The Week That Was

The week after the teachers conference (Feb 20-24) began like any other. Teachers & students trudged up the snow covered roads to the high school, but this time, everyone was a little reluctant to get back into the routine of teaching and learning. I felt the same way because I had a lot of fun at the conference and enjoyed the extended time away from students. But it can't always be that way.

For my first two guitar classes, I assigned them their first performance test, by having them learn and perform a chosen piece for me. It was still too early to ask them to perform in front of the class. The three pieces they could choose from were: World Beat, Ode to Joy, and Blues. They had the rest of the week to practice.

For Grade 11 English, we started the poetry unit, looking at different genres and forms. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be enough time to learn all the forms but they would learn the most popular, such as: haiku, cinquain, tanka, sonnet, free verse, concrete, and acrostic. Later on, my students would be tasked with analyzing several well known poems.

I assigned a new musical piece to my senior students, called 'Into The Storm'. The piece was written by Robert W. Smith in 1994. I had previous experience with this piece through my years in cadets. To me, Into the Storm is structured like a hurricane. The first part is fast, rhythmic, and intense. The second part is softer and slower, like the eye of the hurricane. And the third part is much like the first.

As for my junior musicians, I assigned them a classic rock song that reflected their struggles of learning a musical instrument as a beginner. That song turned out to be 'Eye of the Tiger' by the 1980s rock band Survivor.

For most of the teaching faculty, Monday was the hardest day, most likely because it was first day back. My hardest day turned out to be Wednesday because my Grade 10s were acting up. I persevered but at the end of the day, I was not in a good mood.

For the second half of the week, the students had a mini-conference of their own in the library. A psychologist/brain scientist was visiting Iqaluit for the purpose of talking to students about alcohol/substance abuse, sexual relationships, and how to be a good student. Because of his presence, I couldn't teach my second two guitar classes nor my senior music. His personality was . . . interesting and a little peculiar, but he did get his points across. As for how many students took his suggestions onboard, I do not know, but I hope it was the majority. Unfortunately, alcohol and substance abuse are a problem up here in the north. I'd have to put the blame on the remoteness and isolation of the communities.

On a more positive note, I received an email from the Nunavut Housing Corporation, stating that a bachelor pad had been found for me. Following the email's instructions, I called them back to set up an appointment to view the place and then decide whether to accept or decline.

This was also the week where I learned the existence of a shawarma outlet, not far from the airport. For those of you who don't know, a shawarma is a mix between Subway & The Pita Pit, and placed in a Lebanese setting. An old high school friend got me hooked on shawarmas many years ago and I haven't looked back. The prices are slightly more expensive up here but definitely worth it. I ended up visiting the place three times that week.

Last, but not least, I finally had the time to visit the local 795 air cadet squadron and speak with the commanding officer (CO). I had been involved in the Canadian cadet program since 1999, as an army cadet and then as a civilian instructor, so it only seemed natural to volunteer. Several of my music students are involved with the squadron.

The corps is located next to the Legion Hall and is very well equipped. The Cadet Hall contains classrooms, offices, a drill hall, cadet lounge, canteen, equipment space, and even an indoor shooting range. The CO was very welcoming and said that the squadron was looking to start a band of some kind. The cadets parade on Tuesday nights but have extra training days during the week for biathlon, fencing, sports, and music. For the moment, I would be teaching music on Saturday afternoons. And, at the request of the CO & Supply Officer, I needed to research and submit an order for a new set of marching drums.