred: Stacy Clark - This happened today! And no, apparently the plane did not drive into the truck! The truck backed into the plane! No words!

Photo cred: Stacy Clark - Nice one!

Photo cred: Shelby Issac - Beautiful sunset in my beautiful town Wemindji