Hay River
Judiths last update mentioned we were going to Hay River (although that update was in Dutch). We went with the outdoor soccer teams of Sir John Franklin High to support them, and, of course, to see a bit more of the Northwest Territories. We had quite a luxurious weekend, since we didn’t have to drive with the school bus with all the students, neither did we need to sleep on a small and thin matrass on the floor in the school in Hay River. Rather than that, we went by car with one of the teachers, Alan, followed by a huge trailer with all the bags and equipment of the kids, and did we sleep in a hotel. We didn’t bring any matrasses or sleeping bags from home, so the hotel seemed like the option to go for. As it turned out, we could have borrowed them from Alan, but since we already had reserved the hotel, we sticked with that. What a punishment, eh? 😉
Hay River is somewhat like a 5-6 hour drive from Yellowknife. Alan promised we would see a lot of wildlife, but the gods of nature thought 1 bison would suffice for us. Apart from that we had a wonderful trip, a nice picknick on the way getting there, beautiful weather, stunning sceneries. We will upload a whole bunch of pictures shortly. Be aware: we have about 400 pictures, so it may turn out to become quite an album, even after picking the nice ones.
About the soccer (in Canada)
When we arrived, the boys had to play immediately, so we unpacked quickly and went to the field. Soccer in Canada, or football, is becoming quite popular and it is quite a popular sport at SJF High. Our teams had the most players on it. Some communities even had to send mixed teams in order to get enough players. This has more to do with the amount of people living in those communities than the popularity of the sport. However, since it is winter for 7-8 months a year here, the season in which outdoor soccer is played is rather short. The indoor season on the contrary has a lot of teams, players and matches. Indoor soccer here is played with 5 players; 1 goaltender and 4 field players. The influence of indoor soccer was clear on the field.
Let me be short, rather than explaining everything that I saw on the field in full detail: the boys team, with quite some egos in it, had the tactical level of an average team of 11-12 year olds in NL. The boys all wanted to be striker (which you would expect in a team of 6-7 year olds, in which you learn that there is no “I” in team and that all positions in a team matter). But, since the other teams kind of had the same tactical views and striker issues, and SJF had by far the highest individual qualities, the boys had a walk-over tournament. They won all their matches, with at times quite some impressive numbers. The intent of a Dutch saying that applies to this, would quite literally translated state that “In the land of the blind, a cyclops would be their king”. Still, the fight they put up at times and the fact we were there to support them made non of their matches boring.
The girls team however played as a team and made quite an impression on me, with at times nice play and nice goals. On average their matches were by far more enjoyable to watch. They had quite some competition but managed to win the tournament as well.
Showers, wind and cold
On Saturday we had severe showers and windy conditions in the afternoon. After the match of the girls we were soaked. Not a single fiber of clothing on our body was dry. Alan had some rain jackets and rain coats on the truck, which made it possible for him and myself to see the boys’ match. Judith went back to the hotel for a hot bath, since the combination of rain and wind really cooled us down badly. Alan and I went there after the match to enjoy a warm shower as well. (No complaints from him there about our hotelroom, since the showers in the school were cold 90% of the time 😉 ) We went back for dinner (which was provided for us, since we were supervisors) and went to a local bar for wine, whiskey and Grand Marnier afterwards.
The trip back
It seemed the gods of natures wanted to get on good terms with us again, because our trip back to Yellowknife was a true safari. We saw:
- about 40 bisons
- a wolf (pretty rare to see them on the road this time of year)
- a black bear, which crossed the road about 50 meters in front of the truck
Pictures will be provided. But it was truly awesome. Bisons are magnificent beasts, especially the lone big bulls we encountered! The bear was spectacular to see, running quite fast after he spotted us.
Alan
During this weekend, Alan was our tourguide and told us a lot about the history of the NWT, about where he had lived and taught, about the wildlife, about soccer…. We had a great weekend, which was for a huge part because of his efforts. So far we’ve encountered so many people that took time to show us around, tell us stories, show genuine interest in us. It is great! Todat (Tuesday) he invited Judith and me into one of his classes, since he had a guest speaker, the NWT Commissioner, who also is an Elder. He turned out to be a enjoyable person, gifted speaker, with a lot of stories and experiences he shared with the students. Despite the fact it was the fourth and last period, running from 14.05-15.30, he almost had the complete attention of the students for the entire time. Quite an accomplishment.
I got to teach!!
Monday, I was in the Chemistry 30 class again. Quite hardcore chemistry, which was fun. Ed (the teacher of this class and vice principal) and I found some topics the kids did not master fully. And he proposed, since I suggested an approach for next class, that I could do it. So my Monday afternoon and most of Monday night I spent doing some research (I had never taught this particular topic in chemistry before, since it is at a higher level than I normally teach) and making a cool slideshow, which combined a small lecture with some peer-instructions and drawing assigments in it. The drawing was because this part of organice chemistry involved 3D structures of molecules to determine the different effects of different 3D structures on physical behaviour of these compounds.
For my more chemical educated friends: it dealt with the effects of London dispersion forces in all organic compounds, the dipole-dipole interactions and steric hindrance that may come with (cis/trans) isomery, with a focus on the influence those have on boiling and melting point of a compound.
For my less chemical educated friends: it was cool, I managed to bring them from not knowing how to predict some behaviour of molecules to a point in which almost all could do so. I also used way cool 3D images of molecules.
I got an applause, need to get rid of that soonish since I want to be a “normal” teacher, not some guest speaker / attraction, but to be honest: that was quite nice, as was their attitude during my small lecture. I even got some students approaching me afterwards saying they enjoyed it and found the 3D models to be really, really insightful. I think it is understandable I had to restrain myself from not skipping and dancing my way through the school. Before the class I had the regular “first-time-teaching-after-a-holiday-nerves” and some nerves since it was my first time teaching in a language other than Dutch. So I was glad I was able to do it and on top of that managed to make a good effort in doing it.
Good efforts open doors
My first time teaching didn’t go unnoticed. Some reactions / effects:
- Ed: “Nice, the 3D structures did clarify a lot, nice to see you said quite a few things I already said and somehow felt they didn’t see the importance of. You repeating it puts an emphasis on it, so they see it is really important.”
- Science department head: “Yeah, I already saw a handout of your slideshow. ” (I have no clue how?!) ” I didn’t know you were in for that. If you want, you can teach in more classes.”
- Principal: “Nice! We can use as a sub you when Ed needs to go to a convention!”
So that is so cool! I am very excited and looking forward to more teaching experiences and will keep you all updated! And make sure you keep an eye out for the pictures of the Hay River weekend, they are awesome!