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!