Hello, everyone! Yup – it’s the middle of November. You read that correctly. I’m caught off guard by the lack of snow outside, (ok, there’s a little bit and I’m assured more is coming), making it really hard to believe that Christmas break is only five weeks away. You read that correctly, too. Midterm marks should be in the mail this week so if you have questions about student progress or marks, touch base with me and we can chat about that.

In NAC2O – Grade 10 Native Studies this week, we’ll continue talking about colonialism and assimilation. We didn’t have that conversation last week because we focused on finishing the Clan Identity Rocks and, after talking about Grief and Loss through our StreetWolf program, began working on a grief box project.

The grief box project is pretty cool. Basically, you create a container with the name of someone/something you lost identified on it. Inside the container are objects that represent memories of this person. In my case, I chose by grandpa, Clarence. Here’s the box, (or in our case, paper bags):

Our plan is to take our grief boxes to a sacred fire on Thursday, (our regular StreetWolf day) and honour the day by including them in the fire. This will be a powerful day.

Hats off to my new ALC1O – Grade 9 Art class. These students came in and took the class by storm. We spent last week working on an introductory design project and they turned out phenomenally well. Most students used pastel to create interesting designs and patterns.

This week, we’ll take some time to go over the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. Students will also begin reflecting on their first assignment, which is how the Creative Process is introduced. Finally, we’ll begin talking about Colour Theory. For the remainder of the week, the class will be creating small studio projects that demonstrate their understanding of the elements and principles. Should be great!

As always, have a wonderful week.