Moving Along Through The Week

I got some things done that were pretty good, and didn't get some other things done that I wanted to. A mixed bag, but not bad on the balance. It was a good day for a day off from the Game On diet thing, because there was pizza from the entrepreneurship class, and cookies that are being made for the SBA testing next week. Yum.

We were collectively grouchy in the morning and collectively happier in the afternoon, and we all got through the day without too much damage to all involved. I wanted to do some lesson planning tonight for next week, but I really do not know exactly what to do with all of that at this point, anyway. The only real lesson planning days are Monday and Friday, and Friday is a half day. We are supposed to conduct classes after the testing is completed, but that tends to run into the afternoon. I am a little flummoxed. Most likely I will prepare too much and call it good. Easier to cut than it is to extend.

This week, for what it has or has not been, is getting closer to over. Seven weeks from tomorrow.

and tomorrow is wednesday...

That's what I tell myself. It was a mixed-bag kind of day. Kids were kind of flaky, and I suspect that will get stronger as the light gets longer and the sleep gets shorter. Not horrible on the whole, but there were some moments where frustration was the main theme of the hour. It passed. I plan to shoot some video tomorrow, because I need to get it on a DVD and ship it out. More submissions every day. I just want to be finished. T'uai.

One Less Monday...

And an odd one it was. We did parent-teacher conferences today. We usually spread them out over two days, but compressed them into one this time. We let the kids out at noon, although some stayed around to do the conferences with their parents. Some of them were happier with those results than others. Of course, some had more to be happy about.

Seven more Mondays. That is all. Unfortunately, I was of the mind that it would be nice if there were only one or two left. At least, that was my frame of mind a little earlier tonight. It passed after a while, but it is not the first time that has happened. It is time for a little patience at this point. Things will progress rapidly enough.

Back to the test preparation routine tomorrow morning. They come a week from tomorrow.

It's Beatiful Out There...

We just got back from a walk with the dogs. All three of them. It has currently warmed up to 19 degrees with brilliant sunshine that made it feel pretty warm. Even the little guy wanted to get out and take a stroll. Of course, he only wanted to go a little way down the runway, not all the way. It is probably kind of tough when your legs are four inches long. He was good with a carry the rest of the way. Not hard with a 6 1/2 pound dog. Once we turned back for home, the pace picked up, and he was leading the pack until he stopped to visit one last fence post. Of course, he was well out of ammunition by then. It was a wonderful day for a walk. There is some loose talk about church in a minute, although I feel more like napping, truth be known.

This will be a prep week before the SBA test, and we are doing parent-teacher conferences tomorrow. The days keep getting longer, and we are starting to study the air fare charts more intently. Almost done with my second year...

A Day Of Rest...

Two nights of Cama-i, and two days of getting stuff done. I finished my assignments for one of the courses that I need to get re-licensed on the fall, and I was real happy about that. I had to design a project for the final assignment. I just started poking around with the template, when an idea for a project popped into my head. I was lucky enough to get on a roll and sustain the momentum. My wonderful wife let me out of grocery detail so that I could stay here and finish the project. I got it done, and finished and submitted my course evaluation. Everything is done, and I just have to wait for the instructor comments and final grading. I hope that both of my final assignments, each of which I submitted this week, are well received, and that I am able to get the transcripts off to EED (the Alaska Education Department) in the near future. The district here has generous benefits for continuing education, and I will be able to get reimbursed for the expense of this course if I have passed it. I will just need to finish my submissions for AKT2, and do an Alaska Studies course that I will begin at the end of May with three days of class time in Anchorage, and I should be ready to get my "professional" teaching license.

It feels good to get something done. I hope to get the rest of it done, soon.

Happy Birthday!

To my sweetie, who has shown me the meaning of the word "rebirth" even at my old age...love ya honey, and I hope that you have a great day. I will see what I can do toward that end!

Cama-i!

The first big night of the three day dance festival in Bethel, and a fun night it was. We napped after school, zipped up on the snowmachine for dinner at VIP with the Jungs, and headed over to the high school to check out some dancing and music. We enjoyed what we saw, and headed over to the craft show, where all sorts of excellent wares were there for the shopping. We all saw a few familiar faces, and talked with a number of them as well, and it was a nice night of Alaksan adventure, capped by a ride down the river under a pitch-black, star-spotted sky.

Tomorrow we will probably make a couple of trips, as the grocery store appears to be a necessary stop, and we will go back to Cama-i to see more of all of the good stuff that it holds in store. A good beginning to what promises to be a nice weekend...

Ya-Hoo!

I have to get off here quickly, because it is already late, but this is the big Cama-i weekend, so we will be running fast. I can't wait...maybe I will try to warm up some dancing muscles of my own tomorrow...

Laundry Day Already??

Man this week has gone by fast...at least the power outages are coming while I am asleep...not a whole lot else to say, except that I am nearly done with my multicultural course and that we are going to take the seniors to Anchorage. I need to get the paperwork for that trip written up and submitted by tomorrow. Also, taxes. Also, more stuff for AKT2. But most importantly, it is my honey's birthday on Saturday! Yay!

Nighty Night...

Well, let's see...five loads of laundry, dishes, grades, lesson plans, something called a data board, plans for the senior trip, AKT2 submissions, and wrestling with wound-up middle schoolers. I did it all, and I will be back for more in the morning. Damn, I'm good! (Oh, I nearly forgot about the pink snowmachine helmet!) Night, all, and sweet dreams...

Evening Now...

Well, the writing assessments got printed, and my little sweeties were duly impressed. Or not. I got the distinct feeling that they were not impressed with much today. It was either the pernicious influence of the full moon, Monday, or both. Or they were full of crap. I suggested the latter to them. They got to stick around a little longer than they bargained for, but other than that, no lasting damage seemed to have been done. Another day, and only eight more Mondays to go. The possibility and the promise of summer vacation is beginning to loom very large. I was starting to get itchy for it yesterday, and now my spouse has officially joined me. I love it here, but a little time off would be nice. Mmmm...yes indeed.

Update:

The day is frantically busy, or I am frantically slow, and everything is going faster than me. I can't tell. On the plus side, it is lunchtime, which gives me two more classes for which I am directly responsible. On the other hand, I forgot to print out the writing assessment. That has to be in by Friday, so I have some leeway. I can keep them working on research, and print out the prompts pretty quickly. Ah, organization...and then, there is the laundry...the good thing is that I am revitalizing with some fish chowder, and I feel the old fighting spirit coming back on.

Busy Weekend

And now it's over...time to get after it for another week. I had a good steam at Joe's last night,so I was nice and relaxed, but now it is time to get about the business of trying to figure this stuff out. Laundry, too, and the test of all tests is two weeks away from tomorrow. We will begin preparation in more earnest as we approach. I have been negligent in posting here, but life keeps intervening. I will try to have more to say about that later.

Sometimes All We Do Is Fight...

One of those days today. I keep thinking about a classroom in which we have constantly struggled to arrange seating to keep certain kids away from other kids only to find that the new mix has its own latent toxicity. About a group whose favorite pastime during gym class is to yell taunts at each other, preferably as loudly as possible. About the kids that are striving, and who end up getting short shrift for the attention seekers, who will get it by any means necessary. About the likelihood that they are much smarter than we are, and are just running us all around in circles.

We spend a lot of time on discipline, and it seems to just plain dominate some days. Our village is actually one with a pretty good reputation for calm and civility, and that is a pretty good thing. I think that a lot of people here try very hard to build a good life for their kids, and it shows. But it isn't universally true, and that shows, too. Thank God that it doesn't predominate.

I think that a big part of the mix is kids going through that junior high time of life, when they are trying on an ill-fitting suit of adult clothes, not sure what to think of what they look like in the mirror. They are not sure at all what to make of themselves, and I may be in the same boat. There are so many advice-givers crowded into my head, some of whom contradict one another with great consistency. Maybe that is part of the problem. Maybe I spend too much time trying to structure, and not enough relaxing and enjoying the unexpected moments. Maybe I need to get my sense of humor back, and remember that these are still children, despite the changing voices and physiques. Maybe that would all give us a few more laughs out of the day.

Nine weeks. Time enough to figure it out, maybe. Time to get the 8th graders on to high school. Time to make room for a new batch of 6th graders, some of whom were already speculating about the experience in line today.

An aside: we had a crew from National Geographic channel shooting video here today. I am not sure what it will all amount to ultimately, but it is apparently footage for the Alaska State Troopers program. They are apparently also going to come back and do some explanation about how the whole filming and editing process works. We will see what footage actually makes it to the television screen.

Today is the end of the third quarter of the school year, which will make for a busy weekend of catching up grades and entering them into various places. It is all due by Monday morning. We also have fundraisers for both juniors and seniors this weekend, which means that we are both on duty. It will be a grind, but it will be just fine. It is worth it.

Another Day...

Kids at near end-of-year levels, and we are nine weeks out. It is a little mystifying, although the time change could be contributing. It may be a simple case of massive spring fever. Attendance has been off strongly for the first two days of the week, too.

My darling still has a cold, but it is really beginning to resemble a sinus infection much more at this time.

Our friends are back from up north for the funeral of her grandma, and they are glad to be back. I am glad that they are back, too.

Time to get through the rest of the week now...

Uff Da...

The little darlings weren't all so darling today. Even the ones who tend to be the good kids were flaky. I suppose that it might have had something to do with the time change and the fact that it is now light at nine o'clock at night. Although the change is new, the daylight hours are increasing at the rate of nearly six minutes each day. I am not so sure that it is going to get any easier to get kids to bed, and sleepy kids are a major and consistent bane of my existence. It was mostly a relief to be quit of them at 4 o'clock, and I usually find that I enjoy the after-school hours with my kids quite a bit. We will see what tomorrow brings. Whatever else is true, there are only nine Mondays left in the school year.

My poor companion in crime is sick with a nasty cold. The staff and students here just seem to be passing crud around in an endless loop. Even though my pneumonia has cleared, I still have a persistent cough. My understanding is that it can take up to four weeks to get rid of the stuff entirely, so I will be patient for now and hope for the best.

My kids seem to be taken with the enormity of the damage in Japan, and I suspect that it is a good subject to explore with them, as they keep bringing it up. It is horrifying to see the catastrophic damage that has taken place there, and unimaginable to think what it must be like to be living in the midst of it. The prospect for people living in the vicinity of the nuclear plant that is failing must be especially grim.

I suspect that it would behoove us to keep the people of that stricken place in our thoughts and prayers as the situation develops in the coming months. It will likely take years before the damage is sorted out and repaired, and it may never happen for a large section of the population.

Up At My Usual 4 A.M.

This is a habit that I should consider changing...time to go back to bed...

Springing Forward...

In the next hour or so, cutting a precious hour from our weekend. Daylight saving time is clearly an invention of the bosses, trying to cut down on that "non-productive" time that makes life bearable for the rest of us...just kiddin'.

We had a busy day yesterday, running errands to Bethel to pick up pop for Student Council (the seniors sold it all at the basketball games), and supplies for my lovely bride's cooking class. It was a nice day for a ride on the little machine, although a tad on the cold side. One of the reasons why winter is so much more bearable out here is the fact that we have so many glorious, sunny days as it goes on. This is especially true when it is cold, as the air tends to be dry on those days. We are gaining daylight at nearly six minutes per day, which makes the fact even more noticeable now.

My seniors put on a movie matinee, and managed to pick up a few bucks in a short time, and also give my boss's wife a chance to park their youngster and pick up an hour or so of sleep to help her with her bronchitis. My lovely is laboring under a cold herself, and was feeling noticeably worse at every stop yesterday, so I took her back here, sent her in with our box of groceries, and dispatched her off to nap land while I hauled cases of pop into the school. Lest I be thought of as too heroic, she has kept me in the game for the first two often difficult years of this endeavor, and took very conscientious care of me during my bout with pneumonia. Turnabout is clearly fair play in this instance. She showed up at school a short while after our movie ended, feeling better, and ready to do a little exercise. She is in training for sleeveless blouse season, which means lots of weight lifting.

I am back on fish feeding detail, while Sara heads off to Kotlik for her grandma's funeral. I hope that all is as well as it can be under the circumstances, and will keep the little salmon healthy until her return. Of course, her kids will do the honors during the day.

We will be giving our kids some preliminary testing in advance of the dreaded SBAs this week. We spent a chunk of our Friday meeting devising tests in a program called Skills Alaska that we hope will measure some of their necessary skills, and determine what we need to supplement them with as Test Week approaches. We will give these to them this week, and will hope to learn some useful information.

The third quarter ends this week, and there are only nine weeks to go from this Thursday. Signs of spring and summer are approaching quickly, and Lent is in the beginning of its second week under the Orthodox calendar. The new teacher housing is moving along, with roofs and windows appearing. It would be great if we were able to move our stores in at the end of the school year. Otherwise, August will be very busy when we return. I will get some updated photos here in the next day or so.

All is well, and it is time to get back to sleep and enjoy some pleasant dreams of sunshine and warm days to come...

Here We Are...

Midweek, and cruising along towards Friday...the day went fast, the week is going fast, and the weather is bright and sunny. Next week, it will be light even later...spring may not be here, but you can sure hear it tiptoe-ing around, if you listen.

I am still trying to get my head around some Delphic pronouncements from my keepers at AKT2. If any of them can shed any light on the most recent, it would be more than welcome. Otherwise, I will stay confused for a while.

A family member of another friend has died, and it is very sad. My partner in junior high crime should be back tomorrow from her leave. Too much of that kind of thing recently. Maybe it makes me feel vulnerable somehow. I am not sure...

Midweek is Coming...

I told one of my kids yesterday that the school year is over ten weeks from Thursday, and she nearly screamed in delight. Who says that today's kids are jaded and have seen it all?

This week seems to be going by very quickly, too. The quarter will be finished next week, and we will be in the home stretch. Of course, there will be testing and culture week, and Camai festival, and lots to do between now and then. There is even a little more school for me after the end of our term. But I know that summer is coming, and there is a white and black bike sitting in a basement in Cadillac, Michigan, waiting for me to come and ride it. And, I know that I have signed my contract to come back and do this all over again next year. The new housing should be ready by that time, and I will have a new batch of seventh graders, and my eighth graders will be off in high school.

Ah, the turning of the seasons. It seems to have taken place so much more quickly this year.

A Beautiful Day...

Truly gorgeous...sunny and clear. So we decided to go for a ride, and took the back way to Bethel, through Oscarville. It was a great day for it, and it was a nice change of pace. We both agreed that this is something that needs to happen more often. It is important to get away from the cloistered confinement of school and realize that there is an alternative universe.

In Bethel, we stopped to do some grocery shopping. Many broken eggs occurred on the way home, which made for some delicious doggie treats later. We hit the church, where they were commemorating the beginning of Lent. The theme of the sermon and the blessing was forgiveness, with the priests asking our forgiveness as we were blessed. There is nothing wrong with admitting one's faults from time to time.

Now it is Monday, and we are back at it, for a full official week. Only four to go until the big testing regimen, the SBAs. We have cultural week the following week, and there will be only a month to go after that. We will be into the 4th quarter of the school year next week, and Daylight Saving time comes into effect next Sunday. The year is moving by...

It's Been Kinda Busy, For Vacation...

We have been off for a couple of days, but it is also district basketball time, which means that it is crazy. Three trips back and forth to Bethel, not counting the two that my bride will take ferrying players back and forth (it's a high school thing). Hanging out for hours at the Bethel Regional High School gym. Watching more basketball than I do for the rest of the year.

We started with two games on Thursday. There had been some confusion about the boys' first round game, because we were having a funeral for an elder that afternoon. His family called our coach and told him that they wanted the boys to be able to play at their scheduled 8:45 a.m. starting time, so that they did not forfeit their first round game. As it turned out, alternate arrangements were made, and they played in the evening instead. Our boys and girls played back-to-back games. The boys won, and the girls unfortunately lost. Round one was over, and we were back down the river to PKA.

I also picked up a fish-sitting job. One of our teachers is raising salmon in a science project with her third-graders. She needed to go out of town suddenly, and I volunteered to feed the little guys. I am trying to average four times a day. It is a little more involved than just sprinkling some goldfish food in a tank. The process takes about twenty minutes at a time. No problem.

On Friday, we had the girls' game in the loser's bracket. We also had a batch of uniforms that we had taken back to school and washed Thursday night. After the girls lost their second game, I headed over to the local DMV office to get my official Alaska driver's license and voter registration. I got back in time to watch a little bit of some other ball games before the boys played.

It was a tough game. Our guys looked physically like high school kids. The other team were built more like college guys. The kids from Napaskiak kept it close for three periods, but it was not to be this year. Last year, as readers may know if they have been around for a while, our Hawks won the Alaska State 1A championship, the first ever from our district. That was a great run, but we also lost two great and experienced players to graduation. I am not sure that I would call this a rebuilding year, but it was definitely a year of transition. It is nice to know that we have some young talent on the way that should be fun to watch in the future.

Anyway, our guys lost,which put them into the game for third place in the conference, which took place today. It was another nail-biter, but our guys pulled it out with a spurt in the third quarter to come from behind. Not a bad effort overall. Of course, after three years as conference champions, it is a bit of a letdown. But our kids are great, and it is just nice to watch the way that they perform and the way that they conduct themselves on and off the court. I think that a nice standard is being set for the way in which our athletes behave, which is very important in a small place like this, and I hope that it will continue in the future.

We had good light today for driving, and I enjoyed taking the helm of the snowmachine. I cannot seem to get my glasses to keep from fogging, so until I get prescription lenses for my snow goggles, I am at a definite disadvantage unless the weather is clear and bright. My distance prescription is not especially strong, so I can safely operate, but I find it hard to make out details on gray days, and usually leave the driving to the younger crowd. At night, my vision is even more of a hindrance. I have considered contact lenses, but do not really like getting anything around my eyes, let alone in them. I think that the goggles with some adjustment is the preferable alternative.

After we returned home, we went over to the school for an evening of finishing lesson plans and grading and sorting papers. This was to the accompaniment of the boys' and girls' championship games over the district closed-circuit feed. I capped the evening with a ruthless purge of the top of my very funky desk. I dream that someday I will have a desk big enough to actually accommodate my needs. Until then, I will have to be more careful to avoid clutter on the one that I have. I did my brief workout at nearly 11 p.m., and came home.

Tomorrow will be a little bit busy. We may try to get out for a ride on the tundra. Lesson planning is nearly done, and I will try to finish off my prep for the week while my bride is off to Bethel. We are going to attempt to take Sunday as an actual day of rest and enjoyment. I hope that we succeed.

So This Is What It Will Look Like...

So, this will be the new teacher housing for next year. The builders now have the trusses and stringers set for the roof on the left-hand building in the photo. The right side will be next. For some odd reason, I had to go back over to Internet Explorer to update and upload these pictures. Not sure why it was an issue with Chrome, but there ya have it. The new housing looks exciting already. More to follow...

A Solemn Day...

The father of my teaching partner in the junior high passed away yesterday. He had suffered from a number of health challenges in the recent years, as I understand it. All events were cancelled. I was at the school doing some late catch-up work (there is a ton after I was sick for most of two weeks), and a work out, and the place was absolutely silent and deserted. The same silence prevailed in the village last night. I stepped out at one point with my dog, and was struck by how quiet it was.

We are waiting to see when the funeral will be. The boys and girls are scheduled to play in the district tournament on Thursday, but there is a good chance that the funeral will take place then. The main complication will come with the boys' game, which is scheduled to take place at 8:45 in the morning. If the funeral takes place, it will be in the afternoon. The business of sport will then have to take a back seat to the realities of life. The girls do not play until the last game of the evening on Thursday. My understanding is that there are conversations under way about moving the boys to the penultimate game on the same day. We shall simply have to wait. I am sure that the boys are feeling especially nervous under the circumstances, but the priorities of the village must take priority.

We will likely be taking a cake over to the house where the funeral vigil is taking place later today. The local people will keep the body of the elder company until he is laid to rest. That vigil will last day and night until the funeral. I imagine that the church will be crowded, as this man had lots of relatives here.

There will be other news later, but for now the village of Napaskiak sleeps quietly, bereaved by the passing of an elder.