Sunday November 27

 Hello all

12 full school days left or fewer, depending upon the weather--but who is counting!!

As always, each day brings tears, delights, frustration and great joy, plus a few surprises.

On Monday afternoon, two little girls came in after lunch.  We had launched into a social studies lesson, and the girls were just starting on their seat work, when one child told me that she had seen a man with a black mask on a ski-doo with a hand gun near the back of the school.  She also said that this man was uttering bad words, and pointing the gun at the school windows.  The other little girl agreed.  I immediately called down to the office for the principal--he was their in seconds.  He questioned the girls, and the story was exactly the same, so within 10 minutes, the police arrived, and we were in lockdown.  Not only us, but the whole community.  This lasted for about an hour, and then we were released.  Yes, their was a suspect--but who, what, where, when, why are yet unknown.

It is very usual to have rifles here--everyone has them, and usually carry them on the ski-doo.   It is very unusual to see hand guns.

The next day, attendance was very low--but the crisis seems to be over.  This week we are spending one whole pd day on lockdown and what it means.    

It is crazy here---in other communities, this is quite normal--it is the wild, wild north!

On the classroom front, we are making huge strides forward.  I am sending home weekly reading videos--and we are getting better and better.  I have figured out how to send on this platform, but if you would like to follow, I can send them to you on messenger.   In math, we are able to add double digit numbers, count money, and tell time.  No small feat!!  I am doing a huge project on graduation, in social studies.  We are teaming up with the grade 12's to talk about what graduation is, why it is important to graduate, and what it takes to graduate.  We are doing this with a series of lessons on these topics, and the grade 4's will do a live presentation to the grade 12's with a q and a session to follow.  The grade 12 teacher can hardly believe what we can do, and he believes that our work will help his class to the finish line.

With the high cost of lettuce, and the rarity of it here, I am growing my own.  You will see my weekly harvest--I use the lettuce for smoothies, omelettes, and sandwiches.

Christmas concert just around the corner, and I have persuaded everyone to be involved.  My class will march up the stairs to the stage to Parade of the Wooden Soldiers, with Helene on clarinet and the Hal Leonard accompaniment.  Then, the class will perform a little song, Christmas Bells, accompanying themselves on uke and chime bells.   I will then perform a couple of solos, Good King Wenceslas and Silver Bells.  Thanks Deberah, Ross, Dave, Donnie, Peter, Kerry, Grace and all my music friends for encouraging me--I am so enjoying playing again, and I can hardly wait to play with real people!

Looking forward to the break, I will be arriving in Comox Dec. 18, and then heading to Nelson from the 21-28, back to Vancouver on the 29, back to Comox on the 31, and on to Montreal Sunday January 1.  Hoping to see as many of you as possible.  So sorry Victoria friends, I will not see you until the spring.

The 10 minute walk to school.  I use cross country poles every day to get a better work out.

These are some skills we need to study and to graduate.

to graduate we must:  write, listen, read, speak, work together

This is the beginning of our Christmas door,  the more sparkles, the better.

This is a traditional Inuit hat, called a pang, that was knitted for me by a grandmother of one of my students.  The picture is taken from my deck. It is sunset, at 3:00 pm.  It is the Payne River in the background.  This river flows into Ungava Bay, about 5 miles away.

One week growth of a variety of lettuce.

Yum, homemade cupcake and icing.  More sprinkles, please.

This is my little boy who could not utter one word a year and a half ago because of a birth defect.  He also has multiple, learning issues--BUT--he now can speak clearly with a vocabulary of about 100 words.  He knows all the letters in the alphabet, and can identify pictures beginning with each sound.  He can also print his own name, follow oral directions, and participate fully in class without melt downs.  He has a full time aide, but he now prefers to do things on his own--including going to the bathroom, putting on his winter clothing and going and coming to recess--a real success story.  

I could sell you some lettuce for $10 plus shipping!!

This is my music stand!!