Week Four = DONE

Bonjouuuurrrrr !!!!We've been really slacking in the blog department lately as it's been a FULL week since our last update. So we apologize. But not really. We've just been having soooo much fun!!This was a very busy week both in school and outside of school. Our lessons this week focused on community connectedness and suicide prevention (how to notice the signs of someone that may be thinking about suicide and as a friend, what we can do to help).Outside of class, we began helping out at the youth centre here, we organized two after school activities aaannnndddd we did a lot of baking!Highlights from this week include:

• After school tea and chill session was very successful!
• Hiked around the bay and caught a glimpse of the Hudson Strait
• Started helping out at the Youth Centre by reading with the students for a few hours after school
• Got JACKED @ the gym (just kidding)
• Picked up on some Salluit-isms (keep reading for more)
• Made burn bracelets with the boys at the rehabilitation centre
• Third run/walk club with 15 STUDENTS!! (!!!!!)
• Baked 50 cookies and 35 protein balls for our after school activities #health
• Helped out at another grad fundraiser movie night!
• Watched with wonder as the students performed at the Talent Show (it was sooo good!) (CONGRATS everyone!!!)

Fabulous Funny story of the week: During our time here, we have picked up on a few "Salluit-isms". These "Salluit-isms" are phrases that most of the students say at least once per conversation. Our favourites are: "not eeeeeeven" and "just kidding". The students have a particular way of saying the phrases that make them extra extra cute and funny! Abby is starting to get annoyed because Emma is now saying "not eeeeeeven" about 67x a day (oops). During our last lesson at the rehabilitation centre, the boys became particularly interested in Emma's collection of bracelets. (what is it with these students and Emma's jewelry?) They were all trying to get Emma to give them one of her bracelets or to make them one. They'd go though the pile asking how long it would take to make this one, or that one. Emma would respond saying "37 years" or "600 months". With every sarcastic response came a quick "not eeeeeven" from the boys.This may be more of a "you had to be there" moment but make sure to ask us how they say it next time you see us, you'll definitely agree on the humour. Classy Classroom story of the week: This story is also from the boys rehabilitation centre. We are able to teach there the most regularly and we have really started to develop a great relationship with the boys. This week we started our lesson with all of us standing in a circle, holding a rope. The rope represented  the connection between us and the growth that we'd had together. A knot was tied in the rope to solidify that connection. At the end of the lesson, we took the rope back out, cut it into smaller pieces and melted the ends to make each of us a bracelet. The bracelets are a reminder that each of us makes up an important part of the circle and that we can support each other in a time of need. The boys really responded well to the activity and were more than thrilled to all have their own - some even wanted two or three!!Given the heavy nature of this week's content, we reached out to Mary, the school's guidance counsellor and Claudia, the school's social worker while preparing and teaching our lessons. In a few classes, we were fortunate to have Mary and Claudia both attend and add to our lesson. Mary would translate our content from English into Inuktitut while we were teaching, to ensure that the students fully understood. Claudia works closely with a lot of the students in our classes so she helped re-explain parts of the lesson and answer students' questions. They were both available after the lessons if students wanted to talk or had further questions, as well as during their usual office hours.It has truly been amazing working with all the teachers and staff members here. It is clear that they are incredibly passionate individuals who love the students very much. They have been a huge support for us and we are forever grateful to them for welcoming us, giving us great insight and advice, and helping us out in whatever capacity they can.Au revoir! Merci! Bonne nuit!!"Abba and Emmy"P. S. Our music repertoire has grown once again!!!!!!!!! T. Swift and Shawn Mendes are being joined by the X Ambassadors with their heartfelt ballad "Unsteady". Pls give it a listen should you want to fully grasp the whole Sal Pals experience!!