Hello, everyone. Apparently it’s almost the middle of November, which is hard to believe considering that we’re still having some reasonably warm days. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but according to the Weather Network, that’s all about to change. Speaking of change, this week marks the beginning of art for a new crop of Grade 9 students. It’s been great so far! This week is also the middle of the semester, meaning this school year is effectively 25% completed already. Crazy!

Midterms are being finalized by school staff and should be in the mail in about a week. Please contact me if you have any questions about a student’s progress!

Here’s our weekly update:

NAC2O Grade 10 Native Studies students have spent a few days catching up and I’m happy to say that we’re seeing quite a bit of success in the class. We are still introducing concepts like colonialism and marginalization. We’ll use the Aboriginal Peoples in Canada to guide is through this section. I also plan on using film to highlight these concepts and how they have historically impacted First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples.

Also, I would like my students to start following Ontario’s judicial inquest into the deaths of seven First Nations youth between 2000-2011 in Thunder Bay. We will talk about the issues of young First Nations people having to travel long distances for education and the impacts – both positive and negative – of this system. You can follow the inquest project on CBC Thunder Bay, which is offering detailed daily coverage. Just click the image below:

As I mentioned above, this is the beginning of a new group of ALC1O – Grade 9 Art students, so we’re back to repeating similar assignments from September, though depending on how things go, we’ll make a few changes. Students jumped right in with an intro design activity. Upon its completion, we’ll do some reflecting of what did/didn’t work, and analyze some elements of art and principles of design to build an understanding of how art pieces come together. I’m looking forward to this group!

Here’s hoping everyone has a great week!