Mmmmm Hummus

It seems that fall has arrived in Wemindji! And you know what that means! Winter is about 2 seconds behind it!! Awesome! Well it has been cool since my arrival in August so fall in my opinion, has technically been here all along, but now the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn which is quite pretty!

Last week was MES's first full 5-day week (a number of PED days and holidays made the work schedule light up until now). It was rough! Who knew working 5 full days in a row could be so taxing haha. Well, to be honest, we didn't even work 5 full days as on Friday morning there was another power out! This one lasted the whole morning so school was cancelled and we started in the afternoon. It was planned but no one knew how long it would be out so I just went into school anyways and got some much needed electricity-less organizing done.

Things are going well in my class, my students are steadily improving their reading skills and last week we began our first independent writing activity! They needed a lot of guidance and reassurance but they are on their way to being fantastic independent writers as well. These kids love to learn and I am trying my best to provide them with quality, meaningful learning experiences that engage them and broaden their horizons! This week in art we are going to make pictures of what they would like to be when they grow up, a request from the Cree School Board to help initiate their new mission statement. I am curious and excited to see what kinds of jobs these kids see themselves doing in the future!

In a couple of weeks my mum and aunt are making the long drive up to Wemindji to visit for Thanksgiving! I am SO excited and really happy that they are making the drive. I am so proud of Wemindji, my home and my school, I can't wait to show it all off! They will be staying in the good ol' Amosphere on the way up and back down and I am preparing a little note with all the things to see/do/watch out for on the way. The best part by the way - they are bringing BOBO with them! I am going to die. I miss that little feller like you have no idea!

Before my family arrives however, it is the weekend of my 26th birthday! I have planned a party extravaganza! A PJ party! If you know me at all you know I live for comfort. As soon as I get in the door I am immediately in pj pants. I have often had dinner guests over in pj pants. This is not abnormal. So why, I ask, would I spend my birthday evening in regular, often uncomfortable pants? I can't give you a good reason either so PJs it is!! I have ordered a special PJ outfit that arrived last week which I will hold off on revealing until the night itself.

Last night was also the MES 2013 graduation ceremony! 11 Graduates, one already started in College classes and the school couldn't be more proud! There was a huge turnout and it was so nice to see the pride and excitement in the eyes of the grads, family members and teachers in the audience. There was a delicious feast, cake and nice ceremony followed by generous gifts and awards for the grads (Mac Book Pros for each grad, can I regraduate??)

Anyways, not too much has happened to tell about. I made the mistake of soaking a 1kg bag of chickpeas with the intention of making *a little* hummus. I did this last year and did not learn my lesson. 1kg of dried chickpeas = 11L of hummus. And I started this at 8:30 on a school night. Dumb. Anyways, lets just say I have hummus for years packed away in my freezer. I also defrosted my ripe bananas today and made 6 banana breads and 2 zucchini loafs. You'd think I was nesting with all this baking but nope. When the weather gets cold in Wemindji, I retreat indoors and start baking! So I hope all my friends are prepared to get fat this winter because you know its going to be a long one!

 That is what 11L of hummus looks like..

 Shower and makeup by candlelight! Romantic powerout!

 Cute!

 Awesome teepee-inspired stage decor!

My delicious lunch.

127 Hours

Well, another week down and I woke to a beautiful Saturday morning. With a headache but whatever! I blame my headache on the residual effects of altitude sickness from being tricked into climbing yet ANOTHER mountain with my so-called friends.

I need to learn my lesson quicktimes. When you are invited on a walk with friends who regularly enjoy repelling down Wemindji cliffs sans rock climbing gear and sometimes wearing FLIP FLOPS (Carmen), you should remember that you probably won't enjoy the kind of "walk" they are going on. You may remember my tale of climbing some crazy mountain because it had a great "view". Well I saw the view for about a minute before almost passing out from being a) so out of shape, b) altitude sickness, and c) falling down said mountain, depositing mud where mud should never be and surely breaking some bones in the process.

So anyways, deciding to skip the gym for a traipse outside to take advantage of the rare sunny weather, I joined my good friends Carmen, Sam, Brandi, Stacy and Monika (also an unsuspecting yet less complain-y victim). We went to the "boring" KM8 which I am used to for its relatively simple route and beautiful landscape. Well once we got the part where we usually turn back, they were all like, "Heeeyyy lets climb this mountain it looks like so much fun!" So being as naive as I am, I followed. First mistake. The mountain was high, but I endured with some complaints (as per usual). THEN my friends insisted we continue further into the UNEXPLORED BUSH to find some "boulders". In my honest opinion, you've seen one boulder, you've seen 'em all. So we went searching for these boulders that NEVER MATERIALIZED because we got LOST IN THE WILDERNESS. As we rambled through the moss, mud, woods, trees and GIANT ROCKS for nearly an hour, I spend just as much time using every swear word, complain-y phrase and threat I could think of but no one would turn back like a smart person with me. So I endured. I fell quite a few times, grabbed my guide Monika's rear for stability too many times to count and emerged, sweaty, bug and mud covered, probably bleeding and all too familiar with Monika's behind. Poor Sam tried to make me feel better by reminding me how good such a treacherous hike was for exercise. I remember shooting as many daggers as my eyes would allow into the universe.

I would have pictures like usual to show you from my adventure but sadly I was too concerned with saving my own life on a minute-to-minute basis to snap a few.

If you take anything from this tale I hope it is this message: Don't trust outdoorsy people when they say they are going for a "walk". Outdoorsy people don't just "walk".            

Catchy Title Goes Here

Well, time flies when there is nothing to do but work!  I can't lie though, I have definitely spent 1/4 of the hours in the classroom this year so far as compared to the amount of time I spent in the classroom last year.  Last year I was a first year teacher with a challenging class.  I was working hard to find my groove as well as discover ways to keep my class in line, interested and out of each other's faces for the better part of the day.  Looking back now I am not sure I could call myself successful, but I can at least say my first year was a success.  I SURVIVED.  That is about as "successful" as I could get.  Don't get me wrong, I loved each and every one of my students in their own ways.  They each taught me something valuable about teaching, learning and living.  I took so much more away from that class in life lessons than I am sure I departed on them, but in the end we all survived and I feel like I could tackle anything now. 

Teaching Grade 2 for the second time around has definitely lightened the work load as well.  While I am not necessarily using the same ideas and lessons verbatim, I am finding ways to improve upon and evolve my old ideas and activities to better suit my new class and teach concepts in a more hands-on way.  These kids are far more used to the use of manipulatives and explaining their reasoning and though processes.  They are a very articulate bunch who don't get shy at explaining their great ideas or contributing meaningfully to classroom discussions.  We share a lot at circle time and I feel like we have built a really trusting, loving and caring classroom community.  All the kids are willing and able to help one another which is a fantastic and heart-warming sight to see.  They take pride in their work and work hard too.  I am really able to take a step back and allow them to take more leadership in the classroom and more ownership of their learning.

Since these students are an independent group, I am able to take more time to facilitate meaningful learning opportunities and careful observation.  Asking deep and open-ended questions reveals so much about they way these kids learn and how to best address their needs.  I can't wait for more independent skills to start to sharpen and what creativity will flow out of my door!

On a side note, my favorite Wemindji sports and recreation employee has returned to Wemindji to facilitate the Sports Academy program.  Sam and her boyfriend Joel are back in town and it is great to see her and I can't wait to spend some of the long, cold winter nights laughing it up! 

I also wanted to report on something you may have heard about recently on such reputable news sources as CBC and MSN.com.  The Wemindji Sasquatch.  Yes, you read that right.  Dozens of sightings have been reported in the past and recently, a large set of footprints was discovered in the bush in Wemindji.  This sent the community into a tailspin of drama and fear/hilarity.  The town seems pretty set on the existence of a Sasquatch and people began retelling old stories of a Sasquatch (and more recently, his family) traipsing around the Wemindji wilderness, living in peace alongside the residents.  Google "Wemindji Sasquatch" and you'll find roughly 2200 results! Incredible.  Needless to say I was a little worried when I went to go blueberry picking a couple of times, scared I would find myself face to face with the hairy beast.  Maybe what broke into my house to eat my Cheerios those many months ago wasn't a crafty squirrel after all...

World-renowned shot of a local's foot inside the infamous Wemindji Sasquatch print

I happened to find Sasquatch's summer wear on a hike the other day

A chicken I cooked!! Wow!

Thank you to Carmen for feeding my addition to Fruit Punch MIO

My car this morning...

Great.

Waiting for the defrost!!!

MARSHA MARSHA MARSHA

Did I mention that I work with some of the most talented and inspiring educators in the world?  Allow me to introduce Marsha.  She is a Grade 1 teacher here at Maquatua Eeyou School and to put it frankly, THE BOMB.

Now, Marsha dedicates herself to creating the most interesting, captivating and meaningful learning experiences for her students.  Not a day goes by that I don't walk past her classroom and hear the sounds of laughter, exploration, creativity and fun.  Music plays as students learn their alphabet and numbers and the ring of a true love of teaching fills the air when you hear her speak to and with her students.  She is truly an inspiration and a wealth of knowledge and resources.  Everything in her classroom has a purpose and she has great tools and ideas for classroom management. 

Also a dedicated wife and mother to two boys, she finds a balance between work and life in Wemindji that most other working parents would envy.  She finds ways to keep her family her top priority while never sacrificing work and providing a quality education for her students.  She is a great friend and someone you can go to for fresh and exciting ideas. 

Stay tuned for next week's Excellent Educator of the Week

TRIBES and Adventure

I think I have managed to squeeze more Wemindji adventure into the span of 5 days than I did in the entire year I spend here last year.  Since two lovely TRIBES trainers arrived last week to train the staff, Monika and I have tried our best to expose these ladies to the best that Wemindji has to offer!  It has been an amazing week and weekend and I am so glad to have been able to provide some visitors with a true taste of Wemindji life and all the beauty that surrounds us.

Between wild blueberry picking, hikes, delicious dinners and fantastic conversations, campfires, boat trips and walking-out ceremonies, it has been a busy few days!  Luckily, the TRIBES training took place during a set of 3 PED days so there was no teaching, just great training modules and time to spend getting to know my colleagues on a deeper level and gain some (more) great TRIBES-infused teaching ideas for the future.  I know that my colleagues got the most out of this community-building training and you could see the wheels turning as we were given skills, tools and ideas to bring our students closer together and facilitate meaningful learning experiences within the classroom.

After training, the evenings and afternoons were packed full with mini adventures and lots of fun!  The TRIBES trainers arrived on Tuesday which was an epic adventure in itself!  Wemindji experienced a town-wide power out which lasted about 9 hours.  Can you IMAGINE the thoughts that were running through my head for those 9 hours? First of all, the meat man had just made his first visit of the school year so my freezer (which is about the size of a double wide coffin) was PACKED.  Immediately I was thinking, "How am I going to salvage this meat and all my loaves of bread (don't ask)?" As an ever-prepared kind of person with a meat for every occasion, I realized I'd probably have to BBQ it all up and essentially feed the town (seeing as that is how much stuff I have in my deep freeze).  THEN my thoughts turned to welcoming these wonderful trainers to a town that had no power!  First impressions!!! Ahh!! Monika and I quickly made do and whipped up a BBQ meal that turned out almost better than the original plan, (except for the charcoal-blackened potatoes.. I need to work on my BBQmanship skills apparently). Stuffed BBQ porkloin by candlelight was a great way to end what was otherwise a kinda stressful day.  When the power eventually did turn back on we cheered and the anticipation of another Wemindji-style apocalypse immediately left my mind. 

TRIBES training began the next day and the staff was pumped.  It was a beautiful day so after training Monika, Marsha and her lovely family and I all went blueberry picking and then for a hot dogs over an open flame dinner.  We were joined by a couple of beautiful foxes which really solidified the outdoorsy experience.  I can now add those two foxes to the list of 2 other animals I have seen while living in the deep north.  I am beginning to think I am wildlife cyptonite.... :|

The rest of the week was busy and exciting.  Staff here has been really welcoming and honestly, who doesn't love a dinner guest that has not yet heard all your funny stories!  A new captive audience yay!  On Saturday, a generous resident lent us the use of his boat and Stacy's FANTASTIC husband Captain Daren took us out on the bay and around countless gorgeous islands for over an hour.  It was truly breathtaking.  You could have been in Ireland, Iceland, anywhere - the landscape was so beautiful and pristine.  It was a little cold (okay I wore gloves, a scarf and my winter jacket) but the experience was priceless.  I think the ladies were truly in awe of the beauty of the north!

Yesterday Monika, Brandi, Stacy and I took the trainers to see the infamous Penis Tree (see picture).  This is the one thing you MUST see when you come to Wemindji.  I am thinking tourism should really start to market this attraction.  It was a hit and we had a blast. 

Tonight is the trainer's last night in Wemindji and I am going to cook my first whole chicken!  I am terrified to have to stick my hand up a chicken's butt but they say there is a first for everything!

A little bat friend!

One day.. never again.

Foxes!!

Ugh. The norm.

Wild blueberries!

Frozen and ready for baking!

Walking out ceremony! So sweet!

Making meatballs.

TRIBES trainers Marylin and Wendy - amazing, dynamic and inspiring educators.

Monika ready for certain death with a smile.

August 31st - Winter jacket.

It reads: "2 women that came with Monika and Aidan" - it is tradition that people who witness the Walking Out Ceremony take part in or receive a portion of the feast that follows.  We didn't know that and left the ceremony when we thought it was over.  That evening the family came and found me and delivered our share of the feast!  I was SO touched that a) they knew who we were, and b) that they carried on tradition and served us our meals!

Sigabon (roasted goose), mac salad, fried rice, veggies and mashed potatoes.  Divine!

YIKES.

Wild rapsberries!

My haul.

The Penis Tree!!

LOL

Beautiful Wemindji