Autumn Skies, Masks and Halloween

Snow sprinkled on the railings. 

Week five in a Northern town. I am settling in. I am hosting dinner today for some of the younger teachers- roast pork, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions and other veggies from the market and some muffins baked at home. They all have been so kind to me, I thought they might  appreciate a home made meal.

The exciting news is that I bought Tim Horton's coffee for half price at the Northern Store. The bad news is that drinking it gives me an awful headache, so I will have to really cut back on the coffee consumption. I have also bought two containers of Tim's Hot Chocolate, which I adore.

I am enjoying the house and with company coming decided to do some serious cleaning, including sweeping, washing windows and dusting. It feels nice to sit down in a relatively clean space, pull out my new laptop and reflect on the week that was.

The weather has been pretty fine. Highs of 3-4 C and lows of minus 3-4 C. It is sunny today, though often cloudy with a chance of flurries. Not much accumulation compared to what has fallen this weekend in Maberly. My poor husband had to shovel this morning.

Here are a few pictures of the Northern Ontario daytime sky, captured on my phone:

Add caption

A sunrise

During sunrise the trees behind the school are often lit up with the morning rays.

Sun on trees

Snow on trees

The school has an interesting aerial view. Part of that view includes a giant Dreamcatcher, a First Nations net-type circle that gives their children only pleasant dreams. This week I stopped to capture part of its beauty, seen below.

The Dreamcatcher area at the school

Also at school this week it's Halloween. The teachers and students have been decorating doors and bulletin boards for the occasion and the Youth Council organized a Haunted Hallway in the school. I have to tell you I was a bit scared myself, even dressed as an imprisoned skeleton. It was very frightening!

Boo!

Masks were provided!

Kindergarten displays

Spiders

Witches

And one of the most interesting things about the school is that when your children are outside, you are required to be on duty. Many schools rotate their yard duties, but here, not so much. So everyday from 8:40-9:00 a.m., 10:30-10:45 a.m. 12:40-1:00 p.m., and sometimes in the afternoon, all classroom teachers are out supervising the students. As outdoor shoes are banned from inside the school it requires multiple changes during the school day. But the best part of this ritual is that everyone gets outside for some fun activities.

This week the Grade 4-5 students built this bridge to go across a huge patch of "deep" water ice. They love to stand on it and use it to cross into the bush behind the school. And the fun never ends!

The Bridge

I could go on about the differences between teaching in a foreign country and Northern Ontario; however, that will have to wait for another time. Dinner time will soon be upon us, and I have a dozen progress reports to prepare this afternoon.

Wishing you and yours a very safe and pleasant Happy Halloween.

Until next time,


Bee Rich

Fourth Week in a Northern Town

Brrr!

Another week has passed in the Northern Ontario town. I am warming up to the job, the locale and the weather. It really helped that  a the sun was shining today as I hiked along the elevated bank of  the Albany River. I sat on a bench overlooking the flowing water and enjoyed the warmth of the sun, the chill of the breeze, the view of the river and the sounds of the ravens overhead. This was on my way home from a brief visit to the school.

The Albany River, looking upstream

Looking straight from a bench above the Albany

Looking upstream along the bank, you can just make out another bench. 

On Friday I drove the van to the post office and then to the store with four other teachers. We arrived and noticed a rather long line at the cash registers. Long story short, it wasn't until after we had gathered our groceries and lined up that we realized the Internet was down and we couldn't make purchases with anything other than cash. We waited around for fifteen minutes praying to the Internet gods that the line would be restored. Unfortunately this was not to be and the five of us proceeded to "DE-shop" by returning the goods to their respective shelves.

On Saturday we sent emails to see if we could use the van again. As there was no reply by 3:00 pm, I walked to the store with another teacher, gathering no more than we could safely carry back home- just a bag or two.

By Sunday (today) we received word that we could use the van but by then everyone had gathered what they needed and were ready to take on the upcoming week, grocery wise.

It has been a good week. The temperature dropped to -8 C one morning and I go to try out the hood on my parka. The warm socks work well as does the woollen long johns purchased just before my trip up here. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be exposed to a Northern Ontario autumn. To be truthful I am a bit worried about winter. Apparently regular temperatures hover around -30 C. It will be what it will be!

October 17- I guess marijuana is now legal in Canada. Not much fanfare up here as we are living on a "dry" reservation. Oh Canada! I love this country and also happy to be living on this side of the Atlantic Ocean this year. Speaking with family is less stressful as we are pretty much in the same time zone.

A little about the school. It reminds me very much of my days in elementary school in Cornwall. The children begin their day at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 3:30 p.m. They get a morning and afternoon snack at the school and go home for lunch. As you can see by the pictures below, chalk is still used, and the children love to play on the yard, no matter what the weather. They especially like the melting puddles.

One of the only differences from my elementary days is the addition of computer time once a week in the library. The students also have an opportunity to pick out their own books at this time. And we can't forget that the students study their Cree language and culture on a daily basis.

Loving the study of  Canada in Canada

The Cree greeting

Computer time with Starfall

Fun in the snow and water

I am getting used to the school and finding my place in the day to day experiences. I have started an after school Recorder Club with about 12 participants, so far.

On the home front, I don't think I could manage being away from home were it not for the Internet and the twice daily conversations with my husband. He regularly sends me cheery updates on Messenger (part of Facebook), including pictures of the latest projects and catches from the lake.

8.5 pounds of pickerel, caught by a neighbour

A hubby project- painting a fixing lights, getting ready for the December holidays!

Speaking of home, I haven't yet posted a good picture of my house in Northern Ontario. It is a two bedroom semi-detached building with a complete kitchen, laundry room, big living room and a great front porch, which is separated from the next door neighbour by a partition. As of yet, no one is living in the other half of the house. But the school is looking for more teachers, should you be so inclined, you would have a nice place to live!

Home sweet home away from home.

The beginning of another busy week is tomorrow. Before now and then I will post this blog, finish the laundry, prepare lunches for the week and maybe even watch a little Netflix. Early to bed and early to rise- and what about those Leafs?

Missing the games...

This is a helicopter pad used in the Spring in case of evacuation;
for Winter it has been converted to a hockey rink!

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

Blogging with Gratitude

Another week has gone by, marking the end of my third week in a Northern Ontario town. This beautiful picture was sent to my by a colleague from India and inspired me to be positive, peace-filled, loving and joyful today and everyday. Despite hardships, despite depression, despite changes and challenges all around, we can choose to be positive. That is my choice today, and I hope it is yours.

Each morning starts with a good breakfast. This morning fresh oranges from the Market, a bowl of porridge made by none other than Robin Hood himself, yogurt by Astro and Max (Maxwell House instant coffee). 

Then twice a day there is the ritualistic boiling of a pot of water for drinking. Not sure if this is a requirement, but was recommended to me by my principal. So far no upsets in the digestive area so I am assuming it is a good practice in this Northern place.  It also adds heat and moisture to the dry and cool air. 

Last Monday was Thanksgiving and as I took the whole day completely off I went for a walk  around town. This beautifully pinkish sky welcomed me outside. Most sunrises are beautiful and come right through the kitchen window. I will have to get some window washing materials in order to fully appreciate the beginning of weekend days. Often I leave the house before sunrise during the week so that I can arrive early and finish any incomplete tasks from the previous day. 

Also greeting me was this beautiful relatively old dog. We get along well, as I am also gray haired, aging, losing my hearing and eyesight!  Many dogs roam the streets here. Most are pets that are allowed to run free. As we have a "no pet policy" in our houses, and some of us have taken to treating the dogs we see, giving us a sense of pet ownership without breaking the rules. 

As I headed down the road I was amazed at the beauty of the natural surroundings, If you look only at the houses and the dirt roads, you miss some of the really lovely sights. I enjoy capturing these on my smartphone and hope to share more as the weeks go by. The picture above shows berries (which may be edible according to the children in my class!) I won't be taking that risk. 

Below are more shots of the Thanksgiving hike, down to the river, through the woods to the home of locals who have an open door policy. Come when you can, stay for hot tea and warm hospitality. 

The sign says drive at your own risk!

Home on the river- pretty well everyone here has a boat for hunting

The week gone by had three interesting adventurous events. 

1. Crazy Hair Day on Thursday. I will let the picture tell the story. 

         2. PD Day on Friday- Due to snow the original presenters could not fly in, so the Principal delivered a talk about Visible Thinking Strategies and a community worker spoke about Lateral Kindness, as an introduction to the Medicine Wheel. Both were very interesting and thought provoking sessions, which may help to motivate staff to continue to work hard. 

          3. Shopping Trip- Despite the snow I volunteered to drive the Board's van to the Post Office and local grocery store, taking teachers to gather supplies. This may turn in to a weekly venture as many of us appreciate not having to hike in the cold temperatures. Below is a candid shot- missing from the picture are several people hidden by the boxes! 

During the drive I got to stop at the hospital as one teacher picked up a prescription. Below you can see that it is a pretty modern facility; it has several services available, including a doctor onsite once a month and telehealth. 

There are many more photos to share with you, like a picture of the post office and some beautiful sunrises; however the Internet is not responding at the moment, so I will end this blog post with a happy face :) and a wish for everyone's wellness, including physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health.

Until next week, 

Bee Rich

Thanksgiving and Thanks living

It is Thanksgiving Monday and I have officially taken my first day off in two weeks. As I wrote earlier this week, much has happened since my last blog post, dated in March, 2018. That was too many months ago and it is now time to revive the Bee Rich blog.

I fully anticipated returning to work in India by late July. Sadly there was a small problem of missing paperwork, so I could not apply for a work visa. If you know me you would know that I need to work, so when September came, I started applying for other positions. Long story short, I am now teaching in a grade four classroom in a small Northern Ontario First Nations community.

I had considered this avenue of employment several years ago (before going to Kuwait and India) but it was not meant to be. However, it appears that now is the time. I arrived by plane on Monday, September 25 via Ottawa and Timmins, was dropped off at my new home away from home at 6:00 p.m. and started my new job on Tuesday morning.

Dining area

Kitchen

 This situation has turned out perfectly suited to me, despite a few complications on the home front. As I was preparing to leave to the north, my husband came was afflicted by severe pain in his right abdomen, which turned out to be appendicitis. He was hospitalized for a few days, but arrived home the day before I was to leave, assuring me that he was fine.

The happy ending to that story is yes, he is going to be quite fine, but it put a scare in to us both. One more thing to be thankful for- good health- I have learned to not take it for granted!

A new neighbour kindly drove me to the airport early Monday morning and by 9:00 I was winding my way toward Toronto, followed by Timmins and then north past Moosonee. After Toronto the airports and airplanes continued to get smaller and smaller. By the final plane ride there was room for 29 people, and seats were not assigned. It reminded me of a bus ride. The only difference was the cost of baggage.

i was met by a school staff member who drove me to several of the buildings lovingly referred to as "teacherages." I think he was messing with my head when he didn't know which of the 14 units I was to be living in. Finally we discovered that I could move into to Unit 7.

The next morning I struck off to work at 7:00 a.m., packing my coffee and protein bars for the day. The walk is about 15 minutes (roughly 1500 steps) door to door. My sister commented that in the winter at -30 C this now pleasant walk will likely be about 1000 steps too many. No worries, however because I have come prepared with a warm parka and lots of woolens.

I had seen aerial images of the school but those did not prepare me for the building itself. I found my way by following basic instructions of " Go straight for two blocks, turn right on School Road and keep on going. You can't miss it."

One side of the school

The green house 

The high school section of the building

A helicopter pad which is being used as a hockey rink in winter

With my school keys in hand I entered the school, located my classroom and got right to work. After about a half hour another teacher arrived and began showing me around and answering my many questions. As the rest of the staff arrived, I immediately felt comfortable and supported. By the time the children arrived, all seven of them, I was ready to go.

There are 12 students on my list. At this point I have me only ten. Four girls and eight boys make it an very interesting and diverse group; we are now getting to know one another. I believe that all of my previous experience has prepared me for this one big challenge. I am enjoying taking one day at time, and now that both annual and term planning are completed, I can begin to focus on the daily lesson planning so essential for success.

In the past two weeks we had four special activities:

• Wednesday of the first week- parent teacher assembly
• Friday of the first week- Orange Shirt Day, where all of the students and staff wore orange shirts (provided) to remember the residential schools and their effect on First Nations families
• Friday of the second week- Tipi Day, where students traveled by bus to a cultural camp where they participated in a number of activities. 
• Sunday (yesterday)- Staff Thanksgiving potluck dinner, held in the cafeteria of the school.

And ahead, the year will get busier with report cards, staff meetings, committee meetings, after school activities and of course, at the end of this month, Halloween and the end to Daylight Savings Time, where the clocks turn back on the first weekend of November. I have also been told that snow comes in October and stays until April. Oh India, Kuwait, Saint Maarten and Egypt. I will miss your warmer temperatures. But no matter, my heart is warm, and that is enough! I am enjoying the children, the school, the community and the land. 

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. 

Here are just a few pictures (below) of this adventure so far...

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

Orange Shirt Commemoration- Every Child Matters!

The Landscape surrounding the area

Ready to take on the chilly nights and days ahead!

A tipi

The Seven Grandfather Teachings

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Surprise! NOW in CANADA!

 I am back!
After a very very long hiatus from writing I have decided to relaunch my blog, Bee Rich, because yes I am Rich in many ways and I want to celebrate that richness with friends and readers who are interested in what has occurred over the past year.

I will be updating shortly; just wanted to give you a head's up. I have relocated. It's new, it's different, it's another chapter in this adventure we call life. A journey, a process, a blog- whatever you want to call it, it will be coming as soon as I get my long range, short range and daily plans finished for my new job!

Maybe this weekend because it will be Canadian Thanksgiving and RED ALERT- I am in Canada!

Until then,

Bee Rich

This past Spring in India!