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Tomorrow is the start of work for those of us teaching in Ontario who didn’t wait for the conventional after labour day start of the school year.  It’s just as well because being in the north, if the winter is anything like the summer, there will be an absolute pile of snow days to make up for and we’d might as well get started.  My feelings tonight are obviously much different than they were last year, as I know what I’m getting in to and what to look forward to.

What I’m looking forward to is everything.  I’m looking forward to seeing the 78 total new faces, staring at me at the beginning of my three classes, just waiting for me to educate, excite and entertain them for the next 5 months.  I’m looking forward to students coming back off of their summer vacations with tales of going to exciting places like the rocky mountains or the reversing falls.  I’m looking forward to teaching them hundreds of new words to expand their scientific vocabulary.  I’m looking forward to the Volleyball season and after that, the Basketball season.  The trips to Winnipeg, Kenora, Fort Frances and Thunder Bay.  I’m looking forward to the sweaty palms I get on the bench as I watch my teams try their hardest and execute the plays that we spend so much time skill-building in practice. I’m looking forward to using a loud stern voice that I don’t use anywhere else to get my players to run a little faster.

I’m looking forward to lunch hour supervision and staff cameraderie.  I’m looking forward to thinking of new ways of teaching old topics and learning some of the old ways too.  I’m looking forward to hydrogen gas popping out the end of a test tube and having my classes learn first hand about static electricity with the van de graaf generator. In a sentance, I’m looking forward to being Mr. Darling again. 

Summers over, and in a way I had 2 summers, 1 in Niagara and 1 in the north.  My Niagara summer was great, and so was my northern one.  Sure I could make a long list of things I regret not doing, but I’d rather think about the things I did.. The camping, the fishing, the time spent with friends and family.

I read a quote on a friend’s blog that has forced me to address a sadder event of the summer. 

“Above all, keep writing. Do it everyday. It’s just as important as helping with the dishes after dinner.” - Robert Malcomson

Robert Malcomson was an author, teacher, husband, father and friend.  He passed away in July at the age of 60.  I read the news while sitting at my kitchen table at home, reading the standard (one of my favourite things to do.)  The news really startled me, because my memories of Mr. M were that of a person who was always so full of life.  He was definitely one of my best teachers growing up, and as a teacher now, I can reflect as to what made him so great. He was using video in the classroom in the late 80′s, certainly not the easiest of things to do, but he saw the value of it.  He had all of his students participate in the local Science Fair, and I never participated before or after that. He got his students involved in the Young Author’s Conference, which as I can recall was a day of workshops for students.  He single initiated and administered a recycling program at our school (collecting and dumping the blue boxes was always looked forward to.) He played guitar and made up rhymes to reinforce concepts. He had commodore 64′s set up in his room to encourage students to use computers.  He was very open minded in ways of letting his students demonstrate their learning and abilities.  He let me write an autobiography in grade 6 – I still remember I called it “An Appauling Tale.”  He was a role model in that he kept an active lifestyle and told us stories about playing rec league hockey. He loved the Leafs and he borrowed my Blackhawks jersey when he went to see a game once (for his wife to wear.) He spoke of himself in the third person as “M” sometimes.  I still remember when Ed Olczyk got traded to the Winnipeg Jets in 1990, we discussed how it looked like Eddie O was crying on TV, Mr M said “It made M cry too.” He told us a story about why his name was spelled Malcomson and not Malcolmson – Someone had told his ancestors to “Get the l out!” I could go on and on because the memories are there and very real.  I haven’t even mentioned the number of books he wrote and the passion he had for history, An entire side of him that was every bit as important and accomplished as his teaching.

 The last time I saw Mr. M was when I was home from University after first year, I stopped in to the school at the end of the day to say hello.  He was his usual self, full of energy and wit, with his round lennon glasses and hair on the shaggy side. Our conversation was mostly comparing my university year to those of his daughters.  He was somewhat pre-occupied with making sure all of his students made it out of the class and out the door with everything they needed, but he was still happy to have a chat.  I look back and I was still too young to have a real adult conversation with him, but at the same time when a teacher like him has such an influence on you, I feel that you never really lose that dynamic of being his student.  You could say I went back looking to learn just a bit more. 

I posted the story of his passing on my facebook page, and the comments on the link were as close to a grade 5 reunion as I’ll ever get.  He clearly inflenced everyone he taught just as much as me.  I hope I’m doing him proud by continuing to write.  The passing of a favourite teacher hit close to home, as I am following in his career footsteps. 

So, school starts tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.

It’s nice having this new laptop.  It’s such a breeze to work with, It’s one of my better purchases of the summer.  For the amount of time I spend on a computer though, most people would probably say that it’s about time.  I still need to expand my repretoire of web browsing, but at the same time not everyone publishes their writing so that makes up for the fact that I really only visit 5 or 6 different sites regularly.  One thing I would like to figure out on this computer is how to get spell checking integrated through everything so I will get the red squiggly when I spell something wrong.  I’m okay at spelling but typos do happen. 

Last night I finished Rodney Dangerfield’s autobiography: It ain’t easy being me.  Those that know me best would be surprised because reading books is pretty uncharacteristic of me.  It was a pretty easy read though, a real page turner, possibly a primer for more reading to come.  I guess though, since I don’t seek out movies and I only watch 3 or 4 different tv shows, I need to fill the time with something.  After reading his book, I’m definitely inspired to watch Easy Money, Back to School and Caddyshack.  I probably watched all of those as a kid, but I can’t remember them and they’ll hopefully be better now.

Went fishing today on Rugby lake.  Today in a boat.  It was a lot of fun, but we only caught 4 fish. 

It was a very fast boat.  The nicest fishing boat I’ve ever been on.  Livewell, minnow compartment, everything. It could easily go 50 mph.  One of the top three boats I’ve ever been on, along with Troy’s Air Nautique wakeboarding boat and of course the Whirlpool jet boat on the Niagara river.

My pike.  Caught on a minnow and jig head.  Approximately 4 lbs.

My Walleye.  I didn’t weigh it but it is now cleaned and ready to eat for lunch tomorrow.

The White Stripes – Hotel Yorba - Well if I’m the man that you love the most you could say I do at least

The Strokes – Reptilia – “you sound so angry just calm down, you found me”

The Kinks - All day and all of the night

Work starts again in 3 days and I am ready for it.  I’m not ready in the sense that I have every single day planned out, but more in the sense that I know what I’ll be getting in to and what I’ll have to do.  I got my first season sports schedule from the coach I am an assistant to and I will be 5 weekend tournaments from September 18 to October 31.  Believe it or not, that still gives me 2 weekends off during that period but otherwise, many tournaments. I’m looking forward to it. I think I do best under fairly high pressure yet structured environments.

My goals for this year are :  Attend the gym at least once during the week, at least twice on weekends.  Sound body, sound mind.
: Spend less time in the class after hours
: keep my room tidy and clutter free
: continue with announcing student of the week
: Plan, Plan, Plan.  Start with planning the semester roughly, then focus on the first month.  As Harry Wong says, if you don’t have a plan, you are planning to fail!
: Stop eating those delicious subway cookies on my prep period.  I don’t want to turn into a pound of butter again.

Tonight was the start of the Fall Fair and this year I had the planning and foresight to get some of my photography entered.  Apparently I picked some of my better photos because of the 17 classes I entered, I came out with 4 firsts, 2 seconds and a third.  I was pretty happy to see that, it made my day. I can sit back and wait for my $31 cheque to come in.  Now the pressure will be on for next year.

I entered this in the 8×10 Portrait class.  It did not place.  My nephew Owen.  I combed his hair like this, it’s normally pretty shaggy.

Second place, Black and White novelty photo.  Sometimes, I take photos like this.  It was a good game of Monopoly, Niles ultimately won.  It was funny to play with Niles and Mel because Mel continually emphasized how Niles is the worst person in the world with money.

This was one of my “group of 4 photos, scenery, colour.”  I placed first in this category. Sweet!  This is a sunet on Little Vermillion lake, from my camping trip a few weeks ago.

Colour, candid.  Did not place.  My niece Emerson.

I didn’t enter this photo, but I did enter another one from this series in the black and white candid category.  It did not place.  The colour, the action, the weather in this photo, really illustrates to me what childhood at the cottage is all about.  While mowing the lawn, I had stacked all of the inflatable toys on top of each other.  2 days later, my nephews took advantage of the structure as the ultimate wrestling venue.

I’ve been meaning to upload photos to Picasa to share with my family members who don’t Facebook, but I’ll just have to share the fb albums here and maybe some day I’ll add them to Picasa.

Album 1 – Drive home, June 28

Album 2 – Cottage July 4

Album 3 – Home July 09

Album 4 – Cottage August long

Album 5 – Ride back on the Greyhound

Album 6 – Ojibway Park

Album 7 – Sandbar Lake park

While I was camping and went in for brunch in Ignace on the Sunday, I caught a few moments of the Vinyl Cafe.  It was the episode where Stuart was in Winnipeg, and I’ll admit I sat in my car for 10 minutes listening before I forced myself to go inside and eat.  I was, after all, running late and wanted to make it to my next destination in order to rent a Canoe.  Tonight I recalled the great program, downloaded the podcast and played it in the background while I prepped my classroom for the start of the year.  It’s worth a listen if you’re any type of Vinyl Cafe fan.  Click Here and you’ll want to download the August 15 – The World’s smallest record store episode.

The Weakerthans – One Great City - The Guess Who sucked, the Jets were lousy anyway

Rush – Lakeside Park - Though it’s just a memory, Some memories last forever.