Happy Holidays!

Here is a lovely photo taken by our good friend, Mr. Akselrod, who is off enjoying himself, with every day being spring break!  We miss him so much!

So off we go along the path through the trees ourselves -- two weeks off and Dr. Bonnie Henry has said we can gather with up to nine other people if we stay outdoors, pick the same nine people each time, and follow all the other rules, like wearing masks and keeping our distance and staying home if we're sick and washing our hands scrupulously.

There is no journal today, but here is your assignment over the two weeks of downtime.

1.  Get outside and get some exercise.  Go for a walk, have a picnic at the beach and take a beach ball or a soccer ball, climb a tree and watch the birds, play basketball with a few friends, do some yoga.

2.  Read some poetry out loud.  I posted a poem by Pablo Neruda when Daisy died.  It doesn't describe her perfectly, but it honours Neruda's own dog and all dogs, I think.  Some of my favourite poets?  Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane (Canadian poets), Percy Bysshe Shelley, Margaret Atwood, Shakespeare, of course.  John Keats.  Robert Frost.  Edna St. Vincent Millay.

3.  Watch a play on line.  I have purchased the rights for us to see Shakespeare's "Othello" and if you are interested in watching it over spring break, send me an email and I will give you the password to access it.   You can see "Hamilton" if you have the Disney channel, apparently, and the National Theatre (of Great Britain) offers a variety of shows online.  Youtube also has some Broadway shows you can see online.

4.  Read a book!  Any book, but preferably one you haven't read before.

5.  Write a description of one day you are off.  Provide details!

6.  Make a meal for your family.

7.  Watch the Fine Arts Showcase, which includes "The Love Connection" and "London Nocturne" created and performed by our own students.  (You can also access our performances on my youtube channel -- I will send you all a link.)  

8.  Thank your lucky stars that you are you and that you live in such a nice part of the world and that we are getting vaccinated so we can go back to seeing plays in theatres or going to concerts or hugging people we love.

9.  Get lots of sleep.

See you back at the salt mines on March 29!