An email from a staff member to someone interested in coming to teach in Attawapiskat

So you want to teach in Attawapiskat? Well, I think that if you are the right kind of person, teaching up here would be a very rewarding experience. And by right kind of person, I mean someone who is not too bothered by being in an isolated community, because if Attawapiskat is nothing else, it is isolated. There is a little joke that goes something like "Although Att is not the middle of nowhere, you can see the middle of nowhere from here."

I am going to refer you to www.afnea.com - the website for the school board. Here, you will find many answers to questions you might have about Attawapiskat. I will not bore you with the same information you can find on the website in this email. Instead, I will tell you a little about life here, and the working conditions.

Before I get into that, I will tell you a little about my self, as a way of framing what I am about to say:I have been teaching here for two years now- last year I was in grade 6 and grade 4, and this year I am teaching computers. I finished university in 2002, and so this is my first teaching job.

Our school is not in one building, because there was a fuel leak and the original building was condemned. This happened before my time up here began. So we are in what they call portables - new age trailers really. It is not nearly as bad as it sounds: each grade has a trailer, and each trailer has a washroom, and come next year, will have Internet access, and an entertainment unit to share.

The downside of the trailer system is that you are kind of isolated from the other members of staff. Those who have taught in "regular schools" say that the portables take away from the feeling of a real school. However, this is all I have known of my teaching career, and it is not as bad as it sounds.

Almost all the teachers have an experienced teaching assistance in their classes, and they are an invaluable asset to have. They do not really train you on how to "use a T.A. effectively", but everyone seems to muddle through it in the first couple of weeks, and before you know it, you cannot imagine teaching without a teaching assistant.

Our school day runs from 8:30 (start at 9) till 4:00 (end at 3:30), with an hour 15 min lunch, and two recesses of 15 mins.

There are specialist teachers who teach Cree, gym, religion and computers. The students leave class for gym and computers, and the Cree and religion teachers come to the classroom. It is during these classes that a teacher can have a "prep", although most just stay in the class and do prep work there.

We have a withdrawal special education program that was started this year, and by all accounts, is working wonderfully.

As for the town itself, what can I say, it is small, and there is not a lot to be at other than teaching. The school recently got a bunch of exercise equipment (treadmills, elliptical machines, universal gyms) and that is the current fad. There is also a full size hockey rink that is kept busy during the winter months. A lot of people go for walks too, and when the weather permits, (and sometimes even when it doesn't) people go fishing.

There is a wide range of ages and races on our teaching staff, so no matter what kind of person you are, there is someone whom you will be able to connect with.

Ahh yes - food is noticeably more expensive here than it is in a store down south (but not so much so that you are going to die of starvation for lack of money). As such, most people stock up before they get here, and then use the northern store to just replenish supplies. The more frugal minded make grocery orders through Zudels in Timmin, but the advantages of this activity, both financial and otherwise have not been enough to make me join their ranks.

Crime is relatively low in Attawapiskat, and although there is an occasional sniffer sighting- it is pretty safe to walk around the town, even at night. During the winter months though, be weary of homeless dogs.

The police try to control the stray dog problem by having a dog shoot.

The "little people" are a challenging pleasure to teach, our board is extremely supportive, and people who have the interests of the children at heart staff the schools. What more could you want?

Oh yes, Attawapiskat is a dry community, and the by-law is relatively strictly enforced : there are usually peacekeepers at the airport ready to frisk luggage for alcohol. They used to search the mail too, but that has stopped.

Getting out of here during most of the year involves taking a very expensive flight aboard the single regional airline servicing this community, Air Creebec, or, when the winter road is open, driving to Moosonee, and then catching a train to Cochrane and then on to Toronto, or whereever you might want to go. Plan to be here from August until December because other than flying out, there is no other way out during these month. From January til April, you can get out over the winter road, and between April and June, there is always a chance that you will get out on an evacuation plane, when the river breaks up, and people evacuate the town for fear of flooding. There has not been a flood in Attawapiskt in forever, but the threat is always present come break up time, and when the situation looks dire, steps are taken to ensure the safety of life and property.

well, I hope this email helped you answer some of the questions you might have had. If you have any other questions, feel free to email them to me, and Iwould be more than happy to offer any more information where I can.