School Life

Some of you are curious to see where I spend most of my time, so allow me to introduce you to Alakanuk School. Early morning a couple weeks ago, I ran outside before a meeting so I could capture the sun glazing our school building.


The "deck" is where students spend most of their recess time. It's beginning to look a lot different as the temperature drops and the snow has started falling.
This is the school's parking lot and the boardwalk that leads to teacher housing.

The classroom has been a work in progress. Even though we are finished up with the first quarter of school, weekends and evenings are still spent cleaning out drawers and cupboards, as well as already changing up our classroom routines and schedules to modify and fit our needs.
This is our Yupik Wall as the students learn their colors and days of the week. My personal style of how I like my classroom is a little different than others'. My walls are usually more bare than I've noticed other teachers like their walls. However, I just would rather let the students know why something is going up on our wall and have it be a ceremonial placement. This way students know where to refer to the display and are able to utilize it.

At the beginning of the year, I struggled to find an activity that would work to have the students do right after lunch while they take turns brushing their teeth. From reading to music, I finally have settled on a math-centered choice time. They have the options of using cash registers and fake money to buy and sell items, practicing multiplication, or creating patterns and designs with tiles.
The boys make use of the floor space with Agnes, the elder who comes in every day until lunch. Agnes is an amazing lady who comes in to volunteer her time and we are grateful for her help and wonderful presence! The students have the opportunity to interact with her and practice respect, as well as some good-natured fun. Here she works on building a tower with a pattern of hexagons and trapezoids.


Little smiling faces usually create the day's little graces!
At our store, our fake food is as delicious as we pretend it to be. This happened to be during Spirit Week on Quspaq Day. I borrowed the traditional shirt from an aide in my classroom. Many of the Yupik classified staff commented, "Oo! I like your Quspaq! Who made it for you?" I felt honored and pleased. Yet, I would just tell them it wasn't mine and I was just borrowing it from Helen. They would say, "Oh, wow. It looks so nice on you!"
The studious pupils work on an assignment, and so does Agnes! She only had school to about an 8th grade level and likes to continue her education in our classroom along with the other students.



I'm fortunate to have such unique students and helpers in my classroom. Our days are colorful and never the same. With many amazing people supporting me, I continue to develop my routines and systems within our classroom. However, I'm finally trying to swallow the reality that the work of a teacher is never done!