Sorry I didn't write for a bit. I didn't sleep well the past few nights. Monday night, I went to bed a little late (talking to friends...oops), and then woke up at 2am to wish Alicia a happy first day of school. Which then Jennifer texted me and I talked to her. And I talked to Matt before that...then I got on Facebook to just wish everyone a happy first day! Then I went back to bed around 4am to wake up for school at 7am. Whew! Long night!
So, then I went to bed early last night. Around 8pm. So then I couldn't sleep in very late and woke up at 6am thinking of all the calls I needed to make to Michigan and things I needed to do before school. So I decided to get up and make those calls, because I always complain after school that I can't talk to any businesses because they're closed that late (4 hour time change). It was smart. I got a few things accomplished. However, I feel like I needed to make so many more calls! :)
I had Laura over for dinner tonight, and she, Phoebe, and I watched "The Ugly Truth." Laura hadn't seen it before. Very good and funny. It's a comedy/romance. It was good for us girls. I had a meeting for Child Case Study (teachers collaborating on ideas for students they have problems with either behaviorally or academically). It was enlightening to everyone's eyes I think. We were able to talk about our goals and what processes need to be made in order to help the students. I'm excited to get started on this team.
After that we went to the store, but we were very careful to stay together and not wander...the bear was sighted again in town. Close to the house I used to live in...glad I moved closer to the school... The kids are really good about not playing outside or wandering around when we have sightings. That made me very happy and at ease. Just another day in the Bush! :)
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Emmonak School
Another teacher game me this link today so I could send it out, and I realized I haven't shown much of the school. So I thought I'd give the link (possibly the video) and tell you a bit about the school. Here's the link... It took about 25 minutes to download it. It's about 22 minutes long and really well done by the kids!
Judging by the looks of the kids compared to now, I would say it's from about 6 years ago. A "few" things have changed a bit. You won't see my classrooms in the video for confidentiality purposes. It's FERPA. AKA HIPPA for schools. We can't show who's in SPED and who's not. It's all confidentiality; it's a big part of my job.
The only teachers/staff that are the same are the head cook that you see at the beginning of the video in the office, the Yup'ik teacher (he's amazing and really dedicated to the kids), the 1st grade teacher (you see her for a short snip), the 4th grade teacher, and the Middle School math teacher. She's married to the Middle School Language Arts teacher, but it's someone different in the video. I wonder if he taught at the high school at the time the video was shot.
When in the 3rd grade classroom, it focuses on the "Husky Pups" sign. We're the Huskies, so it fits:). You see a student using a teacher-sized clock to do some work at one point. This brings up a good point: I thought I would have to send everything here because it would be hard to get supplies in. It's quite the opposite actually. They have a lot of money to use on their school system in Alaska, and they order quite frequently at school. Our programs order complete new sets every year, so we have a lot of extra stuff. So, the teacher clock that the kid is using, we have about 5 in my classroom right now. I bought a mini-student sized version before I came. There are 3 classroom sets in the SPED room. And we were offered more. That means we have about 60 for our 30 student caseload. We don't service more than maybe 10 at the same time...
In the Yup'ik classroom (it goes to it twice, it's the second time you enter it), you see a Quspak on the wall. The women still wear them all the time around town. A few of the Lower 48 people have had them made for them, also. They're kind of a dressier sweatshirt, if I had to describe them. They have a hood, a big pocket in the front for your hands, and ruffles on the bottom. They're changing the way they're made now and coming out with new ones that don't have the ruffles for less "girly girls."
It talks of a Guitar Class that meets on VTC once per week. We still have the guitars in the store room, but I don't know if it's taught anymore. The teacher who put it together might have left. The VTC is like Skyping but on a bigger computer and it's linked between all our schools. We can do it with anyone anywhere, but we have it easily accessible for when we do it all the time between schools. It's not like we can drive down the road to the other school for a meeting; we have to meet on VTC.
It also talks of Emmonak being a hub city because it's the only one to have an airport for hundreds of miles... Every town has an airport. We do get in a bigger plane with a lot of supplies at least 3 times per week. I don't know if that's what they meant...but every town has an airport. Otherwise we couldn't get out of it! :)
Judging by the looks of the kids compared to now, I would say it's from about 6 years ago. A "few" things have changed a bit. You won't see my classrooms in the video for confidentiality purposes. It's FERPA. AKA HIPPA for schools. We can't show who's in SPED and who's not. It's all confidentiality; it's a big part of my job.
The only teachers/staff that are the same are the head cook that you see at the beginning of the video in the office, the Yup'ik teacher (he's amazing and really dedicated to the kids), the 1st grade teacher (you see her for a short snip), the 4th grade teacher, and the Middle School math teacher. She's married to the Middle School Language Arts teacher, but it's someone different in the video. I wonder if he taught at the high school at the time the video was shot.
When in the 3rd grade classroom, it focuses on the "Husky Pups" sign. We're the Huskies, so it fits:). You see a student using a teacher-sized clock to do some work at one point. This brings up a good point: I thought I would have to send everything here because it would be hard to get supplies in. It's quite the opposite actually. They have a lot of money to use on their school system in Alaska, and they order quite frequently at school. Our programs order complete new sets every year, so we have a lot of extra stuff. So, the teacher clock that the kid is using, we have about 5 in my classroom right now. I bought a mini-student sized version before I came. There are 3 classroom sets in the SPED room. And we were offered more. That means we have about 60 for our 30 student caseload. We don't service more than maybe 10 at the same time...
In the Yup'ik classroom (it goes to it twice, it's the second time you enter it), you see a Quspak on the wall. The women still wear them all the time around town. A few of the Lower 48 people have had them made for them, also. They're kind of a dressier sweatshirt, if I had to describe them. They have a hood, a big pocket in the front for your hands, and ruffles on the bottom. They're changing the way they're made now and coming out with new ones that don't have the ruffles for less "girly girls."
It talks of a Guitar Class that meets on VTC once per week. We still have the guitars in the store room, but I don't know if it's taught anymore. The teacher who put it together might have left. The VTC is like Skyping but on a bigger computer and it's linked between all our schools. We can do it with anyone anywhere, but we have it easily accessible for when we do it all the time between schools. It's not like we can drive down the road to the other school for a meeting; we have to meet on VTC.
It also talks of Emmonak being a hub city because it's the only one to have an airport for hundreds of miles... Every town has an airport. We do get in a bigger plane with a lot of supplies at least 3 times per week. I don't know if that's what they meant...but every town has an airport. Otherwise we couldn't get out of it! :)
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Missing Flint...I Know
Yeah, never thought you'd hear that one, did ya? I finally put my stuff away today and got my Sugarland CD that I have missed so much since I have been here!!!! I forgot to get it out of my DVD player before leaving.
It was in the DVD player because I would blast the CD everyday at Revolving Door Apts. The boys got sick of it, except Matt. He liked it....the first 10 times I blasted it while he was trying to sleep:). Sorry Matty. Da will like Sugarland before I'm done!
Now, I've been listening to the CD while updating the blog for the past 2 hours and trying not to get too emotional while listening.
I miss sitting in my room or walking around the house listening, while talking to all you guys. I miss my boys!!!!
This isn't helping my bank account as I'm trying to not spend money to come home often. Hmmm...might be coming home sooner and more often. Oh well, can't take it with us! :)
Just remember, "I Ain't Settlin' ":) If you understand, you know the music:)
It's a lot of everyone/thing I'm missing...
It was in the DVD player because I would blast the CD everyday at Revolving Door Apts. The boys got sick of it, except Matt. He liked it....the first 10 times I blasted it while he was trying to sleep:). Sorry Matty. Da will like Sugarland before I'm done!
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| Matty and Da...My Boys. (my old roommates...and future...Steve I will get my room back sometime...) |
Now, I've been listening to the CD while updating the blog for the past 2 hours and trying not to get too emotional while listening.
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| Real Tears...Okay these were for leaving Harry Potter World, but they're similar... |
I miss sitting in my room or walking around the house listening, while talking to all you guys. I miss my boys!!!!
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| Da and me on my "last night out: friend style" |
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| Matty and me trying to say "Goodbye" |
This isn't helping my bank account as I'm trying to not spend money to come home often. Hmmm...might be coming home sooner and more often. Oh well, can't take it with us! :)
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| Michelle and me at Karaoke |
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| Normal, stable, and perfectly-well-developed-mentally Steve and me on my "last night out: friend style" |
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| Jessie and me on our "last night out:cousin style" |
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| Al and me |
Just remember, "I Ain't Settlin' ":) If you understand, you know the music:)
It's a lot of everyone/thing I'm missing...
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| I was excited for one more day of HPW. |
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| But we didn't want to leave Harry Potter... |
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| Ella and Gracie at the Columbus Zoo. |
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| Grandpa and Olivia |
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| Grandma and Henry |
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| Grandpa, Henry, and Alex |
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| Mea and Doc...yes...even him... |
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| Oh Michelle... (there is no Stealthy Steve in the picture...) |
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| Michelle really wanted that...reward...:) |
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| We had a good night... |
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| Al was tired. |
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| The Chomic Cousins |
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| The Fam (Henry's there...he's just not born yet...) |
Back in EMO
So, we got back into EMO (Emmonak) Thursday night around 5:00pm. We got off the plane and Tom was waiting to pick us up. We drove back home, getting an update on how everything went while we were gone. Needless to say, we were missed. It's hard to keep the school running smoothly when your SPED department and Home/School Coordinator have been gone. So, had our work in store for us on Friday and to come on Tuesday when school resumes.
When we got to school, 5 of my 7 totes were waiting from Michigan! I quickly loaded them onto a cart and wheeled them to our house. I went home and unloaded them quickly. Mom and Dad, there was no way anyone was getting into those totes on their way here, or any water was getting into them. It took 5 minutes (literally) to open one tote. I started to get so aggravated I just started ripping, pulling, and cutting whatever I could. I wanted my stuff!!!! It was literally like Christmas, Jessie. I was so excited to see my things again! Maybe we should just steal each others things for a few months and give them back at Christmas. I feel like we'd save a lot of money this way...
So, the next day on Friday I was sooooo tired to get back to school, but the students must be helped and taught! I started out seeing who was at school and who could be helped. A lot were missing that day... I walked into second hour with the science teacher (it's Directed Studies, so there isn't a lot to study yet...) and he decided they were going to shoot hoops in the gym. He asked if I could watch the students while he got supplies ready for the next class. A student asked if I wanted to play Around the World with her (I got the concept, but not exactly the specifics). I explained to her that I was willing to play, but it'd be a quick game. I suck. I shot my first hoop last year when one of my fourth graders taught me how. Let's just say it's not pretty when I shoot. She quickly retracted the invitation. I was able to get a video of the kids playing. It's like their football. It's huge here! If they get a rebound in a game, they don't do a layup, they dribble back to the three point line and take another shot. And usually make it!
After school I went to get my two totes that were held at the post office because I had to sign for them. And surprise! I had a package with stickers all over it!!!!
I knew right away it was from Alex, Henry, Jessie, and Marty. Alex is awesome at putting those stickers on presents! I was so excited and so touched to get it from them. I wanted to open it up right away at the post office, but I tried to control myself to hold back until I got home. It was perfect. Jessie wrote notes on what each of the items were for and why they were sent. Thank you guys!
I also got some Amazon packages...Vitamin D :))) and our hampers for dirty clothes...the little things you don't think about ahead of time. Next on the list to buy is garbage cans. :) I bought candy for the classroom, a coat, goggles, and a Happy Light on Friday. Hopefully they come soon.
Did you all hear the results of the MSU vs. Boise St?!?!?!?! GO GREEN!!! GO WHITE!!!
I went out to eat with Laura and Robin (Laura's aide in the classroom). Robin picked us up in her 4wheeler and drove us to the restaurant. I got a burger.
Then, after dinner, they drove me out to the windmills. They're so big and beautiful! I got splashed a bit by the mud coming off the back tires. I insisted on sitting backwards on the back of the 4wheeler because my zipper broke on my coat, and the wind was so cold. Hint: sit in the middle with your legs if they hang off the back...now it's laundry day.:)
When we got to school, 5 of my 7 totes were waiting from Michigan! I quickly loaded them onto a cart and wheeled them to our house. I went home and unloaded them quickly. Mom and Dad, there was no way anyone was getting into those totes on their way here, or any water was getting into them. It took 5 minutes (literally) to open one tote. I started to get so aggravated I just started ripping, pulling, and cutting whatever I could. I wanted my stuff!!!! It was literally like Christmas, Jessie. I was so excited to see my things again! Maybe we should just steal each others things for a few months and give them back at Christmas. I feel like we'd save a lot of money this way...
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| Waiting for me at school |
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| Soooo excited to open them up!!! |
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| I was excited...:) Then too tired to clean it up... |
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| :( I will never use this here... :( |
So, the next day on Friday I was sooooo tired to get back to school, but the students must be helped and taught! I started out seeing who was at school and who could be helped. A lot were missing that day... I walked into second hour with the science teacher (it's Directed Studies, so there isn't a lot to study yet...) and he decided they were going to shoot hoops in the gym. He asked if I could watch the students while he got supplies ready for the next class. A student asked if I wanted to play Around the World with her (I got the concept, but not exactly the specifics). I explained to her that I was willing to play, but it'd be a quick game. I suck. I shot my first hoop last year when one of my fourth graders taught me how. Let's just say it's not pretty when I shoot. She quickly retracted the invitation. I was able to get a video of the kids playing. It's like their football. It's huge here! If they get a rebound in a game, they don't do a layup, they dribble back to the three point line and take another shot. And usually make it!
After school I went to get my two totes that were held at the post office because I had to sign for them. And surprise! I had a package with stickers all over it!!!!
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| Who could it be from? |
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| Those look like Alex stickers... |
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| They went all around, so I could see them no matter where I look...That has to be from Alex! |
I knew right away it was from Alex, Henry, Jessie, and Marty. Alex is awesome at putting those stickers on presents! I was so excited and so touched to get it from them. I wanted to open it up right away at the post office, but I tried to control myself to hold back until I got home. It was perfect. Jessie wrote notes on what each of the items were for and why they were sent. Thank you guys!
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| Alex gave me a car and chocolate graham cracker fishies!!!! Yuuummm!!! |
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| I got books! Nice, I will have plenty of time to read! :) |
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| I was excited to look inside... |
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| ...until I cried seeing my boys that I miss so much. I love you Henry and Alex! |
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| What could this be...? |
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| Yay! Mani!!!! Just my color! |
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| I have been craving gummy worms like crrrraaazzzyyyy!!!! Thank you! |
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| And then I cried for the second time... Thank you Jess. |
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| They weren't out of date. August 20th! I got them August 31st! |
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| Alex drew Alaska! It's huge isn't it?! |
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| And my kitties in the kennel. They didn't like it in there much... But now they're much better! |
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| Oh how much you know me and my love of cooking...:) |
I also got some Amazon packages...Vitamin D :))) and our hampers for dirty clothes...the little things you don't think about ahead of time. Next on the list to buy is garbage cans. :) I bought candy for the classroom, a coat, goggles, and a Happy Light on Friday. Hopefully they come soon.
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| Opening Macadamia Nut Clusters... |
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| THE FIRST BITE!!!!!!!! |
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| Phoebe made Salmon...:) It was soooo good today. |
Did you all hear the results of the MSU vs. Boise St?!?!?!?! GO GREEN!!! GO WHITE!!!
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| GO GREEN |
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| GO WHITE |
I went out to eat with Laura and Robin (Laura's aide in the classroom). Robin picked us up in her 4wheeler and drove us to the restaurant. I got a burger.
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| Order Up! The counter at the Restaurant. |
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| My burger. Can't forget the ketchup! |
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| Robin's Tai Shrimp Fried Rice. |
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| ....A student's Tai Shrimp. Yeah, he looked at me like I was weird... I am. |
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| Inside the restaurant. |
Then, after dinner, they drove me out to the windmills. They're so big and beautiful! I got splashed a bit by the mud coming off the back tires. I insisted on sitting backwards on the back of the 4wheeler because my zipper broke on my coat, and the wind was so cold. Hint: sit in the middle with your legs if they hang off the back...now it's laundry day.:)
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| Beautiful windmills |
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| Standing next to one. |
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| And RIGHT next to one. It was too big to fit the top in the picture...:) |
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