It has been a while since my last post. Things have been rather crazy the last month and I'm not sure what I would have said, or rather what I wouldn't have said if I had the time to write it down for you.
This is the last full week of classes before the Christmas holidays. I started the week in a bit of a mad rush but today being a snow day puts the nail in the coffin of what I was going to salvage of my great Christmas Concert Masterpiece. My adorable students will be singing Jingle Bells, complete with bells and I'm quite impressed with them on it. On top of that I had reworked a cute version of the Littlest Christmas Tree for the primary grades to do. I was fully aware it would be a lot of work but I miss drama class sometimes so I was excited about it. Unfortunately, the other class decided in the first practice that they had no interest in it and it wouldn't work. And with today being a snow day thanks to heavy winds and a bit of snow (to be followed this afternoon with plus 3 and rain) I think we'll just scrap the whole thing. I have learnt that the only thing I will gain from taking everything on myself is stress and I have had enough of that. On the up side this gives me more time for the other million things I need to do in the next week!
School over the past month has been quite the rollercoaster. Our principal left the village the beginning of the month, the new one won't be here until after Christmas. We have been without principal, we've had a replacement from the board, and now we have a supply from our own staff for the week. We had to shut down school twice last week because we had no water and the water truck was broken, today we have a bit of a storm outside so no school, last week we also had a ped day so it's like we haven't really been in school lately. Now that Christmas is coming everything is quite busy though and I hope that the next 8 sleeps go quickly because I am at the point where I just want to be home with my family and friend who know me best and love me anyway! There has been too much drama for such a small group of people and I'm not particularly fond of drama. If the year continues to be such a mess I'm not sure if I want to stay another though returning to work in a grocery store is NOT an option so I'm not sure what else I would do.
My students are doing well for the most part. Over the past few weeks we've established a good routine and they have improved in a lot of ways. I've had improved attendance from the two girls and my grade 4 who was developing an attitude when his cousin was around has become his sweet self again now that his cousin has not been attending school. Not to say my classroom is full of little angels, only a few weeks ago I had a biting issue involving Aloupa's teeth and my leg to be followed by a hurricane in my class the week after resulting in the Christmas vocab words dying a painful death and the fire alarm being pulled. As of now there is nothing in his desk and I plan to keep it that way.
I have decided, even after the disaster that was the pumpkin carving that I am going to have my class Christmas party on Friday at my house. I've decided this because my students think it's about the most exciting thing going to go to a teacher's house. Also, we want to bake cookies and so we will be needing a bigger kitchen than the little one at school so we have opted for a cookie baking, pizza eating Christmas party at my house... I may regret this one later but I hope not.
Saturday we are having a Christmas party for ourselves. I was quite excited about it but I'm kind of over it now, to the point that I think I may need to talk myself into getting dressed for it on Saturday. I would much rather be on an airplane out of Aupaluk instead. I'm at the point of making lists, packing and planning for home!
There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home....
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Wishing I had Ruby Red Slippers
Today was an OK day. We had a ped day so we had no students which makes for a nice change of pace and atmosphere in the school. Not that we didn't work hard, I got all my report cards finished and worked on planning some fun for the upcoming Christmas holidays!
The problem with quiet days are that you have more time to think... and boy did I do some thinking! I have been up here in the middle of nowhere, almost another planet, since August now. I'm tired and I'm anxious to go home.
On my classroom whiteboard is a count down to the number of school days we have left until Christmas holidays start (26 teaching days). As of today it is 40 sleeps, 5.5 weeks, 3 pay days, or however you want to count it until I am on my way home! I have never been so anxious to see home before.
These are just some of the things i miss in no particular order:
- Trees- in 2nd year university when I took Environmental Science I wished they didn't exist... I take it back now... you have no idea what it is to live without them!
- Going out- anywhere and I mean ANYWHERE! I want to go to a grocery store, the mall (even the West End Pembroke Mall!), for coffee.... oh to go where you can order something or buy something and not know everyone!
- Coffee- A joy in my life has always been going for coffee
- Restaurants- as an army brat I've never been a lover of eating out. But when you have nowhere to go you miss the idea of "I don't feel like cooking lets go out"
- Home Cooked Meals- OK I miss this everywhere I go. When you have parents like mine you dream of homemade suppers when you're away!
- Having a social drink in a public place- I would like a Tom Collins and a good dancing night with my girls!
- Seeing the people I love- you know who you are and I miss you every day
- Choosing to stay in... because here it isn't a choice!
- Being there for the people you love when they need you... because that is so important! At times like these I wish I could be home because nothing makes you feel more helpless then being too far away to be really supportive when you know someone you love needs it!
It is in my nature to count down to the next big holiday, or the next big event... maybe this is why I became a teacher because our lives are so artificially dissected. However, never have I looked so forward to going home as I do now!
Here is to hoping the next few weeks go quickly and smoothly because tonight I wish I had ruby red slippers, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home."
The problem with quiet days are that you have more time to think... and boy did I do some thinking! I have been up here in the middle of nowhere, almost another planet, since August now. I'm tired and I'm anxious to go home.
On my classroom whiteboard is a count down to the number of school days we have left until Christmas holidays start (26 teaching days). As of today it is 40 sleeps, 5.5 weeks, 3 pay days, or however you want to count it until I am on my way home! I have never been so anxious to see home before.
These are just some of the things i miss in no particular order:
- Trees- in 2nd year university when I took Environmental Science I wished they didn't exist... I take it back now... you have no idea what it is to live without them!
- Going out- anywhere and I mean ANYWHERE! I want to go to a grocery store, the mall (even the West End Pembroke Mall!), for coffee.... oh to go where you can order something or buy something and not know everyone!
- Coffee- A joy in my life has always been going for coffee
- Restaurants- as an army brat I've never been a lover of eating out. But when you have nowhere to go you miss the idea of "I don't feel like cooking lets go out"
- Home Cooked Meals- OK I miss this everywhere I go. When you have parents like mine you dream of homemade suppers when you're away!
- Having a social drink in a public place- I would like a Tom Collins and a good dancing night with my girls!
- Seeing the people I love- you know who you are and I miss you every day
- Choosing to stay in... because here it isn't a choice!
- Being there for the people you love when they need you... because that is so important! At times like these I wish I could be home because nothing makes you feel more helpless then being too far away to be really supportive when you know someone you love needs it!
It is in my nature to count down to the next big holiday, or the next big event... maybe this is why I became a teacher because our lives are so artificially dissected. However, never have I looked so forward to going home as I do now!
Here is to hoping the next few weeks go quickly and smoothly because tonight I wish I had ruby red slippers, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home."
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Whole Lot'a Drama!
It's been a while since I've written and so much has happened (hard to believe in Aupaluk) I don't know where to begin!
Halloween came and went and we teachers survived for the most part by working together! I find that since the beginning of the year we are becoming more and more (for the most part) a close and supportive team. I always find it interesting to be in situations like these, where you are away from home and family and all that is familiar and you come to depend on and love people who you may not necessarily be bonded to in a normal life situation. In England I developed a close group of people who I call my "foreign family" and who I still love and miss today. Here in Aupaluk we don't have a lot of choice in who we spend our time with, but despite that I love my "Aupaluk Family" because without them I would feel so much more isolated.
As for Halloween, the morning was a bit mad but could have been worse (I think). We showed a movie in the gym but the kids were pretty uninterested in it. We switched to Halloween games which went a lot better. After lunch we had the haunted house which we were all pretty excited about and had worked very hard on. Three of us were hiding in the "haunted hallway" to reach out in the dark and scare the kids. The first group through were little kids and they were great. The second group were secondary students, even though we had said we only wanted little kids at first to make sure they got the full scary experience. Unfortunately, as the 3 secondary kids went through they ruined the fun when they started reaching through and tearing down the black garbage bag walls we had worked so hard to put up. My entire covering was gone in a matter of seconds and I was livid! We tried to replace everything but it was not the same after, and no matter what we said they kept sending more "big kids" who ruined it again and again.
Skip to following week... this was the week all the stress that has been building grew tenfold! We are all getting to the point that we are tired, frustrated, getting a bit burnt out and it is a long time until Christmas holidays. Now, to top it all off our principal has resigned and we know very little about what has brought it on and how and when things will be "fixed" and I hate that. There are few things I hate more in life than the unknown, I like an organised plan and I like to know exactly how things will be happening at all times. There have been a lot of rumours, a lot of talk, and a lot of tension but now I just have to wait. More updates to come... I think. I have really really learnt the old saying "never judge a book by its cover" is true. I knew you should never avoid the book that's ugly and torn on the outside but now I know the pretty shiny one can be just as deceiving.
My students! They are wonderful and demanding, adorable and aggravating all at the same time! There is one in particular who has become quite dear to me. At the beginning of the year this student came to school and I thought I would lose my mind with him. He would tear books, spit on the floor, destroy his work, refuse to listen, and was "unmanageable." After a lot of documentation we were given funding for a shadow for him (I've had 2 and each lasted less than a week) and he has been able to get some help from social services that has really turned things around for him in the past few weeks. This little boy has had a life that you could not even imagine in your worst nightmares, and he is living with people who are not his family and who don't take care of him or love him as he should be cared for and loved. I've been working very hard to build up his self-worth and show him he can trust me and I think he has shown such change over the past week it is hard to believe that he was the kid who tried to spit in my face in September. Yesterday however this student came back to class from recess and did not look happy at all. When you work with these kids you learn to read their facial expressions and body language to predict their moods and how close they are to exploding and I could see the beginning of an explosion on his face. I decided to give him some time to see if he would calm himself down but when he started colouring his poppy with a red pencil crayon like he was going to make a hole in the desk I knew it was only getting worse and when he began to tear his artwork (and he loves art) into tiny little pieces I thought I should get someone to help because I was worried about him. I asked the principal to send up Maggie or Jeannie because I thought that he would respond better to someone who spoke Innutitut with him because I tried to talk to him but he only ripped his paper smaller. Maggie came and spoke to him but even with her he was not responding much. My principal asked if he was violent and I said no, I was just worried about him because he was acting so strange and wanted to make sure he was OK. So they decided he should go downstairs which is when things got really bad. He did not want to go so they carried him out and I could hear him screaming all the way down the stairs. After school was let out I went downstairs to find him crawling on the floor in the hallway refusing to put on his coat and it just about ripped my heart out. I feel like this little boy has a hard enough life and all I want is for him to feel safe and happy at school and that is not what he was feeling yesterday at all!
26 teaching days until a nice holiday with my friends and family... can't wait!
Halloween came and went and we teachers survived for the most part by working together! I find that since the beginning of the year we are becoming more and more (for the most part) a close and supportive team. I always find it interesting to be in situations like these, where you are away from home and family and all that is familiar and you come to depend on and love people who you may not necessarily be bonded to in a normal life situation. In England I developed a close group of people who I call my "foreign family" and who I still love and miss today. Here in Aupaluk we don't have a lot of choice in who we spend our time with, but despite that I love my "Aupaluk Family" because without them I would feel so much more isolated.
As for Halloween, the morning was a bit mad but could have been worse (I think). We showed a movie in the gym but the kids were pretty uninterested in it. We switched to Halloween games which went a lot better. After lunch we had the haunted house which we were all pretty excited about and had worked very hard on. Three of us were hiding in the "haunted hallway" to reach out in the dark and scare the kids. The first group through were little kids and they were great. The second group were secondary students, even though we had said we only wanted little kids at first to make sure they got the full scary experience. Unfortunately, as the 3 secondary kids went through they ruined the fun when they started reaching through and tearing down the black garbage bag walls we had worked so hard to put up. My entire covering was gone in a matter of seconds and I was livid! We tried to replace everything but it was not the same after, and no matter what we said they kept sending more "big kids" who ruined it again and again.
Skip to following week... this was the week all the stress that has been building grew tenfold! We are all getting to the point that we are tired, frustrated, getting a bit burnt out and it is a long time until Christmas holidays. Now, to top it all off our principal has resigned and we know very little about what has brought it on and how and when things will be "fixed" and I hate that. There are few things I hate more in life than the unknown, I like an organised plan and I like to know exactly how things will be happening at all times. There have been a lot of rumours, a lot of talk, and a lot of tension but now I just have to wait. More updates to come... I think. I have really really learnt the old saying "never judge a book by its cover" is true. I knew you should never avoid the book that's ugly and torn on the outside but now I know the pretty shiny one can be just as deceiving.
My students! They are wonderful and demanding, adorable and aggravating all at the same time! There is one in particular who has become quite dear to me. At the beginning of the year this student came to school and I thought I would lose my mind with him. He would tear books, spit on the floor, destroy his work, refuse to listen, and was "unmanageable." After a lot of documentation we were given funding for a shadow for him (I've had 2 and each lasted less than a week) and he has been able to get some help from social services that has really turned things around for him in the past few weeks. This little boy has had a life that you could not even imagine in your worst nightmares, and he is living with people who are not his family and who don't take care of him or love him as he should be cared for and loved. I've been working very hard to build up his self-worth and show him he can trust me and I think he has shown such change over the past week it is hard to believe that he was the kid who tried to spit in my face in September. Yesterday however this student came back to class from recess and did not look happy at all. When you work with these kids you learn to read their facial expressions and body language to predict their moods and how close they are to exploding and I could see the beginning of an explosion on his face. I decided to give him some time to see if he would calm himself down but when he started colouring his poppy with a red pencil crayon like he was going to make a hole in the desk I knew it was only getting worse and when he began to tear his artwork (and he loves art) into tiny little pieces I thought I should get someone to help because I was worried about him. I asked the principal to send up Maggie or Jeannie because I thought that he would respond better to someone who spoke Innutitut with him because I tried to talk to him but he only ripped his paper smaller. Maggie came and spoke to him but even with her he was not responding much. My principal asked if he was violent and I said no, I was just worried about him because he was acting so strange and wanted to make sure he was OK. So they decided he should go downstairs which is when things got really bad. He did not want to go so they carried him out and I could hear him screaming all the way down the stairs. After school was let out I went downstairs to find him crawling on the floor in the hallway refusing to put on his coat and it just about ripped my heart out. I feel like this little boy has a hard enough life and all I want is for him to feel safe and happy at school and that is not what he was feeling yesterday at all!
26 teaching days until a nice holiday with my friends and family... can't wait!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
This was my day!
My day today can be summed up in 3 "conversations":
On prep in my classroom, Tommy runs (and I mean runs) into my room.
"Kelly you have ghosts!" (will post pictures of my door for Halloween later)
"Yes Tommy I do, and you should be in Inuttiut class"
"Kelly, Your eyes is green!"
"Yes Tommy they are green"
"Kelly you are a zombie!"
And he runs away...
Later while carving a pumpkin with my students (for the record never making that mistake again)
"Kelly this stuff is eww"
"Yes the pumpkin guts are squishy Juana"
"Kelly look!" students point at Aloupa
He has chewed the seeds and has a mouth FULL of pumpkin insides drooling out of his mouth!
While on recess duty...
"Kelly Kelly Kelly!"
"Yes Mickey?"
"YOU'RE FIRED!"
"Thank you Mickey I've been waiting to hear that all day!"
Enough said!
K.
On prep in my classroom, Tommy runs (and I mean runs) into my room.
"Kelly you have ghosts!" (will post pictures of my door for Halloween later)
"Yes Tommy I do, and you should be in Inuttiut class"
"Kelly, Your eyes is green!"
"Yes Tommy they are green"
"Kelly you are a zombie!"
And he runs away...
Later while carving a pumpkin with my students (for the record never making that mistake again)
"Kelly this stuff is eww"
"Yes the pumpkin guts are squishy Juana"
"Kelly look!" students point at Aloupa
He has chewed the seeds and has a mouth FULL of pumpkin insides drooling out of his mouth!
While on recess duty...
"Kelly Kelly Kelly!"
"Yes Mickey?"
"YOU'RE FIRED!"
"Thank you Mickey I've been waiting to hear that all day!"
Enough said!
K.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Long Days, Late Nights... Frustrated!
When I came up here I was told by many of you who I know and love a number of different things. I've been told I'm brave, I'm crazy, I'm courageous, I'm doing something others would never imagine doing alone, and well everything in between. I can tell you though that while you think it is brave for me to come here I think it is braver for my children to endure all that they do.
I hear heartbreaking stories every day, some from other adults, some from the kids themselves. Sometimes I am witness to the stories myself. I think I have been writing very surface stories and thoughts and I don't know why.
My students endure so much and deserve so much more. We have breakfast every day at school, we feed every child who comes no matter if they may have eaten at home too. This is not always enough though, because the children who need it most come later after lunch to say they have no food at home and nobody there to feed them sometimes. I try to give my students all the understanding I can but sometimes I push too much because I don't know what is going on in their lives and here you have to know in order to teach them. Sometimes my classroom becomes a nap room, just this morning I had a child sleeping on the story time mats while I was on my prep because she had a rough night. I don't know what she may have dealt with all night, and I don't think I could even imagine it if I wanted to because I was lucky enough to have a safe home to grow up in with locked doors and loving parents who I could trust to keep me safe (and I know now I can not thank them enough for that). If I had to spend a day in these children's shoes I don't think I could make it... they are the brave ones not I!
I am frustrated that I am powerless to save them, I am angry that I cannot fix things for them, and I hate that I am all about how I feel and vent about how sad it makes me!
After I went to Kenya I felt hope that if everyone cared, if everyone tried and dreamed then this world could be so much better. I think it is because the people I was surrounded by, the children, the local villagers, the people who worked there all had so much hope and dared to dream. Here, my students do not have dreams and that is heartbreaking because without dreams what kind of future is there for them? When I was 8 if you asked me what I wanted to be it was a different thing every day; if you ask my students what they want to be when they grow up they just shrug their shoulders, stare at the floor, and have nothing to say. Where is their hope? I wish I could give them every dream I have for them. I wish they could see the strong and brave faces I see when I look at them!
If you could hear their stories and see their faces you would never be impressed with mine. I am just a girl who lets herself get bogged down with self-pity because I miss everything I don't have here but I have a house to myself with a door that locks, food and clothes, and people who care about me!
I hear heartbreaking stories every day, some from other adults, some from the kids themselves. Sometimes I am witness to the stories myself. I think I have been writing very surface stories and thoughts and I don't know why.
My students endure so much and deserve so much more. We have breakfast every day at school, we feed every child who comes no matter if they may have eaten at home too. This is not always enough though, because the children who need it most come later after lunch to say they have no food at home and nobody there to feed them sometimes. I try to give my students all the understanding I can but sometimes I push too much because I don't know what is going on in their lives and here you have to know in order to teach them. Sometimes my classroom becomes a nap room, just this morning I had a child sleeping on the story time mats while I was on my prep because she had a rough night. I don't know what she may have dealt with all night, and I don't think I could even imagine it if I wanted to because I was lucky enough to have a safe home to grow up in with locked doors and loving parents who I could trust to keep me safe (and I know now I can not thank them enough for that). If I had to spend a day in these children's shoes I don't think I could make it... they are the brave ones not I!
I am frustrated that I am powerless to save them, I am angry that I cannot fix things for them, and I hate that I am all about how I feel and vent about how sad it makes me!
After I went to Kenya I felt hope that if everyone cared, if everyone tried and dreamed then this world could be so much better. I think it is because the people I was surrounded by, the children, the local villagers, the people who worked there all had so much hope and dared to dream. Here, my students do not have dreams and that is heartbreaking because without dreams what kind of future is there for them? When I was 8 if you asked me what I wanted to be it was a different thing every day; if you ask my students what they want to be when they grow up they just shrug their shoulders, stare at the floor, and have nothing to say. Where is their hope? I wish I could give them every dream I have for them. I wish they could see the strong and brave faces I see when I look at them!
If you could hear their stories and see their faces you would never be impressed with mine. I am just a girl who lets herself get bogged down with self-pity because I miss everything I don't have here but I have a house to myself with a door that locks, food and clothes, and people who care about me!
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Beginning of the Middle...
Every adventure has a beginning, middle and an end. I'm pretty sure I'm in the middle part somewhere, the part where you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hoped that this week would be a "normal week" at school but I think this week has shown me that a normal week does not really exist.
I have a student who's temper is like nothing I have ever seen before. There is no such thing as compromise with him, it is his way or in all seriousness he will turn the classroom upside down in a matter of seconds. One minute he is sitting at his desk and the next thing I know he has turned every desk on its side, every paper is on the floor and even things from the walls are in pieces. This week an educational psychologist from the school board was here in Aupaluk and she assessed him in class and agreed he should be seen by a professional. Then she proceeds to tell me I should reward him more... I'm sorry but he just does not listen to compromise so how does that work? I am not about to give him 20 minutes of do whatever you want time for 2 math questions when he is more than capable of doing 10 he just refuses to do it because he would rather colour or go on the computer and won't agree to taking the reward after the work. I think sometimes people who work for school boards who have never taught a day in their life should have to step inside a classroom and see what it is really like. I have 6 children with a hundred problems each and all different needs and grade levels, I can't stop the world for one and if I could it would be for my student who came to me yesterday afternoon hungry because there is no food in the house and no parents around to feed them!
I have volunteered to be a academic advisor for the hockey program here... I should have known from the "orientation" in September that was a bad idea. I got an email this week from one of the men who "run" this program saying they need me to find a child to go to the tryouts this week. He emailed me wednesday afternoon, I got it wednesday evening after a two and a half hour intervention meeting with other teachers and the psychologist and I was so not in the mood for their ordering me around. It is not part of my job to find children to go to their tryouts so I emailed him back with about the 3rd reminder I have sent them saying that my job is to teach and that I need at least a week's notice if they want my help with things but I would do my best. I got a snarky email in response saying if I "don't care about the children of Aupaluk" and it's "too difficult" for me just let him know. This has apparently been a trend of theirs and I guess they have never experienced someone who didn't bow down and do as they command. Well I found someone by 1pm Thursday afternoon (the deadline for the ticket was 4pm that evening) and emailed it immediately. They either didn't read the email in time (so the children must not be so important after all) or they decided to use a child to try to push my buttons because last night I had an 11 year old boy call me practically in tears because they called him and told his mother that "I" didn't book the ticket so it's my fault he can't go to tryouts now! I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do about this one now but I'm not happy. What do you do when grown men act like 6 year old children? I hate drama and especially when it is coming from what should be a strictly professional situation!
Anyway it's the weekend! I have only 39 teaching days till Christmas holidays and this week went by very quickly and I think the next few will as well. We have Halloween this week, thursday night will be devoted to hauted house making for the kids on friday. Most of friday will be Halloween games and activities. Then we will be getting ready to do report cards two weeks after that. I think this whole post just turned into a massive rant for which I apologize... happy weekend to you all!
I have a student who's temper is like nothing I have ever seen before. There is no such thing as compromise with him, it is his way or in all seriousness he will turn the classroom upside down in a matter of seconds. One minute he is sitting at his desk and the next thing I know he has turned every desk on its side, every paper is on the floor and even things from the walls are in pieces. This week an educational psychologist from the school board was here in Aupaluk and she assessed him in class and agreed he should be seen by a professional. Then she proceeds to tell me I should reward him more... I'm sorry but he just does not listen to compromise so how does that work? I am not about to give him 20 minutes of do whatever you want time for 2 math questions when he is more than capable of doing 10 he just refuses to do it because he would rather colour or go on the computer and won't agree to taking the reward after the work. I think sometimes people who work for school boards who have never taught a day in their life should have to step inside a classroom and see what it is really like. I have 6 children with a hundred problems each and all different needs and grade levels, I can't stop the world for one and if I could it would be for my student who came to me yesterday afternoon hungry because there is no food in the house and no parents around to feed them!
I have volunteered to be a academic advisor for the hockey program here... I should have known from the "orientation" in September that was a bad idea. I got an email this week from one of the men who "run" this program saying they need me to find a child to go to the tryouts this week. He emailed me wednesday afternoon, I got it wednesday evening after a two and a half hour intervention meeting with other teachers and the psychologist and I was so not in the mood for their ordering me around. It is not part of my job to find children to go to their tryouts so I emailed him back with about the 3rd reminder I have sent them saying that my job is to teach and that I need at least a week's notice if they want my help with things but I would do my best. I got a snarky email in response saying if I "don't care about the children of Aupaluk" and it's "too difficult" for me just let him know. This has apparently been a trend of theirs and I guess they have never experienced someone who didn't bow down and do as they command. Well I found someone by 1pm Thursday afternoon (the deadline for the ticket was 4pm that evening) and emailed it immediately. They either didn't read the email in time (so the children must not be so important after all) or they decided to use a child to try to push my buttons because last night I had an 11 year old boy call me practically in tears because they called him and told his mother that "I" didn't book the ticket so it's my fault he can't go to tryouts now! I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do about this one now but I'm not happy. What do you do when grown men act like 6 year old children? I hate drama and especially when it is coming from what should be a strictly professional situation!
Anyway it's the weekend! I have only 39 teaching days till Christmas holidays and this week went by very quickly and I think the next few will as well. We have Halloween this week, thursday night will be devoted to hauted house making for the kids on friday. Most of friday will be Halloween games and activities. Then we will be getting ready to do report cards two weeks after that. I think this whole post just turned into a massive rant for which I apologize... happy weekend to you all!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Sunshine and a Pizza Party!
I am always amazed at how different each day is here in the North. In fact I can leave school at lunch having had a terrible morning and return after lunch to a suprisingly good afternoon, or just the opposite. I am learning to not be stuck on my expectations.
Yesterday morning I arrived at school in a suprisingly good mood (I guess any friday is better than a monday). I decided the night before that I am going to try meditation with my kids. I know they don't do well with new things and they can be a little difficult but I decided it was worth a try. They act out at school a lot because they don't have any coping strategies for what they experience in their daily lives. I think if they have the ability to take control of their feelings and the power to leave a situation (even if it is only in their mind) and find a safe space they would be better for it. The meditation went better than I had allowed myself to expect. I had only 2 of my kids, and in the beginning there was a lot of fidgeting but after a short time they stopped and they relaxed so much that when it was finished they were asleep! I'm going to do it regularly now I think. It takes time out of a busy day but reality is that I will never get through all the curriculum when dealing with kids who can't focus because they didn't sleep, they are hungry, they have been abused in any and all ways we don't want to imagine so why not take the time to teach them a skill that may help them in their reality.
After lunch we had a pizza party. We had made the dough in the morning and let it rise. After lunch we finished it off and during this things seemed to fall apart. Juana decided that she had a headache and would not even help anymore. I'm never sure if she really does feel sick or if she just wants to go home and since there is nothing I can do to stop her and she doesn't have a phone at home to call her parents I have to let her go. That left me with Willie so we started to watch the rest of the movie from thursday and just as the pizza was finished Jobie and Eric came in late. Now, the pizza party was for only students who had earned 10 stars or more.... Jobie has one. But, being the day it was I had nowhere else for him to go so he got to come to the class and eat pizza too.
Yesterday was our first day with sunshine in.... oh I can't even remember! After work Alex and I went for a lovely walk in the sunshine. You don't realize how much we need the sun and how much a beautiful day can improve your mood until you haven't seen the sun in a while! To our great suprise and appreciation the sun was out again today! Despite the cold we went for a walk to the lake and had a picnic. It was a lovely day and a good way to destress from a crazy week in Aupaluk. Thanks Alexandra for a long walk and a long talk!
Now I am hoping the next week is better and the time goes quickly here because I am missing everyone at home so very much.
Bunches of Love
K.
Yesterday morning I arrived at school in a suprisingly good mood (I guess any friday is better than a monday). I decided the night before that I am going to try meditation with my kids. I know they don't do well with new things and they can be a little difficult but I decided it was worth a try. They act out at school a lot because they don't have any coping strategies for what they experience in their daily lives. I think if they have the ability to take control of their feelings and the power to leave a situation (even if it is only in their mind) and find a safe space they would be better for it. The meditation went better than I had allowed myself to expect. I had only 2 of my kids, and in the beginning there was a lot of fidgeting but after a short time they stopped and they relaxed so much that when it was finished they were asleep! I'm going to do it regularly now I think. It takes time out of a busy day but reality is that I will never get through all the curriculum when dealing with kids who can't focus because they didn't sleep, they are hungry, they have been abused in any and all ways we don't want to imagine so why not take the time to teach them a skill that may help them in their reality.
After lunch we had a pizza party. We had made the dough in the morning and let it rise. After lunch we finished it off and during this things seemed to fall apart. Juana decided that she had a headache and would not even help anymore. I'm never sure if she really does feel sick or if she just wants to go home and since there is nothing I can do to stop her and she doesn't have a phone at home to call her parents I have to let her go. That left me with Willie so we started to watch the rest of the movie from thursday and just as the pizza was finished Jobie and Eric came in late. Now, the pizza party was for only students who had earned 10 stars or more.... Jobie has one. But, being the day it was I had nowhere else for him to go so he got to come to the class and eat pizza too.
Yesterday was our first day with sunshine in.... oh I can't even remember! After work Alex and I went for a lovely walk in the sunshine. You don't realize how much we need the sun and how much a beautiful day can improve your mood until you haven't seen the sun in a while! To our great suprise and appreciation the sun was out again today! Despite the cold we went for a walk to the lake and had a picnic. It was a lovely day and a good way to destress from a crazy week in Aupaluk. Thanks Alexandra for a long walk and a long talk!
Now I am hoping the next week is better and the time goes quickly here because I am missing everyone at home so very much.
Bunches of Love
K.
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