Sunday, December 22, 2013

Early November

Half-Moon
With Halloween out of the way, the teachers of Inuujaq School had to contend with sugar filled students for the next few days.  Thankfully, November 1st was a Friday and right after was the weekend.  Still, we had to deal with hyper students on the Friday.  From what I remember, most of us just played it safe and didn't make the students do too much work or keep them in their seats for extended periods of time.  I wonder how teachers down south handled their students?  Surprisingly, the students' behaviours were back to 'normal' on Monday.
            
My Grade 10 Social Studies students watched the 1922 silent docudrama film Nanook of the North, directed by Robert J. Flaherty.  The film follows the lives of Nanook, an Inuk hunter, and his family as they survive the harsh climate of northern Quebec.  Considered to be the first feature length documentary, the film is notable for introducing the Inuit culture to a world audience.  Prior to screening the film, I gave a brief history on the director and his efforts, and explained the characteristics of a silent film.  I was glad that my students didn't have a problem reading captions.  Thereafter, the students completed a film questionnaire and discussed what actions & behaviours in the film were still present in today's Inuit society.
            
For the first half of November, my Grade 10s also looked at how the Inuit Land Claims movement accelerated in the 1960s & 1970s.  Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, the Inuit organized themselves into several civil/political organizations (ie. COPE, ITC, IEA) and began demanding a greater say in northern affairs.  The federal government could no longer ignore their demands because the Inuit were preventing the development of the Arctic's natural resources.
            
In Grade 11 Social Studies, we compared the standard of living and quality of life in Canada, China, and Ethiopia.  Specifically, my students learned about China's infamous 'One Child Policy', (aka 'Family Planning') and the deadly Ethiopian famines of the 1980s.  My students were shocked that a government imposed and went to great lengths to enforce a child-bearing limit, all in the hopes of controlling a population.  Raising a family, small or large, is highly valued in Inuit society.  Although the Inuit never suffered famines, they did suffer from starvation if they weren't able to catch any Arctic animals out on the land.  In our discussions on the Ethiopian famines, the students related stories they heard from elders about ancestors going hungry and even dying out on land because their hunting expeditions yielded nothing.
            
My drummers and I watched the video footage of our Halloween performance.  Overall, it was quite good.  There were a few times when the rhythms were not synchronized but the audience didn't seem to notice.  They clapped, cheered, and complimented us after the performance.  I didn't appear nervous when I was explaining how the drums worked.  When I was a kid, I hated watching myself on camera.  Now, not so much.    After reflecting on what went well and what could have been improved, we looked at double stroke rolls, triplet rolls, and 16th note timings.  For added reinforcement, my drummers watched several instructional videos by Jeff Queen where he addressed and demonstrated the rolls and timings.  Jeff Queen is a professional American musician who specializes in snare drums and is known in the drumming community as one of the best. 
            
In the hopes of securing future funding for an expanded music program, I applied for a Band Aid Grant from MusiCounts.  MusiCounts is a Canadian music education charity "associated with The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Science (CARAS), [tasked in] helping keep music alive in schools across Canada."  The $5K and $10K grants "go toward the purchase of musical instruments and educational equipment."  The recipients of the grants will be announced in earl 2014.  The principal & I hope our school will receive the $10K grant.    
            
By the end of the second week of November, I had the Christmas music prepared.  Similar to the Halloween program, my drummers would play three pieces, except one of them would include a guest Inuk drum dancer.  (More on this in a future post).
            
My Grade 12 Social Studies students compared the similarities and differences of two political systems: democracy and dictatorship.  As well, they continued working on their project essays by searching for sources on the Internet, brainstorming ideas, jotting notes, and writing rough sentences.  Their topics were all Inuit-related.  (More on this in a future post).
            
Somewhere during the first two weeks of the month, the sun disappeared behind the mountains.  Arctic Bay continued to receive sunlight but not the physical sun.  I thought the sun's final appearance would be a day marked on the calendar and observed but that isn't the case.  When I asked the local Inuit, they said they don't formally bid the sun farewell; they only welcome its return in February.  The disappearance of the sun is something most Inuit do not look forward to.       
            

There was no school on Monday, November 11th, because of Remembrance Day.  I think the Northern Store & Co-op were also closed that day.  The staff and cadets of 3045 Army Cadet Corps held a morning Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Community Hall.  As the Master of Ceremonies (MC), it was my job to welcome everyone, call upon guest speakers, inform the audience when to stand and to sit, and make sure the program was accurately followed.  Three wreaths were laid by the corps, Canadian Rangers, and middle school students from Inuujaq School.
            
The ceremony took a detour from the normal program near the end when it was time to welcome a new member into the military family.  That someone was me.  The Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC) is one of the five branches of the Canadian Armed Forces and the officers in this branch are responsible for the training and supervision of the 58,000 cadets in the Canadian Cadet Movement.  Cadets are aged between 12 & 18 years old.  Successful completion of the application process (interview, medical exam, police check, attachment to a corps) leads to the final hurdle; the attestation
            

Irene Swoboda addresses the cadets
after the Remembrance Day Ceremony.
In the presence of the Canadian flag and portrait of the Queen, Lt. May, the Commanding Officer (CO) of 3045, led me in reciting the oath.  I was then presented with my Certificate of Enrolment, followed by an applause by the audience.  I was now an Officer Cadet.  I would receive my uniforms in December or in the new year.  Many who attended the ceremony offered their personal congratulations at the end of the service.  On Tuesday, I bought a frame from the Northern Store and placed my certificate in it.  It now hangs proudly on a wall in my house.   



This will be my last post for the 2013 year.  I will be taking a short break for the duration of the Christmas and New Year's Holidays.  See you in the new year!

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Halloween - Part 2


I made it home just in time to change back into my costume, prepare a quick snack, and get ready for the arrival of trick-or-treaters.  I had several boxes of chocolates and candies to hand out.  Rather than spend a small fortune at the Northern Store, I ordered my Halloween treats from Well.ca.  I hoped they were enough.  I had heard from veteran teachers that one household could get as many as four hundred visitors and the southern teachers are the first to be 'targeted'.  By 5pm, the sun had disappeared and it was night.  I stood by the door, candy in hand, and waited.
            
Knocking on doors before entering a house is viewed as a southern custom.  Doors mostly remain unlocked in northern communities and people just walk in.  If you don't want visitors, just lock your door.  The Inuit only knock on qallunaaq (non-Inuit) doors . . . most of the time.  The first few trick-or-treaters knocked on my door and said the magic words - ("Trick or Treat!").  I gave generous portions of candy and repeated the routine several more times before deciding to keep my door unlocked.  The only downside was that I had to man the door at all times, otherwise someone could just walk in and take all the candy.  
            
Yes, that's a laptop on the back.
Even though Arctic Bay is a small town, the cold weather made it impractical for trick-or-treaters to walk from one end of town to the other.  Everyone got rides on a skidoo, ATV, or vehicle; after all, they only had two hours to collect their candy before the community Halloween contest.  As the night continued, I realized that I had fallen victim to being too generous with the candy.  After the first hour, I had to ration so that I wouldn't run out.  I even got my private candy stash ready should the worst happen.  Thankfully, that did not happen.  In fact, there was still candy left in the bowl. 
            
Banging pots to scare people.
Several southern teachers and I got a ride down to the community hall by one of the RCMP officers.  "This is my first time riding in the back of an RCMP truck!" I humourously remarked.  "And it won't be the last," someone added.  Rows of chairs had been set up on the sides, forming a large square with an open centre.  We took our seats near the front stage.  The hall began to fill up steadily with spectators.  By the time the spooky festivities started, it looked like the entire town was in attendance.
            

As mentioned before, my students were talking non-stop about the costume contest, and seriously wanted me to attend.  They said it was the event of Halloween.  I reassured them all that I would attend because this was my first Halloween in Arctic Bay.  Indeed, the community costume contest is the highlight of the night and for good reasons.   Contestants compete for cash prizes and are judged on creativity, originality, scariness, and downright bizarre.  From what I remember, there were three categories: mothers who dressed up their infants, kids, and adults.  The contestants in each category would parade in the centre of the hall, letting everyone take pictures and short films.  The judges on stage would observe and record their decisions on paper. 
            

The bizarre costumes were worn by the adult contestants and they were beyond anything I have ever seen before.  It was difficult for me to comprehend their designs.  Were they representing something/someone or just wearing whatever to shock the audience?  I'm glad I took pictures because I still find it hard to explain what they were wearing.  The one thing that was common among the costumes was that the faces were covered.  I was told one of the main features of the contest is not knowing who is wearing what costume until the very end.  All I knew at the start of the contest was that Paulette, the high school art teacher, was wearing a black raven costume.    
            

After the parade of costumes, the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place winners of each category were announced by the MC.  As part of their acceptance, the winners were required to reveal their 'true identities' to the audience.  Many children and adults flooded into the centre of the hall to get a close up view and/or picture of the winners.  Each reveal was greeted by a thunderous applause.  The contestant who won the adult category was a student from Inuujaq School.  He dressed himself up as an old man in a suitcase.  During the parade, he had to be pulled by someone.  After the costume contest, the southern teachers and I were driven back to our respective homes by the RCMP.       
           
My first Halloween in Arctic Bay was fun and full of surprises.  The community costume contest is something that just needs to be seen to be believed.  If I ever decide to participate, I'm either going to have to buy a really expensive costume or invest the time and effort in making my own.         
            


End of Halloween Mini-Series