Last day of January, goodness how time has snuck past....So, I thought it's time to make an entry about the school and the activities we are engrossed in.
Lydia Lois Beardy was a student in Wunnumin who lost her life in a car accident while in Florida. The school was named after her, hence the 'Memorial' after her name as our legal aception. The picture shows the front entrance, not a lot of traffic jams over here. Our schedule is from nine am to noon, and from one to three fourty pm. Extra-curricular activities involve basketball, badminton, chess, crafts, music and we're planning to offer Karate now in February.
Our Kinder 4 and 5's and 1st and 2nd grades are doing an immersion program in Anishiinimowen (Ojee-Cree/blend of Ojibway and Cree). In grade 3 they start with English, and progress increasingly till they get to high school. We offer grades 9 and 10 in a portable behind the main building. Here you see the third graders hard at work! We have slowly been raising the standards and have recently received software for improving math and reading skills, called Autoskills. In December I had mentioned our visit to the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, in Queen's Park, Toronto with a group of six teachers and I. Well, yesterday afternoon we were delighted to get a visit from his honour James Bartleman and the Grand Chief of the First Nations in Ontario, Stan Beardy. They spent all afternoon at the school , and visited the classes talking to the children...His honour has Aboriginal family roots which have prompted him to be involved in improving the conditions, and he has made it possible for the children to have a Summer Reading Camp. Fourty five children between the ages of 5-10 will be able to attend a reading camp run by volunteers from Frontier College here in Wunnumin for three weeks. This has been an incredible accomplishment for a luncheon visit!
We have also created a very inviting library which sits sunk in the center of our main building, and now organized and catalogued has become the 'fun' area where students are borrowing books and reading at home. We are hoping to get volunteers so we can open to the community, as we are it as far as libraries are concerned in this neck of the woods (literally). The stairs lead up go to the computer lab with 14 of them getting ready for the software that has just arrived, to promote math and reading skills.
Another important area we are promoting is the concept of aboriginal models, by way of their teachers and some other posters seen here...

Tuesday, January 24th.

This past week has been a sunny display of days, and hot temperatures (a balmy -5 Celcius) a regular spring break as the locals call it. When you consider that the winter road is being set up, (there is a private company that builds a road over the frozen lakes) everyone is calling for the lower temperatures so land/frozen lake access can be opened. All sorts of shortages are popping up, the story is the same: "We're waiting for the winter road to open, to ship....."

Meanwhile, these beautiful sunny days have seen lots of walks and outdoor exercise. Ricardo and Nanook went out on a picture taking expedition, and got some good shots. This one particularly, gives the idea of the depth of the snow, where he literally bounces like a ball to make headway, somewhat of a frog-like method but quite effective.





On the inside, Moopy the cat enjoys his Christmas present: a cat bed. He has become quite the expert snake (a boot lace with a couple of knots...) catcher, a game we play every chance we get. He particularly enjoys our last twirl, where I shake the snake from one side of the bed to the other, and he pounces after it....He's become so addicted to the game that he follows me around and mews at any time.
We were commenting with Ricardo, what good company pets are in these northern areas, where the days can get quite lonely....
At the school, my days are getting quite busy with my two hats (teacher/principal), but I'm enjoying the challenge...

Sunday, January 15th. 2006

Brrr, this morning looking out the window at the temperature gauge we installed on the deck to check how cold it was, we were both surprised to read -30 celcius. No wonder the furnace kept kicking in! I can hardly imagine life up here without the modern conveniences of a good heating system, satellite tv and internet, and a store to run to when we are out of any supplies....The lakes around us are all frozen, and not only are there roads in town but also ski-doo roads (top image) that run over the lakes.

What I love about the snow here is the purity, no yucky salty roads like in the cities and on a sunny day like today, the snow actually glistens like diamonds. Our afternoon walk was beautiful, crisp clean air (which you breathe through your scarf, lest your nose hairs freeze), crunchy sparkling snow, and peace and quiet abounding....
Of course, as long as you are in your winter pants and parka, with hats and gloves and a good pair of boots, it all looks beautiful!

Yesterday, Ricardo went for a walk on his snowshoes with Nanook as his faithful companion. I think it also helps that he gets a can of dog food when they get back home.... The ski poles, which got brought over from our holiday break make it a lot easier for keeping balance while gliding on the snow. In the background you can see the frozen lake, both of them are actually on the ice in this picture. The snow collects on the top of the ice, and makes it hard to distinguish land from ice. A good rule of thumb for us beginners, is to keep to the skidoo tracks to make sure the ice is thick enough.
Around the end of this month, the winter road opens which essentially is a road built over the ice and used to drive in supplies in big tractor trailers. You can imagine the thickness of the ice to hold the weight!
At school, things are getting quite organized. Next week some good workshops for the students: Dealing with suicide and healthy eating habits. Slowly but surely we are noting smiles and happy faces on the students... even the chronic latecomers are arriving on time!

Sunday, January 8th. 2006

Happy New Year to all! These Christmas holidays have been the busiest ever. We had two family members moving in St. Catharines: Gloria and family expanded from a two bedroom apartment to a three bedroom townhouse, and I had to pack all of my dad's belongings as he will be going to a nursing home shortly. The only time we were all together was for the Christmas Eve Carol Service in church, which Inge was able to attend thanks to the fact that both Gloria and Jason are RN's and were allowed to take him out of the hospital. He had a short gift opening and turkey dinner occasion before church, and once there was warmly received by the congregation. They even gave him a round of applause, this was the best gift for him....

Christmas day we spent at Jason's parents' home, and managed to get a family picture with most of us there....And then the packing upheaval hit. Even Alex called for help, he got one of his friends to come and get him 'out of the eye of the hurricane' as he called it. We managed to surface around the 30th when Ricardo and I became the official babysitters for Thomas for the next two nights. Gloria was working nights, and Jason days having to leave at 5 a.m. As Thomas was fighting an oncoming flu, we had some wakeups.... Boy, no wonder it's better to have kids when you are young and full of energy.

On the first, Ricardo and I made our way back to the cold but oh so lovely and quiet north! We've been sleeping like logs, eight and nine hours at a stretch. The usual recovery from the holidays took on a new meaning this time. Myself, I was very glad to be back at work, where I can jump into what I love: teaching. This year I'm teaching the 7/8's ESL (English as a Second Language). I do this for 25% of the day, with the remainder dedicated to wearing my principal hat. The first week went by quite smoothly, I think everyone is glad to get back to the old routine....

The highlight of our visit to the city was our luncheon with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, James Bartleman. This came about as a result of a conference I attended the previous month, where his honour attended and gave a presentation on the literacy camps he's promoting in the aboriginal communities. He invited the principals if in Toronto, to Queen's Park so he could 'pick the teachers' brains'. Neither slow nor lazy (ni lerda ni perezosa) as our Argentinian saying goes, I called and booked a time. It was awesome, and best of all: he is committing to provide a literacy summer camp for the children in Wunnumin, as well as hockey equipment for the teams. A public relations coup....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!! My baby turns 24!
With a good job snagged at the end of last year, and three more courses to graduate, another feather in Ricardo and my cap.....