Round 2: Life Back In The Village

Panoramic view from Flattop

My first glimpses of being back in Alaska

As a new year of school begins, I find myself back in the biggest and most beautiful state! A lot has changed around here: The snow melted, all my students from last year are at least a foot taller than what they when I last saw them, and our district has changes in curriculum and behavior plans I'm trying to learn. With so many changes, one can become overwhelmed quite easily. But despite all this, I still know that I can look forward to helping grow the minds of my new students as a second year teacher. 

Back to Flattop for another attempt to climb it

This year I will be teaching first grade, which is a big jump from seventh grade last year. A lot of people have asked me about the reason for this switch, so let me explain. Last year our seventh grade class was one of the biggest the school has ever seen. It was so big, in fact, that our Instructional Leader was worried that the students wouldn't all fit into the same class. That's where I came in. I took half of those seventh graders and taught them so that there weren't as many in one room. Towards the end of last year, our Instructional Leader informed me that this year's seventh grade class wouldn't need the same accommodations, but the new first grade class would. I therefore, could take a first grade class if I so desired. I thought this was a marvelous idea. It wasn't until later that I was informed of a sixth grade opening, but by then I had already made up my mind that I wanted to teach first and for those of you that know me (or my father and his family), once I make up my mind about something, I'm not going to change it. 

Part of the climb on Flattop

This is as high as we made it, the rainbow was very beautiful!

Coming in to my second year of teaching out here in the village has given me quite a few opportunities. The first of which was to do some exploring around Anchorage. Last year while I was there I was busy with training and wrapping my mind around the fact that I was going to be living in Alaska, that I didn't have much time to explore. But this year, I was able to meet up with other teachers and do some fun activities.  I also had a much better idea how to shop and what to send out to the village to eat. Shopping was a lot more enjoyable and a lot less confusing. 

We went for a drive and followed the train tracks

 

Groceries I brought out with me that I couldn't push back. 

 The second opportunity coming into my second year has given me is to already know what I'm coming into. It felt wonderful to already know my house and to come in with everything already here and set up. Also, walking down the roads in our village or the hallways in the school, I saw lots of people that I already knew and they knew me and it was a wonderful feeling to give them a hug and hear them say, "Welcome back," or, "I'm glad you're back!" 

This is how my classroom looked when I came into it

View of the Yukon River at the dock

Finally, being a second year teacher out here gives me the opportunity to let the new teachers in on the secrets of life out here. All three of our new teachers are veteran teachers, but being in rural Alaska isn't quite like being anywhere else. I can help them out, give them advice, and try my hardest to make this transition as easy as possible. 

Hanging out at the bonfire

Last weekend we had a teacher bonfire, with almost all of the teachers except one and their families gathered at the dock eating s'mores, marshmallows, hot dogs, and having a wonderful time together. This week school will start. My classroom is almost completely set up and ready. Soon those little gatherings will be necessary to keep ourselves from going crazy. But this first one was just a Welcome Home gathering. A chance to catch up with our "Village family," find out about what others did this summer and to get us excited for this brand new year in the village. No, our new school isn't finished yet, and we aren't sure when it will be. But the new year still holds many new faces, new lessons, and a whole lot of new experiences!

Decorations in my classroom