I am sure you are aware of the very upsetting events that occurred yesterday in Batchelor Heights as it has been all over the news, including across Canada. As Bert Edwards Elem is located close to the area and some of our students live there, we were concerned about keeping our students safe although the RCMP reassured us there was nothing to worry about. In our efforts to keep the children as safe as possible we decided to have both an indoor recess and lunch playtime and told the students it was due to the weather. As anyone with children knows, cabin fever seldom takes long to set in when they are kept indoors for hours. Team Awesome rose to the occasion admirably and kept their heads all day. There was no whining or fighting and they played without getting crazy and wound up. Fortunately, Mrs. Farber had gym time right after our inside recess and invited us to join her class to burn off some pent-up energy. We set up stations and rotated through them freely for the duration of our time there. During lunch playtime we had free choice stations inside the classroom. Funnily enough, considering what was happening up in Batchelor Heights, someone made 'handcuffs' with the K'Nex, sparking a flurry of catching and handcuffing 'bad guys' to the poles in our room. Just as the craziness up the hill ended on a relatively good note, our day ended with iPad buddies and parents picking up all the children safe and sound.
