The days at school are broken up much differently than I am use to down south. In the mornings children come in, take off their outside clothes, come into the classroom and have breakfast. The breakfast is much more substantial than anything I've seen down south. From omelet like dishes, to oatmeal and fruit, there seems to always be a hot meal waiting for them. After breakfast, they do math (which I suppose is typical) except the students are divided into two groups, and it is rotated so essentially the math lesson is taught twice. Then they have Inuktitut class. I am looking forward to sitting in on a class to maybe learn a bit more as it is a really fascinating language and everyone enjoys when we try to speak it. Then they have recess, which is followed by science, social studies, or health, then lunch (1h25minutes), then language arts, and art or gym in the afternoon.
Today I made comics with some of the students in my class. One of my master teachers had read them a story about a man having his leg ripped off by a shark (something that might alarm some children from the south, but was readily received by my students as they have seen many animals gutted and the idea of a leg being ripped off did not alarm them), and some students had finished their work the day before regarding the story early. The teacher wants them all starting on the same thing tomorrow, so I took the students who had already finished and then more as they finished and had them create a comic strip about the story. I explained how though it was a comic strip, it's not funny what happened to the man, but that it is a good way to express what they each understood from the story. I wish I could scan each one and share them on this blog because they were WONDERFUL! Some students made serious comic strips about what happened and some of them actually managed to make the comics funny while maintaining a respect to the event. I was pretty impressed.
At lunch and after school I was on duty, and I spent the time pushing students on swings as they giggled away. When the bell rang, I thought I would impress the students who were not coming in right away because they were having too much fun with what my students in my grade four class taught me by saying the words for "come" and "hurry" in Inuktitut...Well, these children quickly stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at me with their hands on their hips. I figured what I had said was wrong and made no sense... and I shrugged and said to a Inuk teacher "well I tried, I guess I need to practice" and she said "it was right, they were probably just shocked you knew some Inuktitut". Whether she was just being kind or not, it made me feel pretty good on my attempt, despite it being an unsuccessful way to get the students in!
After school my other master teacher has set up a radio station for various students to host. I had the pleasure of seeing it action the other day, but today I was asked to step in as a host due to one of the students being unavailable. Before I knew it, I found myself sitting next to a grade 6 student with a microphone in my hand, headset on, listening to the last few seconds of a pop song I'd never heard, looking at what appears to me to be extensively professional radio gear, and freaking out and sweating because clearly the kid next to me has more confidence than I do. The feeling was similar to the moments before a piano recital or big speech...I was terrified! Thankfully the grade 6 students confidence wore off on me when he offered me a smile after I told all of Cape Dorset I was from "Nova Scotia, Canada....uhhh....yeah Halifax" and it ended up being a great time.
Terin and I decided to venture out after school and explore the community a bit. We saw local carvers working which was quite amazing! We then went to the high school and got a little bit of a closer look. We visited one of the two stores in town where I noticed that three ears of corn cost 9.98$, and baby canned corn was cheaper than in Nova Scotia. We then walked around and met one of our hosts and marvelled at the beauty of Cape Dorset from a gazeebo they have here in town. It truly is spectacular and every time I look out, it feels surreal.
Terin and I have also (thanks to my gracious and lovely hosts) been able to secure a time to visit the print shop and have a tour! We are both eager for that. They have always been talking around town for us to see some more of the local art work, and to participate in local events. We have hit the jack pot with our hosts in many ways, and one of which is their ability and willingness to help us experience the real Cape Dorset.
Also a note to Rebekah, thank you for the extra camera thingy, it has definitely come in handy!
I didn't know...but now I do! Poster found around school and town.
Another polar bear warning poster.
Painting on the wall inside the school.
Mona, my host's other roommate. I can find a cat to love anywhere. Literally.
Playground at lunchtime.
Again, playground at lunch. The view is truly spectacular.
Entrance to school.
On another note, to my grade 6's in Nova Scotia
-one of your letters showed up! I haven't seen which one, but I will hopefully tomorrow.
-I'm still on the lookout for a polar bear, but I've been assured by the students in my grade four class that I definitely only want to see one from a far and that I better be able to run fast backwards if I do see one up close.
1 comment:
I'm glad it's helping! I'm really enjoying your photos, so keep on snapping and sharing them.
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