Terry Fox Spirit

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Mrs. Boekhout

Like so many people all around the world, we participated in a Terry Fox Run to show our support for the need to find a cure for cancer. Actually, our school has grown so much in the last couple years that we had 3 separate runs!

Almost everyone in the class knew someone in their family or a family friend who has had cancer. Some were lucky enough to survive but many did not. We all thought about who we were running for. Mrs. Boekhout had three special people to run for this year. Dear Mrs. Raabe, a past Nestor teacher and a personal mentor for Mrs. Boekhout, sadly lost her 2 1/2 year battle this year; Ashley Brear, the 20 year old daughter of a fellow teacher, who still managed to create a wonderful annual fund raiser called “Keep on Swimming”; and Brekke Harrison, one of Mrs B’s students who dearly hoped to get to go to grade 3 (and she did!), you can see her special plaque in our Sanctuary courtyard.

Running around the school or making donations (we collected over $55 in our class!) are not the only ways we can honor the memory of Terry Fox though. It was the SPIRIT of this brave young man that we should keep with us! No matter what we are doing, we should always TRY OUT BEST!

Mr. Della Vedova taught the school a special song to remember Terry’s spirit. When Terry was asked how he could possibly run when it was so difficult, he replied, “A step at a time, a mile at a time, a corner at a time, just take another step and keep on going! ”

What great spirit!

P1030737 from Nora Boekhout on Vimeo.

First Nations Talking Circle

Posted on September 16, 2012 by Mrs. Boekhout

We were pleased to welcome First Nations presenters, Dawn and Lori, to our classroom last week. We were priviledged to hear some of their personal stories, as well as share our own. We learned that humans are given 2 eyes for looking, 2 ears for listening, but only 1 mouth for talking… because we should WATCH and LISTEN twice as often as we SPEAK! Dawn wore her beautiful button blanket coat. Her cedar bark hat had a real eagle feather on it!

Trust, Honor, and Respect are very important words… and we made the connection with our own “Nestor Pride” motto, to be eNcouraging, rEsponsible, Safe, Trustworthy, hOnest, and Respectful! We took 4 turns around the Talking Circle, each one with a different focus. In the center of the circle was a magic fire that we made burn with our imagination and by rubbing our hands really fast!

East is the color yellow signifying new beginnings. It is the time of the Child; a time of learning and fun. South is the color black. It is the time of the Young Warrior. Our teens have the hardest time in life. It is the time when you need to listen and walk with the Earth Mother. West is the color red. The time of the Warrior is a time of responsibility and a time of protection and patience. North is the color white, which honours the Elders. It is a time of humour and understanding… a time of wisdom and a time of understanding that wisdom is a gift of birth not always earned with age. (Thank you, Dawn, for emailing me this lovely explanation!)

We waited with patience for each student to speak, or to choose not to speak. Everyone got to take a special stone from the rabbit fur bag and we each got a “magic pencil” that reflected our warmth by changing color when we held it. We learned about being thankful for what you have got, and not asking for something more or something different.

At the end of our time together, Dawn even let Mrs. Boekhout wear the special button blanket and hat! Then she gave our class a REAL Talking Stick made out of rabbit fur and deer skin. Mrs. Boekhout is going to use it with her ladybug “gratitude stone” for the weekly class meeting!

THANK YOU, Dawn and Lori,
You shared your First Nations heritage with us
and we learned about the cycles of the great Earth Mother
and we learned lessons of patience and respect for others.

Taekwon-do “Black Belt Attitude”

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Mrs. Boekhout

FOCUS! SHOW RESPECT! SET GOALS!

You might think this is the front page of a School Planner, but it was actually part of a Martial Arts lesson on getting better grades in school! Recently, we had an exciting visit from Mr. Reinelt of Triumph Taekwon-do and he introduced us to the “Black Belt Attitude“!

We learned about listening with your eyes, your body, and your mind! Respect is one of the most important parts of Taekwon-do and no one… NO ONE… uses Taekwon-do if they are just mad at someone. It is for self-defense only. Some of the steps to improving yourself are to: focus, be organized, set goals, try your best, and use teamwork.

Mr. Reinelt showed everyone how to do a proper “snap-kick” and then we had a competition between 2 students to see who could kick the most high kicks in a minute! It was a tie! We practiced our jumping up and ducking down by trying to escape the DREADED YELLOW NOODLES! Oh my! Then we practiced teamwork in a game called Pass the Pizza!

It was a LOT of fun and laughing but we learned a lot too! Maybe some of us might even join Taekwon-do! It would take a LONG time to become a 6th degree Black Belt like Mr. Reinelt though!!! http://www.triumphtkd.com/instructors.html