It's Official....

Wendy, Patty, Betty, Carolyn, me, and Cynthia having a picnic.... Alaska style!!!

It's the last day of school!!!!! Yikes... this year has really just flown by, to the point it is almost scary! Today we started our day out like every other day, with SFA, our reading program. At 10:00 we had our awards assembly. (I got an award for perfect attendance!) After the assembly the entire school had a picnic. We had some bonfires going and had hot dogs! It was awesome to see our entire student body together having such a great time.


I now have my classroom packed up and ready for the summer painting to begin! It didn't take too much work, being that Pauline, my right hand woman, helped! She is quite an asset! I know I've said it a million times but wow... can't believe we are at this point!

Congrats to the class of 2006 back there at PHS!!! I'll be there Saturday and look forward to seeing you all then!

A Week Away...

Well here it is... the end of the year. Things are crazy busy... trying to get my room at school organized and cleaned up as well as trying to pack things up to head back to Michigan. It's hard to decide what to take and what to leave. The house is ours so at least we don't have to completely clear it out. I've been making some progress on the packing situation at least. (not taking much)

Patty, Jeannie and I are taking 6 credits of Alaska History and Multicultural classes. Patty and I actually have a year to take them but Jeannie is under a bit of pressure to get them finished by June. So... we have been cranking out the assignments. I guess it is a good thing at least one of us is under pressure, it is forcing us all to finish up. Once these credits are complete, we will have our "real" Alaska teaching certifications.

Monday night was graduation here at SMK. We had 2 graduating seniors, Daniel and Tamira. Daniel is one of my students and I am very proud of all that he has done. In Alaska students have to pass the HSGQE test as well as complete the standards that the district/state as set. We had 10-12 seniors but the majority did not pass the standards so they will be returning as 5th year seniors next year. I give them all credit for not giving up and sticking it out!


Here's a picture of Joe and I at graduation. Daniel is Joe's brother and Tamira's uncle.


Ok... well lunch is over and Darla and I are doing a beading project so... off we go...

Potlatch at SMK

Saturday night we wrapped up Yup'ik Days with a potluck and Eskimo dancing. It was a great time for the entire community.

Kristy and I. I made the kuspuk I am wearing from the material that I was given at Kristy's first dance. The kuspuk is the native "dress". If I am ever to wear it as a dress... The ruffle part is going to have to be MUCH longer! 8)
This is Patrica - my friend Priscilla's youngest. Priscilla made the head dress. It is absolutely beautiful!
The night was concluded with Eskimo dancing. A group of drummers came over from Stebbins to play for us. We held an open dance. This means that anyone can dance. At a potlatch, only people who have done their "first dance" are allowed to dance. If you don't know all about that... you haven't been faithfully reading my blog. ha ha
Sunday... I actually caught up on some much needed sleep! (Did I mention that I hate Saturday school?)

"Til next time...

Yup'ik

May 5th & 6th was Yup'ik Days here at SMK. We had a variety of activities throughout the two days. These are some pictures of them.
This is John and Dougie demonstrating the stick pull. The stick is greased and the object is to pull it from your opponent's hand. You are not allowed to move your feet at all.

Here's Dougie showing how to do the one arm reach. You have to balance your entire weight on one hand then reach around and hit the bag with the other hand while balancing on the other hand.

Here's Gus doing the 2 foot kick. You have to keep your feet together the entire time.

Here is John and Camillas doing the foot pull. You each have a foot "tied" together while balancing your weight on you hands. The object it to make your opponent fall or pull the strap off his foot.

The kids in these pictures were part of our NYO team this year. The whole team did well and served us well!

SFA Gym night

SFA - Our reading program is called Success For All (SFA). As a far of this program our students are required to read every night. If they have 100% with this aspect, they are able to attend SFA open gym. Last night I had the early shift in the gym, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. The kids were fantastic and so much fun. Carolyn came in early and played with us. Couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

Here's one of the er... guys I guess. Petey, Dream and Jade in the back.
Starting on the top left: Bernelle, Demi, Jade, Christine and Deidra
Christine, Deidra, and Jade make the tunnel. Bernelle is going to join them. John is in the background and an unknown crawler is passing through the tunnel. (think it might be Demi though)
Here's Olga, Jade, and Bernelle.

Gosh, I didn't realize until I was doing this blog how busy my day yesterday actually was. And to think I actually worked in addition to all of this. lol I also learned yestereday how quick I can be when I really have to be. My alarm didn't go off... for reasons I can not explain... I didn't hear Petunia at all in the morning. When I rolled over and looked at the clock... yikes... it said 7:56... Mind you, I need to be at school by 8:00. Thankfully I had showered the night before, so I was able to throw on some clothes and head out. I managed to punch in at 8:03. I do believe that is my record - 7 minutes! I was pretty impressed! (Not sure anyone else was... like Jeannie.., lol)

End of the year...

This year I did the after school tutoring program. It is sponsored by NACTEC in Nome. The high school students were able to come after school and work on their standards. We had a pretty decent turnout, especially during basketball season. Yesterday marked the end of the year for tutoring. Of course, like anywhere else... you have to have a party the last day! NACTEC flew in pizzas from Nome and I bought lots of chips and pop. These pictures are just a few of the kids that were partying with me!
Congrats to them on all of their hard work!

Here's Mary.
Gen is caught by surprise.
Robert loves his pizza and pop!

Pictures from Koyuk

Here's Bobbi and I... My Eskimo sister... Gotta love her!

Here's the one and only outside picture. This is Carolyn and Bria. Notice - Koyuk has trees, real live trees!!!

Luci and Priscilla in our cozy little sleeping quarters.

Here's Tunie! Not real sure what she is apolizing for but that is what she was doing.

Longer days

Many people wonder about the amount of daylight we have. The days are much longer. The sunsets are absolutley beautiful. This photo was taken April 30th about 11 pm.

This sunset was taken April 29th around midnight. The moon was really cool looking that evening. This is the photo that Jeannie needs to paint for me. 8)

It is so hard to believe that our first year here is almost over. I need to start getting ready to head back to Michigan. Oh well... I have 3 weeks left... why rush it??? lol