Blogs from Fort Hope, Ontario, Canada, North America

There have been times in my life when I have felt busy, sure. Stressed? Yeah, definitely. All of that pales in comparison to the beginning of school for a first year teacher. While I count my blessings that I am entering into my first professional year in a community that I am familiar with, I did not anticipate the hectic, overwhelming workload that would greet me! The key word for getting through this year with my mental health intact will be balance. Balancing how much time I spend at work or thinking about work (desperately needing to cut back on the workaholic-like hours that have seen me consistently putting in 10 hour + days and weekends to boot!); balancing my personal life and relationships (reminding myself that some days all you need is a good laugh ... read more

While it’s only been a little over a week since I have written, I feel as if months have passed as so much has happened since I last wrote. Camp took off in full swing last Monday and I feel as if I have been going 100 miles an hour ever since. Despite a large number of registrations during our preparation week, only about half of those registered showed up on the first day. While this was slightly discouraging, we continue everyday to actively recruit new campers as we have discovered that attendance is at best, inconsistent. One of the first things I learned was that the kids here do not go to bed at a time that one considers ‘reasonable’ - for example, I have on numerous occasions had kids as young as ten telling ... read more