The last day of school prior to Christmas break was Friday, December 21st–Also known as winter solstice! The temperature on the shortest day of the year was brisk… -19.5 degrees Celsius, but beautiful! I started out on morning duty at 8:05 a.m. with many students trying to come inside while administration reminded them “No. It’s not below -20 degrees. The final day was lovely, students were reading, making crafts and lounging as it was p.j. day at school.
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After school I rushed to my “home base”, parked my vw, then Mark and I pulled our cases along the icy sidewalks to the Chevron gas station which doubles as the local “bus depot”. The roads were really slippery and the bus driver left early!
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After a quick visit with my brother in PG, we flew the remaining distance home the following day.
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The first flight from PG to YVR (Vancouver) was full. The second flight was a small Harbour Air plane and Mark got to sit up front as co pilot! 🙂 as we flew over the water to Vancouver Island.
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When we finally arrived in Nanaimo, we were in for quite a shock!
Short days, long nights, frozen lakes, and lots of snow! It must be December in most of Canada! However, being a Vancouver Island gal this is a new experience for me!
My hands and face are drier than I’ve ever experienced and my fingers keep splitting around the nails. But the low temperatures are quite tolerable, which surprises me; as the damp cold from the coast (with added wind factor) often chills my bones more than this crisp cold–so far! I keep being told it is a mild winter so far, so my opinions may well change in the coming months.
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Meanwhile, I have purchased an annual membership to the Omineca cross country ski club; and ice fishing and snow shoeing with friends are on my bucket list. The bears are hibernating, the moose population is low this year, and there are NO MOSQUITOES! Wahoo!
I haven’t added blog posts for a few weeks due to a number of reasons…But I am now ready to return to my computer keyboard and photo collection. There is much to share on this adventure of life!
This blog post is about the beauty of the first big snow fall to hit Burns Lake area.
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Around the winter solstice (December 21st) the days grew so short that morning duty occurred in the dark! My duty starts at 8:05 a.m. so I had the opportunity to watch as the sun rose and shared its spectrum of beautiful color and soft hues and enhanced the sparkle on the snow flakes and snow banks around me. Students are not permitted to go inside the school buildings here unless the temperature (at the bus shop) reaches -20 Celsius or lower. We reached -19.5 degrees one morning….but apparently it was not low enough in sd91!
One school has about 6 snow shovels which are really popular with some of the energetic students as they help clear sidewalks and areas around the school grounds. I am learning about different types of materials to melt snow. Lava rock type material is really popular at one school.
Snowballs are not permitted, but snow people and snow forts are popular structures in our fields.
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I have plugged in my vehicle at the house a few times when temperatures drop below -15, but I haven’t used the vehicle heater plug ins in the parking lots at school yet. I find that many staff depart earlier up here. I think it is partly due to the early darkness. When it gets dark about 4:00 p.m. it’s not much fun walking home on slippery streets that are narrow and not well lit! However, others dash off to go skating on the frozen lakes or enjoy outdoor activities before we lose the light. It’s great to see so much enthusiasm and involvement in outdoor activity up here. I have added several outdoor activities on my bucket list during my time teaching up in the Burns Lake area.
Another first for me was attending Christmas concerts in the afternoon. Both schools in Burns Lake held their Christmas concerts at 1:00 p.m. and the gyms were packed with very appreciative parents and families. Today was Decker Elementary’s concert. Wow!
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Original songs were written by students in partnership with local musician Rachelle van Zanten. In the grade 1/2 class one young student played the violin while others accompanied on xylophones and FN drums. There was variety from poetry to original and classic songs, from candle lit Hallelujah to Dancing with the Stars type variety show checking talent at the North Pole. It was fun and entertaining. You could feel that Christmas was approaching quickly–especially when the following day was P.J. day at school!
As any teacher in a Canadian public school system will inform you….December is one busy time of the year!!! Report Cards, Book Fairs, Crafts for parents, Excitement of the pending holiday break, and Christmas concerts fill the days and many evenings in December!
Working at two different schools means double the excitement and long, stressful rising action period prior to the Christmas break. There is a hum of activity and rarely a moment to reflect or peacefully breathe during this period. Tension definitely exists and it is so important to be a collaborative, team player. Having an appreciative Principal who encourages laughter each day, really helps keep the environment positive and staff functioning as a team. What a delightful surprise to find this card and token waiting for me in my office mailbox! Even Brat, the cat I’m house sitting, sat up to reflect and notice! 🙂
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There are so many wonderful initiatives at the schools I am working at in Burns Lake. One, is the Honor Tree at the front entrance of both schools. Brenda Levick and 4 of her children were killed in a tragic car accident a few years ago. She was the FN Support Worker at WKE who was extremely generous and made sure people in need had warm clothes and food. In her honor, there is a large tree in the entrance where we placed mitts hats, etc. and at the base we collected food items for those in need.
The Christmas concerts at both elementary schools were quite amazing! WKE had a section for the K/1 classes, then the grade 3/4 (including French Immersion) sang in dual languages, many classes performed in the complex musical “The Grinch”, which was followed by a percussion (recycled plastic bins) rhythm band! Nearly all staff were involved from creating costumes, make-up, acting, sets, etc. but the performance was led by our fearless (and very funny) Vice-Principal Marion Mills. Decker was equally amazing and I will have a separate post for that concert and the performances by Rachelle van Zanten–local musican.
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Meanwhile in the Learning Commons, a maker-space activity which nearly went viral for popularity was making God’s Eyes! I went through masses of wool and Popsicle sticks and I’m pretty certain most homes in Burns Lake will have some God’s Eyes hanging on their Christmas trees this year!
In addition to Book Fairs, Report Cards, and Christmas Concert practices SD91 held a grade 6 and 7 volleyball tournament hosted by Decker. The school gym and intermediate wing were overflowing with teams and parents from Burns Lake, Decker Lake, Francois Lake, Grassy Plains, and an independent FN school. Life here is never dull! As a person with very limited skill at volleyball, watching the students serve and volley made me reflect about how lousy I was at this sport at their age, and how I was one of ‘those’ players who rarely made a serve over the net. There were some really talented young athletes there, but what impressed me most was how supportive and encouraging the students were to all athletes–gifted and emerging! I added a photo of part of my Decker Learning Commons after my “helpers” finished decorating!
On Sunday, I attended the “Annual Christmas Concert” by the Lakes District Community Choir and Friends. The performance was held at the Immaculata church in Burns Lake and included the local Burns Lake community choir, as well as a 4 piece brass quartet, and the Chambermaids–a choir from the Francois Lake area. My principal and one classroom teacher from Decker Elementary were members of the choir. It was a lovely performance from challenging classical songs to religious and more modern carols. There was a sing-a-long section near the end of the second half where audience members were invited up into the 4 vocal sections to join in with Handel’s Hallelujah. I was invited up and joined the alto section. I haven’t needed to sight sing the auto harmony in a 4 voice choir in over a decade! It was fun and I actually hit most of the notes accurately….I think?? 🙂
The final song was A Lakes District 12 Days of Christmas…. I happen to have a copy….
12–rolls of duct tape
11–Lotto Tickets
10–loaves of fruit cake
9–cords of Jack Pine
8–Months of Netflix
7–Pounds of Coffee
6–Cans of Trout Bait (What the heck is trout bait?) It’s for ice fishing, of course!
5–Great big moose (cut, wrapped and frozen)
4–Sides of bacon
3–Kids with shovels
2–Sharpened chain saws … and …
1–A grouse sitting in a Spruce Tree…..
As I walked home in the dark…I sang happily and enjoyed the white frost and bright starry sky above me. Happy Holidays Everybody!
I knew this birthday was going to be different with no family or close friends nearby…but I didn’t realize how melancholy I would feel. I thought all would be fine, and I would embrace the day as just another day in the year. I was busy. I was prepared for this. I was used to having my only son across the globe in Thailand and my relies in Australia. No big deal….so I thought 🙁 However, as this day progressed I learned that nothing quite replaces the smiles, hugs, love, and laughter of those who are most dear in your life. Lessons are gifts and I guess that was my most profound gift this year.
However, I did experience many, many things to be grateful for… I had 2 beautiful displays of flowers delivered to my school WKE from my husband and my mother with very touching cards. The school announced my birthday on the morning P.A. The grade 1/2 class sang to me. Some of my Learning Commons Leaders came to pass on greetings at recess. The Book Fair was packed and kept me busy throughout the day. I received more messages from friends and family than I should ever deserve on FB, email, and phone. A colleague took me out for a special coffee and treat.
But possibly the most surprising birthday experience, which touched me so deeply, was a birthday card from 2 very special ex students which was waiting in my mailbox at my second school, Decker Elementary. These 2 boys had researched where I was working, and sent me a most touching card. Samuel and David…you warmed my heart and reminded me how lucky I have been to be an educator for nearly 35 years! Another birthday has come and gone. My plan is to be with family and loved ones from now on!
Love, laughter, and best wishes to anybody having birthdays in the near future!
Continuing in the Holiday spirit, a fellow colleague and I decided to take the ferry across to the South side and continue to Grassy Plains with a goal of checking out the community Christmas bazaar.
The morning was frosty with a light sprinkle of powder snowflakes to make the day extra pretty. The fields are getting quite frozen as are the ponds and many of the nearby lakes. This is one of the communities which was hit hard by forest fires this summer, then additionally recently lost their only store/cafe due to a fire caused during the morning creation of homemade donuts!
We arrived at the Grassy Plains community center about 10:30 a.m. and entered the packed community hall. There was a very interesting array of crafts and foods–from antler necklaces to home grown lamb, beef jerky, and gluten free baking! We bought several unique items and entered the local draws. After crossing back over on the ferry to Francois Lake we couldn’t help laughing at all the bucks prancing around the fields, near the Mormon church, past the “No Trespassing” signs. Apparently, they were aware that hunting season is over for them!
Prior to returning home Sarah and I checked out the Decker Lake Trading Post. I’ve driven past it many times, but never popped inside. OMG! They have anything and everything. It’s a hoarder’s heaven…but not our style.
After returning to home base in Burns Lake, I got the fire going and Brat and I had a lovely relaxing evening.
Temperatures now are quite brisk about -5 to -12 degrees and the lakes are all freezing or frozen, but the arrival of snow (except for light dustings) is later than usual I’m told. Apparently last year at this time there was about 2 1/2 feet on the ground by now! Brrrr! I can definitely wait to shovel all the upcoming snowfalls!
Tonight is the annual Santa parade and Tree Lighting ceremony in Burns Lake! I dawned my gloves, toque, scarf, down jacket, and snow boots then walked downtown along the icy and slippery sidewalks heading toward the back road. I heard the parade started about 6:00 p.m. along the back road where the library, fire hall, floral shop, post office, gas stations, electric car charging station, etc. are located. Hmmm… I didn’t see anybody lining up or waiting? I did however see cars parked along the road. Then about 5 minutes before the sirens started…families gathered and people emerged from the parked cars! Guess they know the routine! I was standing across from the Fire Hall in the first section of the parade route. It was fabulous and so worth attending! The only thing missing was the usual snow!
It started with the usual police cars and emergency vehicles, sirens wailing! They were followed by Christmas floats from most of the larger businesses in town. Candy was flying! Several Santas made appearances 🙂 One of my favorite floats was a nativity scene followed by 3 shepherds riding horses with camel humps! A man ran beside them scooping up all the stinky excrement! 🙂 Everybody seemed so excited and as I followed the parade I learned that most of Burns Lake seemed to be out in force and were mainly located at the end section of the parade by the train tracks and where the logging trucks all park at night. I also observed that several Orthodox Mennonite families, who were quite surrounded by the thrown candy, didn’t pick any candy up.
After the parade ended, some families departed…but most of us crossed over the highway to participate in singing carols, drinking free hot chocolate, then watching as the fantasy of lights were switched on. During the parade and carol singing event I was very touched by the number of students (from both schools) who came over to me to say hello, give me a hug, and introduce me to their parents! This is one very friendly community!
Participating in a staff spa party at Elle Haven Day Spa was a perfect early birthday present! 7 females and 1 male staff member from our school participated in the fun evening. We each got to select 2 treatments out of: manicure, pedicure, 1/2 hour massage, or facial. The remaining time we nibbled on snacks, drank bubbly non-alcoholic wine, chatted and laughed!
How can you tell I had a facial? lol. It was a wonderful way to bond and lots of fun!
