Fairs and Campfires! - Week #4
Victoria day in Webequie sure was a blast despite the rainy weather! Unfortunately we weren’t able to join in on the treasure hunt and cookout that the community had put on together in the afternnon, but we were able to join in on the festivities during the night, which included an all-ages dance! We were very impressed by the talent of people of all ages and the shuffling skills that even the kindergarteners seemed to have mastered! Many of the students tried to teach us how to shuffle but we definitely had a hard time keeping up! We’ll definitely have to keep practicing and break out our new mediocre shuffling skills with our friends back home! One of many highlights of the night was Georgia winning 10th place in the dance competition for her ability to awkwardly dance whilst carrying a child on her back. Lily’s dancing skills were definitely more up to par with the older kids as her feet moved lightning fast on the dance floor, while also giving piggy-back rotations to the kids! Although the night ended fairly late, we had an amazing time with members of the community of all ages!Tuesday was a half day of regular classes due to the school Science Fair. All of the classes worked very hard on their presentations and we were excited to see them all and to get to help judge the projects! There were projects on everything from animals, states of matter, rocks, water testing and much more! Some of the highlights of the afternoon was the puppy, Ozzy who was brought in as a live demonstration, the many bubbles that were blown, the 4th grade volcano, and the very educational presentation on water testing that the high school students created. We can’t wait to help announce the winners at the school-wide awards assembly early next week!We experienced our first Webequie Career Fair on Wednesday which was definitely an event that we’ll never forget. There were so many interesting booths, with information about careers in education, mining, the health field, social work, and many many more. People of all ages came and it was fun getting to spend the afternoon with so many of the kids and community members that we’ve come to know over the weeks. We put together a poster-board highlighting the facts and importance of healthy sleep habits, just for interest’s sake. It was great to chat with some of the students and other community members about the link between sleep and health along with the impact that screen usage has on our sleep patterns. We also got to meet the Nolans who are three Indigenous present and past NHL hockey players from the same family! Hockey is loved and played by almost everyone in Webequie so the whole community was buzzing with their arrival at the Career Fair. It was great to hear them speak about the importance of education, hard work, and taking care of our bodies for the future. Many of the students were inspired by their speech and lined up to take pictures with them afterwards!
The rest of the week was packed with a busy teaching schedule filled with lessons about stress management for the younger grades, mental health, grief management, and self-esteem. We were able to tie up the loose ends in many of our classes and get everyone caught up on the teaching topics that we’ve gone over. On Friday at the end of the day, we were able to join a school-wide walk against bullying and teasing that went all the way around the community. The students created some amazing anti-bullying signs and really enjoyed getting active to stand up for a bully-free school! Next week we’re excited to work on some leadership/teamwork skills in the classroom and play some fun games to review some of the topics that we’ve talked about over the past month. We’re sad that we’ll only be in the classrooms for half of the week but we’re excited to teach these fun lessons to the students to sum up our health topics.
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Some great photos of some of the many anti-bullying signs that the students made for the walk!
On Saturday we hosted a community wide marshmallow/hot dog roast out near the North Point of the island. It was a great way to enjoy some food with the kids and just to spend some more time together as our time in Webequie is “ever quickly” running out. Georgia’s summer camp skills came in handy once again as she was able to get a fire started with wet twigs and birch bark and the kids were happy to begin cooking their feasts! We played some fun games of camouflage and went for a walk the rest of the way to the point once they were completely stuffed. It was such a busy day that we were left exhausted!
We’re excited for our last few days in Webequie and we can’t wait to see what final adventures and experiences we’ll have over the next three days! Lily & Georgia