Inservice and Big Purchases

Hello again!

I hope you have all had a great couple of weeks. It has been busy around here and I haven't had a chance to post, so this one might be a little on the long side.

My last post was completed right before I flew off to Bethel for a week of inservice. Below are a couple of pictures of the nearly 500 teachers and administrators in the Bethel High School gym.  It was pretty inspiring to see all of the teachers who are here to make a difference in the lives of our students.

I attended sessions on integrating technology, foldables, Kagan interactions, the grading system, and many more over the 4 full days in Bethel.  I also learned more about our health and math curriculum.  It was also interesting to be on the student side of learning again.  The whole week helped me to realize how important it is to make the learning worthwhile for our students.  Especially when they have to sit in class for the entire year as opposed to 4 days! :)

It was also nice to catch up with some other new teachers and see how their year was going.  Every one that I talked to is enjoying their school, colleagues, and students, which affirms for me that we are all in it for the best reason, to help our students.

I also thought it was interesting to see the Bethel High School which is a little bigger than Redfield.  Here are some more pictures of their gym.

 






Bethel does not compete against the other villages in the district in most sports.  The picture on the left shows banners for each of the schools that Bethel plays. 

Another interesting aspect of the district-wide inservice is that it was scheduled during moose season in this area.  I am not completely positive on the season length, but I understand that it lasts for approximately 10 days, depending on when the moose harvest reaches 75.  One of the teachers explained to me that this week normally has the lowest attendance during the year because so many students are out hunting with their families! It reminds me a little bit of deer season in South Dakota.  I was told that killing a moose can save a family $2000 on groceries! Thinking about the economic situation here, it is understandable that subsistence sometimes outweighs schooling in this area of the world.

My last inservice day was Saturday.  After we finished, Jeff(our English teacher) and I flew back to Kwethluk.  I must say I missed my home here a little bit.
Our plane for this flight was the smallest I've been in (only 4 seats)!  But for some reason, I felt much safer in this one than the first one in to Kwethluk.  Here are some pictures from the flight.  You can see how the tundra is starting to change colors, like the leaves on the trees.

 

 

 My last piece of news for this post is that I finally got my first paycheck! It is so exciting to see my bank account grow rather than shrink :)  I also feel that my hard work in the classroom the last month has paid off.  So, for my first big purchases, I have bought tickets home for Christmas and a snogo!

Yes, I am in the process of buying a snowmobile from the last math teacher.  I thought that the long winter might feel a little bit shorter if I could get out and enjoy the snow.

 It's the blue Polaris with the cover. I was too lazy to hop the chain fence to uncover it for the picture, so I will keep you checking the blog for a better picture. :)

I was told that winter is on it's way by a gentleman I spoke to at the store yesterday.  The temperatures here have begun to drop and the boardwalks are covered with frost in the morning.  Hopefully I won't have to wait to long to take the snogo for a ride!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and a great week to come!