My first week at Fraser Academy has been extremely positive and filled with many memorable moments. It all started off with a warm welcome from my sponsor teacher Suzanne, who introduced me to the fellow staff and the overall school lay out. Fraser Academy is a quaint school, which has a very warm community like feel. It reminds me of my elementary school back in rural Alberta with the small classrooms and close relationships between staff and students. The first day I spent much of time doing observations and getting a feel for the school. The general pace is a little slower, but it many regards it is a lot more authentic. Ample time is taken to insure that each student is cared for and engaged, this makes for an extremely positive and engaging environment in each and every class. The next three days were essentially field trips! It’s that time of year and any spare help is greatly appreciated by the staff here and I was more than willing to oblige. The first day I joined the criminology and law classes on a trip to the local courthouses. It was a great experience and gave me a wonderful opportunity to get to know students and witness law in action. We observed a variety of cases including a young man on trial for the riot incident in 2012 and we saw a major drug leader on trial from the Surrey 6 case… quite spooky and nerve racking to say the least. The second day was spent at a Junior track and field meet, where I was given the privilege to work alongside and motivate a number of students in their events. Two moments were exceptionally meaningful, one helping a young boy with OCD overcome his fear to run in the 300m and see his immense joy and relief after finishing. The second was witnessing a shyer but incredibly strong young boy win first place in the shot put, after he quote on quote “Just got angry at the ball…” epic. This was a memorable day and allowed me to bond with a variety of students. The final field trip was taking a group of grade 9s to Granville island to watch a play on Rip Van Winkle. It was an interesting play and was yet again a great chance to get to know students outside the classroom setting. The final day gave me a great opportunity to teach 6 classes as I substituted for my sponsor teacher. It was wonderful being given a chance to teach a wide variety of subjects I have yet to teach: grade 9 math, grade 11 earth sciences, grade 10 science and grade 12 criminology . I’m already developing great rapport with the students and this is making for extremely meaningful teaching experiences and learning. The more time I spend here the more I realize that the various challenges these students face are but a hurdle or obstacle, each can be overcome and worked around with thoughtful consideration and effort from the teachers standpoint and the students. I’m looking forward to these next two weeks where I will be teaching Earth Sciences and subbing in for a variety of classes. I hope by the end of this CFE I will gain a deeper understanding of each students struggles and the efforts that need to be made to find a solution that progresses forward in a positive and meaningful way.