End of August

It is the end of August and WOW what a month!  I feel quite stronger in many ways.  This past week has been interesting.  My students are getting adjusted to the new school year.  Some students (not necessarily in my class) have expressed their feelings in some unique ways.  Several students  have runaway from school.  The teachers have tried to collaborate on ways to help... Any suggestions?  We (the teachers) did have a good idea of having the high school kids go into the elementary classrooms and read to the students.  My kids loved seeing the "big kids" and the older students felt good about helping and becoming leaders.

Anyway, in the village I got a chance to go to the store today.  It is no Wal-Mart, but there is a good selection!  The freezer section is a room with deep freezers lining the walls.  We had to open each one to see what was in it.  The store organization wasn't very logical.  For example, baby diapers were right next to the Jell-O.  There was a section of sale items for 99 cents.  We saw packages of cookies from February 2009.  I decided it was so worth 99 cents to try it to see if they were still good.  They were! Lol! I bought 4 more boxes.  Here are some examples of the prices of things throughout the store- A 12 ounce can of Shasta coke was $1.50. Cereal was $8-$12.  For a pack of 3 pairs of underwear, it was $17.  A Country Time bottle of lemonade mix was over $6.  A gallon of ice cream was $19.  Once again, it is no Wal-Mart. 

I love village life!  Going to the store was fun.  Everyone talks to everyone.  People are very friendly.  We walk everywhere.  When we pass by someone while walking, they will stop and talk or at the very least, wave. It is pretty awesome. :)

The high school kids went on a field trip to catch salmon for the school's cafeteria.  This was one of the many bins.

 Packing the salmon

 Our counselor and some kids gutting and filleting the fish

 More gutting and filleting~ one of these kids cut off a fish head, stuck it in my face and said "Kiss it!" haha!

 The counselor chased me around the cafeteria with this fish...

 I made fried chicken for the teacher southern style potluck dinner at our house!

 Nichole and I making fried chicken.

 The potluck stuff

 It was Hope's b-day!

 The brownie cake!

 left to right- Cody the math teacher, Steve the counselor, Terry the principal

 Nichole in the village store.

 Yes, this jar of jam is $11.05

 A house in the village

 A log cabin in the village with our "mansion barn house" in the back

 View of the river on the way to working at the school after hours

"Are you proud to be American???" Lol~ "Are you proud to be an Alaskan???"

First Few Days of School!

I have survived my first three days of teaching school. Better yet, my students have survived, too! I have eleven students grades 1-3 in my classroom.  However, in my district the students are grouped by level. Therefore, my students are all level 1 and 2.  (Levels are more along the lines of "moving at your own pace.")  I have 7 boys and 4 girls.  My students are very energetic and active.  They love hands-on activities, reading on Leap Pads, getting on the computer, and singing our morning songs during Calendar Math. 

The teachers and aides and staff here at Marshall are fantastic! We have such a great group that works together so well as a team.  Everyone brings something wonderful to the table and is so willing to help others.  I couldn't ask for a better group to work with.  We have gotten along great!!! There are 11 teachers grades K-12 and our principal.  We have 1 counselor, 1 resource teacher, and 4 aides.  The aides are all native to Alaska as well as our 7-12 English teacher.  Five of the teachers are first year teachers and new to Marshall.  Our principal and counselor have been working in the schools for over 20 years each but it is also their first year at Marshall.

For fun, the teachers have had a fish fry at the school for the village, gone on walks, cooked for each other, and exercised together!

I do have a cell phone! I got a bush service phone. It looks just like any other phone. The plan I got lets me have unlimited texting.  However, I can only make free phone calls after nine p.m. here and on weekends.  That means it is midnight in Arkansas... not many people are up that late. If you would like my number to text or talk late at night, just e-mail or facebook me!

Great news! We finally got our shipment of food!!!! I have never been so excited! Eating mac n cheese, muffins, and peanut butter and crackers for 10 days was getting a little old. Now, we seem to have a lifetime supply of rice and green beans!!! (We have other stuff, too!) Because shipping boxes/food takes SO long to get here, we are already planning our next order.

I also received my third box which had all of my heavy winter gear in it along with my bedding.  It was late arriving here so in the meantime sleeping with a curtain for a blanket and a jacket for a pillow lasted for 10 days.  You should try it sometime... definitely will make you appreciate the little things.  After working long days to prepare my classroom for school to start (from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.), I was too tired to even care what I was sleeping on!

Finally, the weather here has turned to cold very quick! This weekend it was in the high 70s.  Monday it was in the 40s. Yesterday and today it has been in the 30s.  Brrrrr! It feels like December in Arkansas! It has been brutally windy and raining, too.

Here are some pictures of my first day as a teacher!

 Nichole~

 We found this antler in our house :) Now I am totally an Alaskan teacher!

 Who in Arkansas has ever worn a coat and boots to school on the first day???

 My desk area!!! Planning for a lot of fun activities!

 Calendar Math!!!

 My Classroom Library! I love this spot!!! The inspiration was the view out my window over the Yukon River

 The students' desks and the Reading Group Table in the back with the Math Group table to the right

 All of my Mac computers for the kids!

 My Math Group area!

 Our school's behavior system~ Clip Up!!!! Special thanks to Mrs. Todd and Mrs. Olson- my supervising teachers during my internship! I shared the idea with the other teachers and everyone loved it!!!

 View from the front door of the cubbies and bathroom

 View of the classroom from the front door

In Marshall

I made it safely to Marshall!!! I was really scared about the small plane ride we had to take because I get motion sickness, but our pilot was amazing and it didn't bother me!!! Upon arrival at the Bethel airport from Anchorage, fog set in and we were stuck at the Bethel airport for about six hours.  It was tiny. There, I observed a lot about the Native Alaskan culture.  Finally, we were able to board the plane and head out to Marshall.  The scenery was BEAUTIFUL! It was so exciting to fly over Marshall and see the gorgeous views around it. The village is right on the river and boasts views of rolling hills/mountains and lush green trees.  The people here are very friendly.  When you pass by them, they will stop and talk for a little while and say "Welcome to Marshall!"  Here, it seems like there is always time.  There isn't the huslte and bustle of the city. It is really laid back and relaxed.  For example, if you have a dinner that starts at 6:00pm, that is just a suggestion... the dinner might start by 6:30. 

The plane we took from Bethel to Marshall

 The view along the way :)

 The Marshall airport!

 The Russian Orthodox Church in the village

 The view of the village from the airport. Even a village on a hill can not be hidden..." lol

 

A typical house in the village

 Our house!!! Teacher housing is the best in the village

 Our living room

 Our kitchen with everything piled in it from the previous owners...

 the bathroom

 my bedroom

 the laundry room and storage room for the food we ordered

 My classroom! ^ everything is written in English and Yup'ik

 This is the view behind the school!

 The playground

 The beautiful, unedited sunset at 11:00pm

 The SCHOOL!!!!!

Anchorage, AK

I just spent a week in Anchorage, Alaska for teacher inservice.  I LOVE ANCHORAGE!!!! I have had a blast meeting all of the new teachers and our instructional leaders (a.k.a. principals) and I just can't believe that this week is already over.  Anchorage is a gorgeous place!  So, if you ever have the opportunity to visit, you should!  We stayed at the Hilton and had meetings all week.  I learned SO much about technology!  I also learned a lot about their culture!  Now I am at the Bethel airport waiting for a flight to my village.  I am very excited about setting up my classroom, implementing plans for the curriculum, and using all of the amazing technology!!!!

This is some of the stuff I crammed into a box to ship:

 

This is some more stuff that I crammed into my suitcase for Anchorage inservice week:

My last box to ship to the village:

In Anchorage outside of my hotel:

The view from my hotel window in Anchorage at 9:30 pm:

Some things I have learned so far:

People here are really friendly and laid-back.
Dogs are welcomed everywhere, even the Hilton, and don't require a leash.
When boarding the plane at small airports, they just call your name over the intercom and tell you to get on the plane.
Reindeer meat is pretty good!