Feeling Thankful...

With Thanksgiving on the horizon (and with it, a couple of much needed days off of work!), our conversations have gravitated towards what we are thankful for in life and in our present situation, and at the top of the list is our principal, Shannon. You may have noticed that our posts do not reveal much about the school, our students, or what goes on in our classrooms, and that's mostly because we're trying to find that balance where we can be honest about the situation without being overly negative or pessimistic. Despite the tranquility and beauty of the scenery and our village's namesake, there are some unique, well-entrenched challenges here in Goodnews ~ both at school and in the village. We've had our share of frustrating days where we question what we're doing here.
However, we've also taken stock of the progress that has been made from the first day of school until now and that helps put the bad days in a more proper perspective. Last week, for some reason, was chalk full of those bad days, and we can't help but share one event with you, one that left us feeling very thankful for our principal.

Warning: Name(s) have been changed to protect the guilty.

As we said above, last week was a very difficult week in a number of ways. Our students were highly emotional, disagreeable, and at times defiant. This happened across the board, from Kindergarten through high school. Last Thursday, our principal, Shannon, had a meeting with one of the high school students, Jim, who had missed the last week and a half of school (and plenty of days before that as well) to let him know that he had failed his classes due to absences and was going to be placed on a credit recovery track, in which he would spend his day on the computer instead of in class with his peers. Jim didn't like this, so he got up, left the principal's  office, and proceeded to spray the walls of the hallway with coffee from his mug. When Shannon quickly followed him out to contain the situation,  Jim took off his shoes and threw them at her. He then came at her to attack, but at that moment, our VPSO (Village Police Safety Officer), who happened to be dropping his daughter off for school, grabbed Jim from behind. As the VPSO held him back, Jim swung at Shannon's face, missing her by mere inches. As Shannon recounted the story to me later, she said that she didn't flinch or turn away as Jim swung at her, because she wanted to let him know that she couldn't be intimidated and that she wasn't afraid of him. The VPSO restrained Jim and quickly escorted him out of the building. The ASB (our version of the PTA, except they have much more power) is meeting this week on whether to agree to Shannon's recommendation to have Jim expelled. Without a principal with strength and resolve like Shannon has, this place would simply fall down around us. We're very thankful for her leadership!

Last weekend, Gary took me with him to check his black fish traps by the lakes out past the school, where there are endless streams and ditches that connect the bay to the ponds and lakes.  

No blackfish, but you can see the tiny muskrat he caught.  I used this opportunity to find places to set my traps for mink, muskrat, and otter. 

Gary clearing a path to place one of his blackfish traps.

Thanks to my dad and Russ Slade for lending me some trapping supplies. 

A unique catch-within-a-catch! My trapping season started out strong with this catch, but with 7 straight days of rain, things have been slow lately. Weather-wise, it's been an unusual winter here so far, at least according to the elders. It's been in the mid 40s for about a week now, and we haven't really had any snow yet.