Snow Falling on Tamaracks

As I watch the snow gently falling outside of my classroom window, it reminds me of the fact that I am writing report cards right now. It is time to comment and assess the learning which has occurred so far.  Consequently, it is a time for fresh starts as we sometimes find ourselves slipping into poor routines.  Maybe we've become careless and lazy, or have picked up some bad words, or even have acquired a less than desirable "friend". 

November is a great time for reflection.  Certainly, we'll be reflecting as we pause this coming week and think about the sacrifices of those who came before us, and those who continue to put themselves in dangerous positions today, to keep our land and our world safe.  Well, it is a fine time to make some decisions for our own best interests.  So, let's use the clean slate metaphor offered by snow and let's up our game.  After all, we all can be super people and super students if we only start to take care of ourselves, our minds, and our neighbours.  The horse in The Magician's Nephew says, “I don't know why it should be me - I'm not a very clever horse."  But he was more clever than he realised, because he was a willing participant in all that was good and decent.  The consequences were even greater for him in Narnia, as he became something he could only have dreamed about back home.  Let the snow be our sign to start fresh - no matter how great or how lousy our first term was.