My Handcrafted Spear

A couple years ago, I learned how to use a plane to carve a rectangular piece of wood into a nice cylinder. We had measured it from my elbow to the longest tip of my other hand. It had a metal weight on the front end, and string and feathers which Bummer (the dad of one of my students) added to it.

Yesterday, I dropped off my spear at Bummer's because he said he could finish it for me. He smoothed out some of the parts where I struggled with the wood grain that went both directions in different spots.

Then he painted it with a unique design out of red and white paint. I told him it looked cool and like blood. He said, "Blood lightning!"

He filed a sharp point to put on it attached to some wire and another string. Tonight, I got so excited to go pick it up and see how it turned out. It looks awesome!

I also picked up a nuqaq (sp) which is the spear thrower. You place it at the end of the spear and use it to guide and propel the nunarpaq (sp). He carved this one out of a piece of hardwood and I like it because it is naturally dark. It's so smooth and fits my hand well. I might try to find some varnish and seal it up so it is finished.


Thank you Bummer for an amazing job! No wonder everyone wants him to make their spears.

An Evening of Salmon

Saturday evening at the slough just before 10 p.m.

The late daylight is so nice.

The start of a beautiful sunset.

Ken on his way back in.

Looking out towards the east end of the slough.

Blue moon bouncing on the clouds.

Reflection.

Nathaniel, a new teacher, loading salmon into the bins.

Burning the edges.

We were fortunate to get free fish brought in by Robert Alstrom.

This load had about 55 salmon.

On their way to being filleted and stored.

Peering through the trees.

Everyone jumped in for a turn at filleting all the fish.

I finally learned how to fillet. Here is my first attempt.

After cutting and storing till 2am, I baked a delicious piece.

The First Full Week of School

After the first day of school the Thursday before last, I was happy that by Friday I saw major improvements in my class' behavior. Although I still had some occasional criers, pouters, or back-talkers, we overall had less frequency of those behaviors. 

On Monday, the third day of the school year, I am pleased to announce my students had a "rockin'" day. I saw students who last year had been suspended and kicked out of the class constantly working hard and putting in effort to make positive choices. That day most teachers claimed it was a rough day, but I silently beamed on the inside and was very proud of how my students continually and exponentially were improving.

Tuesday, was a backslide. We had multiple breakdowns. Students who had given effort earlier, chose to slip back to acting up seeking attention. I had to put in much energy to not have that room turn into chaos. 

Slow and steady went the rest of the week. Every day certain behaviors, like, blurting out or arguing with me after a simple command, are fading away. Some are very frustrated at times with me expecting 100% of every student to participate fully or to have every student follow every expectation. If I've seen each of them walk through the hallway like an exemplary upper elementary leader, there is no reason I can't expect them to have a decent line as a class every single time we leave our room together. I encourage kids to give each other quiet friendly reminders. Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing. And other times, I do let the students who behave well at all times get certain privileges to entice the others to do a better job in the future.

Our dining table decoration.

This week we don't have school Monday due to Labor Day, but I've prepared structured yet varied lessons at various levels so I can focus again on having very consistent classroom management. This year I have even a greater challenge of reaching my students academically since they range from Kindergarten to grade level in practically all subjects. So, while my main goal is essentially still to build community and have good management, it's essential to have thoroughly prepared lessons and flexible activities  to utilize depending on how they're doing. 

It's hard not to miss my students from the past two years and I love getting to see them quite a bit still. Other teachers seem to be delighted to have them as students now. But, at the same time I know this group of students will evolve into its own little community and I'm excited to learn more about each student's unique personality and humor.

Rejoice in the many blessings of new beginnings.

The First Day of School is Already Over

One student was absent; one got added after school started. We have 15 total.

And as quickly as it approached, it ended.

When the students first lined up, I had to corral some of the ones used to messing around in the back of the previous lines. Since I knew that a couple of these students had difficulty lining up, I purposely positioned myself at the end of the line to help manage and get the last few boys to join our class rather than running around the gym (or joining other teachers' lines as a joke).

In a quick summary of how the day went, I have to say it went decently well.

I did have the majority of the students acting up, being very defiant, or telling me "no" if I asked them to do simple tasks. Some students have developed probably years' worth of bad habits like whistling, and clicking their mouth while I'm teaching or while a student is talking.  Another student laid under her jacket in the corner on the floor. I had a few students who wandered out of the room, loudly passed gas, belched, blurted out, yelled or made noises, shoved other students, etc.

But, somehow I was able to keep my mind at peace and quickly think of ways to enforce good behavior and help guide positive behavior. From years of studying classroom management, I was quickly getting to know my students and learning what motivated them as individuals.

I added the Yupik translations for days of the week. And a volcano. :)

I also decided to wait to let the class officially set Class Expectations until the second day of school, and it worked out because I didn't use my "clip chart." I wanted to stay away from drawing attention to who was having to move their clip to red, or any negative attention. During activities, there were times I felt like I should possibly send a student back to his/her seat, but I really wanted to give students a new beginning and didn't want students to get frustrated easily. I didn't want any child to feel labeled like "the bad kid." Unless the student is harming another, I don't send them out in the hall, to the assistant principal's office, or home. In the past, I've learned that students will act up just to get out of class because they're avoiding something like conflict with another student or frustration with academics. I expect them to learn how to stay in class and have proper behavior. That went pretty well.


Some students in this class don't seem used to taking orders. And they would say "no" to commands like 'please turn off the water' or 'come out with me to take a quick assessment' and then argue on the second time I'd ask them. But, by the third they'd either give in or make a choice, then move on with whatever our activity is. My goal is for them to all listen on the first time.

I'm incredibly thankful for the few role models. They did a great job of helping me guide the students in the correct direction so no further consequences happened. I liked to see them use friendly reminders and helpful whispers to pay attention. I hope to see more and more develop into positive leaders.

Our small group center by the class library.

I feel like towards the end of the day I had a better picture of how each student reacted toward certain situations. I saw eyes light up when I praised them for completing a task after they didn't have faith they could. I had the pleasure of seeing a student at the end of the day utilize our clean up time at the end of the day saying, "I'll sharpen my pencil so it's good for tomorrow morning." I got to see my three returning students who are more quiet by nature, lead in their own unique ways. Finally, they're the sixth graders and the veterans. I'm excited to continue finding out what motivates each of the students in my class to learn, laugh, and love learning.

This evening we went to the restaurant for the first time with the new teachers. We had some amazing burgers and even got to meet our wonderful chef's parents. (They are from the Philippines but are here in Alakanuk. It's interesting for me to try think of the comparison to their home in the Philippines versus here. I'd like to get to know them better.)

Then I came back home to take a bath and make cookies for my class. I have officially dozed off about three times while writing this. Good night. I hope there are not too many errors! (I'll edit later... and still I'd like to add some "before pictures" of my classroom.)

Simplicity works for now. I'll have students create more later.

My desk area, and the piano I still need to figure out how to tune.

Our sink area, as well as the corner where I keep lots of curriculum.

Day before the First Day of School

Time: 8:34 P.M.

Location: Sitting cross-legged on my bed facing a view of my open window, some bushes (trees perhaps? I'm not sure. It IS the tundra...) blowing in the wind, and a tall (whopping 50 ft.) communication tower against a very gray, yet bright sky. 

Current Conflict: Finding out that eating dinner while starving AND hyperventilating is difficult. 

So why not try typing, while eating, and trying to relax after a day of getting the classroom ready for a new school year? 

Nearing Conflict: Successfully managing a classroom full of students for the entire first day of school. 

I don't feel like I've been nervous up until this point, so this feeling is getting to me. 

I'll back up. I arrived back in Alakanuk last Wednesday. On my way, my excitement to be back in the village increased with every stop. Anchorage, Aniak, St. Mary's, and finally Alakanuk!

Home, Sweet, Home. No one was there to pick me up, but I had my duffel bag, my gun gas, and a frozen tote of food so I hitched a ride with some construction workers. The dust was swirling so thick, it was hard to see. If you didn't shut your mouth and squint your eyes, that dirt didn't feel too good. Then, no one was at the house so I walked to the school to pick up my key. The best part of returning to Alakanuk this fall was the hugs-- tight, genuine, loving hugs. (They're still continuing as I continue to see familiar faces.)

We have three very enthusiastic, caring staff members on board with us. They already are fitting in with the community well and excited to learn more of the culture to relate to their students better. Plus, we have many new district administration and returning veterans who are collaborating and offering their unique skills to help our kids. I'm excited that these students will continue to get better education. 

Starting last week, we had three days of inservice to learn about more strategies to reach our high population of English Language Learners, a more standardized reading assessment with a thorough comprehension piece, and a new reward incentive program to promote good behavior and attendance. These last two days were dedicated to working in our classroom, but I spent quite a bit of time in multiple meetings for IEPs (Individualized Educational Plan or Program for students with special needs), reading assessments, etc. 

As I chat with two other fellow teachers, Jamie and Sammy, I am starting to forget to breathe again. I just heard we're going to have an assembly at 9:15 A.M. tomorrow which means I'll need to switch the Student First Day Survey to after our P.E. so I can quickly have the kids discuss and practice hallway and assembly expectations. I am a firm believer in getting it right on the first day of school. I will show them the picture of the previous class lining up perfectly on the first day of school and see if this class can do better.

Meanwhile I am trying not to feel nervous about the comments of my class being "probably the roughest class in the school this year" and a certain native aide stating, "You better have a trooper in there." after I showed her my class list. Positive thoughts! :) I'm up for the challenge. I have very structured, yet doable lessons just about ready for tomorrow.

And as my stomach grumbles, I'm off to eat some more leftovers, and probably take a nice bubble bath and sleep so I can focus for tomorrow. (It's sometimes hard to focus in the village when the cops are outside my house visiting the neighbors across the street AND the power just went off and back on.)

Below are pictures taken from a walk a couple days ago. Later, I'll try upload before and after pictures while working to get my classroom ready.

Walking to the airport a couple days ago.

Most of our rock is imported from Nome by a barge.

Sometimes I see beavers and muskrats here.

All are low-quality pictures with my phone.

Fireweed.

Pretty little plants.

Thank you all for reading. Good luck to my fellow teachers starting a new school year! 

Cultural Days- Beading and Manaq Poles

Beading- earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.

Notice a pair of long earrings I'm wearing made by a student. "And it's long, and made out of minty floss so if you want to you don't even need to take it out to floss your teeth." So innovative.

An enthusiastic beader.

We all used some cut dowels and string to make ice-fishing poles.

With practice from their spears, they know how to tighten that string on the pole well.

They call the pole a "manaq" in Yupik.

Showing the manaqs on the side of the deck.

Cultural Days- Crocheting and Dance Fans

Second year of attempting crocheting. This time most of us remembered how!

Some of them made necklaces  or dishrags.

After sanding the wood smooth, they painted the base for the fan.

Locals labored hard to cut out a pair for each student.

Some of them painted designs such has hearts or seals on them.

"Is it good enough yet?" "Keep sanding..."

Socializing while having patience to sand.

How do we make them not stick to the paper while drying?

Notice that female dance fans are smaller with two finger holes.

May 8th is pretty late for it to be this white!