Saturday May 13--Spring is sort of here

May 13, 2023

Hello all

The school year is grinding to a halt. The secondary side has government exams--they are all shut down and kids only come for exams. The elementary side also has exams for grade 6. We are still in full operation, but the kids and parents consider it is the end. Last week, out of a total of 9 students, on any one day I might have 4 or 5, and in the afternoon maybe 3--so it is a slow, anti-climatic ending.

This is where, "living in the moment" comes into play. For every child that comes, I do my best to work with them--make it the best that it can be. We have had some great break throughs too--Penina is finally reading independently, Nathan has found his voice, and is speaking more clearly every day. He sings his little heart out, and can pronounce some words in every song we do--that is something for a child with Aprexia. I have zero training in what to do with him, so it is all hit and miss--finding his voice is a huge step forward. Lydia is reading at a grade 5 level, and she is able to write sentences, read questions, and answer them. She also has mastered the c, g and f chords on the uke--yahoo. So there are some positives. There is the other side too. 3 kids stopped coming 2 weeks ago. I have called home, parents tell me kids are sick or they don't want to come to school. I pass that on to the vice principal. Poor Winnie--she has a load, now that the principal is gone. She is doing the best she can

Looks like there might be 3 grads, according to the latest--if they all come and write and pass their exams. Everyday, Winnie has to go around to the homes and drag the kids out of bed to get them to school to write exams.

Weather has really "milded up". All of last week it was above zero--but last night we had a heck of a blizzard--high winds and some snow. This afternoon, snow is gone, but the winds are high.

Had a lovely dinner with a local Inuit woman who is the minister at the United Church. She was really enthusiastic, and positive. Her work is to help people find themselves, and to find direction in this time of Northern transition. Wish I could have met her sooner--so interesting to hear the stories, the successes and failures. She travels right to the very far north with her work.

It is goose hunting season--so we had the opportunity to see how the birds are cleaned and then cooked--that was fun.

Looking forward to seeing you all after June 6. I have changed my mind about going further north because I want to do some travelling. I am really missing my friends in China, so I am hoping that I can visit there as soon as this August.

Nathan is really interested in the map on Nunavik.