October already. We have started a few routines: silent reading and signets, verb du jour and Friday quizzes. We have discussed world views and ways to count time. To get ready for Bear Beach we have read topographic maps and planned meals. And students are speaking French every day, in class discussions, in partners or in groups. They are still out of the habit, but getting a "yellow card" is a good deterrent.

Tomorrow early I head off for the first Bear Beach trip. The forecast is calling for strong winds and rain, but that is part of the experience. We did discuss appropriate gear, but out there is where there are real consequences. It is truly a beautiful place, and I would love to stay out there more than one night. sometimes I think students may learn more from two days at Bear Beach than months in a classroom; different learning, but still valuable. I wrote about the trip for an article in Green Teacher Magazine, which you can read here.

When we return, we are off on another, much shorter trip, to see Kenneth Oppel, an author who grew up in Victoria and has a great range of works, from early reader mysteries to youth fiction, and lately more adult reads. The trip is this Thursday at Vic High, leaving Central at 9:30 am. Email me if you'd like to come along.

Later in the week I will send home a notice (and post it here) for a year's worth of cultural and phys ed excursions, including skating, swimming, a magic show and a concert by Acadien hip hop artists, Radio Radio. You might want to come along for that one!