September

It has been a difficult start to the school year. Our colleague and friend Patricia McIssac  passed away September 14th, and it has hit us and the school community pretty hard. She did so much for the school and the kids that it's difficult to think of anyone being able to replace her.

We had a relatively cool summer in Ontario this year, and we've had a similarly cool fall in Garden Hill. The few warm days we had this month I spent hiking and berry picking. Jordan and I found plenty of blueberries and cranberries. 

     

Being back in Garden Hill for one more year brings up a lot of conflicting feelings. On the one hand I'm happy to be back teaching, and our students seem excited to be in our classes. On average these kids are stronger in reading and math than last year's grade sixes. I've got plans to improve upon last year's lessons, and I have the materials needed to follow through on those plans. On the other hand living here is proving to be much more difficult psychologically. While I would definitely work at another school on a reserve I don't think I could live here another year after this one. 

Balloon Rockets and Parachutes

It’s been a good week. Alex finished his unit on flight with balloon rockets and parachutes.

For the balloon rockets, students were given balloons of varying sizes.  They decorated them with faces and appendages and then evaluated those designs after testing.

They tested their rockets by racing them. It was a lot of fun.

For the parachutes lesson, students were put into groups and given a 'victim' and materials to construct a parachute and basket. A successful parachute would be one that delivered the victim to the ground safely. Unlike last year there were very few survivors.

Meanwhile, my class is hard at work finishing landscape paintings inspired by the Group of Seven.

It was my birthday on Friday and I couldn't have asked for a better day. When you work at an elementary school every kid wants to wish you a happy birthday, multiple times (unless they forget and then they are just adorably frustrated). I brought in cupcakes and invited the students from our two classes to bring in food if they wanted as well. One of my students made me the most beautiful and delicious lemon cake. I was stunned. Another talented student gave me a tiny heart pillow she sewed by hand. I was so impressed and overwhelmed by how thoughtful they all were.

With all the good things that have been happening lately, I'm actually pretty upset that I only get to be their teacher for 30 more days.

Symmetry

Final trip across the ice this year for groceries.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring! Things are finally starting to warm up here and the landscape is changing. Here in Manitoba we get a full 6 months of winter so it's a relief to see the end of it. Most of the snow is gone around the school and our houses, but the lake is still safe to walk across. We had over 3 feet of ice this year and it’s taking a long time to thaw. While there is a lot of water on top, below there is still plenty of solid ice to walk and Ski-Doo across. 

Steven Beckly sculpture and my example.

I subscribe Papirmass, so every month I receive a print with art on the front and writing on the back. So far it’s been a fantastic way to decorate our rather bleak apartment and I’ve learned about several new artists and writers that I otherwise would not have known about. This month was a bit different and the print I received by Toronto artist Steven Beckly was actually a small paper sculpture. This piece, a fortune teller, features the faces of Toronto based artists and twin sisters Hanna Hur and Laurie Kang.

Inspired by this month’s art in the mail and the patterns in Ukrainian egg decorating, I had my students make their own paper sculptures. Using a Cartesian plane, students created a symmetrical design and then transferred that design to a fortune teller template. If they reflected and measured their deigns correctly, then the image should line up. My students really liked the project and the immediate feedback it provided. They also learned a bit about a contemporary artist and how even the simplest ideas when executed with care can be quiet impressive and beautiful.

 

 

In other news the school ran an Easter egg hunt outside in the playground. The whole thing was kind of a mess but at least the kids were excited about it.

Easter Egg Hunt

Spring is also puppy season. This little guy is named Zereal and he belongs to one of my students.

And finally Korra is approaching her first birthday! She's grown 3 inches in height alone since we've gotten her. She's still kind of a baby though. Watching her try to escape the vacuum is always entertaining.

 

Though Ender makes an effective human shield when cleaning needs to happen.