Jacob is in the middle wearing a sweater and brown pants. Hannah is second from the right watching as her classmate ties himself up in the flexi-stick. Doubtless she is disapproving.
Hannah is on the far right. Jacob is in there somewhere. And this man asked me to capture his hair in a photo essay. I had to oblige.
This is the french song. The kids all stomped their feet together but Jacob was the only student who felt the need to stand each time that the stomping occurred. (He is about to stand in this shot.) This led to his shirt becoming untucked which then led to a re-tucking on stage, front and center.I've been a little lax with the blogging lately as my new garage is filled with boxes that, in turn, are filled with unknown objects. I was really good at labelling boxes during the summer's move but now I find myself guessing as to which of the two labels I should believe - cutlery or books? The house is coming together and we are scheduled to pick up a Christmas tree tomorrow. Whether that tree is freshly cut or from the snow-covered lot in front of the grocery store still remains to be decided. My guess is that tomorrow's activities will be mainly guided by what the weather office is officially calling Snowmageddon. (Footnote: I noticed that Snowmageddon had made the Yahoo news page along with surgeons who had found, surprise, surprise, feet growing in some one's brain. I tried to follow the link but the elephant of a computer that I'm working on didn't seem to want to go to the operating room.)
So, some highlights from the new digs? This town is Polish, very Polish. Have I ever mentioned that I knew exactly one Polish person outside of Pope John Paul II before meeting Dave? At mass on Sunday (said by a Polish priest), Jacob leaned over and whispered (not in sotto voce), "What is this strange speaking all about?" After mass, when he overheard two elderly women speaking Polish, he asked me if we were the only English speakers in the parish. Also, the 'contemporary' choir at our new church was a strange juxtaposition to the aforementioned priest. I really wish that those who choose to use tambourines and shakers were made to sign some sort of contract in which their sense of rhythm had to be verified by suitable and outside authorities.
Hmmm, what else? Oh yes, we were without a phone for the first few days as Bell had managed to hook up our line to that of our neighbour's. The result was that when we answered the phone we could, if we so chose, listen to our neighbour's conversations. Instead of such an intrusion, we just stopped answering our phone as it was never for us and the neighbours always answer after two rings. Really, they do. It was all sort of freeing...
Jacob and Hannah had their Christmas concert on Tuesday night. I took pictures but all the lights were out so I just aimed as best as I could and managed to capture other people's children and the heads of various audience members. It was a strange Christmas concert. J and H had informed me beforehand that they were performing a very boring routine with sticks on their fingers. It turned out that they were holding glow-in-the-dark flexi-sticks that they were supposed to move according to the words in the song. The teacher must have realised that this wouldn't be the result. The pleasers in the crowd followed the teacher's cues while the other personalities showed up quickly as the lights dimmed in the school gym. I couldn't take my eyes off of the child who was alternating between wrapping himself in the flexi-stick and twirling it at an astonishing rate that had me worrying about Hannah's safety who was positioned next to him. J and H had also told me that they would be singing a song called "Kanapatawata". This had put me in mind of "Mighty Gitchimanitou" and I thought that I would enjoy some Native-influenced Christmas songs. No, it turns out that my children are not excelling at SK French as they were actually singing a song called "Quand le pere Noel".
The rest of the evening was a little strange as the grade fours' contribution was a pre-recorded political debate between two boys in shirt and tie. My mother-in-law told me that she really enjoyed that performance. I smiled and nodded. The night ended with a dance by the grade eight girls. Oh no. The minute I heard that announced I wanted to dive for cover as somehow the principal had failed to veto the techno beats and sexual gyrations of her oldest female students. What a way to end a school concert. Maybe a Polish carol would have been a better choice.
So, some highlights from the new digs? This town is Polish, very Polish. Have I ever mentioned that I knew exactly one Polish person outside of Pope John Paul II before meeting Dave? At mass on Sunday (said by a Polish priest), Jacob leaned over and whispered (not in sotto voce), "What is this strange speaking all about?" After mass, when he overheard two elderly women speaking Polish, he asked me if we were the only English speakers in the parish. Also, the 'contemporary' choir at our new church was a strange juxtaposition to the aforementioned priest. I really wish that those who choose to use tambourines and shakers were made to sign some sort of contract in which their sense of rhythm had to be verified by suitable and outside authorities.
Hmmm, what else? Oh yes, we were without a phone for the first few days as Bell had managed to hook up our line to that of our neighbour's. The result was that when we answered the phone we could, if we so chose, listen to our neighbour's conversations. Instead of such an intrusion, we just stopped answering our phone as it was never for us and the neighbours always answer after two rings. Really, they do. It was all sort of freeing...
Jacob and Hannah had their Christmas concert on Tuesday night. I took pictures but all the lights were out so I just aimed as best as I could and managed to capture other people's children and the heads of various audience members. It was a strange Christmas concert. J and H had informed me beforehand that they were performing a very boring routine with sticks on their fingers. It turned out that they were holding glow-in-the-dark flexi-sticks that they were supposed to move according to the words in the song. The teacher must have realised that this wouldn't be the result. The pleasers in the crowd followed the teacher's cues while the other personalities showed up quickly as the lights dimmed in the school gym. I couldn't take my eyes off of the child who was alternating between wrapping himself in the flexi-stick and twirling it at an astonishing rate that had me worrying about Hannah's safety who was positioned next to him. J and H had also told me that they would be singing a song called "Kanapatawata". This had put me in mind of "Mighty Gitchimanitou" and I thought that I would enjoy some Native-influenced Christmas songs. No, it turns out that my children are not excelling at SK French as they were actually singing a song called "Quand le pere Noel".
The rest of the evening was a little strange as the grade fours' contribution was a pre-recorded political debate between two boys in shirt and tie. My mother-in-law told me that she really enjoyed that performance. I smiled and nodded. The night ended with a dance by the grade eight girls. Oh no. The minute I heard that announced I wanted to dive for cover as somehow the principal had failed to veto the techno beats and sexual gyrations of her oldest female students. What a way to end a school concert. Maybe a Polish carol would have been a better choice.
2 comments:
I have to say, I laughed out loud when I read the translation of "Kanapatawata". If it's any consolation, Justin was not much younger than the twins and still butchering English songs: "Baa baa black sheep, nenny nenny wooooool!"
Elena, as a former primary school teacher, I agree the principal should have previewed a "rehearsal" of this Gr. 8 performance. Unfortunately they often don't have the time. Also, it is indicative of what these kids are allowed to do in their homes, etc. They are products of today's mass media, videos, movies,"Much Music" and the like. I would say that most parents "condone" their kids' actions by simply not interfering and not being aware of the behaviour and pastimes of their
responsibilities. The onus is on the parents and regretfully, this is not happening in today's society.
Post a Comment