Helenenorth

 Hello all Another fun filled week with grade 3 and 4.  I was so excited to find some very nice music instruments in the music room.  Brand new tone bells, brand new-machine head ukes, rhythm band instruments, boom whackers, and some Orff instruments.    There is also a big selection of drums, so I can see doing drum circle. My students are ready for music.  They were very attentive, and they totally got the rules.  The instruments are real, they are not toys, and as such, they need to be handled properly.  After singing a couple of rounds, I introduced 5 rhythm instruments, and then we marched around the room to Col. Bogey--my favorite march--you should have seen them--they picked up their feet, stood tall, and kept the beat--with not a word from me.  When the music stopped so did they!!   Today, we had dental program come in--yes those kids need to brush their teeth--you can see after the little experiment they did!!  The vis...

 September 17, 2022 Hello, everyone Another week, and another dollar.  And, I literally mean that!!  By the time I about 1200 dollars in provincial and federal taxes to Quebec, and another huge amount to income tax, I am working pretty much for free!  But, it is not the money that draws me here!!   We are totally engaged in learning now, and it is an uphill battle.  Students still are operating on summer time clocks, and by the time they get to school, they are really not well rested, so by the end of the day, they have had it.  Unfortunately for me, the time table puts all of their academic time with me in the afternoon, so it is really hard work. Fortunately for me, we now have a learning assistance person.  She did the Literacy camp last summer, and is known in the community.  Her background is social work, nevertheless, she is terribly sweet, and a worker, so she is catching on quickly in the education realm.   She comes la...

 Hello all:  Already September 11, and life here in the north is good.  Yesterday, we had a lovely team building day at the Director's one room cabin on Ungava Bay.  We all brought pot luck, and following lunch, we went berry picking--some went fishing. I joined a couple of staff, and we went high into the rocks to search for the berries.  One staff, from Cameroon, came along as well.  I did not do too much picking because, I was too busy laughing, chatting, and finding out about the Inuit ways.  Berry picking, is the number one summer and fall activity, because it gets people out of the house, and into the fresh air, where one can communicate with nature!!   Children are coming to school more regularly now, and we have finished 2 little books already.  And, in math, we can say our sums without using our fingers up to 6.  What a break through.  Further, we now know all about the little hand on the clock.  This week we will...

 September 3/2022 Greetings all Yes, what a surprise, and for me too, a return to Kangirsuk.  I was at Uvic in  a practice room when I got a message from the school director, Alec.  He was asking about my phone number from last year and other details about the house.  At the end of that conversation, I asked, just for interest, who was replacing me.  He said no one.  That was August 12, with school starting on August 17.  My reaction was total shock.  What were they going to do, I asked.  He said, someone from the village would come in.  My immediate reaction was no, no, no.  Not after the blood, sweat and tears that went into that assignment.  I asked what he would think, what the school would think and what the village would think if I were to come back.  He said that everyone would be very happy.  He suggested I be in touch with HR.  At the end of that conversation, I sent a message to HR.  Within 20...