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!!!
Monday, September 28, 2009
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 SissauĊi." 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 SissauĊi." 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
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