Halloween & Midterms

The Halloween festivities began on October 30 at the 795 Iqaluit Air Squadron Cadet Hall.  The regular training night was substituted with a scary themed party and many cadets & officers were wearing costumes.  Cadets who didn't arrive in costume had to wear their dress uniforms.  Unfortunately, my costume was still 'in the shop' so I had to make do with my formal attire.  Plus, the cadets think I'm scary enough as it is.  I joined the party a little later because I was busy checking to see if everything was ready for the Halloween concert the following day at the high school. 

            

The entire ground floor of the cadet hall had been transformed into a haunted house of sorts, with scary decorations, borrowed from the Legion Hall next door, covering every inch of the white walls.  I didn't notice the big black spider hanging over the main entrance until much later.  The canteen was serving an interesting menu: Witch's Brew, Spider Eggs in Goo, Maggots & Bugs, and Worms in A Bun.  The food had been prepared by the new administrative clerk, Master Corporal Benning.  Even though the food wasn't what their titles implied, I decided to forgo a taste. 

            

The cadets participated in a variety of games, such as: gummy worm eating contest, bobbing for apples, and eating donuts dangling from strings without using your hands.  I stood off to the side taking photographs and was surprised by the cadets' appetites.  At the end of the night, the cadet hall was swept clean and everyone went home with large amounts of candy.

            

I was nervous when I walked into Inuksuk High School on the morning of October 31.  Today was the day.  Halloween Concert D-Day.  Weeks of planning and lunchtime practices would be put to the test 30 minutes before lunchtime. 

            

Many students and teachers had arrived in costumes.  My costume, a green gambling jacket with a roulette table collar, was pressed and ready to go thanks to Renata, the drama teacher.  To help me keep my mind off the upcoming concert, I chose to forgo wearing my costume for the first two periods.  I dismissed my second period English class early so that they could help me set up the stage with chairs, music stands, and instruments.  My junior and senior musicians were also dismissed early from second period; they assembled in the music room with their instruments and music.  After tuning everyone in the music room, we all proceeded as a group to the main foyer.

            

It wasn't until we got to the stage that I realized that I was missing something important: a microphone.  With no time left, I would have to rely on my loud voice, the kind I used when I called drill when I was an army cadet.  With all my musicians seated, and the main foyer filling with students, I began the Halloween concert.

            

We started with a lively rock arrangement called "Dr. Rockenstein".  This arrangement by Steve Hodges combines many memorable 'scary' musical motives and a rocking drum beat.  The only memorable motive I recognized was "In The Hall of The Mountain King".  "Dr. Rockenstein" was followed by "Hedwig's Theme" & "Harry's Wondrous World", two themes from the famous Harry Potter films, composed by John Williams. 

            

The tone of the concert took on a more scarier tone with the next piece: "Ghost Ship".  Michael Story was inspired by the mystery surrounding the merchant vessel Mary Celeste to write the arrangement.  The last arrangement the band played was "A Rockin' Halloween", a collection of famous tunes: "Ghostbusters", "Werewolves of London", and "Scooby-Doo".  The band was also supposed to play an arrangement of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" but the scores didn't arrive in time to be rehearsed.

            

I decided to finish off the concert with a solo of my own.  On an electric keyboard set to Church Organ, I played the Toccata from J.S. Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor".  Even without the use of a pedal, it still sounded alright.  With students & teachers applauding, my musicians and I took a bow before the lunch bell rang.  (I also breathed a sigh of relief).   Before I dismissed my juniors & seniors for lunch, they helped me put away the chairs, music stands, and instruments.  While this was being done, I received personal congratulations from teachers, students, and the principal.  I was glad the concert was a success but my only regret is not having someone photograph and/or film the entire concert with my digital camera.            

Afternoon classes were cancelled because student council had organized Halloween activities for everyone.  The first was a crazy relay race in the gymnasium.  Putting on a brave face, I participated and managed not to fall over (you had to start by spinning in a circle ten times).  My team didn't win but the race was fun nonetheless.  The next activity was a Best Costume Contest.  Categories were: Most Original, Scariest, and Funniest.  Costumes were judged according to audience applause.  What came next was the cupcake eating contest.  I was surprised by how competitive it got.  There are some students who can pack a lot of cupcakes; I think someone got to six without vomiting.

            

After Halloween, the next concern of the school year was midterms, scheduled for November 7 - 9.  Midterms can be broken down into 4 stages for teachers: preparing, administering, correcting, and recording.  A lot of time is required to make these stages work and what's even more challenging is finding the extra time to prepare review lessons, the following unit and writing your next blog post.  Thankfully, I was able to make it all work. 

            

Teachers received extra time to prepare their midterms because classes were cancelled on Friday, November 2 due to adverse weather.  A blizzard had rolled into town and the school buses weren't running.  Speaking of weather, more snow continues to fall on Iqaluit with every passing day and the days are getting shorter and shorter.  Night now arrives at 3:30pm! 

            

All my classes this semester had midterm exams.  The English midterm looked at the short story & poetry units, and the novella Of Mice & Men.  As for my three music classes, the midterms were split into two parts: performance & theory.  The performance tests were mostly positive but the theory results were mixed.  My students are getting the concepts but at a slow pace.  I'm doing whatever it takes to make music theory as fun & interesting as possible.  Every musician should know music theory.

            

With midterms now complete, I can now look at planning forthcoming lessons in music & English.  The next big concert is the Christmas Concert on December 11.  I already have most of the music and will be introducing it to my students shortly.  I'll also be looking at incorporating Inuit throat singing & drum dancing.

            

Speaking off topic, I was glad to see the re-election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.  He will do well in his second term.  I was a little worried during the campaign because it appeared as if Mitt Romney would actually win.  Hard to believe that 4 years have passed since Obama won the most powerful seat in the world.  At that time, I was touring Brisbane, Australia with my older brother.  (You can read about here).   

            

And lastly, with Remembrance Day just around the corner, I just want to thank all of Canada's veterans, of previous & current conflicts, for defending freedom with their lives.  Lest We Forget.