Soaked...

The rain is blowing sideways...I wore rain gear head to toe for a simple trip to the post office this morning. Dreary, dreary. Not a day that is contributing to my motivation. I had great ideas about lesson planning and grading, but the ambition has drifted away. Bummer, but that is the way that it goes sometimes. We spent a lot of time over here last week, and we will spend a lot of time this week. I guess that I can take the computer home and work from there for the most part, anyway.

Things are going well here. My wife and I are expecting a baby in the spring, and much of our attention has turned in that direction. The kids are fun to be around, and my confidence level in my own skills has increased with time and experience. I can't really complain. Life is good.

Now I need to get some things set up so that I can work at home and get the heck out of this building...

Wednesday Already?

It is a little hard to believe the calendar. We keep pretty busy, and that is a nice way to make the day flow quickly. The last two have. My cold seems to be manageable, although I am definitely ready for sleep at the end of the day. We have another week after this one, and then the kids have a week off while we go for four days of inservice after Labor Day. It is a little bit of a headscratcher, but it does coincide nicely with the moose season opener on September 1. The district grants students a number of excused days off for traditional activities, which focus a lot around subsistence activities. A moose provides a lot of food for a family over the long winter. This makes it so that our boys miss fewer actual school days during the hunt. I don't know whether or not that was the idea behind this scheduling.

There is not a lot of other news to share at this point. The kids have been pretty accommodating for the most part, although that may be due in part to the grace period that seems to be in effect at the beginning of the year. This bunch is a pretty good one overall. So it might just be that they have learned how to conduct themselves with a little bit of maturity. Of course, it could also be that I expect a lot out of them...

The Easy Stuff Is Over...

We are into the second week of school, and the "easing into it" period is over. We are striving for rigor and relevance now. The kiddies are in Yup'ik class right now and seem reasonably alert. Not bad for a Monday. We shall see how that lasts. I have reasonable hopes that it will last with this year's group.

I have some mild cold symptoms that started sneaking into town last night. I don't feel too bad this morning, and I hope that it will stay that way. All things considered, this is a morning of hope. The afternoon will bring the answer to my question.

Second Day

Another one in the line of succession...some are bright-eyed, and some might be bushy-tailed, but most of them are here, and there are about 8 1/2 minutes to go until things roll off for the morning.

I am not sure how I feel about the schedule for this year, but there you have it. I don't really get the junior high kids until 11:00 am, and then we are stuck together for the rest of the day. It got to 77 degrees in Bethel yesterday at one point, and it was pretty stifling in this room, even though we had the window open. The clock doesn't work correctly, and has picked up about five minutes since yesterday.

One of my kids got held over from last year, and he isn't too happy about it. He spent yesterday orbiting around the lobby. He just walked in. I wonder how this is going to work...

When we are full up, we have 21 kids shoehorned into this space. It looks as if we are close to a full house today. Time will tell...

First Day of School

My feet hurt, and I was ready for a nap at lunchtime.  On the other hand, I have some pretty good kids this year, and I think that they will be a fun group as a whole. It is really easy to forget over the summer how physical this job is. I will be reminded for the first week. I was happy to see the shining little faces this morning at the front door, and it was fun to watch the "little" kids coming up from sixth grade to seventh walk into the room.

Right now, I want to go home and change into something cooler and put my feet up. Time to rest up for tomorrow.

Sunny!

We were implored a number of times throughout the summer to bring some sunshine back with us upon our return to the village. I am proud to be able to report that we have finally succeeded. We were able to get it as far as Anchorage on Sunday, but the effort of dragging something as large and unwieldy as the sun across the Alaska Range apparently takes more effort than we realized. The fog has burned off (sort of) and the sun is shining (sort of). Sometimes that is the best that you can ask for in these parts.

I am focusing on getting house and classroom in some sort of functioning order before school begins next Tuesday. We have a work day on Monday, but I suspect that I will be focusing on lesson planning for the week. The actual physical arrangement of things will need to take place sooner. Of course, I could step away from the keyboard and actually move the desks stacked up on the other side of the room where I want them, but that might involve work rather than contemplation of work. Maybe I should anyway.

Back In Town...

Ooh, it's nice to be typing this on an actual computer keyboard...I like the iPad and all, but suspect somewhere in my dark heart of hearts that my real desire is for a MacBook Air.

We are back in PKA for another go around. The summer was busy and the senior trip was a ball, but all of that is done, and it is time to get after another year of teaching little minds to be big minds (I hope).

We arrived Sunday night after a long traverse of the United States and part of Canada, and a short traverse down the Kuskokwim river that was a joy. the river is full and the plants are very green. There are apparently many berries to be had, if the news we received almost immediately upon landing is to be believed.

The school is full of packages and mail that has piled up over summer, and there are boxes of new books filling the lobby.

The prospect of a new year is exciting and promising at the same time. It is very nice to have a few days to settle in and begin to prepare.

Back In The USA

Just kidding, although it often seems as if we live in a totally different world n Alaska. I actually like that aspect of our lives quite a bit. We kind of went our different ways on the plane, as we weren't sitting together for the most part. I ended up sitting next to a woman from up on the Yukon who was going to see a boyfriend in Chicago. We had some interesting conversation about our respective villages. I managed to get some dowse time in, although not a lot. As morning began to show its face, we crept Eastward towards O'Hare airport. My wife and I went through our usual routine upon landing, with the difference being that she had five additional people to keep track of. It apparently presented no significant challenge. I went off to pick up what turned out to be a giant black Chevy Suburban. It was a beast, but it accommodated seven people, their luggage, three dogs, and their kennels (broken down, of course). No small feat. We had actually reserved two smaller SUV's, but this did the trick very nicely. Our next course of business was to get out of Chicago and on to breakfast in Indiana. Once this had been accomplished, we headed to Cadillac, MI, our home base for the summer. Haircuts and some coloring changes followed, and we were treated to a cookout by my wife's parents, who did such a great job of helping out with fundraising when they visited in April. Our trip was off to a flying start.

Leisure Hours In Anchorage

I wrote earlier about the frantic dash that we made to the airport in Bethel, and the close squeeze we had in getting everyone on board the plane. Once the relatively short flight to Anchorage was complete, we faced the question of what to do in order to keep busy for the next eight hours while we waited for the 11:30 flight to Chicago. Of course, we did the things that people do in airports to pass the time. We read, we ate, we gossiped about people passing by. The doggies needed a walk, and that managed to kill a solid ten minutes. After many weary hours, we came to the boarding gate, where we would enter the airplane for another six-and-a-half hours of tedium. At least we might be able to sleep on the plane...

Change Is Complex

I am sitting here with the new Blogger set-up and an iPad, trying to figure out how to edit the last post. No progress. I suppose that could have taken up the last thirty days and may be the reason for the quiet from these parts. But that would not be telling the truth, and truth-telling is especially important now. The real reason is that I could not remember my password. When last we left the intrepid Class of 2012, there were four of us at the airport, and three on the way, with time running out. Some pressured phone calls ensued. It was agreed upon that, at the very least, those present at the airport should board the plane. If all else failed, my wife would bring the prodigals to Anchorage on the evening flight. All of us were booked on the overnight flight to Chicago, so barring weather problems or equipment failure, the separation would only have lasted a few hours. On we went, as the last call for boarding was made. I tried to prolong the TSA process by bringing a small dog on board the plane. This apparently now requires chemical examination to assure that I have made no attempt to smuggle a bomb aboard inside my dog. He weighs seven pounds. In order that security be maintained, I stood in my socks holding a small, mop-like animal (he really needed a haircut) while something that looked like the Stridex pads that we used to use to battle teenage acne was passed over us and submitted for scientific analysis. This might ordinarily annoy me, as I seem to be temperamentally unsuited to the process now in place to protect me from various evil-doers. However, in this case, I was hoping to halt the progress of the airplane and my fellow passengers to Anchorage. It was all good. Heck, they could have searched all of my bags at that moment. It was all about buying time. I boarded at the back of the aircraft and took a seat in the next to the last row. We were flying in an aircraft called a Boeing 737 Combi. The fuselage of the plane is divided between cargo in the fore section and passengers in the tail. (Sort of the mullet haircut of airplanes-business in the front, and party in the back. Kind of depends on the number of Alaska Amber Ales that we can buy and consume during the one hour flight to Anchorage.)I was seated on the aisle across from two of our girls and an old coot in a "Deadliest Catch" baseball cap, a true mark of Alaskan tough-guy spirit (or posturing). He seemed to be muttering about something, and he seemed to be irritated about whatever it was. Not my problem. As we awaited takeoff, I could hear the flight attendants in the back of the plane talking. Something to the effect that we were waiting on three passengers, two of whom had apparently called saying that they were in a taxi on the way to the airport and would be arriving in minutes. Time for a sigh of relief. My wife and the two remaining students climbed up the stairs shortly afterward, and one of them went to take her seat. Unfortunately, her boarding pass suggested that her seat assignment was for the place occupied by Mr Deadliest Catch. She tried to explain this to him, but he would have none of it. He cited a higher authority in support of his refusal to move for an eighteen-year-old girl who actually had the ticket for the seat in question. It seems that "the stewardess" had said that he could "sit anywhere." I considered having him identify the flight attendant in question for further conversation on the subject, but we were all on the plane and it was time to get out of town. Besides, I wouldn't want any angry "crab fishermen" on my conscience. What if this affected his concentration the next time that he was at the rail on the storm-tossed Bering Sea? Some Red Lobster patron might find a nasty surprise in their Utlimate Feast. I gave Valerie (the student in question)my seat, so that she could talk to her classmates on the flight, and took the seat behind me in the back row. No altruism here. Combos are boarded from the rear. I had the first row out on landing in Anchorage. Next: Hours of fun at the Ted Stevens International Airport.

The Excitement Is Over...for the moment...

We have come to rest at last...the great class trip of 2012 is finished. The kids were duly returned to O'Hare Airport, and we stuck around to make sure that they made it through the TSA thicket. Two of them had tribal ID, which was temporarily confusing (not surprised), but the requisite calls were made and they were allowed to pass on to the boarding gate. Several hours later, we began to see texts and Facebook posts suggesting that they had made it to Anchorage successfully. Then it was time for the pictures to begin appearing. I get the impression that they had fun... The trip began on the 21st of May, with a group of four seniors gathered at the airport in Napaskiak. One of them already did not have ID that showed him to be older than three or four years old. We do not always have much call or formal ID in the village. I can go for weeks without even pulling my wallet out of a drawer. However, from time to time, we must accede to the wishes of the outside world for official confirmation of our identities. Not long before we left, we discovered that another of the group could not find her ID, either. This meant that we now had two children that needed to get over to the agency to get tribal-issued ID. That meant that we needed to get across the river quickly, so that all of the necessary pre-flight errands could get done. My wife needed to get to the district office to pick up the check for the trip funds, the dogs needed to get checked in to fly, and the kids needed ID. The plane that was to get us to Bethel was late, and there was not enough room for all of us on it. I stayed at our airport with the dogs while the others got across...(more to come later in the day)

Wrapping Up...

It's time to clean it up and check the heck outta here...another year over...some triumphs and some regrets...posts will be infrequent after today as we stay at home without internet, and then travel. I have purchased an iPad with the hope that I can stay connected throughout the summer without the necessity of paying the installation fee for cable internet back in Michigan. More adventure updates will be available as all of that gets set up and operational.

For now, it is sayonara for the moment...happy summer time fun to all!!

Clean-Up...

Time to wrap it all up for the year. I am moving some of the stuff in here around in order to facilitate a more open floor plan for next year's class. I have moved the computer cart away from my desk, and have replaced it with a bookcase in which we can actually store some books for use in the classroom. I have visitors from the fifth grade on a daily basis, and I have been trying to figure out a different arrangement for storage for two years now. I guess that it doesn't say too much for my imagination that it has taken that long, but I had to share the space the first year, and I thought that I had an arrangement that would work this year. I just turned out to be wrong.

I see that SBA scores have hit the e-mail, so it is time to go and hope (or cringe, as the case may be)...

We're Done!

The books are closing on my third year at this strange and occasionally wonderful job. The waters began receding yesterday, and we took a walk on a glorious spring (finally!) evening with Mrs. Jung last night. It ended with us standing on the porch talking with one of my students and just lingering in the sunshine. My wife got a call to go and steam, and I found myself surprised by the fact that I was still reading and it had somehow become 12:45 am...the time becomes nearly impossible to keep track of in this season.

We have an awards assembly this morning, and I have thought and thought about awards, and have decided that I want to address the whole class and not just a selected few kids. I think that I can do it quickly (at a premium at these events), and that I do not wish to leave any one out. I just mean to speak from the heart for a few minutes.

After that, the day will go fast. There are activities, and a lunch for the community. We will spend the afternoon working in our classrooms, which gives me a chance to catch up on some last grades, and begin to put this place in order for next year. There is a check out list, and when we are done we will have a couple of days to recuperate before we meet the seniors at the airport and begin the long trip back to Michigan with them all.

It has been an interesting year. I hope that I have learned some new things, which is the essence of life as I see it. I look forward to learning some new things as we return in August. It is time to go and get ready for the day...

I Do Believe That The Crisis Has Passed...

The kids are disappointed, but the adults are relieved. The ice appears to have gone out, and the water, although high, appears to be receding. The threat of flooding appears to have passed. I have not looked at the river in an hour or so, but it had gone down slightly earlier today.

We finished with the kids for all intents and purposes today. They will come tomorrow for fun and games and a lunch. We will get a bite ourselves, I hope, and then we will start finishing up all of the grading and stuff that makes our job interesting. I cannot access our district website currently, so the final grading will have to wait until tomorrow.

For now, I intend to accompany my bride home and hang out with my dogs...

Treading Water...(maybe)...

The flood watch is posted. Evacuations have taken place, mostly for the more vulnerable in the population. The water levels are not over the banks, but the river is clearly full. There are flood warnings back upstream. I have heard different things about the status of the river ice below the village. Put simply, the damming effect of the ice backs up the water flow, and voila! it's flood time!

There is nothing much to do at this point except to watch and wait. It will be interesting....

Weekend Breather...

We got thru graduation with reasonably dry eyes last night. I have been steadily goofing off today, pausing for a trip to the post office and a bit of a wrestling match with my new iPhone, which is feeling uncooperative for some reason. My wife's, of course, is doing just fine, thank you. I am running a software update currently, and hope that will do the trick. We shall see. The weekend folks at GCI have been very helpful so far. We got the thing working as a phone, which was an improvement, but the data plan part is proving to be a bit more challenging for me.

And So Begins The End...

Graduation is done, and the clean-up is finished. I have put all of the attendance info in for after-school, and I am starting to finalize grades in other classes. It is about time to start reading class for the last week of school. More updates to follow...

Small Group Instruction...

Lots of holes in the classroom this morning...the end of the year is clearly approaching. We have attendance challenges during the year, and it gets worse in the springtime.

The ice is not going anywhere fast. It is conceivable that it will still be in place when we leave a week from Monday.

My whatever it is put me back in the recliner last night. It is weird that I can get such a good night's sleep in a strange location. I think that I am getting better, but I should probably still go to the clinic and get some antibiotics to fight off the green slime that I am coughing up.

Off for an adventurous day of teaching...

Sleeping In the Recliner...

I finally resorted to that approach last night...it cuts down on the coughing associated with trying to lie down in the bed. This is weird-I don't have a fever or anything like that, just this cough. I feel better after morning coffee, and then things begin to deteriorate as nighttime approaches. Aggravating...

I see some sleepy kiddies this morning, but some of the usual suspects seem to be more aware than usual at this time of the day. Hopeful...

It is hard to make out what is going on with breakup at this point...we seem to be in the watch and wait mode.

My wife notices that the days seem to be taking longer to complete as we approach year's end. I am not sure that I agree, but I suspect that is a matter of perception, which is certainly individual.

The sub teacher is currently attempting, without success, to awaken one of the enchanted ones...it must be a strong spell....

Coughing Too Much...

The congestion has settled into my chest. Sleeping is especially challenging, but daytime activities seem to be relatively unaffected. I know mostly that I want it to go away, and I hope that it will soon.

Other than that, it appears to be another relatively uneventful Tuesday, albeit the next to the last Tuesday. The sno-go is put away, thanks to Gabe Joekay, and we are mostly in the process of making last minute plans for the senior trip.

Time to hit it...

Penultimate Week!

I just love that word...I use it as often as possible...no, not "week."

I have this damn cold that my darling wife brought me from her travels that seems to be hanging on. I suspect that a clinic visit may be in the offing if it doesn't improve in the near future.

I will be interested to see the level of attendance and interest from the kiddies this week. The light is longer, the weather is nicer, and the birds are there for the hunting. That is some powerful competition, and I certainly understand why.

We have an intramural basketball league that has been playing games since the regular season ended. Basketball is the king of sports out here. It will cost a dollar to get in. I think that I may pick up the tab for some of my worthies. Some of them may be playing in the games, and that will get them in free.

I can hear more birds arriving and calling every day as we take our evening stroll. One of my students says that he saw a flock of swans this morning.

Sunset tonight: 11:07. I tried to go to bed last night at 10:30, and the task was made more complex by virtue of the fact that the sun was shining directly at the window next to the bed. We have blackout curtains, but they don't stop the light from coming around them. The other complicating factor was my incessant coughing. Finally got that under control, and slept ok for the rest of the night. I need to get better in the next week so that I can be ready for senior trip.

Time to run-school is ready to begin!

On To Graduation...

Prom is done, graduation comes this Friday, and I am wasting time that I should be using to finish the last little bit of my lesson planning for next week. It is the last full week of classes for this year, at least until we return in August...

Prom Preparation...

Continuing in earnest at this hour...I hope to have pictures for Facebook later this evening, so keep an eye out, Facebook friends...

It Is On...

Breakup, that is...the river is clearly opening up upstream from here. We had a visit from Search and Rescue and our local VPSO today about flood potential and protocols. The potential is certainly there, given the amount of ice in the river and the amount of snowmelt that has to make it to the sea. All that we can really do is wait and get ready and hope for the best. The National Weather service has a website at http://aprfc.arh.noaa.gov/ that allows monitoring of river conditions and flood warnings and watches. Today's map shows that the river is opening up near Aniak. Average breakup here is May 12, which puts it a little over a week away. I was convinced that we would not get close to that date, but movement appears to be taking place quickly.

We are done with the youngsters two weeks from today. They have been doing well for the last several days, but today there was a lot of foolishness. We shall see what next week brings...

Testing Tuesday...

We are scheduled to administer a computer-based test called the MAPS today. It is kind of labor-intensive, and kind of finicky to boot. I have had the whole thing crash each time that I administered it. This means either that I am an idiot, which is certainly within the realm of possibility, or maybe it means that it is not user-friendly. Others have experienced some problems, so my idiot explanation is only partially persuasive.

The kiddies are getting restive during their Yup'ik class, which seems to be the case a lot lately. A couple of kids are apparently having some sort of Facebook fight, which adds to the festive atmosphere. I sense a bit of weariness with the school year on everyone's part. We shall soldier on regardless...

It's Monday Anyway...

It was not canceled on account of illness, so I guess that we will just carry on. We shall see which children show up in which condition...bird hunting has begun in earnest, and the weather is getting better, which tends to mean that kids will be out and up later, which translates into reduced attendance, tardiness, and sleepy heads on desks. I will not begin testing until tomorrow for exactly this reason. I have two serving in-school suspensions, so I need to prepare something for them to do. If they choose to show up, they can do what is there.

Prom is scheduled for Friday night, and graduation will follow in a week after that. Almost done, and that is all that I can say today for now...

Sniff...

Cold is still here, and seems to be settling in...we braved the wild river yesterday so that we could stock up on groceries before breakup...it wasn't all that wild. As my spouse (the cold-bearer) astutely pointed out, the most water that we had to cross was on land, in the form of giant mud puddles.

Today is lesson-planning day, although both of us seem to be more focused on social media for the moment. Not to worry...it will all get done. I am also planning to try to find a way to get some more sleep before the day is done. I need to plan time for the last round of testing as well...ah, testing.

Enough of my silly musings for the moment, it is off to work, dammit...

The End of The Week...

Friday afternoon...only 2 1/2 hours standing between me and the weekend...glorious. I seem to have contracted a cold that someone nameless has brought back from Bethel...fortunately, it seems to be pretty much an underachiever for the moment. I have mostly a scratchy, uncomfortable throat. Other symptoms have remained non-existent.

It's time for some sort of afternoon silliness, but I have no idea what the nature of that silliness will be. Last week was a work in the classroom day, but I took a half a personal day so that I could work in Bethel instead. Odd thing to do with one's time off, don't you think?

What I would really like about now is a nap. No crisis...it can wait for a couple of hours...time to get some rest and gear up for next week's grind. More testing on the horizon...

A Few More Bodies This Morning...

It is not quite as spacious in here as it was yesterday. One of the kids is cleaning out a desk. I suspect that represents an effort to prepare for year end, which is three weeks away. There are more kids, and they seem a bit more awake than Wednesday. I found them to be pretty good company on the whole yesterday, although they were very silly by the end of the day. Several of the boys were wrestling in the hallway like puppies, and the girls weren't that far behind. Hell, I was feeling pretty silly by the time that I went home, although that probably had more to do with entering after-school attendance, a catch-up task that was pretty mind-numbing.

I have been planning to move down to the current 5/6 grade room at year's end, because I will likely have the largest single group of kids next year under the proposed alignment as I understand it. However, I am beginning to have second thoughts. That room has a much lower ceiling, and I am not sure whether it would introduce a level of claustrophobia that I am very much trying to avoid. I think that I will try to figure out some re-alignment of the current space, which affords me much storage, and determine whether we can stick 2-4 more desks into that space. Besides, I like my smart board a lot, and want to keep it...

Vacancy...

There are lots of kids gone today. It has been this way for the past several days. Five of the students left on Monday for a dance gathering in Nightmute. Many of the other ones are not here. Many of the ones that have showed up this morning are my hard-core goofs. It many of them have only been showing up for the morning sessions lately. It looks to be an interesting day.

We saw the proverbial first robin of spring last evening. We were out walking the new boardwalk, because it has just plain gotten too nice to get exercise inside anymore. We missed the bald eagle, however, because it was on the other side of town. There were, of course, photos on Facebook. Bird news continues to dominate the daily headlines, as many of the migratory species continue to return from their winter domiciles. Geese and ducks seem to be of the most interest, as they become a dietary staple very soon, and it seems that almost every classroom will have at least one child for whom the call of the goose becomes a standard form of expression. They are pretty good, too...

The junior high elves have departed to visit an elder's house for their Yup'ik class, so peace will reign for the next thirty minutes or so in this space. The interesting part of the day will commence when they return...

In Further Bird News...

We were out with the dogs again this morning when I heard the unmistakable honk of migrating geese. I just stood and watched, but my wife was busy counting. Twenty. That strikes me as more than just some stragglers. Joe said this morning that he had seen some yesterday. Spring cannot be denied.

After yesterday, there are three more Mondays left in the school year. Our thoughts turn increasingly to plans for the senior trip back to Michigan. It will be time to travel soon...

I Hear Birds Singing...

For much of the winter, the only bird sounds that we hear are the very large ravens that live here year-round. I think that they are certainly interesting critters, and the nature of their chatter sounds almost human at times, but the lack of variety gets a little old.

As I was walking the dogs this morning, I could hear the unmistakable sound of songbirds. The trees (tall bushes?) are beginning to sport buds. There are puddles of melting snow everywhere. The river ice is beginning to show some signs of deterioration. NOAA has started up its river breakup website again. All signs that spring, and with it, the approaching end of the school year, are bearing down upon us. A month from today, I will be waking up in my bed in our home in Michigan for the first time during summer vacation.

I have grown to love it out here. We both think of the village as home, and we even have grown to enjoy the very odd lifestyle (by back home standards) that our job and posting entails. But it is good, every four months or so, to get back to Michigan and reconnect with friends and family. Our kids get homesick when they are gone for a day or two in Bethel. We are nearly 4,000 miles from our other loved ones. We need the recharge, and then we come back fresh for the next year's challenges.

Kind of Slow Today...

Not too bad-a pretty relaxing weekend overall. Eric Jung and I managed to get my wife's parents to Bethel without incident, thanks to a quick cold snap, and they got off to Anchorage. I stuck around to watch the show that our kids were involved in, and got pressed into service as a janitor and chauffeur...when I drive one of the district Suburbans, it always seems to be #4, and this time was no exception. I amused myself by trying to (safely) shorten the distance between me and my beloved, who was driving the other van. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I had taken half of a personal day, and ran into my boss at the district office while I was shuttling kids. It was fun to be working on my afternoon off. Really! The kids were polite and thankful for the ride, and I got lunch bought for me, and a free pass into the show that evening.

The show itself was wonderful, even though I was getting tired and sleepy in the dark auditorium. The kids and their artist advisers and teachers had done a great job setting up a showcase for the stories that they had to tell. Afterward, we took the kids to a local restaurant for burgers and pizza. Yum. I got back on my snowmachine with a full tummy and got back home at about 10:45. It was still light out when I got the dogs outside to do their necessary business.

My darling came back last night with the kids, and we had a joyful reunion. It has been a great couple of weeks. We very much enjoyed having my wife's parents here, and they seem to have enjoyed the introduction to our friends, our village, and our way of life.

My lesson plans are finished, and I have taken a spin on the spinner. Time to kick back and read a little tonight before I rest up for another week of school...

Quick Week...

Wow, it's Thursday already! Something about two days spent on other stuff, even if some of it is boring, I suppose. The sun is rising earlier and earlier, and staying up later and later. Many sleepy faces this morning. Some heads down on the desks. Mostly the ones who regularly brag about how late they stayed up the night before. Four more weeks, and a few have been checked out for a while. The fortunate thing is that they are the exception to the rule.

We will stagger through reading the theatrical adaptation of the Diary of Anne Frank for the next few weeks. I am hopeful that the process of putting the movie together last week will help them to understand the requirements of telling a story to an audience. Maybe. This is a strange and trance-like time of year. It seems as if many of us are walking around in a haze. I managed to sleep through my 6:45 am alarm this morning, and got up nearly half an hour late. It is fortunate that the alarm is set early. My in-laws tumbled out of bed, bleary-eyed, at about 7:50. Well, one of them did...

Of course, they were busy taking school photographs for most of the day yesterday, and my mother-in-law was kind enough to clean the refrigerator and house. It has been a blast having visitors here, and helpful ones are really an added benefit.

I made an unscheduled chauffeur run to Bethel last evening, and the river is still holding. It is, however, wet in some significant spots. I think that it will hold long enough to allow for one more trip up tomorrow afternoon. We are starting to get warnings about breakup, and there is a lot of snow and ice that will have to come into the river and make its way to the sea. The real question will be whether it makes it down cleanly, or whether there are flooding conditions that need to be dealt with. More on this as it develops...

Back to the Grind...

Bright, shiny faces in place this morning..at least it seems that way. We will see how they respond as the day wears on, but we all seem to have gotten some rest from our extended hiatus. I suspect that we may have needed a little break.

Now, it is on to the end. We only have a short week this week, and three full ones to follow. The last week will be over on Thursday for the kids. The last couple of those days are not exactly full of academic rigor (the term that I may hate above all others). Some of these kids have been with me for three years, and they will be leaving at the end of the year for high school. I am going to feel a little wistful when they do.

The good news is that I am excited about the prospects for next year's group. I think that it will be a good one to work with, and I hope that I will be a year older and wiser myself. At least, I can hope that will be the case.

My beloved is out in Bethel with a group of students preparing for a performance piece that will be exhibited this Friday and Saturday. I may try to catch it, depending on weather conditions Those will also dictate the means by which I get my in-laws out to Bethel, so that they can catch their return flight to Anchorage and ultimately back to the Midwest. I took my wife to Bethel yesterday, and the river was in pretty good shape, except for a few wet spots. The snow was kind of greasy, but the trip was do-able. The question will be how long this will continue to be the case. I am hopeful that things will be ok through Friday afternoon. After that, all bets can be off...

The in-laws are taking school pictures this morning. Tomorrow, we will have an awards ceremony and prize drawing for the kids that worked hard during the recent SBA testing. The week, such as it is, is a little broken up already.

On to the fray...

At School on A Day Off...

It is the evening of the day...I am sitting in a meeting over a closed circuit TV network discussing the status of contract negotiations with the school district. Tedious, but necessary. There are a few members here to watch, but most of the membership is absent. It makes it difficult to present a strong front to management when people aren't involved in the process. This time, the district is asking for concessions on leave and no pay increases, and increased rent on mandatory village teacher housing. I suspect that this might stimulate the membership to a little more heat under the collar. I also suspect that the issue will not be resolved before we leave at the end of May. I wonder how soon it will be resolved upon our return.

Tomorrow marks a return to the daily grind of school, with only a few weeks left to go. It will be interesting to see how the kiddies respond over the next four weeks to our gentle ministrations. The light stays later, and the kids stay up later. That makes them more and more sleepy in the morning. It then takes a while to get them jump-started, and some never do make it. Academic intensity may suffer in the near-term future...

However, we are encouraged to keep going strong until the end of the year...that may prove to be swimming up stream. I know that it is desirable, and it is necessary, but it will also be a formidable challenge. The struggle begins tomorrow...

Inservice Redux...

The last go-around for this school year...less than three hours left to go...lots of stuff about data and tests and stuff...I imagine that this will be of some use at some point, but I also suspect that the point will come sometime next year.

The Easter carnival rages outside, with my in-laws assisting seniors to raise more funds for their upcoming trip (5 weeks from today!).

Yesterday was beautiful, and it was so warm that we kept the windows open for most of the day and night. Spring is showing strong signs of arrival. I hope that the river holds for long enough in order to get the parents up to Bethel on snowmachine.

A day off for tomorrow...

Movies!

I thought that I would take a moment to rehash the story of our junior high movie project. It began with a warm-up exercise that the kids did in preparation for reading excerpts from the story "Flowers For Algernon." For those unfamiliar with the story, it is a science fiction piece from the 1960's involving an adult man who is mentally retarded, in the parlance of the time. He agrees to undergo an experimental surgery in the hopes of becoming smart like other people. The result of the surgery is that he becomes a genius with an I.Q. in excess of 200, but only for a very brief period of time. In the meantime, he finds that the changes that come as a result of the surgery are a mixed blessing. By the end of the story, he is quickly reverting to his pre-surgery state, with a dim awareness of the fact that he once was "smart."

The warm-up asked kids to imagine that they could have a radically life-changing surgery, what it might be, and whether they thought that it could have any consequences other than positive ones. In response, one boy wrote a story about a boy (kind of like him) who wanted to have an operation that would make him tall. He was tired of being pushed around by bigger kids. He decides to work to raise the money, as it is very expensive...to see what happens to our hero, you can watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQlxkf6z8Zk&feature=youtu.be
There is also a link from my Facebook page, for friends.

Making the movie was possible due to the gracious help of many people, and it is hard to know where to start first. Our principal was kind enough to request a return visit from Jack Dalton and Stephen Blanchett, who enjoyed the story enough to be interested in making it into a video. My fellow staff members here were kind enough to share the fellas, especially Jack, who worked feverishly to edit and score the piece. My wife was generous in her help. Most of all, none of this could have happened without the hard work and imagination of my 7th and 8th grade students, all of whom made important contributions, both in front of and behind the cameras. They blocked the story into scenes, prepared locations, did second unit shooting, and also served as director and cinematographer. They did a wonderful job, and they were applauded for their efforts by the student body yesterday, when the film got its premiere.

I believe that all had a good time, and it served as the penultimate event for our cultural week. The finale involved Yup'ik dancing on the part of the entire school, including many of the staff members (yes, both my wife and I were dancing), and even my mother-in-law. I thought that the week went very well and was the most pleasant of the cultural weeks that I have spent here.

Now it is Saturday afternoon, and the ladies have apparently frosted the Pascha bread and taken it to the church. Soon it will be time to get the important pre-vigil nap, so that we can make it past midnight. Tomorrow will mark not one but two Easter feasts. My lesson plans are done (yesterday), and I can enjoy a leisurely weekend. We have no school with kids until Wednesday due to the holiday and the final in-service, and then it will be four weeks to go until summer vacation is upon us again...ah, summer...I can almost feel it some days....

Almost the Weekend...

The kiddies are at lunch, and they will likely be filing in shortly to collect on their promised computer free time, a Friday fixture of sorts. We are running a little late, as the schedule of events wasn't precisely like clockwork. Who cares. There seemed to be much enjoyment, and that was the good part.

Now we are bereft of children until Wednesday of next week. Some of mine will be gone all that week as well, off to the art grant festivities in Bethel until Saturday. Unfortunately for me, they are taking my wife with them. Oh, well...

It is Easter weekend, which means that we had better damn well find some time for napping tomorrow. The vigil begins at 11:30, and there is no telling how long that it will last. Sunday is feast day. Monday is in-service day (the last!), and Tuesday marks our Easter holiday. Four weeks after that, we are done for this school year.

My movie stars are beginning to file in...

Last Day of Cultural Week...

Our movie will debut this morning. We have gotten a sneak preview already, and approval seems to be universal. We actually watched it twice, and now Jack Dalton is showing the editing process and some of the tricks that can be done with iMovie and stop-motion animation. Fun and movie magic. There is usually a digital story-telling camp in Bethel during the summer, and I hope to recommend a couple of students for participation in it. Our director and camera person were outstanding, and the cast and crew did wonderful work using imagination and dedication to the task. Great stuff...

Oh, and By the Way...

Our in-laws both got to learn about the magic of maqiq last night. Ron and I got invited to Joe's, and when we got back to the house at ten o'clock, there was a note from the girls and dinner in a pan (it was yummy, natch). We sat and chatted, and they showed up eventually, looking pink and sleepy. I think that everyone slept very well last night...

They have also been around the school all day, observing and helping with stuff. Ron played the part of the doctor in our movie. They are also going to be taking school pictures next Wednesday. They seem to be enjoying themselves heartily.

In other notes, let me reiterate a hearty Happy Birthday to my dad and sister, who shared a birthday this week, and got greetings from some of our students.

Late Update...

Editing is going on...it may take a while...the animation has been completed...we have to give all thanks to Jack Dalton, who has helped us with this project all the way through, and believed in the story that we decided to tell...I feel as if I am writing the acceptance speech or something. It was really a fun process, and I can't wait to see the final product. I will have more to say on the subject in the next day or so...

It's A Wrap!

Principal shooting has finished...now on to post-production...editing and animation to come...can we finish today??? Stay tuned for further details....

Hooray For Hollywood!

For today, at least. Shooting is beginning on our movie...more as it develops...

Day the Last (as far as I know...)

I believe that this is the last of cultural days...I am not sure how far kids will get with their projects today, and I am not sure whether they will finish or not, but I am told that this is the end of cultural week. They will need to get done today.

We will still have a cultural agenda of sorts in the morning. Our junior high movie has been storyboarded, and is ready to begin shooting tomorrow. We aren't clear about whether there will be one or two units doing the shooting, but I guess that will be figured out. The deadline is approaching...

My wife's parents arrived last night in Bethel. It is symbolic of the small-town atmosphere here that we saw no fewer than four different people that we knew walking into the Era Airlines terminal to greet the folks. We even managed to introduce some of them...

We had gone into town early to pick up our machine from the shop and a few groceries as well. Because we did not wish to try to get to the airport by snowmachine, we dropped them at our favorite restaurant and caught a cab to the terminal. As fate would have it, the same cab driver was still waiting outside (fate or planning?) when we came out with the visitors. After a quick ride back to the restaurant, we were ready to saddle up for a ride down the rather slushy river.

We disembarked two damp and jet-lagged parents at the house, and hauled their bags up the stairs. They have been wandering around the school this morning, and I am not quite sure where they have gotten off to now, although I do hear drumming in the gym, so it is possible that they can be found there.

Off to corral students for the rest of the day until 4 pm...more later on the adventures of the invaders...

Day Two...

Second day of cultural week, and most everything seems to be on schedule. The sno-go is ready in Bethel, and there are supposed to be two lanes cleared on the truck road from here to there. My wife's parents are apparently in Anchorage as of this writing, and the soup is ready to go on the stove.

Kids have been pretty good for cultural week, and I thought that they were pretty good last week for testing. It has been a pleasant couple of weeks so far. Next week will just be short. But it should be pleasant, as we are starting to see that the end of the year is coming. I sense some excitement from some of my fellow staff members as they anticipate interesting new challenges in the next school year. Things just feel positive, and I am happy about that.

Life here is good. Spring approaches, and I have a full and fulfilling life. My family is well, as far as I know, and summer vacation is not far away. I will get to spend some time with my friend and companion on the travels through life. I have a great wife, and that makes me a lucky man...

Beading Room in the Afternoon...

It is getting a little warm and sleepy in here...I have been roaming elsewhere through much of the day. Kids are working on carving and knitting and dancing and a bunch of other stuff. The sun is hitting the back window in here, and there are a lot of bodies as well. Sewing machines are cycling in the background. It is the first day of cultural week, and it seems as if things are going ok. There have been no major disasters that I am aware of at this point.

One of my darlings from my first year is still trying to goad me two years later. Some people like to work harder at it than others. That is kind of her nature, though, so there is no reason to expect a whole lot differently.

Over in the kitchen, several of my current crop of kids are wrestling with the mysteries of fry bread. There is apparently to be a taste-off to compare two different methods of preparation. Unfortunately, I am on a diet, and this is not one of my days off. No fry bread for me. I like fry bread, so this is not one of those hollow examples of mourning.

Word has it that the fishing kids have gotten a mess of pike. I suspect that it will be arriving on these shores soon.

Today, we did activities for the whole day. Tomorrow and Wednesday, we will do them for a half day only. On Thursday, we will have a regular day of school. More adventures as the week progresses. I came here roughly four years for the first time, during a cultural week event. Now, I am finishing my third year here, and am looking forward to a fourth. Funny how time slips away...

Guests!

We are getting invaded this week, but by friendly forces. Our visitors from last year, Jack Dalton and Stephen Blanchett, are arriving in the morning to hang out with us for cultural week. Just to make it a little more festive, my in-laws are getting here on Tuesday. Fun, fun, fun! I hope that the river will hold up, but it has gotten really warm in the last two days, and I expect that there is a possibility for sloppy driving on the river. There is a lot of snow out there, and if it starts to melt, as it already has, there is going to be a lot of water on the ice.

But we don't mind, because we are looking forward to our first guests since we moved here, and it's going to be fun, fun, fun!!!

One More Plan to Go...

I have been back from a meeting in Bethel, which gave me the excuse to go for a ride...it is a very pleasant day for that sort of thing, and I was glad for the opportunity. Now it is 4:30 and I have only one more class to plan for to be prepared for next week. Of course, this is an easy week to plan for, as we are taking up several of the afternoons with cultural week activities. Still, it is always nice to have planning out of the way so that I can have time for reading or play.

It is warm here, so warm that I rode wearing insulated coveralls over long underwear and was perfectly comfortable. I enjoy this time of year, and the river is so solidly frozen that I have seen no overflow this winter in a long time. I suspect that the ice will be slow in breaking up. My understanding is that there have been years in which the teachers were able to ride snowmachines out of the village as they left at the end of May. We will see how that goes this year.

Now, for reading, and then I can call it a day...lesson plans, that is...

Six Weeks

Six weeks and we are done. Kids are done the day before. On the days before that, there will likely be a number of distractions. We are sitting in a meeting planning cultural week, which begins on Monday. It is all flying away very quickly...so there, I made my entry for today.

Snow and Drifts

More of it last night, and it falls outside the window as the students slog through their math tests...it has been an interesting couple of days. Very quiet mornings and afternoons, as kids test or work on catching up on their classes. I am thinking about showing a crummy Japanese monster movie later today to celebrate the near-end to all of this madness. Several grades will be tested on science knowledge tomorrow, but I am not sure exactly how all of that will be set up.

The ramp that leads to the new teacher housing buildings is made of wood, instead of the steel mesh that is used on the school's ramp. It tends to collect snow, and its orientation relative to the prevailing winds guarantees interesting snow drifts. Much of the snow this winter has come during the overnight hours, which makes for an interesting stroll down the ramp in the morning with two dogs on leashes. The drifts can vary in size and shape. They have often reminded me of miniature versions of the Khumbu ice falls on Mt. Everest. Maybe the fact that I wear shoes with ice spikes in them influences those thoughts...

We have all manner of guests coming to visit next week...it will be cultural week, and my in-laws are coming to visit. We are also going to be hosting Jack Dalton and Stephen Blanchett, two peformers who visited here last year, and will be working with kids to prepare and present digital stories. I am having the 7/8 kids work on them in the afternoon.

The week after that is a short week, with a district-wide inservice one day, and the Easter holiday the next (Russian Orthodox, in case you were thinking that I am off on the dates). We will resume "regular" operations on the week of April 23, at which point, we will have less than a month to go in the school year.

(Interesting interlude...we had a bleeder [nose], and that and snack break put us into an extended delay mode-the kids have been great, but I think that they are getting tired of three days of testing. Hell, my bar exam didn't last three days...)

Looks as if we need to start putting together the final organizational list for cultural days. I am not really sure what to do, or where I would be most useful-I am kind of accustomed to being pointed in a direction. I guess that we will figure that out as we get closer.

This afternoon after school seems like a good time for some relaxation time, which would probably be nice before what could be a busy weekend and week ahead descends upon us...

Competition Brings Us Back to the School...

Eric (the guy part of the neighbors) and I are both here after 9:30 at night. Grading? Frantically planning rigorous (big education word) academic lessons? Nope. Working out.

We are involved in a diet and exercise competition game that started the other day. In many ways, the main struggle is between Eric and my wife, because someone is going to have to pay someone else $100.00 in front of the students. Yes, ego is rearing its ugly head. The game is set up so as to provide equal chances of triumph to men and women. So the two of them are yapping at each other about who is going to be the ultimate victor.

I think that the safest position for me is on the outside of this particular pissing match. It will be fun to watch, though...

The Festivities Continue...

It is the second day of SBA (see yesterday) testing. One (or two, depending) days left. One of my 7th graders admitted to stalling so that it would be longer before the 8th graders returned. Hilarious...the 7th grade group seems to be generally quieter and more focused. I suspect that the 8th graders annoy them or something...

Oh, by the way, Amber...I don't hate my kids. Mondays are another matter.

We went to run errands last night. That is a much more complex process here than it is back in Michigan. Four hours to pick up some paperwork from the vet's office, drop off the sno-go for some work, grocery shop, and fill the neighbors' machine with gas (down to $6+ from the 7.80 a couple of weeks ago). Of course, the process of departure is much more involved than starting the car and opening the garage with a remote. First, we must prepare ourselves for the ride. That involves insulated overalls and thermal socks at least, and maybe long underwear as well. Of course, you definitely want a neck gaiter, and there is the fur hat and the goggles.

Once that is accomplished, the snow machine must be prepared. I take it off the jack that keeps the treads from freezing to the ground. Then I remove the locked cable that discourages unauthorized borrowing. The start process is usually fairly straightforward, as we have an electric start. Of course, the choke is manual. I found the biggest adjustment there to be cutting back on the choke sooner rather than later. Occasionally, the pull start will have to come into play, and that works differently than is the case with a lawn mower or snowblower. Instead of one big pull, this process involves a number of fast pulls until the engine catches.

Once the machine is started and warmed up, the sleds must be hitched. Often this winter, that means disinterring them from a large bank of snow.

All that to go to shopping for food, or out to dinner, or to run any errand to Bethel once the river has frozen. And this is a good thing. Because it is when we have to go through all of these gyrations that we are able to lift the veil of isolation a little and get out and travel freely (sort of) in the world. But it is a little more intricate here than it is in most of the Lower 48...

SBA...

Standards Based Assessments...yet another educationese-based acronym. I am still unsure as to why a profession based on the promotion of clarity and understanding spends so much time and energy proliferating such a plethora of obfuscatory prose...the acronyms are the silliest part, in my experience. I have devised one of my own...JAFA. It stands for Just Another F---ing Acronym. Yes, I do feel very bad about that.

We will be in the midst of the state-mandated tests for the next three days. Everything is sort of stood on its head during these tests. There is a science test for the eighth graders on Friday, to boot. All of our regular classes are off for the morning, at least. I am still not entirely sure what happens in the afternoons. I have some ideas about what to do, but I am not sure with whom I will be doing them.

This is a busy week that will lead into two more busy and disrupted weeks for the kids. It will be three weeks in all before we get back to a "regular" academic schedule. By that time, we will be dealing with the effects of the vast amounts of sunlight that we have here by the end of April. As it is, it is not totally dark when we go to sleep at 10:30 pm. We are gaining daylight at the rate of nearly six minutes each day.

But the really tough thing right now is that I need to pee like a racehorse, and there is no one to step in to proctor the test. Damn.

It's Not Just a Blog, It's an Obligation...

Or maybe an oblogation...we are doing a diet and fitness game with the neighbors, and part of it is that you get points for doing a good habit. This is apparently it. Not leaving the dishes unwashed at night is the bad habit that I am avoiding. We get to eat lots of veggies (gas) and drink lots of water (pee a lot). But there is money and pride on the line, and apparently a payoff at the end of the school year in front of the student body. Thank heavens that the stakes aren't too high.

It was a Monday much like other Mondays, which meant that there was a fair amount of silliness, which I expect to increase as the year wanes. Testing begins tomorrow (the big state tests), so the routine around here will be strange and strained. However, we have only five more Mondays with the little tots, and we are busily arranging the details of the senior trip to Michigan.

We have to get to Bethel tomorrow to pick up documentation so that our pups can fly, and I think that we will drop the sno-go off for a tune-up. That is the busy life of a bush teacher up to the minute...more to follow in the morning.

Back Again and Again...

I wasn't really gone, just silent. Not much to say, except that the time has been going by quickly, and we are closing on the home stretch of the school year. I filed our taxes electronically for the first time today, and that was kind of fun. Never thought I could say that. Not and be telling the truth...

The weekend has been pleasant and unfocused. We have been hanging around together and chilling. Some random housekeeping chores have gotten done, but nothing heroic. I could stand to do dishes.

That, and this, are my two upcoming resolutions. We are playing in a diet and exercise contest with one of the other teachers here, and we each have to give up a bad habit and cultivate a new good one. I guess that this is my good habit, and that neglecting to do the dishes every night is my bad one.

As is true at the end of every school year, it is time to look ahead at changes that are on the horizon. A few are coming here, but some of them are still in the working stage. I will be moving my classroom, as I will have one of the bigger classes in the school next year, and need the room for desks and kids. It will be interesting to go to new digs, although I will miss my smart board set up. Selfish, aren't I??

The clock is meandering toward 6 o'clock, and I suppose that lesson plans are a necessity at this point. The set-up will be strange, as we have state testing this week, and the schedules have not been finalized as yet. I am not entirely sure what I am going to be doing this week, so it is a little hard to tell what I need to prepare for. I guess that I will slap something together this evening for Monday and the afternoon sessions as necessary. Maybe a movie, too...it is kind of hard to anticipate what it will all look like.

The sun is staying around very late these days-sunset will be after 9:30 tonight...spring is definitely on its way. Lots of ice in the river, and lots of snow will make for an interesting break-up event this year.

Time to get ready for the week to come, and all of its wonders...

A Quick Note...

I am at the school getting my supplies ready for an afternoon of lesson planning and housekeeping. I have learned the joys (!) of lesson planning at home...I just need to check and see what books I will need to plan reasonably.

Lots going on...we need to get grades ready by Monday morning, which necessitates weekend work. Fortunately, I have made grading a priority this semester, and the net effect of the deadline is minimal...I mostly have to get citizenship grades done for the nine week period.

On the home front, I want to get the apartment cleaned...the dishes are already nearly done, and laundry will have to await the neighbors.

We took a nice ride to Bethel last evening, and picked up some supplies and stopped for sushi at VIP restaurant, our favorite hangout. It was a nice night for a ride-the sun does not set now until nearly 9 PM, and the riding is good. Our sno-go was doing a strange thing a couple of weeks ago, so I applied the principles of Zen mechanics to it-I did nothing. When I started it as a test yesterday, it was not doing that any more. Genius!

It looks like a beautiful day for a ride today, but at $7.80 a gallon for gasoline, joyriding would seem to be out of the question.

Nine weeks from today, we will be on vacation. Seniors have placed the request with District Office for airplane tickets to Chicago, which means that we intend to come to Michigan. We just have to await confirmation.

Time to get back to work and stop goofing around. I plan to mix goofing and some last minute grading tomorrow morning...

Baack At It on Monday...

Nine more Mondays to go...I get excited when the words go through my head...there is something about the fact that it is less than ten, I guess. If I had a better theory, I would share it, but that is all that I have to offer. The sunlight is beautiful, and has been for the past couple of days, and it lasts now until after nine o clock. The great daylight savings time swing has happened, and it happens here with a vengeance. We are gaining nearly six minutes of daylight each day, which means that sunset and sunrise move nearly three minutes. By the end of the week, we will have an additional 40 minutes of daylight. The spring madness is upon us, even if the spring temperatures are not.

There is a talent show here on Thursday, and I am contemplating reading one of the blog posts from the distant past that I think is kind of funny, but I haven't made up my mind as yet.

The building has become very quiet after hours now that the basketball season has ended. I suspect that it will be that way until the intramural league starts up. I am not sure when that is supposed to begin. I kind of like the peace and quiet, but it is also a little sad around the edges. This place is probably meant to be full of noise and life.

Time to go brave the cold and tend to my pups. Think I will kiss my sweet wife goodbye before I go-she is staying here for Study Buddies...

Friday...

The drummers are drumming and singing in the gym. We have a half-hour of Yup'ik dancing every Friday, and that is where "my kids" are, whether they be junior high, which I just sent there, or the 5th grade math class, which I will go and gather at 11:30. Junior high is working on research papers, and 5th grade is going to either work on survey results or play math games. After that, I will send them to lunch and this part of the day is done.

We are going to dine with the folks across the hall tonight, and I understand that lasagna is in the offing, as well as something called pizza soup. Sounds interesting. One of our friends graced us with a big fillet of halibut recently, and that became fish tacos the other night. The rest will likely become halibut chowder this weekend. Yum.

The weekend looms, and our responsibilities go no farther than grades and lesson plans. No travel, no tournaments, and I believe no fundraisers. Ok, I could be wrong on the last one...the seniors are still working in earnest to come up with money for the senior trip, and need to seize any chance that presents itself.

Time to go get some kiddies...

A Little More Up To Date...

Since the last installment, I have gotten my eval, the basketball tournament has taken place, and a change or two is in store...

I apparently am not too big a stumbling idiot, and I did ok on the last eval. Next year, I will have tenure, and I will have one formal evaluation each year, like everybody else. My principal is given to more frequent less formal evaluations, which makes some sense, and keeps us reasonably sharp. It will be nice to be one of the big kids.

The tournament went by in a whirl. I was unfortunate enough to finally fall victim to traveling viruses for the first time during this school year, which is at least a pleasant contrast to the track record of previous years. It caused me to watch a couple of games, including the championship game, from one of the classrooms at the school. They are broadcast throughout the school system on a closed circuit system that we use for distance education and conferences. Our boys made it to the championship game after a tight struggle with last year's champion school.

Unfortunately, they met a larger, and more experienced team in the finals. They played hard, but could not close the deal. We were disappointed, but proud of our boys for what they had accomplished. One of our fans started a fan club on Facebook, and there were lots of positive posts showing support of the team and our coach, who has led the school to one third place finish, two second place finishes, three district championships, and one state championship during the time that he has been teaching and coaching here.A pretty good record, I think.

It looks as if our upcoming classes in the middle grades are so big that we are going to have to split up the 5th and 6th grades next year. If my understanding of the numbers is correct, I will have even more bodies to cram into space next year than this. I am in the process of evaluating the differences in the classrooms, but it looks as if I may be changing my base of operations in the fall to a bigger room. There are pluses and minuses to the deal, but I suspect that it makes sense, on the whole.

We have ten weeks left to go as of Friday. Time to start making serious plans for the senior trip and what we will do in Michigan during the summer.

Basketball Madness and Blackouts...

...not the neurological kind of blackouts, or those brought on by excess...the kind that come when a small village hundreds of miles from nowhere relies upon its own generators for electrical power. We are most definitely not on the grid here. In fact, we can likely be best described as perhaps thousands of miles from the grid as it exists in the Lower 48. Our grid is miniature and consists of the village of Napaskiak. Period. We are not even connected to Bethel, as there are no bridges or anything of the sort that could support repair vehicles until the river is frozen.

After the craziness of the junior high tournament, we went home to catch a few z's. A nap was most necessary after all of those hours of running around getting stuff for people to eat and drink. After that, we got up and began to prepare for the dinner that we were planning to host at 7:30 that evening. There were dishes to wash, and food to prepare. Not a whole lot had gotten done when the power went out. No problem, I could still wash dishes, and there were three hours to go before guests were to arrive.

The short version of this is that the power was not on at 7:30. Not at 8, or 8:30...my wife called our guests and said that we would have to cancel. I was very disappointed. I had not really gotten to celebrate my birthday because of the necessity of our volunteering for the seniors. Now, I was not going to get the rain check because of the complexities of living out here. Bummer...

We sat for a little while in the dark as it descended, but abandoned that for the hallway, where there are safety lights, and we could see. On top of that, it was beginning to get cold in the apartments. The neighbors were already out there with their newborn, concerned for her comfort. We opened the door to the adjacent furnace room, which let some more heat out into the hallway. Things began to evolve into the direction of a hall party. My wife hand-whipped the frosting for my birthday cake, and we pulled out a cooler to act as an impromptu table.

It was at that point, at about 9:30 in the evening, that the lights came back on. We had already been told that they were not likely to for the rest of the night, and maybe not the next day. Once we convinced ourselves that they were on for a while, we decided to make pizza and ice cream and have a proper little party after all. The whole thing took a while to set up, as it was all being made from scratch, but we got the heat going, and had pizza, carrot cake, and homemade strawberry ice cream by 11 pm. A truly memorable birthday after all...

Wacky Weekend...

This is a few days late, but the story is kind of fun, so here it goes.

Last weekend was the date for the last big local basketball tournament of the winter, involving our junior high kids and six other teams from around our league. One school actually brought two teams. We had kids all over the school. The first game began at 2 pm Friday afternoon, and six were scheduled for the evening. My wife and I were in the concession stand helping the senior class raise money for their trip at the end of May. There was a crew of hardworking seniors there, too.

Throughout the evening, the lines never seemed to dissipate. Box after box of soft pretzels disappeared into the oven and out to the waiting crowds. I probably am fixated on them because I was the pretzel guy for much of the evening. I don't really care to see another pretzel for a while.

We managed to sell out of nearly everything long before the first evening was over. It was time for a morning run to Bethel to get more stuff. I was nominated, and I preferred that to the chaos at the concessions window.

The light was flat, and the truck trail was drifted in spots where the wind had blown snow the night before. It was kind of hard to see where the drifts were until I was almost upon them. Nonetheless, I made it up and back with more supplies, which were consumed by the crowd in less than two hours. Amazing. Over three thousand dollars in concessions sales for the weekend.

It was also my birthday on Friday, but there wasn't much time for celebrating. We decided to do that on Saturday night. That turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected...

Done With That...

My last evaluation of the year took place today. During the first three years in the district, we are subject to multiple evals each year. If I make the grade, and get offered a contract for next year, I will have tenure when I begin the first work day in August. It will be a nice feeling. I can't believe how quickly time has passed since I came here nearly three years ago.

Tomorrow will be the day of the big junior high school tournament, which is taking place here. There are seven teams coming, which will make for a long and crazy, and hopefully, a fun evening. The boys' tournament last weekend was ok, but these are my kiddies, and that makes it different for some reason. I will be in the stands for the first game, and will be peeking out from the concessions stand for the other ones.

The whole thing lasts until the middle of Saturday afternoon. To make things even more fun, we are apparently hosting the LKSD school board meeting tomorrow morning. Madness, I tell ya!

I think (hope) that things went OK with my eval today, and that will take a fair amount of self-generated pressure off of me. I can just go on with the rest of the semester, and have a normal (that means crazy) life. I am looking forward to it...

One More Eval...

I am done for the year after tomorrow morning. It is often uncomfortable to be watched, "observed" in our parlance, but it is unavoidable in this business. I am not all that fond of the experience, because I am all to aware of everything that is not perfect or wrong. Sometimes the worst day is the observation day, and the kids have been pretty buggy so far this week. I suspect that it gets worse next week after basketball season is over and eligibility goes off the table. We will see whether the efforts that I have made are in vain or not. If they are not working, the next 12 weeks will seem like a long time...

Another Day...

Tuesday-not much to report..out at 4:30 and back for a union meeting at 7 pm. The week progresses...

Day Over (almost)...

Twelve more Mondays...it is nice to think about summer vacation...in a few more weeks I will be thinking about little else..it might be premature, but it is an awfully pleasant thought to have...

Mondays...

Still hate 'em...not sure why. Not a very restful weekend, and next weekend promises to be little better. We do have the short week after that, and I hope that helps. Still, we are thirteen weeks until summer vacation, so I suppose that it doesn't do to whine too much. Mostly, it feels like a lot more to do than there is time in which to do it. Not sure what else to say about this week-think that I will take it as it comes, and hope for the best...

Goin' To Bethel (On a Couple of Different Levels)...

Our boys have done it again...they won two in a row to win the conference tournament last night and first thing this morning. We were lucky enough to watch the games from the concession stand window, and there were some interesting, dramatic, and even comic moments. At more or less the same time, our girls' team placed second in their tournament to win the chance to compete in Bethel at the district tournament alongside the boys in less than two weeks. That is where we will be spending the weekend of March 1-2-3, likely including some exciting hallway tailgating at Bethel Regional High School. So much for the idea of rest and relaxation that weekend, although I guess a few days off to watch basketball isn't exactly hell on earth. It does get hectic with the travel back and forth, but it is all pretty much fun.

After we watched the awards ceremony, cleaned up the concessions area, and got the sno go and the sled hooked up, we jetted off to Bethel for a union meeting (I am on the executive board), and helped pack up t-shirts for the membership. Thanks to the good leadership of LKNEA for the pizza! We are entering negotiations with the district, during which we find out just how we are loved and valued by our employer. I know that I was impressed with the selfless generosity of the opening offer. But, enough of that. We capped off our day of fun with a trip to the Alaska Commercial store, and a three hundred dollar grocery bill. Yum, food.

After that, it was down the river, past the O-ville Ooze (the overflow by Oscarville is plentiful), and back to home sweet home for a nap and a walk for my wife and our new mama, Sara Jung. I have been hanging out here in my cave at the school doing emails and checking out the internet. I guess it is time to get over with the funnin' around, and load up some pages on the computer so that I can haul my work home and do my grading and planning from there tonight and tomorrow.

It is nearly time for my last evaluation for the year. Third year teachers have two. After this, should I be offered a contract, and should I return, I will be in a tenured position, and will be evaluated annually. Time has gone by quickly since I first applied to the AKT2 program in 2008. Nearly three years of teaching in the Bush. I like an awful lot of things about this job, and I think that I am pretty well convinced that the good (and the great) outnumber the bad. Of course, you should probably not ask me that same question on a Monday. I expect to be back for another year in August, with a whole new cast of junior high kids for my entertainment. The cycle goes on and on...

Catfish Grabbin' On the History Channel....

Holy cats! (All puns intended). We went to Bethel last night to pick up supplies for tonight's b-ball tournament. While we were there, we stopped to have Valentine's Day dinner at VIP Restaurant, our favorite place in town. To my wonderment, we were treated to a show on the History Channel about guys who stand up to their necks in muddy water so that they can reach under things like rocks and trees and grab catfish. When I think of the History Channel, camo, tats, and catfish are the first things that come to mind. That, and how aliens invaded the Mayan empire.

This is apparently a brand new show for the History Channel, having just started on Feb. 9. We apparently were fortunate enough to witness the second episode. Glory.

In other news, we are working late again this Friday night for the greater glory of the Napaskiak senior class of 2012. There is a tournament here to see which teams will go on to the district tournament in Bethel in two weeks, and we are at our concessions post again. It is nice to help the kids, but this is the second year in a row for us, and I will be glad to let the torch pass to other hands.

All else is well. February is waning, and my birthday approaches. 58. Nice round number. After that, we have a short week because of the district tournament, which we just decided to schedule as vacation time last year. We make it up elsewhere, and it is nice to get a little break.

Just about time to go see how our boys do tonight...

Monday Moanin'...

A columnist in Detroit used to run a recurring item with something like this title. I also find myself thinking of the Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Monday." The weekends are never long enough, mostly because they are relaxing, and ya can't get enough of that. Both my sweetie and I got the summons to steam last night, and I was happy to get it. It made for a nice bit of relaxation at the end of the weekend.

So now we return to the grind. This will be a busy week with basketball (a tournament, no less) at the end of the week. I just spoke with our boy's coach, and it sounds as if the big challenge may be finding enough teams with enough eligible members. This has been a bigger issue in the past couple of years, as the district has revamped its curriculum and grading system, perhaps in response to state and federal mandates. We do not generally know the explanation for these changes. We just get told to implement them.

We don't have any special or weird stuff coming up this week aside from the tournament. The weeks are beginning to dwindle, as we approach the halfway mark towards the end of the first card marking already. We will be done three months from Friday. It seems to be going very quickly...

February Continues...

It's a cloudy but warm-ish Saturday, and we are at the shop here getting weekend work done. The hope that we have is that we will finish today and play tonight and tomorrow. Sounds like a good bet. I have a list on my whiteboard to erase, and if I quit screwing around on the internet, I think that it can get obliterated.

The big chill is officially in the rearview mirror for now. There are no signs in the upcoming forecast that suggest its return in the next week. It is amazing how comfortable 26 degrees feels after a month of -25.

The weather does seem to be affecting the kiddies somewhat. They are definitely sillier than they have been in the past few weeks. I suspect that there is more "playing out" going on, and thus less sleep. Fabulous.

This is the off weekend for basketball. The next two weekends will involve tournaments that will be held here, involving the high school boys and the junior high, respectively. Lots of work in the concession stand for those events. We are hoping to raise enough money for the senior class to fund a trip to the Midwest at the end of the school year. Events like these are big money makers for the seniors, and they are crucial to our hoped-for success. They make for long weekends, though. And they don't excuse us from our usual weekend necessities, such as grading, lesson planning, and the laundry. Oh, well. Only two to go. And we have a short week after the last one, which will give us a chance for a breather.

A couple of newsworthy events have been taking place here. First, there are some suggestions that tuberculosis is cropping up in spots around the Delta. That will be something to keep an eye on, for sure. I have also heard that the fuel supply for our electrical generators is getting disturbingly low. This will also be interesting to follow as winter continues.

For now, the focus will be on getting my weekend chores done. Maybe later, we can play and visit babies. My wife seems to enjoy that...hmmm.

Now, It's Slushy...

Kind of a pillar to post weekend. On Friday morning, the temperature was in the -30 range. By Saturday afternoon, it was nearly +35. Big swing in a short period of time...the weather has stayeed in the 30s for the most part since then. The only problem with this is that the river has started to have a fair amount of overflow on it in various spots. The tides rise and fall, and the seams of the ice on top of the river allow it to seep through. It can be messy, and some of the puddles are deep enough to swamp a snowmachine. Not a pleasant prospect. We are supposed to go to Bethel this afternoon to pick up veggie boxes, so the river's condition will be an issue. On a positive note, we attempted to start the machine yesterday after about 40 days of sitting in subzero cold. First time, with the starter. No pulls needed at all. Pretty amazing. The bigger challenge proved to be getting the lock on the tracks unfrozen. That took a lighter and a little patience. I took the machine out for a little spin and parked it to make access easier. Not a bad half-hour's work...

Cutting It Close...

The temperature is -30. The windchill is -42. LKSD board policy says that students may not travel for activities if the windchill exceeds -35. This is going to be interesting. The temperature is supposed to rise, but the wind is also expected to do the same. We will await a decision on whether games are going to proceed as scheduled or not...

Yippee...

-23. Enough said.

Noooooooooo.....

Blizzard Warning in effect until 9 am akst Thursday...

Wind Chill Advisory in effect until noon akst Thursday...

(sound of middle-aged man banging head against wall)..."when will this finally end???"

The Chill Continues...

Day by day, with the temperatures not budging above -20. The wind has eased, and that helps a little, but it is not gone, and it still adds to the bite of the cold. Everyone is pretty tired of the persistence of the cold, and the suggestion that there might be a break towards the weekend is welcome. Of course, that does not mean that it will actually happen. We shall simply have to wait and see what transpires. It would be nice to see some temps above zero for a few days. It might give us a chance to thaw a couple of things out...

Da Chill Continues...

-61 windchill the last that I looked...what does that feel like? It is kind of hard to tell, as I made sure to cover as much of my body as was absolutely possible for the morning dog walk (read dog dash). However, I did need to keep a small patch open through which I could see. Within a matter of about a minute or less, I began to develop an "ice cream" headache caused by exposure to the wind and cold. It was, fortunately, a simple matter to turn my head away from direct exposure. I made sure to wear my goggles for the later walk to the school.

Today is a mandatory contract work day, which means that we get paid for the kinds of things that we do for free on the other weekends of the year. I have a stack of papers to grade, and plans to finish, and a project to lay out.

It is quiet here, and another week of the semester has already come and gone. One of my students is doing a news article about her perception that this year seems to be going faster than last year. She is actually interviewing some of the staff about their perceptions. I certainly think that it seems to be going faster and better than last year at this point. Two weeks down, sixteen left to go...

So Much For That...

The travel plans got canceled for everyone. The windchill out at the site to which they would have traveled was reportedly -50, which is an automatic no-go under district rules. So, everyone stays put, we have a work day tomorrow, but we are done for today, and it is time to walk and have a leisurely evening. We can come in tomorrow at whatever time we wish, as long as we put in the time. That will give us a nice break that we would not have had otherwise. I feel badly for the kids, but a breather is hard to sneer at.

Now for the treadmill and some quality time with my wife...

Not So Bad Really, But It Is Cold...

The temperature seems to be the main topic of conversation this morning, with frozen water pipes and sewer alarms going off across the two teacher housing buildings. It has essentially been a frozen month. The high temperatures hovered around five degrees F for a few days and then descended back below zero, where they have remained. It has not been this cold here since I arrived in these parts. Well, it has not been this cold for this long. The effect is being felt especially in the form of frozen pipes and more frozen pipes. Of course, that is a thing that can be repaired. It will be interesting to see whether or not teams can travel for ball if it gets colder.

Enough Already...

Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect from 6 PM this evening
to 9 am akst Saturday...

A Wind Chill Advisory remains in effect for the Kuskokwim Delta from
6 PM this evening to 9 am akst Saturday.

* Wind chill values... 35 below to 45 below

* wind... northeast 10 to 20 mph.

* Timing... dangerously low wind chills will develop early this
evening as north winds develop and temperatures cool and then
persist through mid morning Saturday.

* Impacts... increased risk of hypothermia and frostbite.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A Wind Chill Advisory means that very cold air and strong winds
will combine to generate low wind chills. This will result in
frostbite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken.

Heat Wave...

Up to -25.1...

Brrrrr3...

The National Weather Service (that evil Federal menace!!!) says that it is -31.6 F in Bethel now. One of our staff members reported a local reading of -35 and change. Cold for sure, but it is very still, and the cold does not bite as much as it does with the wind blowing. The most interesting visual phenomenon is the fact that smoke coming out of various chimneys (or steam for that matter) will not rise much at all. It flattens out at about ten feet or so above the top of the stacks. Kinda cool looking, and it speaks eloquently to the mass of cold air that is present here.

We have DARE presenters coming to the junior high this morning (they should be in there now), and it will break up the morning a little bit. We will see how the kids process it.

My plan is to head home "early" (read 5:15) to get caught up on the domestic chores before the upcoming weekend, which promises to be hectic. We have junior high basketball here, and no seniors available to staff the concession stand. My wife and I are in our second year of senior class sponsorship, and we have to be there to help raise funds for the senior trip. A couple of obliging underclassmen have promised to help (they are actually girls), and I think that we may have some parental support as well. There is also a work day scheduled for Saturday, and a lot of people are going to be gone as chaperons. It ought to be an interesting weekend, but it sure won't be a restful one. Oh, well, that wouldn't be that much fun anyway. We would just get bored.

We are actually working on a plan to get ourselves out of the building at a reasonable time at the end of the day, and it will be interesting to see how it progresses. Even a small break before we come back to work out in the evening is nice to change the day's pace.

Brrr2...

Nice day with the kids today. All of it. I need to scaffold more, though. It is currently -26.3 F, and I am preparing myself for the walk home and the trip outside with the dogs. Fun. The good part is that I get to jump into PJs at the end of that trip. I read an article in Slate magazine today about the glory of PJs and I have to agree. I even come over here in the weekend to work in them. Last Sunday I threw on a pair of insulated overalls (we call them snow pants out here) so that I didn't have to change out of PJs because of the cold. Last night, I just braved the cold.

I used to dress in designer suits (and I like them just fine). These days, I tend to be much happier in a hoodie and PJ pants...what a slob I have become. One of these days, I will remind myself to feel bad about that.

Brrr...

-25 this morning, and the outlook is for more of the same. It has not gotten above 10 degrees for about a month now, and for the most part, the temperatures have been consistently below zero. My classroom is quiet, as the kids have gone of for an elder visit as a part of their Yup'ik class.

For some reason, I have a hard time feeling confidence in the progress that I have made as a teacher out here. I know that it is there, but every day seems like an extremely steep slope to ascend. Maybe someday it will change, but I don't know when that will happen. I am kind of tired of waiting, even though I know that I do much of it to myself. Ugh.

Trying For a Little Time...

At least that was the thought...we had this idea that we would make it a point to get out of here at 4:30 this afternoon, so that we could catch up on a little personal time and some house cleaning. Then, we remembered that we had to use the treadmill. Then, we remembered about the union meeting tonight at 7 pm...oh, well, we can still try for it. This weekend won't provide much time-there is supposed to be junior high basketball Friday and a work day Saturday. No, we will have to make do with what we can eke out today...

The Beginning of Another Week...

I can hear my wife struggling to get her students going in a straight direction this morning. I am sitting in the adjacent classroom during my preparation period. I have been composing a new vocabulary activity that I will use in a few minutes. My junior high kids were looking like something out of The Night Of The Living Dead when I left them to do their Yup'ik class. I am trying to decide whether to light a fire under their butts when I return, or gently nudge them towards some level of functionality. I suppose that I would be best advised to assess the situation upon my arrival.

Just an example of the myriad of tiny daily decisions about the approach to take to classes and students. Some of them work, and some of them are hideously bad ideas. It is not always clear in advance which way things will go. Sometimes you just have to take your chances. Take the PE activity for this week. Badminton. Just checked the supply of shuttlecocks. Three. For somewhere between 16-18 students. Ain't gonna work. At least not for the first couple of days of practice leading up to the "tournament." Maybe it is time to check on Amazon and see if I can pick up some cheap birds...

Of course, we can always segue to basketball or ultimate frisbee or bat game. No biggie. Just not all that organized. Best laid plans...

Two Days, Two Funerals...

Napaskiak laid two to rest this weekend, starting on Friday afternoon. We had the first funeral at the school, and there was quite a turnout. The Saturday service at the church was also crowded. I am impressed by the community closeness that accompanies a death. I learned a lot this week, and felt that it was a very important week in some significant ways.

I don't have much more to say about these deaths in this forum. A new week is beginning, and we have been to the school today to finish lesson plans and enter grades. Now it is time to head for home and my wife's good cooking. Time to appreciate life a little...

Thursday

I believe that the first of the funerals that will take place this week will come this afternoon, although it has not yet been confirmed to my knowledge. The other will follow in the next couple of days. We took some soup that my wife cooked to one of the houses of the bereaved families last night, and we stayed to visit and listen to some hymn singing. It seemed like a good thing to do. We will visit the other house tonight with the rest of the soup.

We are getting the semester off to a sort of lurching start, with some frequent interruptions of the school day due to visitors and other necessities. I think that the routine is beginning to catch on, however.

Things have been so busy that I haven't had the combination of time and energy to shave my head. Joe says that he is going to shave his after his daughter's wedding on February 5. I plan to remind him. I need to get groomed and get some laundry and dishes done today at some point, but it is hard to see where that is going to fit in. The house is beginning to disappear under our residue, and we have only been there since Sunday. There is just a lot to do right now. I am optimistic that we will get around to it in the next several days-we have no choice at this point...

Working Through It...

We are all getting along here a day at a time. My students were flat out wonderful yesterday, and it made the day much better for us all, I believe. I am making a conscious effort to emphasize the most positive approach that I can in dealing with classroom management. I have already apparently perfected the "don't let them see you smile until Christmas" (at least Thanksgiving) approach, so it has been suggested that I have established my meanie cred. Time to lighten up a little.

We got off to a pretty good start yesterday, focusing on review and some new stuff as well. I am cautiously optimistic that the week will go smoothly from here.

My wife and I need to go out and do some visiting of the family vigils for the departed tonight. A chicken has been cooking slowly in a pot since last night to produce stock for what will likely be a delicious soup. We will take that to the families tonight.

The funeral services have not yet been definitively scheduled. I suspect that further information will be forthcoming.

I am much happier to be back here than I would have thought was the case at the end of Monday. We have again been greeted with the phrase "welcome home." How can you resist that kind of warmth? I don't plan to...

Mixed...

We made it back to the village without major incident or delay. Everything went smoothly, even if I do find the rituals of return kind of stressful. However, immediately upon our return, we found out about the death of a local young man that occurred Sunday morning. The status of that funeral has yet to be determined.

We had an inservice yesterday that is best left forgotten. More mandates from on high, and the questions are already buzzing about the three hours of training to administer a new test, and the indication from at least one site that those training hours will be the responsibility of teachers on their own time, outside of contract hours. This issue has been bubbling for the past year or so, and I wonder what shape this potential controversy may take.

This morning, I learned that yet another village citizen has died. I knew this man, and he was one of the earliest to greet me here warmly. He has a special place in my heart, and the news was frankly stunning. I found myself stepping outside into the bitter cold to compose myself and blink away the tears. Two deaths in 48 hours. This will be a challenging week. Fortunately, there are lots of smiling kids here today to lift my spirits a little. I am going to make the most of that that I can. I intend to ease back into this semester as gently as possible under the circumstances. Love and patience will be the bywords of the week. We are all just trying to get by under sometimes difficult circumstances.

Anchorage!

The snow was there, but we waited until later in the day to leave Cadillac, and I think that this might have given the road crews along the way more time to clear the highways of snow. The worst of it was along the 40 miles from Cadillac to Big Rapids, and everything was pretty good after that. There were some places where snow was still flying enough to limit visibility, but we were able to make it to my sister's house in about five hours, which is about what I would expect under perfect conditions. We had a pleasant dinner, and made it to the airport the next day, and had a pretty uneventful flight to Anchorage, where we find ourselves this morning. The required trips to various stores have been made, and we have a significant load of totes and kennels to get to the airport and off to Bethel. A ride apparently awaits us there, which will be nice, as the temperatures there are still pretty darn cold. The end of the day should find us safely and warmly (I hope) ensconced at home with the humidifier running. The cold here is very dry, and my skin and sinuses are already complaining. Some hydration would appear to be in order.

We have inservice fun tomorrow, and then the kids on Tuesday. It will be a short week with them, but a longer week for us, because there is also a contract work day on Saturday. Back to the grind? In some ways, the answer is yes, but we are also on the downhill side of the school year. Halfway done, with most of the extra work that we have to do behind us. We will be busy with basketball and senior fundraising, but I suspect that the rest of the year will pass quickly.

More later- it is time to start in earnest the game of organizing the exodus to the airport...