Motivating Mohawks!

Public schools and teachers nationwide prepare their students every year for the dreaded state standardized testing.  There are numerous research based methods, best practices, interventions and tried and true programs to get students ready to pass the exams.  While I don't think state testing is anyone's, (students' or teachers') favorite aspect of school, there is no point in adding any more stress to testing week by being negative.  Which is why on the eve of the first day of testing, Savoonga held a pep rally!

To show our students that we believe in them, and to get them pumped up for testing week, we offered them some fun incentives for bettering their scores and three daring staff members (Brendan included) even decided to let the students give them mohawks!!  I'm not sure they got anything academic out of the experience, but it did show our trust and support for them as they began the long week of testing.  It was really fun to be a part of and to see the kids in such a good mood even as the pressure state testing loomed ahead.  The mohawks on the heads of the staff members were a positive reminder throughout the week that we believe in our students and in their academic success.

My first week of state testing as a teacher came and went--time will tell how the students did.  Scores and proficiency aside, everyone has worked hard this year and I'm proud of them regardless.

We've had some other exciting firsts in the past couple of weeks!  Walking on water is probably the coolest.  We decided to take advantage of the Bering Sea being frozen and walked home across the ocean.  The pictures look just like the rest of the pictures we have taken here, white on white, but it was seriously cool.  We only came across one big crack, which freaked me out but didn't phase Brendan.  Every time we sunk in snow the least bit I prepared myself for water, but the ice/snow was so thick we never saw any.  PHEW!  We took the walk just in time too, because this weekend the temperatures rose and the wind blew the ice out, so it's back to freezing cold ocean.  The temperature in itself is another first--first above freezing temps since January!  Hello, spring!

While we haven't invested in a juicer yet, it's on the list for next year.  Luckily, our neighbor and good friend has one and invited us over for a school night juice session!  It still blows my mind that we have access to fresh, organic produce here and absolutely made my week to enjoy some fresh, yummy apple, beet, strawberry juice and good company. Parrot Curry is not to be excluded in that company.  Those of you that knew me in high school know that having a bird sit on my shoulder is a definite first, and that I've come a very long way.

The sun has been back for a while, but we get more of it at night than in the morning.  This past week the sun decided to peek over the horizon before school started!  It was a welcomed arrival and makes getting out of bed a little bit easier.  A little bit.

Brendan put his love of sports to work and reffed some Little Dribblers' elementary basketball games during the tournament that Savoonga hosted.  The kids were pretty cute running up and down the court, lofting up some crazy shots and wrestling for the ball.  Brendan didn't look half bad either in his ref uniform!  Plenty of fun was had throughout another busy weekend in Savoonga.

We are down to the six week home stretch!  Five weeks until graduation, six weeks until the end of school and seven weeks until we will be back on the East coast for the summer.  The next month and a half will be just as busy if not busier than the rest of the year and will surely go by just as quickly.  With the temps rising and daylight extending, we hope to get outside even more and enjoy every minute of it.

Enjoy the warm weather and sunshine that actually warms your skin for us!  Oh yeah, and Sam Summers, enjoy some of those for us too.  And save us several.

"It's Always an Adventure on the Frozen Rock"

 Wow, who's the worst at blogging on a regular basis? My apologies to anyone who has been looking for updates..we haven't disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness, we've just been insanely busy.  Blogging has been on my to-do list every week since November 12th, my last post, but keeps getting moved to the next week when I simply can't stare at a computer anymore after lesson plans, ITP submissions, Skype sessions and webinars.  My 26th birthday in February had me on a bit of a quarter-life crisis kick and I decided that I really need to learn how to find some balance in order to keep my (and B's) sanity.  In addition to getting back into yoga, making time every day to spend outside, (in the SUN!) and spending six instead of seven days in my classroom, writing tends to keep me in check...so the blog is back in action.  As the title, a quote from one of our trusty Era pilots, suggests--it's been an adventure.

I could take up hours of your day, maybe even days of your week, filling in the blanks since my last blog, but since no one has that much time, I'll limit myself to the top 10 experiences we've had over the last four months. Yikes, that's a really long time.

10.  Holidays and Meals with New Friends

While we immediately felt welcomed and a sense of friendship among our staff, it has been a wonderful experience getting to know an amazing group of people this year.  I always tell people that ask about our experience, that it easily could have been a lot worse.  Somehow the stars aligned and we lucked out with awesome people to work with, a strong administration to work under and overall an inspiring group of people that we've learned more from than we ever expected.  Our first Thanksgiving in Alaska was spent in the MPR at school in good company with delicious food.  Some of our vegan contributions were even a hit!  Between planned and impromptu get-togethers and dinners, we've made some really great friends and definitely feel a sense of home in Savoonga.

9.  Christmas Vacation/Spring Break

Savoonga is definitely feeling more and more like home, but we’ve also been lucky to be able to make a couple of trips off the island this year.  Christmas vacation was spent on the East coast with our families.  A storm popped up the Friday afternoon that school was out, and taught us our first lesson in Bush travel. “The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry.”   As I discuss with my students, this quote is true in everyone’s life at some point or another, but more often in Savoonga.

Anyway, break was great…despite an ear infection and a Christmas day trip to the ER. We were able to spend time with our families and friends, enjoy a few (too many) beers and we even caught a Bruin’s game. 

We spent Spring Break in California with Caitlin, Russ and Mac, relaxing and catching up.  We drove down Highway 1 along the coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, enjoyed mimosas and a walk on the beach, watched some surfers and RELAXED.  In San Francisco we enjoyed eating some delicious meals out (one of the things we miss most when we are in Savoonga,) and even caught an acoustic Guster show that was one of the coolest shows I’ve seen. It doesn’t seem possible that the trip has already come and gone.

8.  "Carpooling"

While this is not so much an event, but more of a routine…our mode of transport to school is pretty sweet.  Two of us are usually on the actual snowmobile and then we pile on whoever/whatever we can onto the sled.  The ride to school can be invigorating or relaxing, depending on the temps and the wind.

7.  Feeling Like a Teacher

This one might sound kind of silly, but it’s one of the best.  I feel like for the first half of the year I was running on adrenaline, not sure what I should be doing, relating more to being a high school student than to a high school teacher and just praying I’d make it through each day.  Somewhere along the line I figured out what was going on and am actually starting to feel like a teacher.  The days are going by faster, learning is happening (I think,) and I actually feel like I’m teaching the kids something.  Now when I’m planning my week I can actually visualize what will be happening, and I am definitely more capable of finding material my students will relate to.  I had multiple students asking me to “Please keep reading!” the last book we read, Bud, Not Buddy.  Those were some happy moments.  I feel a little less clueless, and hopefully so do my students.

6.  Following the Iditarod

Living in Alaska and following the Last Great Race on Earth has been a pretty exciting experience.  While I’m still not sure I 100% think it’s good for dogs to run 1000 miles in the freezing cold, people continue to assure me it’s in their nature.  (For those of you that know that Sampson needs a pillow, blanket and at least half of the bed to get a good night’s sleep, you know where this is coming from.)  But it was still cool to watch.  We actually came through Nome at the end…didn’t catch any finishers, but did feel the excitement and history in the air.  We flew into Nome with a family that was going to watch their dad finish…how cool would it be to be a little kid getting on a teensy little plane to go find your dad who just completed the Iditarod? AWESOME.  Unfortunately for Brendan, he started The Hunger Games (my bad) right as the race was starting, so I think he missed most of the excitement.  There’s always next year.

5.  Digging DOWN into the School

I won’t elaborate on this one, as I think the picture does it justice.  Just a little preview of the amount of snow we’ve had this year!  Yes, that's the roof.

4.  The Sun Coming Back

I don’t think I realized how much I missed the sun until it came back.  I think the least amount on daylight we had was about 4 hours, but it wasn’t direct sunlight.  A lot of people asked me if it was true about depression setting in when the sunlight went away.  Right off the bat I said no, but it definitely affected my energy. It was far too easy to sleep the day away on the weekends, and much too difficult to get motivated to go outside and be active.  The sun is out now for 12+ hours, and it’s awesome!  Maybe a little hard to get to sleep at night, but it’s much easier to get out of bed, go cross country skiing and enjoy the great Alaskan outdoors—one of reasons we came here in the first place!

3.  Signing Next Year's Contract

One of the biggest highlight’s of my year thus far—being asked to come back!  It was all at once a relief, a reinforcement and a motivator.  There are so many things I want to do differently (better) next year, and being given the chance to do it is such a wonderful feeling.  It was also pretty cool to be able to tell my students I’ll be back, and even see some changes in attitude once that realization set in.  We are so excited to be returning to Savoonga next year, and for all of the possibilities and opportunities that the new year will hold!

2. Experiencing the Aurora Borealis

If you want to feel small and insignificant while simultaneously feeling empowered, in complete awe and star struck, experience the Alaskan Aurora Borealis.  You can argue that it is solar energy/a flare from the sun.  It is.  But it’s also a good reminder that there is a whole lot out there that is out of your reach and control.  It was a phenomenal, grounding, inspiring experience for me.  I can’t wait to see more. (Pictures to come...)


1.     Feeling at Home in Savoonga

Last but not least, we are really starting to feel at home here.  We’ve managed to turn our house into our first little home and it’s a comfortable place to come home to after a long day.  We ran into some people from Savoonga when we were in Nome and received welcome greetings.  Yesterday as I was struggling home through the newly fallen snow, someone I didn’t know (but do now,) offered me a ride home.  Slowly but surely we are meeting new people, forming good relationships and feeling more comfortable.  The more I learn about my students, the better I am able to relate to and teach them.  They teach me about their culture and I share with them the things I know about the world.  Not every day is easy, in fact most days are not.  But at the end of the day we have learned something new and still have each other. 

I promise to make an effort to blog more frequently and keep everyone posted on our daily/weekly adventures.  I’ll leave you with a link to an article about the polar bears on our little island in the Arctic.  Enjoy!

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/roaming-polar-bears-vandalize-camps-st-lawrence-island

It's Not an Adventure Until Something Goes Wrong

Every time I post a blog that is longer than a couple of paragraphs, I hear my Writing for the Electronic Media professor's voice echoing in my brain, "Keep it short and to the point."  While it pains me to break a rule of writing, I have a lot to say!  But I guess since I'm not blogging for a grade, I won't feel too badly about it.  I'm writing to update our friends and family on our latest adventures, and man do we have a lot to fill everyone in on!  I've been a major slacker in the blog department...my apologies to any of you that have been looking for a new one! But today I have the whole afternoon, a fresh mug of coffee and lots of stories to tell--get comfy, folks, it's going to be a long one!

For the sake of clarity, I'll keep things chronological.  The last weekend in October we got to participate in the annual Halloween Carnival at school.  Brendan and I were in charge of the CoOp, and we were crazy busy the whole night!  Brought me back to my bar tending days, except I was selling bottles of soda and Slush Puppies instead of bottles of beer and Abbey Road Runners.  It was an outstanding turn out for carnival games run by teachers, a haunted house created by the seniors, bingo, and food.  I love when I get a chance to interact with my students outside of the classroom, and it was nice meeting some new families and collaborating with the staff for a fun event!  Despite having Saturday School that morning and not leaving school until almost midnight, we had a really great time and are looking forward to next Halloween!

Brendan traveled with the volleyball team to Shishmaref the first weekend in November.  Shishmaref is a village north of Nome, and is much smaller than Savoonga.  It's located on a barrier island, so if you can picture the geography of the Outer Banks in North Carolina, then shrink it down and put it in the Arctic Circle, then you can pretty much envision Shismaref. (Minus the huge houses, restaurants and stores of the OBX.)  The sea was already starting to freeze and snow machines were already running full force.  (Our sea isn't frozen, and we don't have enough snow for snow machines yet!)  Though the team didn't win any games, they were given plenty of compliments on how much they have improved since last year.  The kids had a good time and were psyched to travel to Shaktoolik this weekend for more!  Brendan had to sit this game out, as he's leaving for Unalakleet tomorrow for classroom related training.  He's lucking out big time and staying overnight in Nome on Monday.  Translation:  He gets to break sobriety and indulge in beverage(s) of his choice! 

The next bit of news made national news as well, so if any of you happened to turn into the Weather Channel this week, you know that we had a pretty major storm!  That's right, we survived our first "snowicane."  When I heard about how bad the storm was going to be, I envisioned us hunkered down in our house with all of the candles lit, enjoying hot cocoa, a good book and a snow day.  Things that didn't happen:  all of the above.

We watched the storm coverage all day Tuesday and were well-prepared for it to hit us Tuesday night.  We brought some things up to school with us on Tuesday morning, in case we had to stay the night.  The students were dismissed at lunch time, so they had plenty of time to get home before the bad weather started.  It wasn't supposed to get bad until late that night, so a few of us decided we wanted to go home to shower and eat, since we were unsure of how long we'd be stuck at school after the storm hit.  The general consensus (with input from previous Savoonga winter storm survivors) was that we had plenty of time to go home for an hour and come back.  Our principal drove us down to teacher housing in the pick up truck.  It was windy but clear--we have a few videos that I'll try to post!  The plan was for him to come back and pick us up in an hour.  The best laid plans...

There were only three of us making the trek back up to school, and by the time we were supposed to meet back at the truck, the wind had picked up and it was getting dark.  The truck's windshield wipers weren't working and our principal couldn't see a thing, so he wasn't able to pick us up in that.  He decided to try the 4-wheeler, which ended up working! We all piled on, our principal driving, Brendan sitting on the front calling out directions and warnings, and Theresa and me on the back...hanging on tight and shielding ourselves from the wind.

If we had made it back to school without any mishaps, it would have been pretty impressive.  It was a complete whiteout, with zero visibility. But we weren't trying to impress anyone.  To be blunt, I ended up getting tossed off the 4-wheeler into the ditch. (They really aren't kidding about those Bering Strait wind gusts!)  Theresa's bag filled with food, drinks, clothes and a hard drive--probably a good 15-20 lbs. worth, went flying by me like a scene out of The Wizard of Oz.  Brendan was able to jump off and grab me and the bag.  We all teamed together to try to pull the now stuck 4-wheeler out of the same ditch I had been occupying.  (By "we all" I mean Bobby and Brendan.  Theresa and I gave it a few good tugs but were more focused on not blowing away.)  After a solid effort, it became frighteningly obvious that we really needed to get back to the school.  We abandoned the 4-wheeler and Theresa's bag, linked arms and started walking. Well, trying to.

This is the part of the story we can all look back on and laugh about, though there was nothing funny about it as it was happening.  I've always been pretty happy about the sense of direction I inherited from my dad, but it apparently stops working in an Alaskan white out. Theresa and I were sure we were still down by the water, and between the strength of the wind and the distance to school, I was pretty sure we were goners.  Luckily, I date a human compass, so even though I didn't know it at the time, Brendan knew we were only about 50 yards from the school.

Picturing two people wandering aimlessly, one person crawling, and one person yelling, "GO LEFT" literally right outside of the school is the part I find most hilarious.  Throw in a record breaking storm, an anxiety attack and gear that's not warm enough and it turns from funny to scary. Brendan was able to push me inside, (he had to push me because me walking was about as productive as walking on a treadmill) where we got help.  Bobby and Theresa weren't too far behind.  The story's ending is happy and even comical, but I think we all learned some serious lessons.  Nature is beautiful and stunning and its power can literally take your breath away.  I don't think we'll be venturing outside in any future storms, as the outcome of our experience could have easily been serious.  Even though it scared the crap out of us, I'm thankful that I'm now aware of just what kind of weather we'll be dealing with this winter.  Now we know what to prepare for!

One of Brendan's favorite quotes is "It's not an adventure until something goes wrong."  This was certainly our biggest adventure to date, and one we'd rather not re-live. But it was a bonding and a learning experience, and a good story to tell.  We enjoyed the remainder of the storm from the inside of the school, on an air mattress in my classroom.  If you are thinking school was cancelled on Wednesday, think again!  We had a delay, but kids came to school!  Not only did we survive the "snowicane" of 2011, we didn't miss a beat.  The 4-wheeler was recovered in working conditioned, and Theresa's bag miraculously made it back to the school.  I think the only losses suffered were Brendan's snow goggles and a bit of pride.

The semester is flying by, we'll be home for Christmas in just about a month!  I have a lot left to cover for the quarter in my classroom, and am determined to get through the material with my kids.  Some days I feel like I'm making progress and others I feel like I'm falling behind...I hope the former is what's actually happening.  We'll be spending Thanksgiving here with the other teachers and are greatly anticipating 4 days off of school in a row.  We have a few Christmas decorations, and trust me, I can't wait to put them up.

Any of you that are reading from Salem may have seen the article in the Post Star about us this morning. It was a really nice article about Brendan and I moving up here to teach.  We're not here for recognition though and are really just enjoying making new friends and experiencing a new culture and a simplified lifestyle.  We feel honored that someone other than me wanted to share our story, but more than anything we're just happy to be here experiencing these great adventures.  

Thank you, everyone, for your concern and support this week with the storm! I'm trying to get photos and videos posted, but the internet at our house is taking a while.  I'll get them up ASAP!

Your Pencils Are Ugly

I was having a rough week. I was letting little things get to me. I was feeling unproductive and like I was starting to lose my motivation.  Then one of my students angrily told me that my pencils were ugly.  And I’m really glad that they did.  Here’s why: I have absolutely no control over what my pencils look like.  I guess I could use more of my classroom budget to buy prettier pencils, but SERIOUSLY?  I don’t have control over my students’ pencil preference, and I don’t have control over any of their likes or dislikes.  I can only work with what I’ve got.

After that comment, my week started to look up. (Okay, okay, AND it’s Friday.)  I laughed it off and apologized (with a hint of sarcasm) for the lack of beauty in my pencils, and continued on with the lesson I was teaching.  My students are the reason I’m here and I feel lucky to have them motivating me.  My new challenge to myself is to find humor and creativity in their insults to my classroom supplies.

On a personal note, B and I are doing great!  Brendan is over his cold and back in the swing of things.  He didn’t miss a beat!  He’s getting the hang of having his own classroom and even our assistant principal is calling him a natural!  The kids love him and he’s starting to develop relationships with them, which is really benefiting the students he’s working with.  The students didn’t earn open gym this week due to lack of attendance last week, so we’ve been enjoying our evenings at home together!

Cooking a healthy dinner together every night has been one of my favorite parts of this move.  This week we’ve been feasting on black bean burgers, peanut sesame noodles, homemade vegan pizza, kale chips and fresh french fries. Eggplant parm is on the menu for tonight! 

Despite how much we love cooking and eating at home every night, and how much we are enjoying our new home, we are definitely counting the days until our Christmas trip home.  We are looking forward to seeing SAMPSON, friends and family, eating out, drinking beer and taking a much needed break! Can’t wait to see you all in 56 days!! (Approximately.)

This weekend we’ll be sleeping in and relaxing.  I have a bunch of grad work to catch up on, papers to grade, AKT2 obligations to fulfill, lessons to plan and bread and apple crisp to make. (We've been hog piling all of our apples from Full Circle, and finally have enough!)  B has lessons of his own to brainstorm as well as sports to watch!  We were hoping Season 3 of Dexter would arrive today, but sadly it didn’t make it.  Looks like it will be a productive weekend after all.  Lunch break is over…back to my ugly pencils!

Skype dates ALWAYS welcome!

*I keep promising people I will post pictures of our house—it’s on my to-do list for the weekend!!

Why I Became a Teacher

Well, it was one of those weeks.  I think since I've been here I've been teaching on adrenaline and excitement, but this week the adrenaline ran out.  I had more than one moment where I felt like I was about six inches tall and my voice was muted.  I felt like I wasn't that productive and was discouraged about the amount of learning (or lack of) that went on this week.  The majority of my time was spent on classroom management, and it was exhausting.  After speaking to colleagues and friends, I learned that this feeling is not uncommon among first year teachers, and it was comforting to know that I'm not alone.  After journaling about my rough week, I decided I wanted to create a blog that I can refer back to when I have another week like this past one.  Although I'm optimistic that the good weeks will outweigh the bad ones, I think it's important to remember why I became a teacher in the first place, and keep the focus on progress, rather than on the fall backs.

So I'm going back to the beginning, and brainstorming all of the reasons I became a teacher, and also the things I have to look forward to.  I hope this helps any other first year teachers out there, and I'm always looking for feedback from seasoned teachers! (Hint hint: Someone PLEASE tell me it's going to get easier ;o) )

Reason #1:  I Love Learning

I'm embracing my inner geek and admitting that I love school, and always have.  I try to keep in mind that school has always come easy to me, and the fact that that's not going to be so of the majority of the students that I teach.  I've enjoyed almost every class I've ever taken and I'm always excited to learn something new, take a new class or read a new book.  I like learning about new people and new cultures, which is what drew me to this specific teaching job.  Across the country there are students that enjoy learning, and students that absolutely despise the thought of having to get up and go to school.  I'm trying to take my love for learning and focus it on learning how to motivate those that don't care to be motivated and how to make learning interesting and fun.  Everyone has the right to learn, yet the classroom is not always best suited for each individual student.  I hope that I can find a way to be an effective teacher by inspiring not only my students to learn, but myself to continue learning in new ways.

Reason #2: I've Been Inspired by Great Teachers

I have been seriously blessed to have been taught by the teacher's that I've had.  I went to a public school and was taught by teachers who were passionate and serious about learning.  The people teaching me played a huge role in the reason I still love school.  I can only aspire to be as effective and inspiring a teacher as those that taught me, but in my mind, it's a wonderful challenge and an opportunity to give back to our society.

Reason #3: I Believe in Education

You can't choose the life that you're born into, the parents you'll have or the opportunities you'll be given.  I feel immensely lucky to have been born into a caring and supportive family that loves me and motivates me to learn and to help others.  However, I know that not everyone has had it as easy as I have.   In our society, education is what leads you to independence, and I believe that everyone, regardless of whatever circumstance they have been dealt, should be educated and given the ability to stand on their own two feet.  While I have mixed feelings about the values of standardized test scores and other standards to which students are held accountable for, I do believe that school--public or private, should be the place where kids can learn without being judged, and can develop a foundation for themselves, regardless of the path they choose post high school.  I try every day to try to get my students to relate what I'm teaching them to their lives, and to apply it to life outside of school.  It doesn't matter where you teach or to what population, education is empowering and that alone is motivation enough for me.

Reason #4: IT'S FUN!

Kids are insanely refreshing.  Not a day has gone by where my students haven't  given me a new perspective on something or made me laugh.  The world changes everyday, and it's so much fun to gain perspective from the minds of your students.  As much of a chore that writing seems to be, my students are SO creative!  I hope that I am able to get them to recognize and embrace their creativity, and turn it into something productive.  While teaching might become exhausting or discouraging at times, I don't think it will ever get old.  The anticipation of meeting new students and discovering new ways to meet their needs each year is, at this point, more exciting than daunting.  Any of you that know me, know that I'm a bookworm, so if my job entails reading books for the rest of my life, then I'm pretty psyched.  Writing has always been a passion of mine, and I consider it both creative and therapeutic.  I'd like to be able to make it fun for my students, especially those that groaned when they found out that Language Arts was code for reading and writing!  You never know what the day is going to bring, but Brendan and I can bet on being able to exchange crazy stories over dinner when we get home.

There are a million more reasons I became a teacher, but these are the biggies.  Of course I'll enjoy my summers and holidays off, especially once we have a family.  The new technology infiltrating schools is an exciting perk too, one that I'm still trying to get the hang of.  The collaborative environment of a school staff has proved to be extremely helpful, and I'll forever get to cheer on my students in sports and extracurricular activities, that I can continue to take part in.

After a long, trying week, I took Saturday completely off and didn't try to work or to lesson plan.  I took a nap, read for fun and did some journaling and online shopping.  It was refreshing to take a day for myself and to spend time with B.  I decided I needed some perspective, so I'm starting my week off with this blog and staying optimistic.  There are going to be great weeks and there are going to be not so great weeks, but I think that maintaining a positive outlook and being flexible will make it easier.

Brendan gets his own classroom starting tomorrow, and is about to get a crash course in lesson planning!  He'll be in the Alternative Learning Environment, getting back to basics with some kids that need one-on-one, focused attention.  I think he's a little overwhelmed, as this all happened today, but he's going to be great!  We'll keep you posted on his success! :o)

Like I said before, ANY advice is much appreciated!  We are learning so much every day, and are so thankful to have each other.  This experience continues to be an adventure and a challenge, and we are still so excited to be here.  It's time to get ready for the upcoming week--I'm going into it refreshed and motivated, prepared and hoping for the best!!

Busy B!

The Red Sox finished their season this week, which was a big bummer in B's book.  However, I think if they had continued playing for the next month, Brendan would have had to take time off to catch any games! Everything happens for a reason--maybe we'll get a TV next year and then the Red Sox can make the playoffs!

When we first started talking about moving to Alaska so that I could teach, the question that always came up was, "What will Brendan be doing?"    We had our answer memorized after the first few people asked, "Oh, he'll be coaching and working the school store and hopefully subbing!"  I think our answer was more hopeful than was actual fact. We'd been assured he'd have something to do, but were uncertain about how many hours he'd be putting in and whether or not his income would be stable.

Well, we had nothing to worry about.  He started out the year coaching Cross Country.  He got to know mostly upper elementary and middle school kids and was able to attend a meet in Unalakleet, AK.  He had kids place in the top 3 at the meet, (WOO!) and had a lot of fun doing it.  He got some great experience as a first time head coach and survived his first trip traveling alone and being responsible for a team.  Needless to say, he was well prepared for the school year to start!

He's been working the school store (the CoOp,) since school started.  The community hosts Open Gym at night for the village, as long as the students keep their attendance as a whole student body above 83%.  This happens Monday-Saturday, and occasionally on Sundays.  Brendan is the CoOp manager, so he opens it up for Open Gym every night, in addition to after school.  He's in charge of ordering and stocking food, soda, candy, snacks and apparel, and also of scheduling students to work and raise money for their class.  It's insane the amount of candy and soda (pop) that they've gone through! I think the CoOp could be a full-time job in itself, but B manages to pull off three other jobs anyway!

For any of you that know B, you know he's extremely talented at computer graphics and web design.  He's got great ideas and such a creative gift of design, that this job is perfect for him!  The principal contracted him out to design the new school website, which he has been working hard on.  If you go to www.savoonga.bssd.org right now, it will say "Under Construction," but stay tuned for Brendan's awesome creation that will be live on the web shortly!  It'd be awesome if the other schools liked his design and had him do the rest of the district...which he could do in all of his free time..HA. (This is the perfect example of me volunteering him for things...I think/hope he's getting used to it!)

He hasn't had to substitute yet, but I'm not sure he'd be able to anyway, because he has his own title at school now.  He's an Educational Aide and this is a pretty all encompassing job title.  He mans the lunch room (a job I could NEVER do) and keeps track of the kids that have to serve lunch detention.  He keeps them in line during their free gym time that they get when they finish their lunch. I'm not really sure how one person does all of these things at one time!  In the afternoons, (and sometimes in the morning) he is in charge of the kids that have been given In School Suspension.  I keep him in mind when I'm sending students to the office, and even though he has to deal with the kids that I can't handle, he hasn't gotten mad at me for writing them up...yet! :o)  Soon he'll be overseeing the computer lab, which is currently still being set up.  He's helped get teachers' classroom computers set up for students, and organized the laptop carts last weekend.  His technology background is coming in handy!

Volleyball started this past week, and he's assistant coaching the co-ed team.  You all know as well as I do that he looks forward to volleyball practice more than anything else in his day!  He coaches along with another former college volleyball player, and so far they are a great coaching team.  What are the odds that two highly qualified volleyball coaches end up in Savoonga, Alaska? Beats me, but I think they are going to have a great season, as volleyball is a favorite here in SVA!  Up next, he'll be assistant coaching Cross Country Skiing, which we are both really excited about!

Last weekend, when all of the teachers had to travel to Stebbins, two of the teachers approached B and asked him to pet-sit.  We both miss Sampson more than anything, so it was nice for him to be able to feed and walk our neighbor's husky.  The other pet was one he's not as familiar with, a Quaker Parrot.  He had a quick training session before we left, but unfortunately the parrot wasn't a huge fan of B, and pecked/bit his finger when he tried to feed it!  Everyone survived and the owners are now home.  I'm not a bird fan anyway, so it didn't break my heart to learn that we'll probably never have one as a pet!

In addition to never having a moment to himself at school, (I at least get 20 minutes of silence on my lunch break) Brendan makes me breakfast, packs my lunch, and makes an extra trip home before CoOp so that we can have dinner together every night.  He's pretty amazing and an absolute natural with the kids at school.  He's applying to a distance Masters program through the University of Southeast Alaska, and I think it will be perfect for him! As long as he has time to do the work, that is!  It's great that he's able to stay so busy and learn so much about working in the educational environment.  It's also a perk for me, that I get to see him throughout the day...he keeps me going!

Unfortunately, on the home front we got some sad news this week.  B's sister-in-law's mother passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She was a wonderful person that I know Brendan has considered family for a long time.  We are really wishing we could be at home this weekend with family, but unfortunately it's just not feasible.  Meg and Mar, we love you so much and are thinking of you and sending lots of love your way.  We're counting down the days until Christmas when we can be at home with our loved ones! While we're embracing our adventure and our new surroundings, times like these make us realize how far away we are, and how much our family means to us! Please keep Brendan's family in your thoughts and prayers as they're now missing an amazing person in their lives.  My mom will be walking for Judy at the annual Making Strides walk in Salem tomorrow, another family event we wish we weren't missing!

Another full week ahead, with the juniors and seniors taking the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam.  As of tonight, the house is clean, laundry is done, the bread is rising and my lesson plans are almost done.  We'll be at school all day tomorrow, but will definitely enjoy some pancakes with our Vermont maple syrup and Green Mountain Pumpkin coffee before we get to work!  We might be missing the foliage, but we're making our own fall season. :o)

Lots of love to everyone!!

I Don't Care If Monday's Blue...

I've never really experienced a case of the Monday's, because for the last few years, it hasn't mattered if it was Monday or Wednesday or Saturday, I was working, and I was tired.  So this morning as I was grumbling about it being Monday, I looked at my calendar.  The first thing I couldn't believe was that it's already the last week of September--which means that I've already been teaching for over a month!  The second thing I realized as I flipped back a month, was that I haven't had a day where I wasn't working since New Teacher Orientation in Unalakleet.  Which was the 2nd week in August, and 49 days ago...roughly.

Things I'm not doing right now: complaining.  I'm actually pretty excited because even though I've been working, planning and teaching for 49 days straight, I'm energized, motivated and healthy.  For any of you who knew me a year ago, you know that the primary role I played in my school was not a teacher, it was a germ collector.  I literally got every sniffle, cough and flu that my kids had.  I'm not sure I made it through a single month of school without having to call in sick and had multiple bouts of the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia and stomach bugs.  The first thing that comes to mind is that my students this year actually know how to blow their own noses, and generally don't barf, sneeze or cough on me. (Knocking on some wood...)  But after leaving a weekend of inservice completely healthy, where the majority of teachers were feeling the ill effects of the first bout of cold symptoms for the school year, I am pretty convinced I've turned my immune system around.

It could very well be that I've just built up immunities to all germs possible, but I'm in a new location, teaching a new age group--so that probably isn't it.  I'm pretty sure that this new habit of sleeping regular hours for consecutive nights/weeks, adding a multi-vitamin to my diet, (insert I told you so's here from Rachel and probably my mom...) and eating three (really healthy) meals a day (including breakfast...thanks, B!)  So thankfully, Brendan and I have been feeling good and not run down yet, and B has yet to succumb to the grimy germs that infiltrate the school environment.  (I'm still perplexed about how he managed to stay 100% healthy last year, when I was hacking up a lung every other week.) Okay, now I'm seriously knocking on wood. We're happy and healthy and thriving in the arctic. :o)

I came to another important realization this weekend. In-Services are not my forte; I always leave with a much longer to-do list than I came with and a LOT of new information that my brain is not really sure how to process. We usually have to travel (sans Brendan :o( )  This weekend we went to Stebbins, AK, which is a small village on the mainland.  However, they serve a very important purpose.  They supply our orange juice for the time in between In-Services.  Orange Juice.  How do you get good orange juice in rural Alaska without paying big bucks to get it shipped in fresh?  Simple.  You go to In-Service (where food is provided,) and stock up on some 20 oz. bottles of OJ.  Before you think that I go to In-Service to loot up, I promise I only take one bottle per meal...I just pack it instead of drinking it!  Eventually, other staff members start to catch on and before you know it, you've got other people stocking up on orange juice for you too!  After two days in Stebbins, we are set on OJ for a good few weeks.  As you can tell, we're really getting the hang of survival mode...

The other good thing about this In-Service was that I got to see a new village, Stebbins.  I couldn't believe how warm it was there--at least 15 degrees warmer than here on the island.  The sun was out and we had plenty of time to walk and enjoy the beautiful weather.  The village was much smaller than Savoonga.  People were welcoming and the school was well kept.  Overall it was a really informative and motivating weekend!  I have some pictures, but left my camera cord at home (give me a break, it is Monday!)

It might be 10:00 on a Monday night with a full week ahead of me, and I'm definitely still at school working, but it's going to be a good week and hopefully a productive one!  We have a box of fresh produce waiting for us on our porch, a new Netflix documentary, and the sun is supposed to shine all week.  Brendan starts volleyball practice tomorrow as the assistant coach, so you know his week is going to be good.  We're doing great, and hoping everyone else is too!

P.S.  Coming this week...a separate post JUST for what B is doing.  I could seriously write a book, the man is so busy. Stay tuned!