Where SMART is spelled with an R

Another installment that seems much too late.  Unfortunately there will be no new pictures today.  I would love to show some from my school, but I am more cognizant of putting my students' faces on the internet. 

We are absolutely loving it out here!  The community, house, and work all feel like home.  We are obviously missing loved ones back home, but for right now, this is where we are supposed to be.  I have 25 students (11 Grade 6, 11 Grade 7, and 3 Grade 8 students).  The automatic respect for staff, each other, and most importantly self is much more evident.  Most of the students want to learn and achieve high marks.  I am also learning Saskatchewan's educational practices as some things are drastically different.  For example, no marks are given for assignments or assessments.  Instead a MABEI scale is given out.  Meeting, Approaching, Beginning, Experiencing difficulties, and Insufficient Evidence.  Instead of handing out 9/10s or C+, students receive one of the 5 letters.  As well, each outcome is assessed.  As an example, Math has 14 outcomes for the year.  By the end of the grade, each outcome will have been assessed.  In Ontario, Math has five strands and students are given broad assessment results each term.  All in all, it is very quick and provides a more accurate picture of all aspects of learning.  The one area that has been heavily criticized is that nothing denotes work or learning above expectation.  Meeting is the highest achievement the student can achieve.

Our home life is becoming more settled.  Almost all of rooms have been painted and we have attempted to personalize each area.  Claire, after three long years of waiting, finally has her scrapbooking area set up (*sorry Dad about not bringing the desk out yet).  Edgar has been loving our fenced in backyard.  We have also finally purchased and picked up our new vehicle.  We now own a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe.  It is a very nice vehicle and we are pleased at our purchase. 

As mentioned, I do not have any photos, but I can share a few stories from the first month.  One of my students is bright, and I don't mean just, "she writes neat and knows her multiplication table."  My first day I had the students think of questions they wanted to ask.  Most thought, "What is your favourite subject?/How old are you?"  But this girl asked, "Do you consider yourself to be an organized person?"  Word for word.  Who talks like that?  A few weeks later, during our Questioning Unit, I had the students think of three random questions.  After collecting them and typing them up I randomly handed them back out for the students to find its answers and complete a short presentation on their findings.  Again, most asked, "Why is the sky blue?/When was the first hockey game?/Why is grass green?"  Instead this girl inquired, "Why are there wars when nations can just peacefully talk?/Why in a world of technological advancements, are people still dying from ordinary things?" 

I would love to post this picture, but it is what it is.  There is a young student named Gunner who wears a western outfit on a routine basis.  He isn't the only one as many students regularly wear cowboy boots with spurs, cowboy hats and jeans to school on a daily basis.  This particular student has several shirts that remind me of old pictures/movies from the 70s.  He wears them as they were designed too, with the first two/three buttons undone. 

One of the new opportunities this position has for me is to coach a school team.  With our small school size there are not a lot of team opportunities, but I have volunteered to be the Girls Volleyball coach.  Just like everything else, I am loving it.  Working with the girls has been an excellent way to connect with them, as well as with their parents.  On a bit of a selfish note too, I am feeling more at home being connected with competitive sports again.  It has definitely been too long. 

Until another day, Goodnight and Goodluck.

Carievale, Saskatchewan

Not to much new to report here. We went for a walk tonight and took some pictures of the town so everyone could visualize where we are living. 

This is a picture of the two churches in town. The one on the right is a United church and the one on the left is an Anglican church. 

This is the school. It is small, but Greg loves it. We can see the school from our house as it is at the very end of the street. 

This is one of the two grain elevators in town.

This is a picture of the main street in town. There two grain elevators on it and a few businesses. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses have closed. 

This is the sign the train sees as they enter Carievale. The train comes through a few times a day. Love hearing stuff go on in town.

And this is our humble abode, on the corner of Pacific and Bishop. We really like it although it is very old and needs A LOT of work.

School

Well it is about time that I posted something about my new experiences at school.  I am absolutely loving everything about it.  The students are great and the staff are very welcoming, even though there is only 10 of us (including secretary and EAs).  It has been really refreshing to get into this school and work in a different setting. 

As for the community, we are really loving it too.  Everyone is friendly and has made sure we feel welcome here.  We have enjoyed going to church and meeting all 30 attendees.  Claire, along with another woman, will be running the Bible Story time for the children's program this year. 

A bit of exciting news...we are officially Saskatchewan residents.  We went and surrendered our Ontario licences and purchased Saskatchewan plates and insurance.  For those that don't know Saskatchewan has public insurance, SGI.  In all, our insurance and yearly sticker cost just below $90/month for our Pontiac Pursuit.  Not bad considering I was at 100% fault when we got into our accident in Winnipeg. 

Well there are no pictures today, but we are going to take some photos this weekend and post them at some point.

Ending Summer with a BANG!!!

Well summer has come to an end! We had a great summer. We went on many vacations camping, cottaging and just hanging out with family and friends. We also celebrated Sawyer's first birthday. However now we are off on a new adventure. We are becoming Westerners and are moving to a small town (about 240 people) in Saskatchewan called Carievale. 

We already really like Carievale and are looking forward to seeing what this place holds for us. Unfortunately, it has been quite the adventure getting here. We shipped our belongings her on August 10th and were told they should be here by August 22. The box did not end up arriving in Winnipeg until two days later. We are now being told that our box will not arrive until September 5 or 6th. So the only belongings we have with us is what we could fit in our vehicles (which is not much considering we are moving here). The U-Haul company has decided they are going to charge us a new fee every time we turn around or talk to them. So this process has cost us a lot more money. They also told Greg that when they bring the box to us they are only letting us have an hour or two with it and that I will have to unload it. Now this is all fine and dandy but I have a one year old running around and Greg is working so unloading this box is not going to be the easiest thing and many of its contents are too heavy for me to lift on my own. We are in the process of talking to them so hopefully something will work out. All I know is I would not recommend U-Haul to help you with moving ANYTHING!

On top of our stuff not being here. We are now dealing with insurance companies and trying to figure out what to do with our RAV. We unfortunately got t-boned in Winnipeg on the way here. No one was hurt, thankfully. So this week has been spent figuring out what they are going to do with our vehicle. It is being said that they are probably going to be writing it off. We are hoping we hear this week so we can take the next step with our vehicle. 

So far we are loving Carievale. It is very small town and for those of you who have ever watched Corner Gas, it is exactly like that. People have helped us so much since our stuff is not here. Lending us pots and pans. Buying us groceries. Giving us a bag of meat and lending us a table. Their generosity has been so encouraging. We are living in the oldest house in Carievale. 111years old. I absolutely love it. However it does need some work, but it has so much character. I will post pictures of the house and the work we have done on the house at a later date. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer and for those of you that are returning to school I hope you have an awesome school year. 

 This is a picture of our last night in Niagara. We had an amazing evening with my siblings. So much fun going to the Butterfly Conservatory, out for dinner and playing tourist around Niagara Falls! Love these guys so much. Shout out to ROB. We MISSED you!!!

 This is our RAV after it was hit. So sad. It looks awful on the outside but I kid you not when I say it does not look like anything happened on the inside. Only the air bag out makes is look different.

 Sawyer playing outside on out deck. She loves playing in the big backyard, but I think it is Edgar who likes it more. he loves to bask in the sun on the deck during the day.

 Welcome to SASKATCHEWAN!

Sawyer hanging out on the couch one morning! I honestly just thought it was a really cute picture of her.

Heartbroken

We are heartbroken today. We got the devastating news this morning that one of our students in Deer Lake, one that Greg taught this year in Grade 8, died yesterday. He was thirteen years old and he hung himself.
This student is one you would never expect to do anything like this. He ALWAYS had a smile on his face. He always stopped to talk to you. He loved Sawyer and always wanted to give her lots of kisses and talk with her. This student went to church every week, he was a christian, sang in front of the church. He went to visit and talk with the Elders of the community. He loved to hunt and fish and play his guitar. This is what we saw on the outside, obviously no one in Deer Lake realized that there was a lot of hurt going on on the inside.
I am shocked, sad, heartbroken, numb. I feel awful for Greg who spent 5 days a week 7 hours a day with this boy. Please pray for Greg and I, Deer Lake and this boys family as we grieve the loss of this special boy.

Father's Day

Well, it is my first Father's Day and I am disappointed it is being spent thousands of kilometres away.  It is because of Sawyer that this day means something extra special for me this year, and I can't hold her, kiss her, and tell her how much I love her.  But that is one of many sacrifices I (and Claire) have made with living in Deer Lake the past three years. 

The last week I spent leading the Grade 8s on their yearly graduation trip to Toronto and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I couldn't imagine a better way to end my tenure in Deer Lake, than to spend quality time with my students and fellow chaperones.  As much as there is too much work and responsibility on the leader, I wouldn't give up the chance to experience Toronto with the students.  Everyone had fun, stayed safe, and created lasting memories that will be talked about for years to come. 

Last month, Claire had the opportunity to create a blog about what Mother's Day means to her.  I decided to take the similar challenge and spend some time (got nothing but) this day to write what Father's Day means to me. 

The whole world changes when you become a father.  As we were getting ready for Sawyer to come, many people would say things to prepare us for a child.  "Better get your sleep now" "You'll always be tired" "Won't have time for yourself."  Many of these things are true, but as for most things in life, it is all about how you see things.  I do get less sleep now, but it is because I am spending more time with Sawyer.  I do feel more tired, but it is because I am chasing after my giggling daughter.  I do watch less sports, but it is because I can't take my eyes off of her.  You see, life does change and it may, no it will get hard, but there is nothing greater in the world than being a father. 

Why I Love being a father, in no particular order (except #1, it is the best):
1) When Sawyer gets up from a nap and you peek your head in the door, to see Sawyer jump up and have the world's greatest smile.  The smile is the best part.  Knowing she has a grin from ear to ear JUST because she sees you.  You don't need to say anything or have a gift or do anything.  Your presence alone is what makes her day. 
2) The ability to provide for my family.  Being able to provide for oneself is a great thing and being able to provide for a family means so much more. 
3)  When giving Sawyer her bottle, she will cuddle with you.  Before Claire and Sawyer left for home, Sawyer fell asleep on my chest for the first time.  What a magical feeling. 
4)  Sawyer's dance.  Seeing her move her legs when music is played.
5)  Sawyer's infectious laugh.  At times, especially at night, she will walk around the house and just laugh and make sounds.
6)  The future.  I am looking forward to spending time with Sawyer as she grows up and being able to help her through life's challenges.
7)  Buying clothes.  Seems weird right.  But being able to buy pink Toronto Blue Jay shirts and hats is pretty awesome.  Pink has never been my colour.
8)  Sawyer's Kisses.  They will make your day.
9)  Watching Sawyer love life.  I know it will change, but for now, just now, Sawyer has no problems with the world.  She is not concerned about friends, boys, and other worldly problems.  All she wants right now is you and your attention.  And believe me, my eyes are glued to her. 
10)  Completeness.  Sawyer is the smallest member of my family.  Family.  With Claire, myself, the little munchkin (and even Edgar) we are a family.  This is it, this is the start to my family. 

We're On the Move!

So it is official. This Martin family is making a move, as of the end of August we will be living in Saskatchewan. Carievale, Saskatchewan. We are really excited about this move and the new opportunities we will have. We have also found a place to live, which is great. Everything seems to be following into place.