George Trevor

Year 2

Monday, 1. October 2007, 02:19:32

Well school has been going for just about a month now, so I figured it was time for a progress report.
I must admit things are considerably different now that I am familiar with Sandy Bay. We have had a much better start than last year as a whole in my opinion... We seem to be more organized and attendance although not stellar is better than I remember... As well we have had no major incidents, suicides etc.. knock on wood.
We have a few new teachers and a couple of vacancies that need to be filled, the big problem is we are often short-staffed and many teachers are sick or have been ill. Luckily we have a solid staff and I am anticipating a much better year...
I am definitely not feeling as stressed this year... so far and have been adapting some of the things I did last year. Enough about school.
We have had some water outages...you really take running water for granted, man after the first flush the toilet is out of commission...you can't do dishes or laundry, cooking is difficult... and now we can't drink the water without boiling it. I have started purchasing water despite how crazy that seems. As well I now keep a pail of water beside the toilet so I get an extra flush or two.

On September 11 we had quite the snow storm...yup even a little early for here. Well it snowed enough to knock a bunch of trees over and down some power lines so we were without power from 10 pm to around 4 pm the following day. This was not cool, school was cancelled and I went to Tony and Roseanne's(fellow teachers) and drank coffee for a couple of hours. Then I had the brilliant idea to go out to a place called the Bay and cook on the fire so I could have a nice hot lunch....

Well not the best idea but it made for a memorable day, it was now raining and with a little effort we got an excellent fire going. We spent three hours in the rain cooking and drinking a bit of that special antifreeze amde by Corby's distillers. We hraded home and I must say I was chilled, luckily the power had just come on and I was able to get a hot shower. I did get sick shortly after this....

The weather has improved marginally and we have managed to have a couple of Friday evening picnics at this same spot, but Winter is fast approaching and the daylight is getting less and less.

Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving and I'll be heading to Denare Beach, We get a four day weekend which is nice. I've got some work to do on my truck....carburetor issues, and maybe I'll get a load of wood.

I guess I becoming a boring teacher, not much exciting going on....

G

Sorry for some reason I can't upload the pictures...will try again later

1 comment

No, I'm not Kidding. This is a New Post!!

Thursday, 23. August 2007, 03:33:32

Well sorry faithful blog readers if there are any of you left.. but after the teaching year ended I have focused on relaxing and touring around... so I'll give you a brief review of my first summer vacation as a teacher.

July 4th I flew to Ottawa to spend 11 days with my buddy Aaron, his wife Tameara and their children Pierce and Faith.. it was great , I did however forget my camera so there are no photos of this leg...I went boating/swimming on the Rideau, went to the Hershey factory ...delicious. Sean and his family came up for the weekend and it was all round spectacular.

Leg 2: Victoria Beach no camera still. I love this place, it is on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and I spent 4 glorious days with my buddy Scott and his parents...it wasn't long enough so I vowed to return.

Next stop Winnipeg....I crashed for a couple of days at my good buddy D3's place and attended the union of Blair and Erin. This was a fantastic wedding right in Assiniboine Park..I bought a new camera, however my picture taking skills are still weak. Great wedding great food and I saw my friend Lioz whom I hadn't seen in over a year... I drank way too much and left my car in the park for the night...

Newlyweds: Blair and Erin

Leg 3: Drive to Seattle to visit/pick up my brother.
Day 1 of leg three I was on my way to Lethbridge, Alberta to see friends Terryl and Kim. Man was I feeling rough! Even the Tim Horton's coffee ande breakfast sandwich(bacon) were feeling like they were coming up...the first four hours of the trip were hell. I did make it to Lethbridge, a beautiful city to say the least and although still not feeling great managed to go for a few drinks with Kim and Terryl.

Kim and Terryl in front of their sweet pad in Lethbridge

I was up early the next day and off to Seattle, Right off the bat I was in world famous Brocket, Alberta I smiled and got cheap gas as I headed into the Canadian Rockies. There is so much to see in the mountains, but I had 12 hours of driving ahead so I didn't stop. Most notable thing for me was driving through the "Frank slide", this place was incredible.. for those of you that don't know in the early 1900s a landslide of more than 74 million tonnes buried part of the town killing more than 70. It is pretty amazing. It was a long drive through the panhandle of Idaho and across Washington, but I made it and chilled out in the Seattle area for 5 days.

Turtle mountain after losing 74 million tonnes

Leg 4 Drive to Denare Beach. Adam and I set off and drove up to Banff on the first day, the border guards took our apples and cherries away...Adam is still sad. We spent the night in Banff and the next morning drove back to Lake Loiuse on our way to Jasper. on the road to Jasper we saw a fair amount of wildlife Bighorn Sheep, Elk, Bears, Deer and this delicious looking mountain goat:

Along the way we also stopped and hiked up to the Bow Glacier It was pretty cool and there was a really steep part where we met a 94 year old woman and her son returning from the glacier. That was amazing. I found the hike tough and here was some 94 year living her life to the max, very cool.

River of meltwater from the bow glacier

Adam and I put in a long day ending up spending the night in The Battelfords, Saskatchewan. On Saturday we made it back to Cranberry Portage, Manitoba where my dad was sailing for the weekend and on Sunday we celebrated dad's 60th birthday.

My Dad and brother heading out sailing

So Finally I was back in Denare Beach, relaxing...and that was July 31st

To be continued....

2 comments

I Made It

Tuesday, 3. July 2007, 04:56:06

Well that’s it I have completed my first year of teaching! Looking back over the year, it seems amazing that it is finished. The last few weeks were tough, it was hard to see so many students dropping out and the ones that stuck it out did very poorly for the most part. But it is important to recognize that there were some major improvements over the year. I will be back to work in Sandy Bay starting August 28th again teaching high school math as well as biology…
This is my final SB post for now but I will try to post regarding my summer adventures…

Culture Week/Treaty Day

Culture week was an interesting event, capped off by treaty day. During culture week students were exposed to native culture through displays of native art, workshops on traditional arts such as hide stretching, drum making, birch bark baskets, trap setting and other things. It was pretty cool and I made a birch bark basket with the assistance of one of the elders.

Treaty day was on the Wednesday of culture week and it was quite the event. The status Indians receive 5 dollars every year as part of their treaty agreement. The Union Jack was on display and an RCMP officer decked out in traditional garb shook each individual’s hand as they got their cash. After this was done we had some traditional dancers perform which was great. Many of the dancers are students and the dancing seems to give off a real sense of pride. During culture week we were provided with many meals and I think I need the summer off as a break from all the bannock (fried bread) I ate.

The final couple of weeks were quite busy, school winding down as well as packing up my house. However we did manage some R and R time at a little retreat called “the Boathouse”. This is a great little picnic spot where we would cook supper on a campfire and relax.

The night before I departed was the Graduation ceremony, this was an elaborate event and I wish the students put as much effort into their studies as they did into decorating…wow. It was great to see the turnout for the ceremony and it wasn’t as long as the grads I recall in Flin Flon. I hope some of our grads do some positive things in the future….

Unfortunately the grad turned into a town-wide piss up. My end of town was rocking to a live band until 3 AM. And I was roused at 6 AM to someone knocking on my door… I didn’t answer it but when I peered out my windows there were people everywhere… some fighting, some staggering, some being taken to the drunk tank by our fine RCMP officers. It really wasn’t a great way for me to remember Sandy Bay, I was propositioned, funny story I’ll tell you about it when I see you….saw several fights and was invited to fight which I graciously declined…

Anyway I must say I am definitely ready for a break, it was a long and eventful year, but I am glad I experienced it. It was an eye-opener to say the least. I can't say I'll miss Sandy Bay over the summer but strangely I do look forward to the upcoming year, maybe I just miss the crew that gather at Roger and Marion's on Fridays and other select days....

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Thank goodness for fishing season!!

Friday, 1. June 2007, 04:32:35

Well fishing season started last Saturday, I spent the long weekend at home and it was awesome...great seeing mom and dad as well as my buddies from Wisconsing who came up for their annual Canadian fishing experience...

Now that's a Walleye....

I caught this beauty fishing off shore near my parents home at Beaver Lake, while helping my Mom learn the finer points of fishing. She is a fast learner and it didn't take her long to bring in her first fish, an impressive Northern Pike. A couple of the teachers from here also spent the weekend out at my folks' and it was a good time.

Mom and her first fish....

Despite some poor weather I have managed to go fishing 10 of the first 13 days of fishing season. One of the highlights was going trout fishing at a remote lake with one of the school's caretakers. What a wicked fishing experience, the trout were hungry and I kept 4 beautiful fish which I plan on smoking...

First trout of 2007....Alright!!!

Things ahve been going well in the community, we have had no deaths of any kind in a considerable amount of time (knock on wood please). School is becoming a good routine and my students are working hard and I am finding it more and more rewarding. It was a tough start but I really feel Im have gained the respect of the students. I have decided I will stay here for another year.

Roger with a fine Beaver Lake Jack

Well we are really on the homestretch now and looking back over this blog it is amazing the transition I have made into life up here, an experience that I will never forget, I just hope next year is less dramatic....

G.

Crocus in bloom near Deanare Beach..

5 comments

8 Weeks to go...

Wednesday, 2. May 2007, 04:39:43

Well I have been neglecting my blog, sorry faithful readers...

View of the Churchill River from "the Highrock" in the centre of SB
It has been a very busy few weeks, making a trip to Saskatoon two weeks ago, where I bought a bicycle which I have been ripping around in.
Last weekend we took a group of 15 grade 4 students to Flin Flon for some swimming and to An excellent production of "beauty and the beast" put on by The Flin Flon Arts Council. We spent the night and it was exhausting, but the kids behaved very well.

The school from the "Highrock"

View across the river towards Island Falls Generating Station

So I guess now it is time to decide what my future holds for next year....Spring is awesome around here, rebirth of sorts. The snow has melted but the ice remains. Fishing season will be in full force in three weeks, that will be great.
Over the last week there was a rash of vandalism to peoples vehicles, not mine this time. This is really bad for morale and makes on think if they want to remain here. As well the board has removed our returning bonus, what next?? I have expressed my concern to the superintendent as well as to the Northern Teacher's Association but have heard nothing yet. So I think it is time to consider my options... although I must admit I do feel a strange attachment to Sandy Bay. There are quite a few students I feel a strong commitment to...
These are tough decisions but I plan on putting my resumé out to a couple of places in Nunavut, and hopefully something will open up in the Flin Flon area.

The island of "Island View Restaraunt" Fame

I am open to ideas, but if the board provides some incentives for returning I will probably spend one more year up here. that sounds a bit crazy, Sorry about the louzy blog update

G

4 comments

Spring Break??? Broken Spring.....

Tuesday, 10. April 2007, 01:48:48

Well it’s been a few weeks since my last post, I am on spring break right now chilling out at my parent’s in Denare Beach.

My grandmother passed away last week, which has been tough on the family, but she had a full life and made the most of her time. She was 96 and it is amazing to think about the things she saw in her lifetime, inventions, world wars, space exploration, the atom bomb, McDonald’s…(see previous post). We are having the funeral on Wednesday and it is shaping up to be pretty sweet as far as funerals go. A local choir that Granny particularly enjoyed will be singing, and the local library (which Granny frequented, and had about twenty books all with varying degrees of lateness in her room) will be closing so the staff can attend. I’m going to miss her but really feel lucky that I got to know her over the last few years. She moved here in 2003, and had been in Africa/Britain my whole life.

So my big spring break, or should I say broken spring…
My plans were to head out to Winnipeg to see friends, and rock out with the band this past weekend. I was getting ready to head out Friday morning….
Thursday afternoon I went in to Wal-mart to find GuitarHero for 360, they didn’t have it…as I backed out of my parking spot I heard a loud POP…Thought I had a flat tire?? Nope tire was fine, I started driving and could hear something rubbing, not good. I took it in to the shop and it turns out one of my springs on the front of my car had snapped and dug into my tire, wrecking it. The mechanic told me it would be about a thousand dollar job…..

When I got home feeling bummed that I was not going to Winnipeg, and that my sweet tax return was now going to a mechanic, Buz my dad was checking that thing called the internet (weird I thought the Internet was just a way of exchanging pornography) and found this had been a fairly common occurrence with the Ford Focus. So I took it to the local Ford dealership today and it looks like they will cover the repairs under warranty, and possibly the tire as well. Happy Ending…….

Anyway this week is a good break from teaching, and giving me some time to consider what I am going to do next year, I’ll add a poll so my followers can help with my decision. Take care all and I am trying to reschedule the Winnipeg trip to the not too distant future…

3 comments

McUpdate

Wednesday, 21. March 2007, 03:32:57

Sorry , It has been a while. I was off for the week in Regina at the second annual "Safe School" Conference. I will try to make a post about my trip to Regina.

As for the McDonald's situation....

the owner of the McD's in The Pas sent a letter of apology, as well he generously donated 200 dollars to our basketball team and also gave us a pile of coupons, redeemable at any McD's nationwide. I feel this is considerable compensation as the 27 of us spending around 6 dollars a piece would have only provided around 162 dollars of business to him....I will however happily forfeit my coupons for free McNutrition to my students.

The situation in my opinion was resolved quickly and appropriately, I am satisfied.

Oh yeah the Girl working the till....whatever happened to her??? Well she was reprimanded and will retain her job. I also believe this is an appropriate punishment.

1. This may have been an off day for the young lady, a one time thing...

2. Maybe this will help her to grow into a more accepting individual

3. It is becoming increasingly difficult to staff minimum wage type jobs, and it is probably better for the owner to develop his existing staff...

The newspaper in The Pas wrote two articles regarding our visit, one about the breakfast experience and the other about the success of our teams...

As far as life right now I have been very busy as well as the regular grind, I have been tutoring hours a week and yesterday started teaching adult education in the evening for 5 - 7.5 hours a week. This is a great way to get to know more community members, and it is good to keep busy... two and a half weeks until spring break.....

G

4 comments

Welcome To Fuckin' McDonald's You Indians, Don't You Have a Reservation???

Monday, 12. March 2007, 04:17:05

OK, I hope you find the title offensive, there is a story behind it which I'll get to.

So, Acting VP for four days was quite the experience, the school is still in one piece and it was a real eye-opener to see what all of the staff goes through in an average day. The staff was really great I was worried that there may be some people who would think that I was stepping on toes being a first year teacher in this role. I think they were just happy it wasn't them!!! It was exhausting but I got to know many more students and although I would do this again, I would not want to do it any time soon....

So immediately after the conclusion of day 4 of my administrative duties it was off to the wonderful, hospitable community of The Pas, Manitoba.. We were hosted at one of the middle schools where I slept on the floor of a classroom with 10 laughing, farting boys. It is fun to see these guys get out of town, having a good time.

Saturday morning we rose at 6:45 to head to a fine dining establishment for breakfast so the boys and girls could be at their first games at 8:15... you guessed it, we went to the local Mcdonald's. What follows is an experience that I really can't recreate to properly represent it...

So three groups of us head to McDonald's when I arrive with my vanload of boys, the restaraunt is empty with the exception of six of our group who arrived first... the two coaches are eating and the line of hungry players forms. I'll admit it was long, but this is McD's right??? I was about 6th in line and the girl working the till was flustered, and complaining vocally about us. She told me that we should have phoned ahead, and the hash browns ( which is what most of the kids were ordering) would take 45 minutes. There were two girls working the front and 3 guys doing the cooking.
As she struggled to take orders she then stopped and said to the other girl "we don't have to serve them"... I just wanted to get the players fed, I was tired after not sleeping very well on the floor of the classroom...I was at the till now and said to the girl " I know this is a bit overwhelming, but you can do it" and tried to be supportive... then she asked if we were all eating in, which I confirmed and now she said "NO, you'll make too much of a mess!!!! We don't have to serve you, please leave"...

"excuse me?" I said " Can I speak with the manager"
"I AM THE MANAGER"
"Not good" I thought
"Well could I speak to your boss?"
"I can't give you that information, you all must leave, we are not serving you"
Then out of the blue she says " I'm not a racist, but I don't have to serve you..."
We left realizing our players were not going to be fed...
There were six adults accompanying the team and we were all floored at this behaviour. I really believe there was racism going on here, and it is difficult to describe. the kids were all quiet and well behaved, there was no reason to not serve us...
I wonder if several groups of people show up independently if they just shut down once a certain number is reached...??
Talking afterwards one of the other employees was heard making comments about this not being a reserve... this blows my mind!!
Well I headed over to A&W with the boys and we were served with no complaint and made it to the game on time... there were only 3 people working at A&W!!!
The basketball was a great success with the boys winnig the A side and the girls coming second in their A side!!!
The local newspaper heard about the McDonald's incident and talked to one of the chaperones, as well one of the councillors for The Pas Indian Band, OCN caught wind of this and along with the band owned Kikiwak Inn gave the whole lot of us a free supper at the restaraunt. This was fantastic, and really helped to soften the feelings we had after our morning experience. The newsman also interviewed me about the big win, as I was one of the coaches, that was cool.

We got back to Sandy Bay at 11:30 PM and I had a great sleep, had Newfie dinner over at Roger and Marion's and chilled out for most of the day. I am off to Regina on Tuesday for a "Safe School" conference, but will be back for the weekend.

We will be sending letters to McDonald's Canada, the mayor of the Pas, as well as the owner of the Pas McDicks to complain and show gratitude to the Band for their hospitality...

I'll leave you with a joke a local guy told me...

Why did white guys go to the moon?????

To see if Indians had any land up there.....

Take care all,

8 comments

"Mr. Trevor, are you a big deal?"..."no I'm just acting"

Tuesday, 6. March 2007, 04:02:36

So starting tomorrow, myself and a colleague will be the acting administration for the next four days. Our admin is gone out of town for their divisional admin meetings and I have been selected to be acting vice-principal for grades 6-12. Barb will be the acting VP for K-5. I know it sounds nuts but, the current administration figure I am the person for the job.... so keep your fingers crossed that it is a good week.

Roger and Rob out on Barrier Lake

So on the weekend my Bro( friend in SB talk), Roger and I headed out to Barrier Lake, for some relaxation and ice fishing. Well the fishing was slow but the relaxing was very nice. Rob our fellow teacher who resides out in this expanse of paradise, has lived in the area off and on since 1972 and we heard many a tale of his life and times up here. It was fairly uneventful, but a very enjoyable time. What is cool about Rob's place is he has a computer with internet as well as satellite tv and a telephone, all in the middle of basically nowhere. He runs everything on a small powerplant and really lives very comfortably. Pretty cool to say the least, I will be making more trips out there in the future....

Camp Shukin

OK, so how is the community doing? This is a difficult question to answer, and I feel that things are basically unchanged. Last week we had the media and provincial government in to discuss the community issues and according to a couple of attendees I spoke with, it was an emotional time with much fingerpointing, and little was accomplished...

My take... if it is worth anything.
1. There is nothing for young people to do in Sandy Bay
In many ways I agree with this statement. However, when the average of of this community is 18, and I am consistently getting 4 or 5 students in classes with enrollments of 27, I disagree. There are many school age individuals not even registered for school. To move forward education must be valued, or this cycle will continue.
It has been determined that the best way to give young people something to do is to build a youth centre, getting youth involved in the design and construction. This is a great idea but the resources for this type of project will take time, what do we do in the mean time? I see kids outside playing road hockey, sliding and using the gym in the evenings. This seems like they have things to do; the same things young people have done for generations
I think the major problems in Sandy Bay are social issues, like, unemployment/unemployability, alcohol, drugs, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, neglect. The same problems faced by people in virtually every community in Canada, but it seems to be magnified here.
There is no quick fix but we must value our youth, and help them to realize their value. I don't know how we can heal these wounds and combat these problems but it must be in our minds everyday. My collaborating teacher last year said something to the students that stuck with me, it is sort of "Bill and Ted"ish but it is a good place to start:
"BE DECENT TO EACH OTHER"

I uploaded some more pictures to the photo album
G

4 comments

Winter Break...Over

Monday, 26. February 2007, 02:03:57

Well that's it my winter break is over and I was sick for most of it....
I changed the thermostat in my truck, it is good to have heat again. Despite being sick it was a very relaxing time in Denare Beach with mom and the dogs. I brought Munchkin the cat along, she keeps the dogs on their toes.

Mom and I watched a couple of movies over the break, which I will give you my thoughts on:

The Last King of Scotland
Wow, Forest Whitaker was awesome.... an interesting, fictional account of Idi Amin's rise and fall in Uganda. A powerful movie, which made on think....Idi Amin was a regular guy to start with, but did the position of power and the danger that came with that position bred paranoia and changed who he was??? I don't think he fulfilled his initial intentions.. its tough being a dictator. Very good movie.

Casino Royale
Pretty cool movie, the love story was ridiculous and turned me off. But this is a bad boy Bond and I'm sure this was, the Bond movie most enjoyed by women....isn't Bond supposed to be a man's movie? The car wreck scene was awesome, and the initial chase scene was crazy. Not a bad movie but the gadgets were lacking....

Stranger Than Fiction
This was a really good movie as well, not your typical Will Ferrell. The concept was really cool, The Truman Show on a different level. You have to watch it to appreciate it and I think Maggie Gyllenhaal is super hot....

Anyway we are having a school wide suicide intervention training tomorrow and Tuesday, which I believe is open to community members as well. As well there has been attention of the media as well as some provincial and national Native leaders. here are a couple of links:

Saskatoon News Report

Edmonton News Report

This problem is definitely not unique to Sandy Bay, and there is no "quick fix". I really hope some lasting positives come from this difficult time.