Adventuring In French Immersion

What a crazy time to be alive! I am not one to follow the news that much because years ago I discovered that it caused too much anxiety over things I cannot control or help. It can also be very depressing to watch every day. I didn’t see this pandemic coming at all. I had no idea what had been happening in China at all or even that some friends of ours had been displaced and were back in Canada because of it all. I had been in my little get it done bubble for a while now I guess.

News of covid broke out into our community in mid to late February but nothing in terms of it being a pandemic. I had very little information and the only bit I did know what that it was comparable to the flu. Great. Nothing I need to worry about. On with everything else that consumes my life everyday. March break comes and still, not really on my radar. Folks, I get back and the school is buzzing with talk about this covid business by the end of the first week. Flash-forward to the next week and we’re having meetings about it and what we may have to do. Say what? In a matter of days after that, school was closed for two weeks. A week later, indefinitely.

To say this came as a shock to me would be an understatement. I had no idea it would come to this. When they first cancelled I truly believed we’d be back in two weeks. As I started consuming information about the virus, it became more and more apparent what was going to happen. I had so many questions. I was so confused. Totally riddles with anxiety and stress about what this new normal would look like. I will be honest, there is no “new” normal. Nothing about this is normal and it saddens me to think that our old normal won’t come back.

I have around a million opinions about how everything is unfolding around me but none of it is within my control so I am trying to remain positive, do my part to help flatten the curve and try to make the best of it. We are all in a fragile mental state of mind in my house right now. The kids are struggling because of the length of duration of the self-isolation. They worry about their future and most of all, both cannot wait to go back to school. They love school just like their mama does. It’s really rough everywhere and we’re just trying to remain positive through all this.

Since I have been terrible at keeping up with my blog this school year (I promise it’s not laziness!) so I decided to start busying myself with writing about the different stuff we’re been doing in class, what new things I have tried this year and all the different projects I had on the go before this all started. I will also be able to show you what our home learning plans look like in my neck of the woods.

Have a Hoppy Easter!

Hello Friends!

So it’s been a few months since my last post. I haven’t quite gotten into a full-blown routine to keeping up with my family, work, extra-curriculars, instagram AND blogging which is why I haven’t taken the time to blog recently. Let me quickly go over what the first few months of the school year looked like this year.

As previously mentioned, I am in a new school so I am still seeing what routines are in place there, getting used to small changes and also seeing what projects my administration will help me fund. First off, I have gotten my hydroponic systems set up in their new school. I have one system of 12 plants currently doing it’s thing in my classroom. It’s growing lettuce. We’ve already harvested once and gave our lettuce to the school cafeteria. My “lettuce grow!” group of kids had four more systems up and running but have run into some challenges. Many of their plants didn’t germinate, some systems only half caught, so we took the ones that did germinate and put them in the baskets of those that didn’t. Before Christmas break, we moved them all into two systems making sure they were both at full-capacity. We will try the other two systems again after Christmas break.

In addition to this, I have been learning about a new entrepreneurship program called “Powerplay” that I will be doing with my grade 8 social studies students after break. This has been really great so far. I have received the program, reviewed it, went to a session on it and did a best-practices grant to shadow a local market day at a different school. This is sure to be a really interesting project to come and I will make sure to keep you updated on how that goes.

There is no music program in our school, so after Christmas I will be teaching my classroom how to play the recorder. I have been busy designing and creating my “own program” composed of various parts of other programs I bought or viewed online. This is my first time teaching an instrument so it will sure be very entertaining to watch me teach. Did I mention I can’t even play the recorder?…..yet! I have been working hard over break getting ready for my classroom debut!

Honestly, there has been a million things going on outside of those three major things. The end of 2019 had me running like a crazy person who just couldn’t keep up. I am hoping to find a better balance for this new decade. There are a ton of little changes I would like to make this year and the plan is to tackle one thing at a time. Here’s to a new decade of health, love and a whole lotta happiness!

Well friends, the first few weeks of school are done! For the first time in nine years it was actually pretty painless for us. The kids were excited and are still loving school which is all a parent can ask for really.

This teacher rocked her first few weeks back (well at least it feels that way). I am still adjusting to getting up earlier now that I have moved schools but that’s nothing a little coffee can’t cure! Luckily my favourite coffee shop, Millcove Coffee, is still my first stop on my way to school. I am still trying to find productive things to do with the extra time I have after school since I finish earlier this year but that routine will come. I am still applying for my permanent contact this year and I am hoping the special project I am doing will prove itself. A post will follow on that if it works… 🤞

I have a few grant applications on the go already and I am hoping to keep the hydroponic project going at my new school. I have full support for all my wild ideas no matter where I go it seems. It’s super exciting!!

I do feel a shift inside me this year that came with the move to another school. It’s a positive shift that seems to have affected various areas in my life. I feel completely zen about all the things and I am not stressing over every little thing. I am anxious to see what this will bring to my teaching methods…

Stay tuned friends…

Sporting my new school sweatshirt