Last night was the annual Christmas Program at the school. And only minutes before the program was to begin, I found out that as a last resort, I would be playing the role of Santa Claus for all of the kids. Up here, Santa is typically mobbed by children as he walks out. This year however I (thankfully) had the kids distracted, the lights out, and other teachers serving as bodyguards. So that when the lights went on, the kids were surprised to see me sitting there. Most of the kids in town would like either the "LEGO Indiana Jones 2" video game, or a remote control snow-go. Of course, the older kids all figured out who it was behind the beard and wig, but the little kids had no idea, in fact, a few even ran away from me!
As for my kids, we had to cut Jingle Bell Rock from the program for time reasons. I was nervous about the way the kids were practicing "The Polar Express" throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday, and frankly, I, along with them were probably tired of doing it. However, they saved their best performance for last. I was so proud of them, they did so great reading their lines!
Now that the Christmas Program is over, I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I have to worry about grades, and then my trip home (which of course is weather permitting which always makes me nervous). But it feels good to be stress free now that the show is over and my kids were all-stars!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
December 14-Semester 1 almost done!
Sorry again for the long delay, however there are many things going on preventing me from having any free time. First, there have been many people coming in from the district office in Kotzebue to observe our school, so most of my attention has been put toward making everything look nice and neat for them.
Next, have been the countless assessments that I am required to administer to the kids before the winter break. Not to mention the fact that I need to have all their grades in the computer before I leave on Saturday, since the semester ends on Friday! It is hard to believe that it is already halfway through the year. Although my kids might at time seem to be struggling with the pace at which I am required to teach the curriculum, I can see that just me being here is having such a great impact on their lives. For instance, one student that I have comes to my house every night because he wants to “visit.” Every time he comes by, I just think of the positive influence that I must be having on him, and it makes me glad that I am here to impact these kids.
That being said, I can’t wait to get home for 10 days!!!
But, before I leave, there are many things still to take care of. Wednesday is the big school Christmas Program. My class will be doing a reading of The Polar Express and singing Jingle Bell rock for the village. Also at the program, the kids will give each other secret Santa gifts, and it will be the beginning of the Christmas Season here.
We had our staff Christmas party last night. The highlight of which was the gift exchange. It was a typical gift exchange where you have the option to “steal” the gifts of the people who pick in front of you. The hotly contested items were the two Snuggies that were up for grabs. I walked away with a nice pair of deerskin gloves, which are nice for keeping warm!
The only thing left worth discussing is how crazy the lack of daylight actually is up here. The sun is now rising afternoon, and setting around 4 o’clock, so there is no way I actually get to see sunlight, since I’m up at the school the whole time during those hours. One strange side effect to the constant darkness is the fact that I’m seemingly always hungry, and some nights I end up eating TWO dinners!!! It is really interesting though, and hopefully soon I will be able to see the Northern Lights soon!
As for my flight schedule, I leave Buckland around 5:00 AST on Saturday the 20th. From there, I fly to Kotzebue. From “Kotz” I leave at 7:30 , stop off in Nome, and then land in Anchorage at about 10:30. Next, I fly to Phoenix at 1:00 am AST. Finally, I take a flight from Phoenix to Detroit, landing at 4:01 EST at Metro Airport, a total of 20 hours of traveling, but it will be well worth it to see friends and family again!
Now, back to the busy final week of the semester, then I can worry about getting home!
Next, have been the countless assessments that I am required to administer to the kids before the winter break. Not to mention the fact that I need to have all their grades in the computer before I leave on Saturday, since the semester ends on Friday! It is hard to believe that it is already halfway through the year. Although my kids might at time seem to be struggling with the pace at which I am required to teach the curriculum, I can see that just me being here is having such a great impact on their lives. For instance, one student that I have comes to my house every night because he wants to “visit.” Every time he comes by, I just think of the positive influence that I must be having on him, and it makes me glad that I am here to impact these kids.
That being said, I can’t wait to get home for 10 days!!!
But, before I leave, there are many things still to take care of. Wednesday is the big school Christmas Program. My class will be doing a reading of The Polar Express and singing Jingle Bell rock for the village. Also at the program, the kids will give each other secret Santa gifts, and it will be the beginning of the Christmas Season here.
We had our staff Christmas party last night. The highlight of which was the gift exchange. It was a typical gift exchange where you have the option to “steal” the gifts of the people who pick in front of you. The hotly contested items were the two Snuggies that were up for grabs. I walked away with a nice pair of deerskin gloves, which are nice for keeping warm!
The only thing left worth discussing is how crazy the lack of daylight actually is up here. The sun is now rising afternoon, and setting around 4 o’clock, so there is no way I actually get to see sunlight, since I’m up at the school the whole time during those hours. One strange side effect to the constant darkness is the fact that I’m seemingly always hungry, and some nights I end up eating TWO dinners!!! It is really interesting though, and hopefully soon I will be able to see the Northern Lights soon!
As for my flight schedule, I leave Buckland around 5:00 AST on Saturday the 20th. From there, I fly to Kotzebue. From “Kotz” I leave at 7:30 , stop off in Nome, and then land in Anchorage at about 10:30. Next, I fly to Phoenix at 1:00 am AST. Finally, I take a flight from Phoenix to Detroit, landing at 4:01 EST at Metro Airport, a total of 20 hours of traveling, but it will be well worth it to see friends and family again!
Now, back to the busy final week of the semester, then I can worry about getting home!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thanksgiving Weekend
It has been a while since I have been able to write, but I have been very busy, and time is flying by. It is hard to believe that there are only 3 weeks left of school until Christmas Break, and then we will only have 18 weeks of school left following that!
This weekend has also flown by, I have had kids over helping me cook, do dishes, and clean (It is amazing how eager they are to help with chores!). Also, I was able to have a great Thanksgiving dinner. When you are a teacher in town there are two options for dinner. The first option is to go to the church for a combination of a traditional native dinner and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The other choice was a Traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the teachers, I opted for the later of the two. It was nice to get together with 7 other people (there were 3 teachers out of town, and 3 teachers having meals with their own families). It was a great way to spend time with colleagues outside of the workplace, and I truly am thankful for all the help that they all have given me in this, my first year of teaching.
The rest of my weekend was spent doing two things, 1. WATCHING FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL, and 2. helping out the volleyball team fund raise. For the later, I took money at the door for the "mini" basketball tournament that the volleyball team hosted to raise money for their trip to Point Hope this upcoming weekend (Thankfully I don't have to go!!!!). Obviously it was more fun watching sports, but to be visible in the community, be out of the house, and help out the basketball team, it was not a bad way to spend the weekend.
Now, it's all about preparing the kids for the Christmas show and getting ready for the break! I am eager to return home on the 20th, and I can't believe that it is so close to coming!
This weekend has also flown by, I have had kids over helping me cook, do dishes, and clean (It is amazing how eager they are to help with chores!). Also, I was able to have a great Thanksgiving dinner. When you are a teacher in town there are two options for dinner. The first option is to go to the church for a combination of a traditional native dinner and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The other choice was a Traditional Thanksgiving dinner with the rest of the teachers, I opted for the later of the two. It was nice to get together with 7 other people (there were 3 teachers out of town, and 3 teachers having meals with their own families). It was a great way to spend time with colleagues outside of the workplace, and I truly am thankful for all the help that they all have given me in this, my first year of teaching.
The rest of my weekend was spent doing two things, 1. WATCHING FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL, and 2. helping out the volleyball team fund raise. For the later, I took money at the door for the "mini" basketball tournament that the volleyball team hosted to raise money for their trip to Point Hope this upcoming weekend (Thankfully I don't have to go!!!!). Obviously it was more fun watching sports, but to be visible in the community, be out of the house, and help out the basketball team, it was not a bad way to spend the weekend.
Now, it's all about preparing the kids for the Christmas show and getting ready for the break! I am eager to return home on the 20th, and I can't believe that it is so close to coming!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
November 11, "Survivor: Buckland"
I am able to write this blog right now, during the school day because currently I am watching only 4 kids! We started the day with 7 kids, but, I feel like I'm on an episode of Survivor, as 3 kids have left throughout the day. I still feel fine (knock on wood), and hopefully I will be back to a full class by tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
November 10, Flu Season
It appears that a flu bug has hit Buckland hard, almost 50% of the school was out today, including 6 of my 11 students. Which meant that no new instruction went on for my kids, however I did get a lot of work done. Fortunately, I am feeling fine, after getting a bunch of sleep Monday night.
Also, I've just gotten word that the first big snow storm is on the way, unfortunately unlike at home, there are no snow days here, since everyone has a snowmobile to navigate the fresh powder. Hopefully there is a lot of snow, it is about time that it starts to fall!
Also, I've just gotten word that the first big snow storm is on the way, unfortunately unlike at home, there are no snow days here, since everyone has a snowmobile to navigate the fresh powder. Hopefully there is a lot of snow, it is about time that it starts to fall!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
November 8--Finally a free second
Sorry it has been a while since my last post, but the NWABSD has the teachers here on a pretty busy schedule, so it has been tough to get a free second, but now that I have one, I will update everyone on the last (almost) two weeks.
First, the kids are doing great, aside from the sugar induced week after Halloween, they come to school every day ready to learn, and for the most part they come on their best behavior. For my parent conferences, 8 out of 11 parents came, a really high turn out that I was proud of, and the two students who give me the most problems had their parents come, and I've already seen an improvement in their behavior.
After conferences, it was Halloween, and it is bigger here than I have ever seen before. The Inupiaq people have a strong belief in spirits. For example, one reason the people in Buckland believe that there has not been a caribou herd come near town is that there is the spirit of a dead caribou that has red eyes that is warning all the other caribou to not come near town otherwise they will be killed. Another belief that the people here have is about Innuquns (sp). These are small people that live in the willows outside town that are the explanation for anything slightly out of the ordinary that happens (For example, any strange noises that could be heard). So with their beliefs strongly rooted in ghosts and such, it is no surprise how huge Halloween is. First, everyone for the most part wears a mask, and they enter the school at 6:30, and begin walking around the gym for a costume contest. There are many different categories, each with a monetary prize to encourage more people to come. After 30 minutes of walking around, the winners are announced. Following that, each teacher gathers their class, and we break a pinata. After this, there is the Haunted Hallway, which runs from about 7:30 to 9:00. This is the conversion of the High School side of the school into a Haunted House, where almost everyone in the village goes through at least one time (except for me, I was helping run a cakewalk). Finally, it is time to leave the school, and kids go trick-or-treating from about 9:00 to 11:00 or 11:30. I luckily had just enough candy, and ran out as the last kids were coming to my door.
The weather here is Allaapa outside (Inupiaq for COLD). It is dipping into single digits, but thankfully, I've got enough cold gear, and I don't notice the cold weather. The snow is not coming as much yet, but I hear there is supposed to be a storm Monday night! Even though there is only like a few millimeters of snow on the ground, people are driving around their snow-gos. However, to me this doesn't seem like a wise idea, since at times I've seen sparks flying from the bottom of the sleds. But then again, the people here also water skip their snow-gos in the summer (that means to drive them on the water in the manner of a jet-ski to see who can go the farthest). But I have a feeling that pretty soon, they will be on a good amount of snow for the rest of the school year.
Finally, I went on a trip this past weekend again (going into the weekend, I had traveled 2,515 miles via plane since arriving in Buckland!). This weekend, I was asked last-minute to chaperone the volleyball team again (I've been on every school sports trip this year, except the wrestling trip). This time the trip was to Noorvik, my 2nd time at that school, 3rd time landing/taking off from the airport there. There were no real volleyball highlights, as the team dropped all four games they played against the mighty Noorvik Bears, moving their record 0-6. However, there was one example again of how moved the Inupiaq people are with the Innuquns. Friday night, the coach decided that it was a good idea to tell scary stories and Innuqun stories right before the kids went to bed. While this was going on, I just sat as a silent observer, taking in another bit of cultural education. I was exhausted and I checked out about 10 minutes before the kids. When I went to sleep, the kids were all pretty far away from me on the floor. At about 2:30am, I was having a dream which included what could be described as a murderous scream. However, it was not a dream, it was one of the kids, who was actually screaming, most likely due to night terrors as a result of the story telling. I also noticed that two of the kids (including the screamer) were now close to me (as for comfort of being near an adult), it really seemed that those stories did a number to the kids' psyche, and it clearly showed in their performance on Saturday.
Now, I'm back in Buckland, ready for WEEK 13 of school!!! 12 down, 24 to go! 6 weeks until I come home! Time is flying by really fast, and next weekend will be no different as Point Hope, Selawik, and Noatak will all be sending their volleyball teams to Buckland for a 5 team tournament, (Buckland will have 2 teams). Since all teachers will no doubt be asked to help, I'm sure I will be put to work, hopefully keeping the score book (I didn't have any idea how to do that until this weekend, but Noorvik paid me $10 a game to do it, so I learned quickly. Now I can keep a score book for Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Cricket, and Volleyball.)
First, the kids are doing great, aside from the sugar induced week after Halloween, they come to school every day ready to learn, and for the most part they come on their best behavior. For my parent conferences, 8 out of 11 parents came, a really high turn out that I was proud of, and the two students who give me the most problems had their parents come, and I've already seen an improvement in their behavior.
After conferences, it was Halloween, and it is bigger here than I have ever seen before. The Inupiaq people have a strong belief in spirits. For example, one reason the people in Buckland believe that there has not been a caribou herd come near town is that there is the spirit of a dead caribou that has red eyes that is warning all the other caribou to not come near town otherwise they will be killed. Another belief that the people here have is about Innuquns (sp). These are small people that live in the willows outside town that are the explanation for anything slightly out of the ordinary that happens (For example, any strange noises that could be heard). So with their beliefs strongly rooted in ghosts and such, it is no surprise how huge Halloween is. First, everyone for the most part wears a mask, and they enter the school at 6:30, and begin walking around the gym for a costume contest. There are many different categories, each with a monetary prize to encourage more people to come. After 30 minutes of walking around, the winners are announced. Following that, each teacher gathers their class, and we break a pinata. After this, there is the Haunted Hallway, which runs from about 7:30 to 9:00. This is the conversion of the High School side of the school into a Haunted House, where almost everyone in the village goes through at least one time (except for me, I was helping run a cakewalk). Finally, it is time to leave the school, and kids go trick-or-treating from about 9:00 to 11:00 or 11:30. I luckily had just enough candy, and ran out as the last kids were coming to my door.
The weather here is Allaapa outside (Inupiaq for COLD). It is dipping into single digits, but thankfully, I've got enough cold gear, and I don't notice the cold weather. The snow is not coming as much yet, but I hear there is supposed to be a storm Monday night! Even though there is only like a few millimeters of snow on the ground, people are driving around their snow-gos. However, to me this doesn't seem like a wise idea, since at times I've seen sparks flying from the bottom of the sleds. But then again, the people here also water skip their snow-gos in the summer (that means to drive them on the water in the manner of a jet-ski to see who can go the farthest). But I have a feeling that pretty soon, they will be on a good amount of snow for the rest of the school year.
Finally, I went on a trip this past weekend again (going into the weekend, I had traveled 2,515 miles via plane since arriving in Buckland!). This weekend, I was asked last-minute to chaperone the volleyball team again (I've been on every school sports trip this year, except the wrestling trip). This time the trip was to Noorvik, my 2nd time at that school, 3rd time landing/taking off from the airport there. There were no real volleyball highlights, as the team dropped all four games they played against the mighty Noorvik Bears, moving their record 0-6. However, there was one example again of how moved the Inupiaq people are with the Innuquns. Friday night, the coach decided that it was a good idea to tell scary stories and Innuqun stories right before the kids went to bed. While this was going on, I just sat as a silent observer, taking in another bit of cultural education. I was exhausted and I checked out about 10 minutes before the kids. When I went to sleep, the kids were all pretty far away from me on the floor. At about 2:30am, I was having a dream which included what could be described as a murderous scream. However, it was not a dream, it was one of the kids, who was actually screaming, most likely due to night terrors as a result of the story telling. I also noticed that two of the kids (including the screamer) were now close to me (as for comfort of being near an adult), it really seemed that those stories did a number to the kids' psyche, and it clearly showed in their performance on Saturday.
Now, I'm back in Buckland, ready for WEEK 13 of school!!! 12 down, 24 to go! 6 weeks until I come home! Time is flying by really fast, and next weekend will be no different as Point Hope, Selawik, and Noatak will all be sending their volleyball teams to Buckland for a 5 team tournament, (Buckland will have 2 teams). Since all teachers will no doubt be asked to help, I'm sure I will be put to work, hopefully keeping the score book (I didn't have any idea how to do that until this weekend, but Noorvik paid me $10 a game to do it, so I learned quickly. Now I can keep a score book for Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Cricket, and Volleyball.)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Return from Noatak
Noatak was fun, very busy week, learning many new things about how to use our curriculum to best reach the kids. Unfortunately, I'm deeply involved with preperations for Halloween (Which is HUGE HUGE HUGE here) and this week is also Parent/Teacher Conferences. Also, I have a student leaving town for a week, so I need to have all of their work together. All things being said, I'm BUSY up here, I hope to talk about Noatak soon but for now, here is a cool video i found about a show that is on TV gives people a bit of an idea of what it is like up here.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Return from Kiana
I found out this weekend that it CAN be fun chaperoning high school kids, only if you aren't coaching. Since I wasn't the coach, I felt as if a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I was able to relax, and have a good time with the 4 guys, all of whom are great kids (one is an aide in my classroom for 1 hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he also ran Cross Country), so I didn't have to do much policing for them.
As for the matches, well the Lynx of Kiana won friday night 3 sets to 0. Saturday went a bit better with the Sissauŋi taking the first set, dropping the next two sets. In the fourth do-or-die set, Buckland came out out on top, which meant a tie-breaking 5th set to 15, normally it is played to 25. Again, Kiana came out on top, but for the young Sissauŋi it was a great effort. On the flight home, the boys were all asking me to chaperone again, which sadly is not my call (but I would love to travel to Noorvik and Selawik with them).
As for the weather, after being in the 40s and 50s the past week it is cold. How cold? so cold that every morning the frost has frost on it! The river is now frozen over, and it looks as if winter is here to stay! I can't wait now for the snow, which will just be driving the kids crazy. Also, the darkness is becoming more and more of a factor, each day, there is 7 minutes less of light! The sun rises after shcool has started, and sets around 7pm, this is truly a new experience, but should mean the Northern Lights are on thier way as well, there is just so much going on here, and I am always busy.
This upcoming week, is a short week for students, only three days! The teachers, on the other hand have a six day week, ugh! For five schools in the district, those that did not meet Annual Yearly Progress the last 3 years, this means an inservice in Noatak, so another trip to another village this weekend!
As for the matches, well the Lynx of Kiana won friday night 3 sets to 0. Saturday went a bit better with the Sissauŋi taking the first set, dropping the next two sets. In the fourth do-or-die set, Buckland came out out on top, which meant a tie-breaking 5th set to 15, normally it is played to 25. Again, Kiana came out on top, but for the young Sissauŋi it was a great effort. On the flight home, the boys were all asking me to chaperone again, which sadly is not my call (but I would love to travel to Noorvik and Selawik with them).
As for the weather, after being in the 40s and 50s the past week it is cold. How cold? so cold that every morning the frost has frost on it! The river is now frozen over, and it looks as if winter is here to stay! I can't wait now for the snow, which will just be driving the kids crazy. Also, the darkness is becoming more and more of a factor, each day, there is 7 minutes less of light! The sun rises after shcool has started, and sets around 7pm, this is truly a new experience, but should mean the Northern Lights are on thier way as well, there is just so much going on here, and I am always busy.
This upcoming week, is a short week for students, only three days! The teachers, on the other hand have a six day week, ugh! For five schools in the district, those that did not meet Annual Yearly Progress the last 3 years, this means an inservice in Noatak, so another trip to another village this weekend!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October 15, 2009--Leaving for the weekend (again)
The school year is flying by, this is the last week of the 1st quarter already!!! I can't believe it is all going so fast, this means Christmas Break is just around the corner.
Today, I found out that I will be leaving Buckland for the weekend, again, which will be the 5th trip in 6 weekends for me (Recap: Noorvik, Kiana, Unalakleet, Anchorage, and now Kiana again). For those of you who are wondering, that is pronounced Kai-yan-ah. The reason, I am going is to chaperone the mixed six volleyball team (3 boys and 3 girls on the court at all times). So, it is back to Kiana for 2 days, and then back home to Buckland on Saturday night, just in time to put grades in the computer before they are due Monday mornining at 8 am!
Today, I found out that I will be leaving Buckland for the weekend, again, which will be the 5th trip in 6 weekends for me (Recap: Noorvik, Kiana, Unalakleet, Anchorage, and now Kiana again). For those of you who are wondering, that is pronounced Kai-yan-ah. The reason, I am going is to chaperone the mixed six volleyball team (3 boys and 3 girls on the court at all times). So, it is back to Kiana for 2 days, and then back home to Buckland on Saturday night, just in time to put grades in the computer before they are due Monday mornining at 8 am!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
October 11, A long Week
Sorry for not posting in a while, but I have been slightly busy getting caught back up from leaving for Palmer last weekend.
First of all, Anchorage/Palmer was great. The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to eat at a resturaunt again.
Prior to the race, I had set a goal for my runner to finish in the top 45. He finished with his best ever time, coming in 44th place. Needless to say I was pleased with his effort, however, if he actually put in some effort over the summer this could be higher, so for next year, we are hoping top 15 for him.
The real adventure started on Sunday. Saturday night, the two boys I was responsible for stayed up all night, because we had to be at the airport at 5:00. After we checked out of the hotel, and boarded the plane for Kotzebue, it was time to sleep during the hour and a half flight.
After we got to Kotzebue, we had 8 hours before the flight to Buckland, so we grabbed breakfast, and waited around Bering Air's terminal (much like the terminal in the TV show "Wings" or even better, a doctor's office waiting room). When time came for our 2:30 flight, the skies were too foggy, so the flight was put on hold.
After 2 hours of waiting, we were notified that our flight had been cancelled, and we needed to find accomodations for the night. After a phone call, I got back into the school for another night on a classroom floor.
After sleeping 12 hours, it was time to get back up, and try again, just so I could get back to teaching, as it was now Monday morning.
After waiting for 4 hours at Bering Air, it was again time to hear the dreaded words, "Buckland-Deering, Cancelled" yet one more time. So the only thing to do was to grab lunch, and hang out at the Borough mayor's house to watch TV for a few hours, before returning to Bering Air to wait for the afternoon flight to Buckland.
By afternoon, the fog had finally lifted, and we were waiting the pilots in the waiting room. When a pilot came out, and finally said, "Deering-Buckland, come on," I was glad to actually be getting on a plane.
Nothing was more comforting than to be back home Monday at 5:40, from a journey that started 4 days earlier.
So, the entire week, I was left catching up from missing Friday and Monday.
About the only free time I had this week, I spent watching Air Force hockey on Friday, and I was surprised, and proud to see that my brother scored on his NCAA debut, adding a second goal in his second game!
It took until today to get caught up, but now I am ready to go for yet another week.
I am also waiting for the snow to come again, as it has been in the high 40's, the kids here can't wait to get out on thier snow-gos (snow machines, snow mobiles), and even I am excited to go out riding.
First of all, Anchorage/Palmer was great. The weather was beautiful, and it was nice to eat at a resturaunt again.
Prior to the race, I had set a goal for my runner to finish in the top 45. He finished with his best ever time, coming in 44th place. Needless to say I was pleased with his effort, however, if he actually put in some effort over the summer this could be higher, so for next year, we are hoping top 15 for him.
The real adventure started on Sunday. Saturday night, the two boys I was responsible for stayed up all night, because we had to be at the airport at 5:00. After we checked out of the hotel, and boarded the plane for Kotzebue, it was time to sleep during the hour and a half flight.
After we got to Kotzebue, we had 8 hours before the flight to Buckland, so we grabbed breakfast, and waited around Bering Air's terminal (much like the terminal in the TV show "Wings" or even better, a doctor's office waiting room). When time came for our 2:30 flight, the skies were too foggy, so the flight was put on hold.
After 2 hours of waiting, we were notified that our flight had been cancelled, and we needed to find accomodations for the night. After a phone call, I got back into the school for another night on a classroom floor.
After sleeping 12 hours, it was time to get back up, and try again, just so I could get back to teaching, as it was now Monday morning.
After waiting for 4 hours at Bering Air, it was again time to hear the dreaded words, "Buckland-Deering, Cancelled" yet one more time. So the only thing to do was to grab lunch, and hang out at the Borough mayor's house to watch TV for a few hours, before returning to Bering Air to wait for the afternoon flight to Buckland.
By afternoon, the fog had finally lifted, and we were waiting the pilots in the waiting room. When a pilot came out, and finally said, "Deering-Buckland, come on," I was glad to actually be getting on a plane.
Nothing was more comforting than to be back home Monday at 5:40, from a journey that started 4 days earlier.
So, the entire week, I was left catching up from missing Friday and Monday.
About the only free time I had this week, I spent watching Air Force hockey on Friday, and I was surprised, and proud to see that my brother scored on his NCAA debut, adding a second goal in his second game!
It took until today to get caught up, but now I am ready to go for yet another week.
I am also waiting for the snow to come again, as it has been in the high 40's, the kids here can't wait to get out on thier snow-gos (snow machines, snow mobiles), and even I am excited to go out riding.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
October 1, On the road
After a nice sendoff pep rally for our sole runner going to Anchorage this weekend, the runner and I boarded Bering Air, on a flight from Buckland to Deering to Kotzebue. After an hour or so, we arrived in Kotz, but still had to wait 30 minutes for the final runner from Selawik in our group to leave and head to our hotel for the night. Except in the NWABSD, the term "hotel" really means classroom floor. So as I write this, I'm sitting on the floor of a Kotzebue Middle School floor, not the best accommodations for the night, however, life in Kotz isn't so bad. We ate dinner at "The Empress," A REAL RESTAURANT!!! I had what tasted like the best bacon cheeseburger in the world (It probably was horrible, but when you haven't had one in almost 3 months, anything will do!). Anyways, I need some sleep, early flight to the "Big City" tomorrow morning, leaves at 8:00am! Hopefully I get internet access in Anchorage!
Monday, September 28, 2009
September 28, Cooooold
This morning I awoke to what felt like sub zero temperatures, in fact Buckland's temperature of 12 degrees was at the time the lowest temperature in the state according to one weather website. As the day progressed, 3 locations had lower temperatures, so Buckland had the 4th lowest temperature in the state!
In other news, I found out today I get to go to Anchorage this weekend, and then on to Palmer for Cross Country Sates!!!!! I'm excited to get to go to the big city and have a fast food meal or two!!!
In other news, I found out today I get to go to Anchorage this weekend, and then on to Palmer for Cross Country Sates!!!!! I'm excited to get to go to the big city and have a fast food meal or two!!!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Pictures from Unalakleet!
Snowy Unalakleet
Snow in September !!!! 
September 26, Another Trip, Another Title
This week went by super fast, before I even knew it, it was Friday, and I was on my way to Kotzebue to catch a plane to Unalakleet for cross country regional meet (Not before trying some Whale Blubber and Seal Meet on the school's Inupiaq day [blubber with salt was amazing, the seal not so good]). In Kotzebue, I was excited because I was able to call people on my cell phone in the small window that I had, but then it was on the "Big" plane (19 Seater!!!!) to Unalakleet. After we got there on Friday, we went to the supermarket, or the closest thing to one in bush Alaska. After that, there was a bonfire on the beach right by the school, and then a movie in the cafeteria, and then lights out.
The next day was race day, and shortly after the boys took off, it began to snow, hard. Runners needed to finish in the top 15 if they were to qualify for the state meet next weekend in Palmer. This seems easy enough, but when nome puts 7 runners in the top 9, its not so easy to get one of those 8 spots. But the good news is my top runner took one of those spots, finishing in 8th place, and qualifying for states. This means I could be going to Palmer, which is just 50 miles outside of Anchorage, next weekend, however, the district will choose which coaches' trips they fund, so I can't worry about that now. My other boys came in 23rd, 25th, and 28th.
Next, the girls ran, and their entire race was run in a near white out condition. The girls ran thier hearts out, finishing near the back of the pack, 32nd, 42nd, and 43rd.
After the race, our 8th place finisher collected his medal, and just as we were about to leave, they began to announce the team winners. After they had announced White Mountain was runner-up for Boy's small school team, I lost my hope, (their top runner was 6th overall, which I thought would do us in). But then came the big announcement, "And the winner of the Boy's Region 1 North Small School title are the Buckland Sissauŋi." I had to rush to get my boy's together to collect the trophy, and I didn't get a team picture with the trophy until we were on the plane home, because of the rush to catch our plane. But it is never an inconvinience comming home with some hardware for the school's trophy case.
The next day was race day, and shortly after the boys took off, it began to snow, hard. Runners needed to finish in the top 15 if they were to qualify for the state meet next weekend in Palmer. This seems easy enough, but when nome puts 7 runners in the top 9, its not so easy to get one of those 8 spots. But the good news is my top runner took one of those spots, finishing in 8th place, and qualifying for states. This means I could be going to Palmer, which is just 50 miles outside of Anchorage, next weekend, however, the district will choose which coaches' trips they fund, so I can't worry about that now. My other boys came in 23rd, 25th, and 28th.
Next, the girls ran, and their entire race was run in a near white out condition. The girls ran thier hearts out, finishing near the back of the pack, 32nd, 42nd, and 43rd.
After the race, our 8th place finisher collected his medal, and just as we were about to leave, they began to announce the team winners. After they had announced White Mountain was runner-up for Boy's small school team, I lost my hope, (their top runner was 6th overall, which I thought would do us in). But then came the big announcement, "And the winner of the Boy's Region 1 North Small School title are the Buckland Sissauŋi." I had to rush to get my boy's together to collect the trophy, and I didn't get a team picture with the trophy until we were on the plane home, because of the rush to catch our plane. But it is never an inconvinience comming home with some hardware for the school's trophy case.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
September 22, SNOW!!! and other pictures
Noorvik, AK
Kiana, notice the mountains in the background
Inside the plane to Kiana
The plane I took to Kiana!
A view from the plane finally on the way home from Kiana
The 2009 NWABSD Boy's high school cross country champions Nunachiam Sissauni!
Snow on Hillside
Monday, September 21, 2009
September 21, 2009--Good News!
Today was a good day, well not so much in terms of the kids' behavior, but there were two interesting highlights on this the Autumn Equinox. Although I had to wait until the end of the day for both events to occur, as the old adage goes, it is better late than never.
The first event occurred as we were coming in from cross-country practice, I noticed that mixed in with the rain was SNOW!!! That's right, snow already! I'm excited for winter already! Although no snow was actually sticking to the ground, it is always good to be reminded that I'm actually in Alaska!
The next event that happened came when my principal informed me that the district activities director called and informed her that Buckland will get one whole 9 passenger plane to Unalakleet, meaning my two runners who finished 11th get to go, the other choice is entirely up to me, I'm debating whether or not to bring a senior, or the girl who finished 12th in Kiana. I'm being pressured to take the senior from administration, so we shall see what that results in. I also found out that my flight to Unalakleet leaves Friday, so it will be my first ever overnight trip as a coach, I'm all excited about this trip, I can't wait for Friday!
The first event occurred as we were coming in from cross-country practice, I noticed that mixed in with the rain was SNOW!!! That's right, snow already! I'm excited for winter already! Although no snow was actually sticking to the ground, it is always good to be reminded that I'm actually in Alaska!
The next event that happened came when my principal informed me that the district activities director called and informed her that Buckland will get one whole 9 passenger plane to Unalakleet, meaning my two runners who finished 11th get to go, the other choice is entirely up to me, I'm debating whether or not to bring a senior, or the girl who finished 12th in Kiana. I'm being pressured to take the senior from administration, so we shall see what that results in. I also found out that my flight to Unalakleet leaves Friday, so it will be my first ever overnight trip as a coach, I'm all excited about this trip, I can't wait for Friday!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
September 19- NWABSD Cross Country Championships, Kiana
This week's cross-country meet was an emotional roller coaster, one that started Thursday. Through lack of communication, I found out late in the week that if any high school kids were to run next week in Unlakleet they needed to finish in the top 10 this weekend. The problem was my Principal wanted me to take with me 2 Elementary Runners, 2 Middle School Runenrs, and 4 High School runners. Thankfully, one site, Ambler didn't need the alotted 2 planes, one of 5 one of 6 seats, so Buckland was able to acquire a 5 seat plane, meaning I could take an extra chaperone, and 4 more high school students (3 boys, 1 girl).
So Saturday morning, I was excited that 12 kids got to go to Kiana to run. So, as I boarded the 5 passenger plane with my middle and elementary school runners, I had no idea about what was to come in the day ahead.
First, on the way to Kiana, our pilot spotted a bear, since this was a small, family owned airline, the pilot decided to turn back around to get a better look. So, we flew down low, to what felt like 100 feet off the ground. We saw the bear up close, it was an amazing experience, which scared the bear, and he beagn to run. Another "Only in Alaska" experience!
As for the meet, well it started off well, the boy i chose to ran in the Elementary race got 5th place, and a ribbon! The girl running in the same race finished 8th, another great result, as there were 25 girls running in that race.
Next was the girl's middle/high school race. I was excited to see close to the finish that my middle school runner was in 3rd place overall, 2nd in the middle school race. She would finish in the same position that I saw her in, but that would be a hotly contested placing later.
As the Girl's race continued, I focused my attention on the 3 girls racing. The first one came in 6th, and easily qualified for next week. My next two runners were not the best, but they both ran thier hearts out finishing in 11th and 12th, just missing out on qualifying. However, if there are extra seats to be had on the plane to Unlakleet, they should get two of them, I was very proud of them, as they both exceded expectations.
Next came the boy's middle/high school race. My middle schooler who won last week ended up cramping, and finishing 8th in the middle school race. The high schooler that won the week before finished in 11th place, after running 2 miles with a hurt knee, and the 5th runner did more than what was expected of him, finishing in the top 15, and also nearly qualifying for regionals.
The other 3 boys however were the highlight of the day. First off, as expected, the top runner, the one that was missing last week, ended up winning the race, clearing the field by a whole minute. The next two runners were important because we were scoring a team championship, the lowest score for your top 3 runners, getting a point for what place they finish in (eg. 1st gets 1 point, 2nd gets 2, etc.). As the runners came close to the finish, I told the 2nd Buckland runner that if he wanted to run next week, he needed to start sprinting now, and sprint he did, right past 2 Selawik runners. Our 3rd boys runner was shortly behind him, and the same motivation worked for him as well, finishing stronger than the other runners around him, and in the top ten as well. When it came down to scores, it was Buckland 12, Selawik 14, a 2 point win for us! We were the 2009 North West Arctic Borough School District boy's cross country Champions!
After dealing with 3 injured runners, i was called to a coaches' meeting after the race. Apparently, the first two girls in the middle/high school race, girls from Kotzebue took a wrong turn and my girl, not having been around the course, since we didn't have time after arriving, followed. After 20 minutes of hotly contested debate, the coaches voted 6 to 5 to disqualify the three runners from the race. To no fault of the kids, the course should have been better marked, and spotters should have done thier job, they were taken out of the results. Rules are rules, it is just that the Kiana people should have had done a much better job marking the course. The kids weren't doing it on purpose, and they probably would have still finished 1,2,3 as it is. Even though my runner was disqualified, she took it very well, a testament to her upbeat character.
To top it off, my plane was the last one to leave. It is hard to keep kids amused in a gym for 3 hours. Basketball is only going to keep them busy for so long, but we also played Norwegian, the form of baseball played up here, soccer, and volleyball. Finally, we got the call to the airport, our plane was in, taking off from Kiana at 9:30, landing in Buckland in the dark, on a dirt runway, on a 5 passenger plane at 10:10, another new experience for me up here!
After this day filled with highs and lows, one more blow was dealt, MSU football is 1-2. But the experince of the day is one I will never forget!
So Saturday morning, I was excited that 12 kids got to go to Kiana to run. So, as I boarded the 5 passenger plane with my middle and elementary school runners, I had no idea about what was to come in the day ahead.
First, on the way to Kiana, our pilot spotted a bear, since this was a small, family owned airline, the pilot decided to turn back around to get a better look. So, we flew down low, to what felt like 100 feet off the ground. We saw the bear up close, it was an amazing experience, which scared the bear, and he beagn to run. Another "Only in Alaska" experience!
As for the meet, well it started off well, the boy i chose to ran in the Elementary race got 5th place, and a ribbon! The girl running in the same race finished 8th, another great result, as there were 25 girls running in that race.
Next was the girl's middle/high school race. I was excited to see close to the finish that my middle school runner was in 3rd place overall, 2nd in the middle school race. She would finish in the same position that I saw her in, but that would be a hotly contested placing later.
As the Girl's race continued, I focused my attention on the 3 girls racing. The first one came in 6th, and easily qualified for next week. My next two runners were not the best, but they both ran thier hearts out finishing in 11th and 12th, just missing out on qualifying. However, if there are extra seats to be had on the plane to Unlakleet, they should get two of them, I was very proud of them, as they both exceded expectations.
Next came the boy's middle/high school race. My middle schooler who won last week ended up cramping, and finishing 8th in the middle school race. The high schooler that won the week before finished in 11th place, after running 2 miles with a hurt knee, and the 5th runner did more than what was expected of him, finishing in the top 15, and also nearly qualifying for regionals.
The other 3 boys however were the highlight of the day. First off, as expected, the top runner, the one that was missing last week, ended up winning the race, clearing the field by a whole minute. The next two runners were important because we were scoring a team championship, the lowest score for your top 3 runners, getting a point for what place they finish in (eg. 1st gets 1 point, 2nd gets 2, etc.). As the runners came close to the finish, I told the 2nd Buckland runner that if he wanted to run next week, he needed to start sprinting now, and sprint he did, right past 2 Selawik runners. Our 3rd boys runner was shortly behind him, and the same motivation worked for him as well, finishing stronger than the other runners around him, and in the top ten as well. When it came down to scores, it was Buckland 12, Selawik 14, a 2 point win for us! We were the 2009 North West Arctic Borough School District boy's cross country Champions!
After dealing with 3 injured runners, i was called to a coaches' meeting after the race. Apparently, the first two girls in the middle/high school race, girls from Kotzebue took a wrong turn and my girl, not having been around the course, since we didn't have time after arriving, followed. After 20 minutes of hotly contested debate, the coaches voted 6 to 5 to disqualify the three runners from the race. To no fault of the kids, the course should have been better marked, and spotters should have done thier job, they were taken out of the results. Rules are rules, it is just that the Kiana people should have had done a much better job marking the course. The kids weren't doing it on purpose, and they probably would have still finished 1,2,3 as it is. Even though my runner was disqualified, she took it very well, a testament to her upbeat character.
To top it off, my plane was the last one to leave. It is hard to keep kids amused in a gym for 3 hours. Basketball is only going to keep them busy for so long, but we also played Norwegian, the form of baseball played up here, soccer, and volleyball. Finally, we got the call to the airport, our plane was in, taking off from Kiana at 9:30, landing in Buckland in the dark, on a dirt runway, on a 5 passenger plane at 10:10, another new experience for me up here!
After this day filled with highs and lows, one more blow was dealt, MSU football is 1-2. But the experince of the day is one I will never forget!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
September 12, 2009, First Cross-Country Meet!
Today I woke up excited for two reasons, one MSU football was actually on TV in Alaska (Which later I would find out was probably a bad thing), and two, I got to leave Buckland with 8 kids to travel to Noorvik for the first XC meet of the year.
For the trip I planed on taking 3 Girls (One High School, One Middle School, and One Elementary School kid) and 5 boys (Two High School, Two Middle School, and One Elementary). Unfortunately, one of the High School boys decided the night before was a perfect night for fighting, and was rightfully held back from traveling by his parents, leaving us with an open seat on the plane.
So, at 9:30 am, the 8 of us departed for Noorvik, arriving shortly before 10am. After a quick breakfast at the school, the team and I walked the course, and the kids were amazed by 2 things there, the pine trees (there are 0 trees in Buckland) and the 3 enormous hills they had to run. After walking the course, it was time for lunch for the kids, and a coaches meeting for me. After finding out that the top 5 in each category got ribbons, I felt positive we would walk away with at least one.
Soon after the meeting, it was time for the first race, Elementary Girls/Boys. Shortly after the gun I noticed my boy and girl both take charge at the head of the pack, and immediately I thought this wouldn't be good....
This race was only 1.5 miles, and was ran over 2 laps on the circut. So I was surprised when after completing the first lap, the Sussani runner just behind a Kotzebue runner. So as I encouraged him, I was nervous, he looked tired. On the 2nd go around, I gathered the 5 kids not running and moved about .2 miles from the finish to cheer him on. When he came into view, he was still in 2nd, out of reach of the Kotzebue kid, but in danger of being passed by a Noorvik runner. In the end, he held on for 2nd. Sadly, the same can't be said for the Elementary girl, she dropped from her early lead to finish 9th, which still isn't bad (TOP TEN!). One race, one ribbon!
The next race was the Middle/High School girls race. This race was confusing, as the girls got sent the wrong way. My 8th grader beat my 12th grader, but she finished 7th in the Middle School race. However, the 12th grade girl was 4th in the High School girls category! Two races, two ribbons!
The 3rd and final race was the High/Middle School boys race. In this race I had 3 runners, two from 7th grade, and one from 10th. As the race started, despite my advice to my runners to go out nice and easy, the 10th grader raced out to an early lead (It must have been genetic, because his brother was the afore mentioned runner in the Elementary race!). As I raced up to find out how the kids were doing, I heard a local say the Buckland kid was in front a while back (it was a very tough course to see everything) and he looked like he was hurting REAL bad (my thoughts were, "Oh man, not again," or as they would say it in the bush, "Adiiiii not again.").
To my surprise as the runners passed through downtown Noorvik, a Selawik runner was first, followed closely by......a Buckland runner (the same one who looked like he was hurting REAL BAD!). As an additional Surprise, one of my 7th grade runners was only a few seconds behind him... I rushed down to the finish line to find the great news, Buckland had gone 1, 2. The fact that both runners were in different categories (One High School, one Middle School) meant that Buckland had the individual winner in both races! I stayed down by the Noorvik riverside to cheer on the final Sussani runner to cross the finish line, the other middle schooler, who ended up coming in 7th place in the Middle School race! Three races, four ribbons!!!!!!!
The other 3 runners got participation ribbons as well, so it was a great haul for Nunachiam Sussani on this fine day in Noorvik, one that was perfect for running by the way (50's, misty, and a little cloud cover).
After the awards were presented, they announced that according to the flight schedule, Buckland was the first to leave, so we took off from Noorvik around 5:10, and by 5:35, we were back in Buckland spreading the great news of our success in Noorvik.
I am proud of all 7 runners that went today, but now I have a bigger headache deciding which 8 to take Kiana next Saturday when I do it all over agian. And next Saturday, I get back my 2 time State Finals qualifier, who is a Junior, who was out all this week helping the State Wildlife Fish and Game commision tag and take blood samples from caribou. I can't wait until then!
For the trip I planed on taking 3 Girls (One High School, One Middle School, and One Elementary School kid) and 5 boys (Two High School, Two Middle School, and One Elementary). Unfortunately, one of the High School boys decided the night before was a perfect night for fighting, and was rightfully held back from traveling by his parents, leaving us with an open seat on the plane.
So, at 9:30 am, the 8 of us departed for Noorvik, arriving shortly before 10am. After a quick breakfast at the school, the team and I walked the course, and the kids were amazed by 2 things there, the pine trees (there are 0 trees in Buckland) and the 3 enormous hills they had to run. After walking the course, it was time for lunch for the kids, and a coaches meeting for me. After finding out that the top 5 in each category got ribbons, I felt positive we would walk away with at least one.
Soon after the meeting, it was time for the first race, Elementary Girls/Boys. Shortly after the gun I noticed my boy and girl both take charge at the head of the pack, and immediately I thought this wouldn't be good....
This race was only 1.5 miles, and was ran over 2 laps on the circut. So I was surprised when after completing the first lap, the Sussani runner just behind a Kotzebue runner. So as I encouraged him, I was nervous, he looked tired. On the 2nd go around, I gathered the 5 kids not running and moved about .2 miles from the finish to cheer him on. When he came into view, he was still in 2nd, out of reach of the Kotzebue kid, but in danger of being passed by a Noorvik runner. In the end, he held on for 2nd. Sadly, the same can't be said for the Elementary girl, she dropped from her early lead to finish 9th, which still isn't bad (TOP TEN!). One race, one ribbon!
The next race was the Middle/High School girls race. This race was confusing, as the girls got sent the wrong way. My 8th grader beat my 12th grader, but she finished 7th in the Middle School race. However, the 12th grade girl was 4th in the High School girls category! Two races, two ribbons!
The 3rd and final race was the High/Middle School boys race. In this race I had 3 runners, two from 7th grade, and one from 10th. As the race started, despite my advice to my runners to go out nice and easy, the 10th grader raced out to an early lead (It must have been genetic, because his brother was the afore mentioned runner in the Elementary race!). As I raced up to find out how the kids were doing, I heard a local say the Buckland kid was in front a while back (it was a very tough course to see everything) and he looked like he was hurting REAL bad (my thoughts were, "Oh man, not again," or as they would say it in the bush, "Adiiiii not again.").
To my surprise as the runners passed through downtown Noorvik, a Selawik runner was first, followed closely by......a Buckland runner (the same one who looked like he was hurting REAL BAD!). As an additional Surprise, one of my 7th grade runners was only a few seconds behind him... I rushed down to the finish line to find the great news, Buckland had gone 1, 2. The fact that both runners were in different categories (One High School, one Middle School) meant that Buckland had the individual winner in both races! I stayed down by the Noorvik riverside to cheer on the final Sussani runner to cross the finish line, the other middle schooler, who ended up coming in 7th place in the Middle School race! Three races, four ribbons!!!!!!!
The other 3 runners got participation ribbons as well, so it was a great haul for Nunachiam Sussani on this fine day in Noorvik, one that was perfect for running by the way (50's, misty, and a little cloud cover).
After the awards were presented, they announced that according to the flight schedule, Buckland was the first to leave, so we took off from Noorvik around 5:10, and by 5:35, we were back in Buckland spreading the great news of our success in Noorvik.
I am proud of all 7 runners that went today, but now I have a bigger headache deciding which 8 to take Kiana next Saturday when I do it all over agian. And next Saturday, I get back my 2 time State Finals qualifier, who is a Junior, who was out all this week helping the State Wildlife Fish and Game commision tag and take blood samples from caribou. I can't wait until then!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Long over due pictures!
A view from Hillside, outside of town
A shot of Buckland
My Class of 12
Buckland from The hillside
My Apartment
My ClassroomMore Pictures and information to come later......
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
August 27-31
I'm having technical difficulties with google, I don't know if this will post, I plan on writing more Tuesday night, sorry for the long delay
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
August 22-26, Time Flies
Wow, the time really flies up here when you are having fun (if you call working 7am-6pm fun!). On the XC front, the numbers are dwindling, this could be for a few reasons. I could be running the little ones too hard, but also it could be because it is flu season (yes in August) up here, and when there is a bug going around in a village of less than 500, the kids are bound to get sick. The third reason kids haven't been showing up to practice is because of the dreaded "gym list." The "gym list" applies mainly to high school and middle school kids, and it is the collection of names each day of students who are unable to attend that night's open gym. One gets on the "gym list" for a number of reasons (didn't do homework, chewing gum, tardiness, or just plain behavior problems), and when your name is on the list, you are banned for all extra curricular activities for that day (If it is a Wednesday, you're out for that night and Thursday because the gym is closed on Wednesdays due to a weekly church service). So as coach, it is my responsibility to check the gym list every day to see if my runners have behaved themselves in class that day, and most days I feel I'm fighting an uphill battle. Still I carry on.
This week I realized two things about Sundays. First is that the village is dead, well at least the schoolyard. This is because Sunday is reserved for the church (Officially Quaker aka Friend's Church, but really Non-Denominational) and your family. This is understandable, however, it leaves the area surrounding the school with an eerie feeling. The other thing I noticed about Sunday was that pretty much every teacher in the school was in the building trying to figure out how to use the lesson plan format that is required by our district to submit to our Principals every Monday morning ( I guess every teacher here is a procrastinator, so I fit right in!). After figuring out my lesson plans, I barely had time to get some rest before school Monday.
Monday is the "early out" for the kids, while we have a staff meeting at 2:40. I found this to hurt XC attendance. I had 5 or 6 kids come to me at about 5:30 (45 minutes after practice started) and tell me that they had just gotten up from a nap! I considered scrapping Monday practices, but then I realized the ones who are truly dedicated will show up for Mondays regardless.
About the only other event of significance that happened this week was the monthly visit of my mentor teacher from the Alaska State Teacher Mentoring Program. He's a 20 year vet of schools on the east side of the state. In a normal situation, my mentor teacher would be at my school, or within my district, but as they say here, "Welcome to the village!" Reed is great, he sat in during Language Arts (or as I like to call it, "Pulling teeth" or perhaps "trying to push a parked car" is a better way to put it) and offered me a lot of great advice about my group. Unfortunately he's only here once a month, but I'm glad to have a good advisor in my corner.
I have been getting packages or some form of mail every day this week, and up here that's like Christmas morning! I just can't wait for my TV, I'm lost without it, no Columbus Crew or Manchester United games! Also, I think I'll finally get to walk around town and take pictures Saturday. It will finally be nice to get pictures up here, because words can not describe the beauty of Buckland. I never imagined that I would be sitting in a valley, surrounded by large hills in every direction, nestled along the Buckland River. This town is truly an amazing site to see. Hopefully I will make a post before Saturday, if I've got the time that is!
This week I realized two things about Sundays. First is that the village is dead, well at least the schoolyard. This is because Sunday is reserved for the church (Officially Quaker aka Friend's Church, but really Non-Denominational) and your family. This is understandable, however, it leaves the area surrounding the school with an eerie feeling. The other thing I noticed about Sunday was that pretty much every teacher in the school was in the building trying to figure out how to use the lesson plan format that is required by our district to submit to our Principals every Monday morning ( I guess every teacher here is a procrastinator, so I fit right in!). After figuring out my lesson plans, I barely had time to get some rest before school Monday.
Monday is the "early out" for the kids, while we have a staff meeting at 2:40. I found this to hurt XC attendance. I had 5 or 6 kids come to me at about 5:30 (45 minutes after practice started) and tell me that they had just gotten up from a nap! I considered scrapping Monday practices, but then I realized the ones who are truly dedicated will show up for Mondays regardless.
About the only other event of significance that happened this week was the monthly visit of my mentor teacher from the Alaska State Teacher Mentoring Program. He's a 20 year vet of schools on the east side of the state. In a normal situation, my mentor teacher would be at my school, or within my district, but as they say here, "Welcome to the village!" Reed is great, he sat in during Language Arts (or as I like to call it, "Pulling teeth" or perhaps "trying to push a parked car" is a better way to put it) and offered me a lot of great advice about my group. Unfortunately he's only here once a month, but I'm glad to have a good advisor in my corner.
I have been getting packages or some form of mail every day this week, and up here that's like Christmas morning! I just can't wait for my TV, I'm lost without it, no Columbus Crew or Manchester United games! Also, I think I'll finally get to walk around town and take pictures Saturday. It will finally be nice to get pictures up here, because words can not describe the beauty of Buckland. I never imagined that I would be sitting in a valley, surrounded by large hills in every direction, nestled along the Buckland River. This town is truly an amazing site to see. Hopefully I will make a post before Saturday, if I've got the time that is!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
August 20-22 Still Adjusting
I am beginning to feel the pressures of being a first year teacher, so much to do so little time to do it. This is magnified by the fact that on top of teaching, I am coaching cross-country, and on top of all that, I'm still adjusting to a new style of life in a new state, in a community that is far different to the one that I grew up in. As a result of all this, I haven't gotten the time to post anything here.
However, now it is my first day off since I've started working for the district, which feels like it has been 4 weeks instead of 12 days.
As for the past 3 days, there is nothing really new to report on. Thursday and Friday were exhausting, with early XC (cross-country) practice, school than two sessions of XC practice each day. Friday after XC there was a movie night to raise funds for a few students going on a school related caribou hunting trip (Ironically my star runner is one of those going, and its on the day of the first meet!). After the movie, I went to the open gym, and then came home and hit the hay hard.
Saturday has been an easy day so far, I've done NOTHING at all to do with school (Except for hold a cross-country practice). I look forward to resting for the remainder of the day, it really feels good to have a weekend.
However, now it is my first day off since I've started working for the district, which feels like it has been 4 weeks instead of 12 days.
As for the past 3 days, there is nothing really new to report on. Thursday and Friday were exhausting, with early XC (cross-country) practice, school than two sessions of XC practice each day. Friday after XC there was a movie night to raise funds for a few students going on a school related caribou hunting trip (Ironically my star runner is one of those going, and its on the day of the first meet!). After the movie, I went to the open gym, and then came home and hit the hay hard.
Saturday has been an easy day so far, I've done NOTHING at all to do with school (Except for hold a cross-country practice). I look forward to resting for the remainder of the day, it really feels good to have a weekend.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
August 18-19: Long Days, Long Nights, and Early Morning
The past couple of days have been extremely busy for me. It all started way back Monday night, when I got the wise idea of meeting the locals. In Buckland, where basketball is king, there is no better way to get in the mix of things than by stopping by open gym. I went to shoot around with the high schoolers at the 8:00-9:00pm gym session, then I decided to stay and play in the men's open gym night, which is from 9:00 to 11:00. My plan was to stay and play a few games. It was all going according to plan, I was in on the very first game by virtue of me sinking a free throw when we were picking teams. I was thinking to myself "this is great, I'll be out of here by 9:30." That idea was all good on paper, until my team just kept on winning, meaning we didn't have to get off the court. The next thing I knew, it was 10:40, and everyone was leaving, and the game turned into a 5-3 (we had the 3), so we finally lost. This is something I would regret come Tuesday.
Having promised one of my runners that I would get up in the morning and run with him at 6:30, I awoke, and made my way over to school, only to find that all of his running stuff was locked in the locker room, one that I didn't have a key to (As coach, I know have a key to that room, although I probably should've had it from the day I said I would coach the team). So I told L (can't use kids names for obvious reasons) that I am sorry, and then I went right back to bed for another hour.
All day Tuesday I was sore from the basketball the night before, as well as a bit of the running. The day felt a lot longer than Monday, and it was for two reasons; first, the school day was actually 2 hours longer (we didn't have an hour long assembly like we did Monday, and we didn't have the typical Monday early-release), and I split the cross country team up into grades 3-7, and 8-12. This meant that the little ones practiced at 4:00 and the big ones at 4:45, so by the time the kids were showered, it was 6:00 and time for planing. Because of all this, Tuesday was a blur. The only thing I remembered about Tuesday during school was that I had to teach P.E. for the first time ever, and it won't be the last time (my kids better like soccer!). But Tuesday, we just played a game the kids call Run Caribou Run, and kickball, they know the routines, I get to just sit back and relax.
After planning a few things, I was off to the high school open gym, to shoot around. This time I had the self control to step out at about 8:45 to do a little more planning. However, by 9:30, I was out, and by 10:00 I was fast asleep.
Another early morning for L, this time to use the weight room, and at 7:00, so I got a bit more sleep. While my runners were doing weights, I graded math pretests, and planned out my day. Again, now that I'm in the swing of things, I don't remember much about Wednesday pre-cross country.
Wednesday, was a "learning experience" as my Principal put it. I took my older runners on a road that was being used as a part of the sewer project. I didn't know that it was supposed to be kept off, and the project manager called our Principal, and had the custodian come out on the school Honda (ATV) and bring back all the runners. Feeling bad when I came back and confronted my Principal, she took all the blame, and said it was alright, and that since she hadn't told me I couldn't run there, that it wasn't my fault. This made me feel much better, although, I learned my lesson to not listen to 11th and 12th graders that tell me it is alright to go on to certain roads.
Anyways, that is the last few days in a nutshell, time just keeps flying by faster and faster.
Having promised one of my runners that I would get up in the morning and run with him at 6:30, I awoke, and made my way over to school, only to find that all of his running stuff was locked in the locker room, one that I didn't have a key to (As coach, I know have a key to that room, although I probably should've had it from the day I said I would coach the team). So I told L (can't use kids names for obvious reasons) that I am sorry, and then I went right back to bed for another hour.
All day Tuesday I was sore from the basketball the night before, as well as a bit of the running. The day felt a lot longer than Monday, and it was for two reasons; first, the school day was actually 2 hours longer (we didn't have an hour long assembly like we did Monday, and we didn't have the typical Monday early-release), and I split the cross country team up into grades 3-7, and 8-12. This meant that the little ones practiced at 4:00 and the big ones at 4:45, so by the time the kids were showered, it was 6:00 and time for planing. Because of all this, Tuesday was a blur. The only thing I remembered about Tuesday during school was that I had to teach P.E. for the first time ever, and it won't be the last time (my kids better like soccer!). But Tuesday, we just played a game the kids call Run Caribou Run, and kickball, they know the routines, I get to just sit back and relax.
After planning a few things, I was off to the high school open gym, to shoot around. This time I had the self control to step out at about 8:45 to do a little more planning. However, by 9:30, I was out, and by 10:00 I was fast asleep.
Another early morning for L, this time to use the weight room, and at 7:00, so I got a bit more sleep. While my runners were doing weights, I graded math pretests, and planned out my day. Again, now that I'm in the swing of things, I don't remember much about Wednesday pre-cross country.
Wednesday, was a "learning experience" as my Principal put it. I took my older runners on a road that was being used as a part of the sewer project. I didn't know that it was supposed to be kept off, and the project manager called our Principal, and had the custodian come out on the school Honda (ATV) and bring back all the runners. Feeling bad when I came back and confronted my Principal, she took all the blame, and said it was alright, and that since she hadn't told me I couldn't run there, that it wasn't my fault. This made me feel much better, although, I learned my lesson to not listen to 11th and 12th graders that tell me it is alright to go on to certain roads.
Anyways, that is the last few days in a nutshell, time just keeps flying by faster and faster.
Monday, August 17, 2009
August 16-17, the eve of, and the 1st day of school
I hate to group together these two days, but there were two problems (one my fault, the other beyond my control) that prevented me from writing on Sunday. The first matter, the matter that was within my control was organizing the classroom. Because of this Sunday was basically a blur. I came into the classroom at about 10:00am, worked until lunch, took a 30 minute break, came back, and then left for another 30 minutes around dinner time. Following dinner, I worked until about 9:30 pm, and had everything ready I needed to start school the next day.
The other thing keeping me from completing my blog was the fact that the internet in the school, or possibly the whole village crashed. After asking around, I found out that this is a common occurrence in the bush, so it is something that I will have to get used to.
Outside on Sunday, the village was like the calm before the storm.... It seemed that not a soul was out on the playground, and considerably less four wheelers were out roaming around the streets.
As for today, well as most first days, it was a blur. All I can remember is that the day started with me picking up my kids, and bringing them to my room. After letting them design their homework folders, it was time for the whole school assembly, where the new class (pre-K) and all teachers were introduced. Next, we came back to the room, and I went over rules and regulations, and set my standards. Then after lunch with the kids, we went over our goals for third grade. Following that, the day was pretty much easy, around the world math, and an indoor recess to close the day. On Mondays, the kids get out early, while teachers meet.
After the staff meeting, I had the first cross-country practice, and 50 kids grades 3-12 turned out, which made for a logistic mess....My solution, tomorrow, practice for elementary and high school will be separate! Now, it is time to plan for the next day, and rest up! School is officially upon us!
The other thing keeping me from completing my blog was the fact that the internet in the school, or possibly the whole village crashed. After asking around, I found out that this is a common occurrence in the bush, so it is something that I will have to get used to.
Outside on Sunday, the village was like the calm before the storm.... It seemed that not a soul was out on the playground, and considerably less four wheelers were out roaming around the streets.
As for today, well as most first days, it was a blur. All I can remember is that the day started with me picking up my kids, and bringing them to my room. After letting them design their homework folders, it was time for the whole school assembly, where the new class (pre-K) and all teachers were introduced. Next, we came back to the room, and I went over rules and regulations, and set my standards. Then after lunch with the kids, we went over our goals for third grade. Following that, the day was pretty much easy, around the world math, and an indoor recess to close the day. On Mondays, the kids get out early, while teachers meet.
After the staff meeting, I had the first cross-country practice, and 50 kids grades 3-12 turned out, which made for a logistic mess....My solution, tomorrow, practice for elementary and high school will be separate! Now, it is time to plan for the next day, and rest up! School is officially upon us!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
August 15, Day 2
Isn't every person's favorite thing to be required to come into work for a 6th consecutive day? (sarcasm). Well my Saturday morning started bright and early, waking up at 7:30, eating my breakfast (peanut butter sandwich and a Dr. Pepper), and making the short walk to my classroom (although the walk was made slightly longer by the fact that the custodial staff is doing waxing on the tile floors, meaning I need to walk to the opposite end of the school, and enter the Elementary wing that way. Even though it was a Saturday, today felt like a Tuesday. Before I talk about how I spent the rest of my day, I should note that my bags that were left in Kotzebue all arrived safely at my door Friday night. My classroom preparations today were much more successful. I got many posters hung, the books are ready to go, and I've got all the name tags on the desks. I've got my classroom arranged in 4 "clusters" of 3 students each, and I've already got warnings from the 1st/2nd grade teacher about kids to keep apart, ironically one of the suggestions was to keep his own daughter away from another student. Anyways, I'm getting real excited to meet the Nunachiam Sissauni (Buckland Belugas) class of 2019, my third graders.
Other than the boring cleaning of the classroom, we had an informal staff meeting, where I was appointed the school's cross-country coach. Our season is 3 meets long, 4 if you count the state meet. The sites that have meets for those of you interested in researching are Noorvik, Kiana, and Unalakleet. The first 2 cities are north of the Arctic Circle, and are also schools in the NWABSD. Unalakleet is in the Bering Straight Borough, and that is where the regionals will be. I'm looking forward to the trips to Noorvik and Kiana, because according to the fellow teachers at the in service, they have trees, it will be interesting to see trees north of the Arctic Circle. Also, at the Noorvik site there are two new teachers that I met at the new hire training, so it will be good to catch up with some friends. Our first practice starts Monday, however, other schools have already started, so we are behind the ball. This will help me get back into shape, as well as provide me a great chance to meet members of the community.
The other good news of the day was that my final Fred Meyer package, containing my macaroni and cheese and cereal was waiting at my front door for me, meaning everything I shipped has successfully arrived in Buckland! After dinner today, I went home to put in a relaxing movie, and I ended up falling asleep, which took up all of the time I had set aside to go see the village, I guess that will have to wait until next Saturday.
I think the reality of the timezone change has hit me, and of course it is soccer that makes me realize this. Sunday is Manchester United's first game of the season, and at home in Michigan, the game would kick off at 8:30am, which means in Alaska that game is at 4:30am. Not being able to watch my favorite teams is going to be hard at first, (until i get a TV up here with a satellite dish, then it will be no problem) but I will get used to it.
Anyways, if I am going to be ready for school Monday, I need to get back to fixing up my room, I will try and get some pictures up by the middle of the week.
Anyways, I'm going to put in a few more hours here at the school, thanks everyone for reading.
Other than the boring cleaning of the classroom, we had an informal staff meeting, where I was appointed the school's cross-country coach. Our season is 3 meets long, 4 if you count the state meet. The sites that have meets for those of you interested in researching are Noorvik, Kiana, and Unalakleet. The first 2 cities are north of the Arctic Circle, and are also schools in the NWABSD. Unalakleet is in the Bering Straight Borough, and that is where the regionals will be. I'm looking forward to the trips to Noorvik and Kiana, because according to the fellow teachers at the in service, they have trees, it will be interesting to see trees north of the Arctic Circle. Also, at the Noorvik site there are two new teachers that I met at the new hire training, so it will be good to catch up with some friends. Our first practice starts Monday, however, other schools have already started, so we are behind the ball. This will help me get back into shape, as well as provide me a great chance to meet members of the community.
The other good news of the day was that my final Fred Meyer package, containing my macaroni and cheese and cereal was waiting at my front door for me, meaning everything I shipped has successfully arrived in Buckland! After dinner today, I went home to put in a relaxing movie, and I ended up falling asleep, which took up all of the time I had set aside to go see the village, I guess that will have to wait until next Saturday.
I think the reality of the timezone change has hit me, and of course it is soccer that makes me realize this. Sunday is Manchester United's first game of the season, and at home in Michigan, the game would kick off at 8:30am, which means in Alaska that game is at 4:30am. Not being able to watch my favorite teams is going to be hard at first, (until i get a TV up here with a satellite dish, then it will be no problem) but I will get used to it.
Anyways, if I am going to be ready for school Monday, I need to get back to fixing up my room, I will try and get some pictures up by the middle of the week.
Anyways, I'm going to put in a few more hours here at the school, thanks everyone for reading.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Augst 13-14, 2009 My first night/day in the Village
For a journey that started in East Lansing, Michigan on August 4, it is nice to have finally arrived in Buckland, AK, my new home. Since Sunday the 9th, I've been living in a school in Kotzebue, AK. Ideally, one does not want to spend the first days of their first year teaching sleeping on the floor of a Language Arts room, eating food prepared by school cafeteria workers (actually they fed us well), and attending what seemed like endless seminars in an school library. When they notified me I would be traveling home, I was eager to jump on the flight, and move into my new apartment, but the trip home was an adventure in its own right.
While waiting in the Kotzebue Airport, the pilot who was flying our charter flight notified the 9 of us going home that none of our checked bags would be coming with us due to the weight (too heavy in warm weather = bad news). This also meant that I had only the clothes on my back for my first night. Next, we walked out to our plane, a Navajo, which holds a pilot and 9 passengers (one has to ride co-pilot, and every seat is a window seat. Before takeoff, I was informed that our pilot hailed from Rochester, MI, and went to Western Michigan University, so immediately I felt comfortable in the hands of a fellow Michigander. This flight was unlike any flight that I've ever been on. Flying at a low altitude, I was offered breathtaking views of the Baldwin Peninsula, and the Bering Sea. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera due to the fact it was in one of my bags being held back for the night. Near the end of the 30 minute flight, I could see Buckland in the distance, and I was anxiously awaiting our arrival on to the dirt covered runway. After a landing (which was well done) unlike any landing I've ever experienced before, The local VPO (Village Police Officer, that's right there's only one) was there to greet us and welcome us home.
The rest of the night was rather uneventful as I picked up my boxes of food and some other things that I've shipped up (thankfully within one of the boxes I placed some clean shirts), and unpacked them.
After waking up, it was a work day for the NWABSD (North West Arctic Borough School District aka my employers), so I began setting up my classroom, while progress has been made, it is still not anywhere near perfection, and won't be until late Sunday night probably, if ever at all.
I still have yet to go out and explore the village, and meet the kids, however the kids that I have met are filled with questions, most of them wondering why I am so short (I told them it was my moms fault!).
Over the next couple of days, I plan to get some pictures up here of the village and my classroom, but for now, it's back to work, I've got a busy week ahead!
While waiting in the Kotzebue Airport, the pilot who was flying our charter flight notified the 9 of us going home that none of our checked bags would be coming with us due to the weight (too heavy in warm weather = bad news). This also meant that I had only the clothes on my back for my first night. Next, we walked out to our plane, a Navajo, which holds a pilot and 9 passengers (one has to ride co-pilot, and every seat is a window seat. Before takeoff, I was informed that our pilot hailed from Rochester, MI, and went to Western Michigan University, so immediately I felt comfortable in the hands of a fellow Michigander. This flight was unlike any flight that I've ever been on. Flying at a low altitude, I was offered breathtaking views of the Baldwin Peninsula, and the Bering Sea. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera due to the fact it was in one of my bags being held back for the night. Near the end of the 30 minute flight, I could see Buckland in the distance, and I was anxiously awaiting our arrival on to the dirt covered runway. After a landing (which was well done) unlike any landing I've ever experienced before, The local VPO (Village Police Officer, that's right there's only one) was there to greet us and welcome us home.
The rest of the night was rather uneventful as I picked up my boxes of food and some other things that I've shipped up (thankfully within one of the boxes I placed some clean shirts), and unpacked them.
After waking up, it was a work day for the NWABSD (North West Arctic Borough School District aka my employers), so I began setting up my classroom, while progress has been made, it is still not anywhere near perfection, and won't be until late Sunday night probably, if ever at all.
I still have yet to go out and explore the village, and meet the kids, however the kids that I have met are filled with questions, most of them wondering why I am so short (I told them it was my moms fault!).
Over the next couple of days, I plan to get some pictures up here of the village and my classroom, but for now, it's back to work, I've got a busy week ahead!
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