Quite possibly the best bread recipe EVER!!

If you have a bread machine I HIGHLY recommend that you try this recipe!!

(curtesy of Washburn's "More of Canada's Best Bread Machine Baking Recipies")

Irish Freckle Bread (2 Ib loaf) on standard setting with medium crust

1 1/2 cups of water

1 3/4 tsp of salt

3 tbsp of granulated sugar

2 tbsp shortening

3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour or bread flour

1/2 cup of buttermilk powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp of caraway seeds

1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

3/4 cup of raisins

well, I think I've seen it all now.

It's been a while since I posted last. It's been rather uneventful (in a good way) here with moderate student behaviour, beautiful weather, and more sunlight than you can shake a stick at. That is, until this past Monday. Yesterday started off as any other day begins for me. My students come in, draw and print all over my boards, wash the boards, take attendance, and do the whole announcement thing. However, this Monday I had a grade 12 student, Tom, come into my classroom, get right into the face of one of my grade 5s and make him cry. I immediately notified the principal who then took the necessary measures to uncover the root of the problem.

I sent my kids off to the library for their Inuktitut class and I set about to have a very productive prep. This, however, was not to be. Tom stormed out of the principal's office.

While I was sitting at my desk pondering next week's math unit the grade 12 poked his head into my empty classroom. It clearly wasn't to apologise so I got up and headed to the library. I got there in time to see the grade 12 rush in, take my grade 5 student by the arm, and start punching him hard - as if he had no intention of stopping. He managed to get three really hard shots in and a couple of lesser blows before the computer teacher was able to wrestle him off.

Would you believe it was over a muffin at the breakfast programme? The back story goes as follows: The older highschool students only like the blueberry muffins at the breakfast programme. So they leave the chocolate chip muffins for the younger kids. Apparently my student took a blueberry muffin. The older kids saw this as a grave disservice so they took the muffin off of him. He protested and this is where Tom got involved. He explained that it was just a muffin and that my student should just let it be. The older kids then broke up the muffin and started eating it. My student got upset and shoved a muffin in one of their faces, which immediately insulted Tom.

This whole event resulted in RCMP involvement, the expulsion of Tom, the suspension of the student that origionally took the muffin, and a trip to the health center for my grade 5.

The RCMP held Tom for most of the day so that my student could go out for recess and home for lunch without having to worry about more retaliation. I later spoke to the RCMP officers and they explained that Tom had no remorse for what he did. He didn't care that he is 18 and was trying to hurt a 10 year old kid.

I may be speaking too soon (keep in mind as I type this I've knocked on wood) but I think I've now seen it all.

j