The last month of school was very busy. We had prom, graduation, and other end of the year activities. The power is shut off at the school over the summer, which means the teachers need to empty freezers and refrigerators. I had to give away a bunch of food, only to buy it again two weeks ago in Anchorage. The freezer at the school also had to be emptied. We had so much school food leftover that we divided it up into large boxes to give to the elders. They got things like pizza, french fries, hamburger rolls, soft pretzels, and blueberries. The boxes were so heavy by the end! The maintenance men put boards on all of the houses so no one can break into them. I like to pack up most of my things into totes that way no critters can get in my stuff and it isn't bothered with over the 10 week break. Packing up your classroom at the end of the year is tiring, and packing a house on top of that is exhausting.
We had a game day the last week of school that included a water gun fight in the gym. My students enjoyed squirting water at me, but I also got them back! Many students were soaked after the fight. We also had a BBQ that day and an awards ceremony. The last day of school was for signing yearbooks and enjoying our time together. We had 4 teachers leave last year. There are 3 new teachers in Napakiak this year, and we are still looking to hire one more teacher! To make up for the missing teacher, one teacher is teaching a combination of 5, 6, 7, and 8th grade! If you know anyone that wants to teach middle school in rural Alaska, let me know!
Thank you to Wynnie's Aunt Jill for sending us another package at the end of the year. The package was full of coloring books, crayons, and some candy for my students. I passed them out the last week of school and they were so excited to have their own coloring book and crayons. They took them home to use over the summer. :) Thank you so much, Jill! We always appreciate gifts from the lower 48. :)
Our prom had a Cinderella theme. It took a long time to set up, but everyone pitched in for the students. When you work in the bush, it's not just teaching for the day and then going home. Teachers put many extra hours in after school and on the weekends because we have such a small staff. You can get tired easily.
Graduation was the last Saturday of the year. Preschool, kindergarten, and our ONE senior graduated. We had cake and ice cream to celebrate. The senior who graduated got to visit Hawaii with some students from another school for her senior trip. It was her first time out of Alaska!
We were able to rollerblade the last week of school as a special reward. My students LOVE it and some of them are actually pretty good at tricks.
One student knew that my birthday was a few days after school ended and she wanted to celebrate. She made a cake, jello, and juice with the help from her grandma. It was so sweet. My entire class sang to me and we enjoyed a little treat.
Here are some other pictures from the last month of school...
This boy is not even in my class lol
We wrote notes to our friends in Pennsylvania and told them the places we would like to visit. We put them in these neat cards that my Alaska mentor, Linda, helped them make. They are supposed to be the Northern Lights!
Celebrating Earth Day by picking up trash.
The river broke up very early this year. I think it was around April 22.
My mom sent us a package with a few prizes for my students. Thanks, Mom! We wrote thank you notes to her.
You can tell she's from AK. This was in April!
Enjoying the warmer weather in April and May.
We tried papaya for the first time!
Helping to clean the classroom the last week of school.
When I left Napakiak in May the sun was setting around 11pm. The sunsets are beautiful. The last Sunday I was here the temperature was 69 degrees! That is super hot to everyone that lives here.
Sunrise...
Sunset...
I left Napakiak the day after school ended and made it home the day before my birthday. I was so excited to start the summer! I had lots of fun things planned with my family and friends. I went to Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee.
Here are just a few pictures from my busy summer.
I went to Portland for a conference and also got to check out the city with other teachers from my school district. There are tons of food trucks there!
Wynnie and Austin's new puppy, Bailey!
Enjoying ice cream from Claude's!
I spent a lot of my time with him, even if he did ruin two pairs of my favorite flip flops.
Nashville. It was so fun!
Porter's 1st birthday!
They were looking out the window at sparklers lol.
I won this from a crane and was going to take it back to AK for my students, but some dog claimed it for himself.
Visiting Emily in Florida!
I went to a few Iron Pig's Games. Those are always fun.
I visited New York with Lee because her brother and sister in law just moved there. We went to a beautiful state park.
A trip to Atlantic City with the love birds to see the Impractical Jokers a second time.
Wildwood, NJ with my mom for two days!
Penn State for Arts Fest and touring the stadium!
I took a trip to the Crayola Factory to take pictures for my students. You are able to make your own crayon there and I made a few neat ones to bring back to Alaska!
I also went to Savannah, Georgia. It's so beautiful there, but very hot!
I spent two nights in Anchorage to do grocery shopping before heading back to Napakiak. I filled 5 totes of food and sent them in the mail. This will hopefully last me until November or December. It takes an entire day to do this!
This is at Lake Hood. It's so pretty!
I happened to run into one of my students at Walmart in Anchorage! It was a surprise for both of us.
We finished our 8th day of school on Friday. I'm teaching 3rd and 4th grade now, but I have all the same students. It is our third year together! I will definitely miss them when my time is over in Napakiak. We're like a little family.
Just a few pictures from the first couple days of school...
I bought some 3D chalk at the Crayola Factory and brought it back for my students to try. They love it!
The first day of school!
We made a puzzle.
Many of the students are Golden State Warrior fans.
I had visitors at my door the first night I was back.
We've been trying to get outside everyday while it's still warm. We will be stuck inside for most of the winter because it will be too cold to play outside.
Here's an 11:30pm sunset. I always miss the sun in the winter.
Sorry for such a long post! Thanks for reading. Here's to year 3 in Napakiak, Alaska.
