Back in Fairbanks...

As a conclusion to the blog...

We are back in Fairbanks after a long day of flying and layovers. We spent a total of 7+ hours in the Bethel airport yesterday... and it's definitely just one room. Luckily, they did have TV and the Food Network channel, which we watched for at least 3 hours. We finally got to Anchorage and had another 6 hour layover, and Dustin decided to tag along with my to see my family and friends (what a trooper he is. I think within 6 hours he learned more about my family and my high school than any Whitworth college friend ever knew). My lovely friend Kelsey brought us back to the airport and we arrived promptly at 12:40am.

I wish I could say today is my day of rest, because it should be, but I have to catch up on all the work I didn't do for UAF this last week. Yuck. Better get to it.
-Giselle

Dustin's Last Post

Well it is Friday evening in St. Mary’s and the week has definitely flown by. I spent the last few days teaching most of the middle/high school math classes. As the Alaska Standards Based Assessments draw nearer, this week’s math classes were completely focused on review of content relevant to the exams. Although our reviews can be repetitive at times, the kids have really been hanging in there and participating in lessons. When all is said and done, I hope that the students do well and see the fruits of their labor.

While it has been fun working with the kids in school, I’ve also been fortunate enough to have some nice opportunities to interact with people outside the context of math test preparation. After school on Thursday, I played a two-on-two game of basketball with three students who I have been working with in school. Basketball is a really big deal out here; it is by far the most popular sport that the kids play. Although I haven’t really played any basketball since I was in secondary school, I somehow managed to sink a few shots. Mostly as a result of my teammate’s skills, however, we ended up winning 21 to 16. The game was fun, but exhausting. I haven’t jumped that much in a long time!

At the end of school today, St. Mary's School had their 3rd quarter awards assembly. All of the students (K-12) gathered in the bleachers of the gym. Awards were given for behaviors ranging from citizenship to academic merit. After a week of working with the students in this challenging environment, it was inspiring to see the support and recognition given to exceptional students that help make St. Mary's a quality school in rural Alaska.

So, due to some unseen twists and turns, we will be heading back to Fairbanks tomorrow (Saturday) instead of Tuesday. This week went by more quickly than I could have imagined and surprisingly, I’m not yet ready to leave. It would have been nice to spend the weekend exploring the area and meeting more people, but its back to Fairbanks after all.

I am truly thankful to the great people of the St. Mary’s community; I really enjoyed my time out here!

---Dustin

Friday's Art Show!

Art Show Reception after school.

 It's the first Friday of April and St. Mary's had a First Friday Opening! After a long day of preparation, the small art show came together quite nicely, and I even had a minute or two to add some finishing touches before the end of the school day. I only taught half a day of art, and the rest of the afternoon was devoted to set up. Utilizing the idea from North Pole, I hung the art work on black butcher paper banners in the library and on tables. I also typed up small signs to explain each project to the parents and teachers.

After the art show was over, I felt like I had run a marathon (or since I have never actually run a marathon, I felt like what I imagine it would feel like). I cleaned up all the art supplies that were laying scattered about the school and the office I had been given to work in and headed back up to the high school.

....Meanwhile....
The superintendent informed us that he thought it would be better if we left St. Mary's this weekend, since next week is testing (which is very important to these rural schools: AYP (annual yearly progress)= money. He encouraged us to change our flight, so Dustin waved his magic MVP card and got our flights changed to tomorrow with no fee. We leave tomorrow morning at 9:30am for Bethel and will be back to Fairbanks before dinner.

We still get to enjoy one last meal with teachers before we leave! All the young teachers (all three of them), invited us to our last dinner in St. Mary's. After that, we'll pack, sleep, and zip off to the air-strip in the morning.

It's been a great week. I have grown in my confidence as an elementary teacher, and student manager. I have also really warmed up to the idea of doing Artists-in-the-schools state-wide so I can go out to more villages and do fun art projects/clinics. Because truly, I think all my summer visits to Tenakee Springs as a child made my heart happy in a small quaint village/town setting. I enjoy being about to walk to the store and the post office, and wave to everyone on the street, and have all the children know my name. It's quite nice.

6th graders helped me make a poster for the show.

Kindergarten Table.

Watercolor paper collages.

Sarah, if you're looking through these, this is the project I wrote up inspired by your "Loretta." I had them paint paper and rip it up to make their favorite mode of transportation in the village.

--Giselle