When in Wemindji...: August 2016

Well, the first, and now almost the second week of school has come and gone. I survived the first week (by the skin of my teeth) and have nearly completed week no.2. We started this week of school with 2 glorious PED days dedicated to training. This was a welcome reprieve for most as we got some time to learn important details for the year as well as got to some very intense planning for the next several weeks of instruction. It was a lot to take in and I felt just as exhausted as any normal teaching day but it was still good to connect with colleagues sans children.

I have somehow managed to hurt my back again so I had to take today off work to rest. It is beginning to feel more like the time I injured my sacral joint (broke my butt) so if that is the case, I know exactly how to heal it!!

Last weekend was quiet but I spent an afternoon in the classroom planning and getting things ready for the next few months of school. For insurance purposes we are not allowed in the building before 1pm on weekends now so I am forced to sleep in and pay attention to my sweet darling angel Bobo who has been so neglected of loving over the past few weeks as I get settled in the classroom. I also paid some much needed attention to my home which was absolutely filthy for the same reason. I feel a little more settled in the classroom and much more at home too now that I have a couple of weeks under my belt.

I have also gotten to know the kids in my class a lot more over the past two weeks. I knew them last year from being in the same teaching Cycle (grade 1 and 2 stick together for PLC - professional learning community, and also I am so close with their previous teacher Meghan) but now I am getting to know them more on a day-to-day basis. Who works well with who, who doesn't, who needs to sit here and who needs frequent breaks. We are slowly creating a classroom dynamic that works best and although there have been a few hiccups, I think we will have a successful year!

This weekend I am going to the high school graduation ceremony and dinner. These kids works very hard all year and the high school teachers really give 200% so this celebration really shows the hard work and dedication of both the graduates and the teachers. Although I may not have taught these kids, I am still proud of the hard work they accomplished and the satisfaction their teachers and families must feel at a successful learning experience! This weekend I hope to put in some good hours in the classroom as well and get all the bits and pieces laying around settled so I can refocus my mind on the important tasks at hand and get the ball rolling with our new learning goals!

TGIF!!

Moose meat stir fry! Delish!

Sweet prince

Happy Friday! Watching The Good Dinosaur as a reward for a very successful first week of school.

A beautiful sunset in Wemindji

It has been super hard keeping up on here this summer my apologies!! I have been very busy in all areas of life since returning from my trip and while I am exhausted, I am happy and grateful for every opportunity I have had to spend with family and friends on my summer vacation.

Since I returned from my trip I had been squeezing in every spare moment with my family. I miss them so much when I am gone and especially my nephew Robin. He is growing so fast and I desperately wanted to bond with him so he wouldn't totally forget me while I am up north!

I had planned to go back a little earlier than usual this August because we were moving into the new school and I had a lot of stuff to bring in from my home to my classroom and really, I didn't want to feel rushed unpacking and planning for the new year. However, the school wasn't quite as ready as originally thought so teachers weren't allowed to go in early an unpack like we are accustomed to doing. I was panicking at first but then realized the silver lining, I could stay a couple more days in Oakville and bank some more family and friend (and shopping) time! So, I rebooked my hotel for a couple of days later and had a really amazing unplanned last few days in Ontario. I saw my aunt for dinner with my sisters, a real treat, I hung out with my friends some more which was very special, and I went to the beach for the first and only time this summer with my aunt, mom, Robin, Mike and Hilary (and Bobo!!!). It was a magical day and I cherish the memories. And the sun - I went back to Wemindji sunkissed and feeling re-energized!

The drive up to Amos was uneventful. If you know me, uneventful is the most desired outcome of travel for me and I am grateful when I pull up to my destination with all tires and windows intact!! I had some good tunes and podcasts going, a good little travel buddy and excellent weather! I took my time and made it to Amos last Sunday night around dinner time. I left for Wemindji that Monday morning bright and early and was pleased to find a lot of the James Bay Highway had been worked on over the summer. There was still a stretch of about 100km with brutally deep potholes but I kept my speed down and paid very close attention and managed to arrive in Wemindji undamaged!

When I arrived in Wemindji a boil-water advisory had been on for most of the summer. Over the summer there had been a major leak in the water system somewhere in town. This drained the reservoir and the town was left with very little clean water. Once they fixed the leak they had to wait for a new part for the water filtration system which meant the water was not clean to ingest unless boiled first. The water took on a brownish yellowy colour and smelled kinda funky. I was aware of this water crisis before I left and stocked up on bottled water. Its very curious how you react psychologically to something like a water crisis. Suddenly you become SO THIRSTY when you know you can't just turn on the tap. I drank ALMOST ALL my Diet Pepsi as to conserve my precious bottled water...

After a week of showering in brown water and my toilet bowl permanently looking like someone had forgotten to flush, the part was replaced, the water began to clear up and the advisory was lifted today!! Good thing too because it was the first day of school and it was HOT. I am still a little wary of drinking the tap water now but I'll let Bobo drink it first and see how he fares :P

So, back to school. Literally. We had to be back at work officially this past Thursday for meetings and very few hours of unpacking. I spent every afternoon and evening late into the night unpacking my incredible amount of teaching resources and materials. I was running low on energy and high on stress. Another frustrating thing was that because it is a brand new school, we aren't allowed to put any staples in the walls and tape and blue tac doesn't hold up. So, my walls are bare until an alternative can be found. I bought some magical non-permanent adhesive back with me from England on recommendation from Clair, my friend who taught there and also had the same decorating restrictions, but I have only so far tested it on a surface that can be easily cleaned if the desired removal effect doesn't work. I am too afraid to actually try it on a wall!!!!! We shall see. If anyone knows me, they know I like colour and decor and to have bare walls in my classroom is literally killing me.

This weekend was also Wemindji's first ever Pow Wow! It was INCREDIBLE. Because I had so so so much work to do in the classroom for preparation for the first day of school, I didn't get to stay long, but what I did see, I loved. The Cree culture was represented so beautifully in traditional song and dance and the MCs did a fantastic job of educating the crowd about the meaning and purpose of each song and traditional dance. I was able to observe a couple of traditional drumming circles and singing that was meant to honor Cree veterans, and even a couple of veterans from the community were present. The songs and dances were touching and very powerful. It was a great event, very well organized and pulled off and I was very grateful for being able to witness it.

This week I also met my new teaching partner Meghan! Meghan was previously a kindergarten Reggio teacher and she is absolutely a dream. She is hilarious, as cool as a cucumber, independent yet collaborative, confident and open minded. We mesh together really well and have had so much fun already planning together, talking about the year, learning about each other and the kids and I know we are going to have a fantastic year teaching together!!

So today was the first day of school in the new school, Joy Ottereyes Rainbow Memorial School. The school was named after a student who passed away not too long ago under very sad circumstances. The name of the school was submitted in a contest and was picked by a committee. It is a beautiful memorial to a beautiful child taken too soon. The school itself is GORGEOUS. Despite a few things here and there not yet completed, we opened the doors this morning after MANY late nights of preparation and cleaning by tons of dedicated and exhausted staff. The kids and parents were in awe of this state-of-the-art building and the brand new EVERYTHING. We as a staff look forward to all the finishing touches being completed, but for now, overall, I am pleased with the new building. I am teaching grade 2 again this year and my class is adorable, very sweet and spunky and I am looking forward to a fun year with them!!

Anyways I feel like the walking dead and I am dreaming of a day where I can sleep in and do nothing. That day won't be any time soon since there are a million things I need to do in my classroom as well as plan for the upcoming weeks but now that I am mostly unpacked, I can breathe a little! This weekend I plan to go in, plan with my partner, finish decorating, organize my desk (I literally just opened my boxes and threw everything in drawers - very unlike me) get organized for upcoming assessments and activities AND MAYBE even clean my house a little. Since I have been dedicating myself to setting up my class, I have completely neglected my home, myself and poor little Bobo, who is basically an orphan at this point. It has been a stressful few days and I couldn't have gotten through it without the support of my friends and family and for that I both apologize for going nuts and thank you for your unwavering support.