Another Year Older...

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  It was my birthday, I had a work trip to Norman Wells, district staff were in for their annual visit, and report card season has begun.  Amongst the chaos, there have been some wonderful times.  

I can truly say that this birthday was one of the best I have every had.  I felt so loved by my new community (and by everyone back home too).  My roommate, Louie, made me this cake and the whole school gathered at the end of the day to sing and enjoy some cake.  

Jenn and I had a pancake breakfast in the morning and our kids buddied up and read to each other.  It was such a special time.  We built forts under our desks and everyone was fully engaged in their reading.  

After work we went for a ride over to a friends house to see his haul of fish.  Community members have been making many trip over to Aubry Lake to set nets.  Aubry Lake is deeper than Colville Lake and has not frozen over yet.  The fish have all migrated there and the nets are always full.  One trip over to Aubry is enough to fill the freezer.  The fish pictured above will be used as dog food over the winter months.  

My students took me on a skidoo ride for my birthday.  I am learning who to trust as a driver. They think it is funny to go super fast and watch Ms. Evans scream.  When they let me drive they laugh at how slow I go.  

Birthdays are often a time of reflection for me.  As I look back on the last year I can't help but be so proud of all I have overcome and accomplished.  

On the 16th I flew to Norman Wells for Fourth R training.  I had never heard of Fourth R before, but am looking forward to implementing it into my health curriculum.  My focus this year is on social emotional learning.  Fourth R provides a solid guideline on teaching middle school students about healthy relationships.  

It is always fun to meet people from different northern communities.  During Fourth R I met with teachers who are in similar situations to me and was able to have some valuable collaboration time with them.