So the week leading up to my birthday was, of course, as busy and crazy as ever. It truly amazes me that despite living in a town with no conventional amenities such as movie theatres, hospitals, highways, restaurants, malls etc. can still have me busier than I could ever imagine. That, ladies and gents, is solely because I teach Grade 1.
I love Grade 1. For real. I complain a lot, and for good reason. These kids are HIGH ENERGY, talk a lot, ask a million plus one questions, tattle like its going out of style, are hard to wrangle and difficult to get the attention of - BUT - I actually do love them. They are sweet, kind, honest, open, innocent (for the most part) and love new adventures and to have fun. The things they love surprise me and give me much ammo for behaviour modification. They are so touchy feely, love to hug and tap and pull and poke me. I respond to all sorts of names and gestures, only one of which is my actual name. We are slowly building the rapport and teacher-student relationship I have been working so hard on. Gaining their respect is a very difficult task and it pains me to be a "hardass" but in this field and with these particular kids, you learn quick that you can be nice later, because they need stability, structure and firm boundaries in the classroom in order to get the most out of the fantastic educational experiences we are providing them with.
Anyways, last week was nuts as I mentioned. Monday was spent busily preparing Declaration Day which is the date that all students (or as many as humanly possible) are present in the school to be counted for official attendance. This official count determines our school funding for the next academic year so it is important that everyone be accounted for. We were given permission to plan the most exciting and enticing day to draw our kids to school. Our team of Grade 1 teachers decided to go with the "Superstar" theme, complete with a red carpet and photo op stop, rockstar cupcakes, pin the guitar on the rockstar, walk of fame hand prints, Polaroid picture frames, VIP badges and cool shades, a hotdog lunch and tons of other amazing activities. I am not sure who had more fun though, the kids or us!! Either way it got the kids to school and excited about being there!
Breakfast Program officially started last week too which was awesome. The kids really benefit from the morning routine of a healthy breakfast before starting the day and I can see a noticeable difference in overall behaviour and ability to learn when they have a full tummy. Happily, Monika and I have help from two staff new to MES, Gary and Samantha. The extra hands are MUCH appreciated as it is not quick work to fill 25 breakfast buckets with the numerous items we give out each morning.
After Declaration Day came Anecdotal Night on Wednesday. This was essentially a night for parents to come and get a progress report on their child, see their classrooms, meet the teacher and see the hard work the students have been doing since the start in August. I was able to meet quite a few parents and give some really good feedback. It is still very early days yet for these little ones so there wasn't a lot of hard evaluations or assessments I could show but I was able to show parents the progress from the beginning of the year until now, and most were very proud. I expect to see a lot of these parents over the year which makes me very happy that they are well supported at home!
Understandably exhausted, the rest of the week crawled by until Friday night when I attended a friend's birthday. The theme was "tight and bright" (aka neon and spandex) and if you know me, you know I own no clothing of any tightness or brightness of that caliber so I luckily found a pair of men's neon orange hunting overalls in Radisson and wore those. Granted, they were a little warm, but the effect was perfect.
I didn't stay too long Friday night because I had my own preparations for my Mexican-themed birthday bash on Saturday night! Let me tell you, the months of planning and preparation that went into this birthday would astound you. But when you are single, have no children and nothing else to do but work, planning your own themed birthday party can fill a large void in your soul, I can attest to that!! So I went all out with decor, food and favors. Everyone got a sombrero, stick on mustache and margarita and it was truly an awesome night if I do say so myself. I don't know how I will top it for next year!!!!
Sunday, my actual birthday, was spent puttering around the house kinda sorta cleaning up and doing pretty much nothing. My amazing wonderful friends Meghan, Monika, Marsha and Samantha made me a delicious sushi birthday dinner and each one spoiled me till no end with beautiful and thoughtful gifts. I am truly a lucky duck.
Yesterday I was late at school preparing a mini unit on Pumpkins for us to work on next week as we five fully into Fall!! I wanted to make sure I got as much work done as possible before my mom and Eryl arrive tomorrow evening for about 5 days! I am so excited to have them stay with me over the long Thanksgiving weekend and I cannot wait to show Eryl and Mummy around Wemindji when it is probably at its most beautiful. I spent tonight cleaning like a fiend and getting the house ready for guests. I will be picking up last minute things at the grocery store tomorrow and lighting up the BBQ for a nice dinner once they arrive! Aside from their general visit, I am excited that they will be here for the Cree Cultural Day at the school. The team has lots of neat cultural activities planned which will be great to participate in!
I sound like a broken record but I am thoroughly exhausted as usual and must hit the sack. Until next time...
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