My ECE class!!

School started for me on September 1st. My classroom is in a building owned by the Native Corporation, known as the EDA or the IRA building. All villages have one and in some villages, this is where the ECE/Head Start class is (like here in Golovin). In some villages, the Head Start is held in the school or in a district building near the school.

I have 3 other teachers working with me, employed by Kawerak and not licensed, who are wonderful and have grown up in Golovin -so they are a very good resource for me!! I have 11 students, 7 four-year olds and 4 three-year olds. We have school Monday through Thursday from 8:30 - 3:30. Next week though, we will start having a 3 hour day on Friday, just for the children moving on to Kindergarten in August 2011. This will be a great chance to make sure they are truly ready for school!!

So far, the parent support has been wonderful! Most of the parents work in the same building where I am teaching and so they can pop their heads in and see what is going on and they have been supportive and appreciative of my presence in the classroom and with their children. This makes teaching so much more enjoyable.!!

Teaching this age group is always so fun and fast-paced! Children at this age learn so fast and it is always amazing to hear what they pick up from activities and stories!!

One of the biggest differences in teaching young children out in rural Alaska versus the east coast is the environment. There are no fenced playgrounds with a certain amount of ground cover, no closing school because of a little snow, no rules about keeping plants out of the play area. We take our kids out most every day and they run around a rocky cliff or we go for a walk through the bushes and down steep hills. In the fall, they would pick berries and eat them. In the winter, they slide down the hills on their snow pants. One of our best areas for games is on the road -and all the children know to move over for a truck or 4-wheeler (they call them all Honda's, though there are a few that are different brands) Soon, if we keep getting snow, I guess we will have to move out of the way for snow machines!!

My little ones go and play on the "big school" playground after school and on weekends and once in a while in the fall and spring, we will walk them down the hill (1/2 mile) and let them play during school -then bring them back in one of the teacher's 4-wheeler trailers!! We have skis for all the kids! I can't wait to watch them skiing! We still need more snow and we also need more skis!! Some of the teachers from other sites have even talked about how they took the kids ice-fishing in the winter... WOW! How fun would that be!!

My classroom on the right side of the stairs.

Staff training -Bush style!

I really need to post more... I will work on that! The staff training in Bering Strait School District is very different from the other 5 districts I've worked in. Since most staff is in remote access villages, they fly everyone to a central location, in this case -Unalakleet (pronounced "you-na-luck-leet" or how everyone around here says it "you-na-kleet"). All the teachers, who don't live in town, stay in the school -air mattresses are provided, bring your own sleeping bag! Each school is assigned a classroom -though there are also male-only and female-only rooms for those who prefer that. One of our teachers stays with friends in town, but all the rest of us stay in the same room. This is a fun way to get to know your coworkers -big slumber party!!!

 Nick and I on the way to New Teacher Orientation

 BSSD "School Bus"

 I call shotgun!!!  This is the best seat on these little planes.

 Nick and I waiting to go home after 3 1/2 days of New Teacher Orientation

 Nick taught math and science last year to grades 7 - 12.  This year, we have an additional teacher for math, so he is just science.

 Jill finding a place to sit (she teaches grades 2, 3, and 4)

 The pilot is inside loading the luggage area.

 Amanda (English and History grades 7-12) and Maude (grades K/1) waiting for meeting to start

 Poor Nick.... I kept asking others to take pictures of me and they kept making Nick jump in also, since it was also his first year.

 The school district has a hanger and a gas tank in Unalakleet for the plane.

 Seal Island in Norton Sound

 SHOTGUN!!

 Nick listening attentively

 Beats sitting in chairs for 8 hours

 More "hurry up and wait" - b/c you can't rush a plane!

 Margaret Koegler (principal) conducting a session with husband Alan (grades 5/6 and special ed) "listening" in the background.

 Private planes, ERA planes (yes - Jim Tweeto from Flying Wild Alaska) and wind mills up on the hills.

 Finally going home after 2 weeks of training.

 Inside of our "school bus"

That being said, I had new teacher training August 10th - 13th in Unalakleet, then flew back to Golovin for a weekend of unpacking and meeting a few more people, then back to Unalakleet for full staff training August 16th - 19th. I really like flying on the small planes!! I even got to fly in the copilot's seat on the way back from training on August 19th!!! You can see so much more from the front - I love it!!!

The following week, while K-12 kids were starting school, all of the ECE (Early Childhood Education) teachers went to Nome to have training with the Kawerak staff. Kawerak is the organization in this area that sponsors Head Start. My students are actually in a Head Start program that has a licensed teacher in the room, employed by BSSD (Bering Straight School District) - that's me!!

 Igloo #1 - LOL

 Brenda - one of my co-teachers

 Annette -Brenda's older sister, my other co-teacher

 

Cleaning after training

 Still cleaning

 The man with the hat is our SUPER TALENTED pilot - he will fly in ANYTHING!  Students and staff both have reports of sideways landings, getting their heads bumped on the roof, etc.

 9 different teachers from 9 different villages. Five teachers had to fly ERA.

 I was at the store before getting on the plane asking if anyone needed anything.  They all said EGGS!  Our little store was out, SO I brought home 10 dozen eggs and sold them to the other teachers, saving 12 for me!!

SO, while in Nome, the school district put us up in the Aurora Hotel -one of 2 hotels in town and it is super nice!! Our training was all week and very informative. I learned a lot and enjoyed getting to know all the staff from the different sites!! This will be the only time I see the other ECE teachers until October... SO different from the east coast!

So, during my first month in Alaska, I was in my house a total of 10 nights, took 9 plane trips (7 of them being bush planes -9 seats or less), and stayed in 4 different towns!! Now THAT'S a way to start a new job!!!!!!