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