You may be surprised to read another blog post just a week after the previous one. I am! Because we have Family Day tomorrow, today is like a gift. I can spend a day at the house remembering some of the highlights of the week that was.
Monday, February 11- A normal school day, filled with lots of fun and work and outside recesses. It is getting warmer outside! Monday night I attended a Sewing night put on my the local Women's Shelter (FAWS). I had hoped to make a hat, I went to the beading workshop instead, and it was challenging.
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| Hat making materials |
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| Step one in Beading- prepare the materials |
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| An example of a finished beading project- mitts! |
Tuesday, February 12- School was closed in the morning because of a power outage. I thought to myself,
A free day to catch up on housework and cooking. A friend dropped in offering a ride to Kashechewan- a neighbouring town located across the river and only accessible by road during the winter. We drove over and ended up getting a coffee at Tim Horton's. While drinking and visiting we discovered that indeed the school would be open in the afternoon, so we headed back and the afternoon was quiet but productive in the classroom.
Wednesday, February 13- A half-day of school due to a Professional Development opportunity called the Great Moon Gathering in Timmins. The children were dismissed at 11:30 a.m. after their early Valentine's party.
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| St. Valentine's Day in Grade 4- lots of love and snacks! |
The teachers boarded buses, trucks and cars to travel by ice road (over the muskeg) to Moosonee. There we caught the Polar Bear Express south to Cochrane. Next we hopped on the bus to the Travelodge in Timmins, arriving at 11:30 p.m. It was a long day but well worth the time, considering the next two days of conferencing and learning.
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| A stop in Moosonee for lunch and snacks |
It was also my birthday, so I enjoyed the anniversary of my birth aboard a truck, train and bus.
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| Just a joke! |
Thursday, February, 14- Up at 6:00., breakfast at 6:30 and taxi to Northern College in South Porcupine for the opening of the conference. It was a very interesting day, filled with a focus on Cree culture and language- more theoretical than hands-on, but again a good experience. It was a long day including several plenary sessions and information gathering workshops. Here are a few of the highlights in pictures:
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Professor Dr. Emily Faries, dressed in traditional clothing
she had to borrow because her luggage was lost on her trip.
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| An excellent presentation |
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| An original Treaty flag, belonging to the speaker's great-great-grandfather |
In the evening of the first day there was a dinner and a traditional round dance with live music performers. It must be that everyone was tired because there were only a few people in attendance, and instead of round, it was more of a line. All of the dancers were from Fort Albany, including me, my friend Cathy, our principal Vibha and another family from the school. The music was superb and it was so enjoyable, I forgot take any pictures.
Following the dance we returned to the hotel for a good night's sleep and then arose for Day 2 of the conference. There were about 45 different workshops to choose from during three sessions. The highlight of my day was the Tamarack goose making activity which lasted all morning. See below for a bit of the process. The product (the final picture) was not bad for a first timer. I could have won a prize for the goose that looked least like a goose!
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| Creating a goose from the tamarack |
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| The tools and materials |
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| The process |
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These pictures show the materials required
and a few of the many stages of tamarack goose making |
I went to a curriculum workshop after the tamarack session and lunch. The workshop was hosted by our local curriculum developer, Jim Hollander and entitled
Our Stories. In it we were given several documents with some traditional stories collected from various Cree elders from the area. It was very worthwhile.
The closing ceremonies were inspirational and really encouraged everyone to work together to enhance the First Nations schools in our district. The opening prayer and comments were given by one of the elders.
After the sessions were over I met a woman in the washroom who was cleaning paint supplies. Several of my colleagues had attended her Art Therapy workshop entitled
A Walk in the Woods. Because they were so pumped up about the experience, I asked if I could take a look at the creations. She explained the process of visualizing a forest and then painting using large strokes with various brushes and sponges. Below are pictures of the final product.
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| Each of these pictures represents about a fifth of the mural |
I took a city bus from South Porcupine to downtown Timmins and enjoyed a restaurant meal at a small but nice Chinese restaurant with a colleague, after which I happily returned to the hotel for the luxury of television. Our group was very fortunate in that we were able to spend a third night at the hotel and then had a charter flight from Timmins directly to Fort Albany. Below are pictures from the airport and the plane. Our charter was an Air Inuit flight, quite comfortable and quick compared to the truck-train-bus ride three days earlier.
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| A portion of our group |
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| Our ride home back to Fort Albany |
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| On board |
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| A river from above |
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| The view of the muskeg from the air |
That brings me to today, a quiet Sunday morning and afternoon, probably followed by a quiet evening of rest, relaxation and reading while anticipating a Family Day holiday tomorrow. The plan is to spend a few hours at school and to go for a long hike as the day promises to be warmer. A balmy -22 C.
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| The week ahead- weather wise |
Until next time,
Bee Rich
