Let me hear your balaleika's ringing out!

Back in the USSR!  Don't know how lucky you are, boys!

Tomorrow, we're back to the salt mines.  I hope you all had a great holiday and are ready to get back at it tomorrow!  The time flew by, but on the other hand, it seems like a very long time since we were at school.  But the funny thing is, once we're back in the building, it will feel like we never left!

This is Ukrainian Christmas eve.  Ukrainians follow the Julian calendar, and so everything is later.  (A great idea if you want to take advantage of all the sales after Christmas, plus for me, I never seem to get it all finished.  I sent out my Christmas cards on January 2!)  I am more Ukrainian than anything else.  Both my father's parents were born in Ukraine and even some of his older brothers and sisters were born there.  They were very emotional people, as I recall, and could laugh and cry in the same sentence, practically.  I can't speak any Ukrainian (except to say Merry Christmas and "apple" -- Christosye Roshdaiya (it's written in Cyrillic, so this is a guess for spelling) and "yapco".  My mother's family came to Canada in the early 1800's and so they are a real mix of many different European origins.  If you speak another language at home, you should thank your parents, because I wish that I had learned Ukrainian when I was young.  They say if you speak more than one language as a child, you will find it easier to learn more.

Grade 8's, don't forget that on Tuesday, you will be reciting "All the world's a stage":

All the world's a stage
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man, in his time, plays many parts.

Practice speaking CLEARLY.  It is more important than being loud.  Try to appear confident, even if you don't feel that way.

We only have three more weeks of semester one!  Let's make them count!  See you tomorrow!