Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Home for the Holidays

During our last week before break, it snowed again!


Opening our front door...



The milk at the store was frozen.  This milk was just barely thawed out.

Christmas Program at school.

 

Warming up by the fire.




My classroom was set up for picture with Santa!




Ready to spread holiday cheer on the last day before break.

"The room looks like a movie theatre!" -the students


I held a coloring contest this week.  These are the winners of a basketball, pop, and candy.

Saturday morning we flew to St. Mary's to connect to a flight to Anchorage.

Frozen tundra land.

Sunrise 11am.




Landing at St. Mary's, the colors were amazing.


We are ready for the 80 degree increase!
 
Snowy streets in Anchorage.

Looking around Anchorage airport.
 

So far, we traveled to Alakanuk - St. Mary's - Anchorage - Juneau.
Below is a picture of Juneau's airport terminal.

We had just a couple hours in Juneau so we decided to walk around.

We walked less than a mile to McDonald's.





Looking out the window at Juneau airport...

From Juneau to the islands Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchican.



 Our pilot was a rough lander when we went to all the islands.

After 9 connecting flights, and three days of travel, we finally made it to Missouri for Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

New School Construction


Before we look at the new school construction, here's a video that wraps up events at school.


New school construction:

Some guys working on the roof.  -5 degrees!

Left picture: Climbing into the main entrance.  When finished, it will have a long ramp, as well as stairs.  Right picture: Inside the main entrance.
 


Inside the main office.

The new gymnasium,  [insert movie quote] "We will have so much more room for activities!"

Gymnasium.

Let's go up to the SECOND story.  To my knowledge, this is the first building in the village to have a complete second level.

Upstairs view of the gym.

A junior high/ high school classroom with a beautiful view of the tundra.

On the right will be the junior high/ high school hallway and lockers.  On the left will be classrooms.

On the first floor, this is the elementary hallway.  Gym on the right, classrooms on the left.

Blueprints...

Looking at the main entrance: main office on the right and library on the left.

Standing in front of the "trophy case."

The construction crew's camp.  Some have been living here for two years working on the school.

Opening August 2013

This week we had a fire drill... -8 degrees... ouch!

A psychologist came in my classroom this week and played some mind games/ brain teasers with the students.  This game is called "No see 'em tick-tack-toe."  

1. Two students face away from the board.
2. They have to call out coordinates like A2 or C3 to place their X or O.  
3. If they repeat a space that has already been used, they loose a turn.  
4. The first to get three in a row wins.
 
This game is great for the beginning of class.  The students watching get excited because they know the answers, but aren't allowed to tell!  It warms up the brain, gets them focused, and helps with memory skills.

Let's make it harder with connect four! Now, the coordinates can go up to D4.

We walk to the P. O. (Post Office) after school everyday to check for mail and packages.

 Package with yummy coffee!!!




The sunset brightening up the treetops.

Holiday cheer is popping up around our school...
 

 What's for dinner?  BBQ moose!
Cut into small pieces.


Bake at 350 for an hour.






Shake pieces in Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Sprinkle salt and pepper.


 Below is our Student Council president staying true to his promises.  "Vote for me and you can duck tape me to the wall."

His dad took joy in helping out.

His volleyball coach couldn't pass the opportunity!
 

 When he looked secure, his mom did the honor in removing the stool from his feet.  His dad took off his shoe.  I think his parents had more fun than the students!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, &  Happy New Year!  
Spend time with your family and friends.  We will not take that for granted this year!