“That we leave our homes, that we step through our doors to the world, that we travel our whole lives not because we want to collect exotic T-shirts, not because we want to consume foreign adventure the same Western way we consume plastic and Styrofoam and LCD TVs and iPads, but because it has the power to renew us—not the guarantee, not the promise, just the possibility. Because there are places our imaginations can never construct for us, and there are people who we will never meet but we could and we might. It reminds us that there is always reason to begin again.” - Stephen Markley, Tales of Iceland or "Running with the Huldufólk in the Permanent Daylight"
Amid flurries and stormy skies, Dadda and I took full advantage of our free Saturday and headed for the mountains. Hoping to see wildlife (more on that later) we started our day in Lake Louise and made our way slowly east. Lake Louise was very busy, of course, but worth the parking lot frustration! We walked partway around the lake, stopping every few hundred feet to take a photo, breath in the trees and admire the view. A few hearty souls were canoeing on the lake but we appreciated our view from the solid shoreline. It certainly is a place for quiet contemplation, one cannot have an overwrought head in a place like this. I need to do this more often. I need for my boys to experience this more often. Living near the mountains is not the same as living IN the mountains. I miss living in the mountains. Banff was a huge disappointment. I don't love it at the best of times but it was so overrun with people, the restaurant we really wanted to eat in shuts down between lunch and dinner (on a Saturday, in high season...?) and it was colder than Lake Louise by far. Aubrey and Dadda OUT! We decided to drive east using the Bow Valley Parkway, a more scenic route renown for its wildlife sightings. Eagle eyes peeled we drove through the amazing fall colours ever-vigilant for foul-legged residents. At one point we pulled over into a rest area to snag a picture of the mountains and Dadda got very excited "Ohhh I think that it is something!" It was something alright...it was a young guy oddly posing for a photo in the grass while his girlfriend with her weird brown scarf sticking out all over her upper body over took the shot. "Ah yes, THAT is another kind of wildlife - real Canadian wildlife! The elusive adolescent male and girlfriend with weird scarf..." We laughed all the way to Banff! Canmore has a special place in my heart. To me, it is much more beautiful than Banff, it is quieter and it feels like an actual town not a tourist trap. We found parking right away, went to the Grizzly Paw for lunch and had some fun in The Tin Box! By this time in the day the weather had cleared and the mountains were fully visible, and they were stunning! A fresh dusting of snow throws the Rockies into such beautiful relief, it really does steal your breath for a moment... We headed home in time to catch the last hour of Zane's outdoor field lacrosse practice. The first 45 minutes had taken place in quite a snow flurry but when we arrived it was just chilly. We stayed warm in the jeep for the first while and braved the wind for the last 20 minutes. It really does say something when the Canadian puts the Icelander in a place where she is too cold! Brrrr...not sure where our autumn went but it can come back any time! Now would be good! Looking forward to a Sunday at home, a roast dinner, walk around the lake and some time by the fireplace. It is hard to believe part 1 of our adventure is halfway through already but looking forward to the week ahead!
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For me, Terry Fox is not just a Canadian hero, he is a reminder of home. My family saw him train, I went to Terry Fox high school and his family spoke at my graduation. My Terry Fox run was the hometown run, he grew up not far from me.
Every year schools across the country participate in their version of a Terry Fox Run. This year our staff came together to create an amazing opportunity for students by marking the field to scale, creating welcome posters for each province, and having an amazing assembly to kick things off. The weather held out and we ran on the field together celebrating Terry's spirit and determination. It was a magical morning that ended with Dadda telling one of our KG teachers "Well, walk across Canada - check! Now I can tell my friends I went across Canada - TWICE!" A great ending to a fantastic day! Orange shirt day is a day to honour every child, to remember the impact of the horrifying experience of residential schools and to re-commit to never allowing an experience like that to happen again. Our Board of Trustees explain their perspective here: https://www.cbe.ab.ca/news-centre/Pages/orange-shirt-day-2018.aspx As a school, Orange Shirt Day is not something we have embraced at Marlborough but it is something I feel we need to. It is certainly not because we don't value the perspective or see the need to support this initiative, anything that shows a commitment to reconciliation is important. I will work hard to ensure we honour this day next year, and the years that follow. I was very excited for Dadda to spend the better part of the day with my friend Michelle at Niitsitapi. For the past year, the staff at Niitsitapi have engaged with indigenous elders and the University of Calgary on a large research project detailing the impact of the wraparound services provided at the site each and every day. Although I was not present for the sharing of the findings, Dadda explained that the connections grounded in the work at Niitsitapi were more impactful than originally anticipated. No surprise there! She was so impressed with the staff, the building, and the commitment to ensuring every child matters, it was a wonderful way to celebrate Orange Shirt Day. After a very busy week we celebrated together in very Canadian cold weather fashion... Nelson Mandela is one of the CBE's newest high schools and right from the moment you enter the building you can tell it is very different than any other high school you may have experienced. It's not the aviation lab complete with helicopter body and simulator software, or even the state of the art kitchen where aspiring chefs gather to learn...it is the spirit that permeates throughout the building - THAT'S what feel different! Students are bustin' a move to Thriller in the hallway while others play guitar or upright base outside the Band Room. Others are in Grade 10 Community classrooms, learning alongside 4 teachers and another 129 students dedicated to providing a cohort experience, a place where every grade 10 student can feel successful and try new things safely. The staff at Mandela have reconfigured the high school experience and while Dadda was immersed in the experience asking questions and generally loving her tour I was quietly proud of the work my colleagues have done here. As Zane begins his grade 10 year, it is a place I wish my own children could attend. How is this for a random whiteboard in the grade 10 hallway... After an inspiring afternoon we came home to relax a bit and then headed out to Pinnovate down in Mahogany. For those of you non-crafty people, Pinnovate makes it easy to feel artsy! This was a Mountain String Art class and within two hours we had laughed, created and finished the beautiful pieces you see above. (Coordinating grey shirts a happy accident, I swear!) It was stress relief after a busy week and made for some great memories. AAAANNNNDDDD Dadda did not get kicked out of Canada for poor art skills in a class, contrary to initial fears. ;O) Tomorrow - Orange Shirt Day and the Terry Fox Run! Soooo the good news is we have met our goal of doing a fire drill before the weather changes, the bad news is we had two...unintentionally! Uggg…two of our grade 1 boys decided (on consecutive days) that they wanted to know what happened when one pulls the fire bell. Well, what happens is the well-attended Area meeting gets evacuated as the Principal runs around and checks the bathrooms she knows are empty and stands in front of the 250 students while the bell-puller sobs into his lunch kit. No silver lining you say? There TOTALLY was - our kids rocked the fire drill protocol and were really amazing as we talked to the fire department, for the second time in two days, apologizing for the mischief that is six year old little boys. On another note, I believe my Icelandic best buddy has made some new friends! (She claims the picture was for her grandson but just LOOK at that smile! I think the grandson angle is a cover… ;O)) We did start our day in a more serious way at our Area 4 Level meeting. These meetings are an opportunity for elementary Ps to gather and discuss context-specific concerns (KG ELL, Alternative Programs etc). We are joined halfway through by our Jr and Sr High counterparts and share the system specific info regarding things like Admin Regulation updates, School De embraced Dadda with open arms, many of them asking if she needed another school to visit during her stay. #Area4IsAwesome We are ending the evening side by side on the couch, laptops in hand, blogging about our adventures. There may or may not be a beverage and chips close at hand...bring on Thursday! Well the old adage is true, if you don't like the weather in Calgary wait 5 minutes! No sneak attack hail storms today, just a gray start, a blue middle and a chilly but clear ending! Dadda has officially become part of our staff, she knows not to wait around for me as chances are I'll be called away to do something or other. (clean up the remnants of a sore tummy, cover a lunchroom, fix an iPad...you name it!) Although I am grateful she is just fine finding her way (with the trusty schedule we devised of course!) I do long for a bit more time during our day together. That being said we spend a great deal of the evening talking about our days, sharing stories, laughing, and really getting to the heart of why we engage in this work with full hearts. Today we tackled the notion of teacher evaluation, the benefits of coaching and dealing with difficult situations. In Iceland, they do not have a formalized teacher evaluation process. Even in a large school (over 450 - which is very large in Iceland!) Dadda commits to frequent staff check-ins, classroom visits (both formal and informal) and one-on-one conversations focused on giving and receiving feedback. I admire her calm demeanor and sense of humour very much and feel like I have known her forever already! After a morning in grade 1/2, and experiencing our RTI (Response to Intervention) math groups we were off to a Math Coach Principal's meeting. Here we discussed the progress thus far of our system math coach model and shared what has been going well, where we can improve, and an open floor in terms of suggestions. With a focus on peer coaching and data collection, we have much to learn from this opportunity and are so fortunate to have a coach of our own at Marlborough. I look forward to using this opportunity, and the goals and strategies inherent within it, to support our School Development Plan and seeing even further growth this coming year. After racing across the city back home to grab Little Britches (Cai) we headed off to solve the puzzles of Prohibition and the Magic Genie in a Bottle in 2 Locked Rooms! Split into 2 teams Cai, Jody and Hannah conquered the Genie and the 1001 Arabian Nights while Dadda, Mike, Charlotte and I tried, miserably, to figure out who "The Don" was of the Muddy Waters Gang in time to diffuse the bomb left for us. Needless to say, we didn't make it out alive and the Muddy Waters Gang can continue running whiskey to the local speakeasies. (Thank goodness Cai was on Team Genie!) We ended the evening in true Canadian style with soup, sandwiches and hot drinks at Tim Hortons. It's official...she drank the Kool-Aid! Go Team Vicanuck! Day one and two down and 12 more to go! Dadda officially became a member of the Fletcher clan when trekked out for Calgary's best poutine last night. A nacho veggie girl like myself, we dove into the cheezy, graviness that is poutine and stopped at Scotsman Hill for the epic panoramic that will describe the skyline to those back home in Akranes. Canadian food - CHECK! Early fall Canadian snowstorm - also CHECK! Poor girl came in to Edmonton from Reykjavik (where it was warm and sunny by the way) to a total whiteout! Thank goodness for the Red Arrow bus and the reality of the fast-changing weather in Cowtown. On our first day at school, Dadda was welcomed by our whole staff and given the full building tour by two of our student leaders. Armed with a few talking points and pride for our school, E and J did a fantastic job showing our special guest all of the things that make Marlborough amazing! From our spanky new Learning Commons to the well-loved Space Place (sensory room), Dadda got to see some of the places we have been talking about the past few weeks. I am trying to arrange an extended stay in Iceland to build and implement a sensory room for their staff and students but not sure if I'll be able to fandangle it! Stay tuned! ;O) After a busy morning in grade 1/2, (thank you Ms. N for welcoming Dadda into your classroom first before knowing what a wonderful person she is), Dadda was off to grade 3 to experience an in-school field trip with Scientists in Schools. Looking at structures, forces, and varied materials, the crew constructed, tested, and revised designs for towers and bridges checking for stability and vulnerability. One day in a Canadian classroom and she is already being asked to participate in design-thinking. Go team Marlborough! After a crazy Monday, we got home, changed into comfy clothes and decided to brave the weather..."I'm sure those dark skies won't be here for at least an hour"....or not! We proceeded to get caught in a rainstorm of epic proportions, hail and wind included, and have decided that, unlike the wicked witch of the west. we are not made of sugar and won't melt in the rain! Laughing as we made the last few steps up to the front of the house we figured another change of clothes and some time in front of the fireplace would do the trick! Now we are blogging side by side, fireplace still blazing, and feeling more and more excited about our time together in the coming weeks. Now, just enough time for a delicious candy coma, Iceland style, and off to bed! Lots ahead tomorrow: class visit, Math Coach meeting and Locked Room! Riddle me this...are you ready? It seems like ages ago that Dadda (Arnbjorg) and I were matched for this exchange but it has really only been a few weeks! She arrives in a mere three days and I THINK I have an awesome two weeks planned for our time together. Starting out with an introduction to the Fletcher crew and then world famous poutine from The Big Cheese our first evening will be all about connection, relaxation and...gravy? ;O)
Monday morning has us arriving at school, to a VERY excited student population, and touring the halls with 2 student leaders. I am so grateful, but unsurprised, that the Marlborough staff has opened their classrooms and their hearts to our special guest. This is what I mean! Best. Staff. Ever! After a couple of days in school we will be breaking our honourary Canadian in with a visit to a "Locked Room"! Hope she can handle being locked in a room with a bunch of us trying to unlock boxes, figure out puzzles, and piece clues together! Let's just say I think it will be a memorable experience. I am so blessed to work with some of the most intelligent, innovative and committed people our system has to offer. Not only do I get to work alongside them each day at Marlborough, we cross paths at area meetings, system meetings and committees. Dadda will have the opportunity to meet and spend time with a few of these amazing professionals both in and outside their school settings. From an afternoon at Nelson Mandela School to a full day at Niitsitapi, a day downtown at City Hall School to a morning in a French Immersion setting at Mayland Heights, Dadda will see how we work with many different facets of our student population. One simply cannot see the depth and breadth of our system at work in a two week timespan but I will try my best to ensure she sees more than just our K-5 setting! Now, if only my clock would get to Sunday already!! PS: I'm trying a new app to document this experience. 1 Second Everyday allows you to take 1 second videos which will then be mashed chronologically, or randomly, into a short video. Should be a fun way to see our two weeks go by in the blink of an eye! |
AuthorAubrey: "Leader of the Elves"....that's me. Mom of two amazing guys, wife to one bigger (yet no less amazing) guy and teacher of little ones. Blogging about the adventures (usually with my rubber chicken in tow) is one of my favourite things. Archives
April 2019
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