Winding Down

I can't believe it is my last week here in Levelock, Alaska!  The last 2 months have just flown by.  All my students have really been working hard to get ready for their state tests.  Tomorrow we begin the true test to see all that hardwork pay off.  I can't wait to hear how well they did because I know they will do great!  The math teacher here, Mr. B, has made a pac with the elementary girls.  If they all get advanced on their math test they can shave his head!  This of course won't happen until next year since the results come out toward the end of May when school is out but the girls are stoked!  I have faith that they can do it and I can't wait to see pictures from the even in August  =)   My last few days here will consist of proctoring the state tests to my elementary girls and packing up my life from the last two months.  I can't believe how hard it is to pack up even though I'm super excited to get home and see my family and friends.  Unfortantley I will not get to send off with the big bang party I was hoping to have with the kids before I left.  We did have some really bad student behavior last week and the students have lost most of their privleges until some confessions are made.  I am still making a treat for them but its a little more somber than I was hoping for.  Oh well onto the boring days of sitting and reading while the kids test away, since I'm not allowed to help them anymore.  Anyone who knows me is saying "WHAT", I love to read so of course thats not boring.  I'll post again soon, can't wait to fly home Saturday night!!

What's New

Well not much new has been happening here in my little slice of Alaska.  I am busy working with my students for their state tests that are now 2 weeks away.  I work daily with students in grades 3-11 on reading, writing and math skills.  I also focus on general test taking skills.  Some of my students don't really care about taking a state exam but I am still plugging away with them to show them that these tests are important.  All of my students will do well if they just take their time and apply themselves and I'm hoping that in the next 2 weeks they will realize they can really do this!

On another note I received my order from the air flight company that flys food into the village.  This included fresh produce so I can make SALADS!  Also the first ice cream I have had since leaving home!!  I was so stoked for cookie dough ice cream that I dug right in with a spoon!  Below is a picture of what I ordered plus a close up of the ice cream right before I dug in with a spoon  =)

I cant believe in exactly 3 weeks I will be getting ready to fly home to Pennsylvania and my adventure here will be over.  It is something I have learned a lot from about myself and others and something I will never forget!

Spring Break Alaska Style!

Wow!  What a week!  This past week was Spring Break for Lake and Pennisula School District or LPSD, where I work.  Last Saturday I flew back to Anchorage and then took a bus to Aleyska Ski Resort for a 3 day conference on Literacy.  Of course how can you be at a ski resort and not enjoy the experience.  I did not go skiing but I did take an afternoon to go on a hike through the mountain with friends.  We also took a tram ride to the top of the mountain and experience the view and watched the skiers and snowboarders.  The conference was over on Tuesday night but the district graciously paid for our rooms for one more night.  On Wednesday Katie and I headed to Anchorage.  Instead of flying straight back to our villages we took advantage of time to shop and just hang out.  We rented a hotel room at the local Days Inn, nothing like the resort we were in before  =)  and rented a car so we could drive to the stores.  We only had a day and a half but we managed to get all our shopping in and make it the airport on time Friday morning for our flight out at 730am.  When I arrived home in Levelock yesterday it was about 1115am.  I had not been feeling well all morning and went straight home and took a nap after unpacking my cold tote.  I still didnt feel well and ended up laying around all evening and going to bed early.  I then slept from 9pm until 8am!  After waking up I still lounged around until 1030am before I finally got a shower.  I think it was just a bug and sheer exhaustion from a week that was supposed to be a 'break'.  Oh well, I'm feeling much better now and I am ready to kick SBA testing prep into fulll gear, since we only have 4 weeks until testing.  Enjoy some pictures from my break and I'll write more soon!

The first time I had to climb on the wing of a plane.  Thats the pilots' leg  =)

Awesome Aleyska.  That bed was COMFORTABLE!

Katie and I having fun outside.   This is the bronze moose

A panning picture I took on our hike!

Riding the tram up the mountain.  This looks back at the hotel

The Limo Bus we took back to Anchorage

The Northern Lights we saw on our last night at Aleyska!

I turned the sink into a meat preping counter before we left Anchorage!

We rode the mail plan back into Levelock, this is where I sat in the back!

Richard and Beese reunited after a week apart  =)

Random Pictures and Events from my first full week in Levelock

Bease checking out my balcony porch

He left his mark  =)

What a view!

Behind my teacher housing

The side door I use everyday to get into school

Thats how far I walk!

Skype is a wonderful invention!  I can keep in touch with loved ones!

3 days worth of dishes.  I hate washing them

Finally all clean!  I have to wash them all the time since I can't eat out

The house of our school cook, who made a delicious fried chicken dinner

What the sky looks like when I walk to school!

My first full week here in Levelock was exciting.  I loved meeting all the students and getting to know each of them individually.  I also began my preliminary practice testing to help students get ready for their state exams, the reason I'm here!  Now I am working on going over each test with my students so they can see where their weak areas are and realize how important these tests are.  I also met several people from the village.  Most as they visited the school for one reason or another but someI met over the weekend when Maryellen, Richard and I made a few visits.  I am loving my time here in Levelock.  I do miss my family, especially right now with my grandfather, Robert Guiser, sick in the hospital.  But my school family has been very supportive during this time of need.  I also can't wait for next week.  The students will be on Spring Break and the teachers are heading to Aleyska Ski Resort for a retreat/conference and a little bit of fun!  This also means I will have cell phone service for a week!  Back to work, more updates later!

My School

My school here in Levelock is very nice.  It is like any typical school excpet with a few less classes.  We have an elementary room and a secondary room plus an empty classroom, which is where I set up!  Our school day starts at 830am but I usually arrive about 730.  This gives me time to check my email and make any Skype calls back home before I get started for the day.  It's also just a nice quiet time to myself in a setting I love.  I started out working with the elementary students in the morning while they have reading class.  But now I am working on finding out where students are in their core subjects so I can work with them on their level to prepare for their SBA assessments or Standards Based Assessments for the state.  I will be working with each student in weak areas and general test taking skills until they take their SBAs the week before I return to Pennsylvania.  This is an interesting but challenging experience. 

Anyway, my school also has a gym/multi-purpose room, where we eat lunch and the students have PE class every day.  There is a preschool classroom that runs until 11am for the 4 year olds and a library that has couches, tables and plenty of books.  The teachers and staff at Levelock school have been very welcoming.  Below are a few pictures of my school for everyone to enjoy!

My desk

The library

Elementary classroom

Cool wood Carving

Truck plugged in so it will start

My new Apartment!

Pictures of my new apartment.  Look how close the school is but I still can't pick up the internet.  More about my school will be coming later!

Traveling to Levelock

It took 2 small planes with 3 stops but I finally arrived in Levelock Alaska!  Our group arrived at Illiamna airport at 1130am to drop off our luggage.  After weighing the luggage and totes we still had to return our rental vehicle.  When we finally made it back to the airport we only had about 12 minutes until take-off.  We piled into a 9 seater plane with our captain and prepared for take-off.

Our first plane

The first flight took about 45 minutes.   We landed in Newhalen, where all but 3 of the passengers were getting off the plane.  We then took a small 4 seater plane for our final 2 stops.

This is how crowded our second plane was.   The other girl and I were literally right behind these 2.  The guy on the left is our pilot Tim.

The next leg was only about 10 minutes long.  A hop, skip and a jump to Nondoltan.  This were the other 2 passengers were staying.  It was then just myself and Tim to fly to Levelock!

This flight took about 45 minutes, Levelock was about 80 miles away.  At this point I was pretty comfortable because I had the backseat to myself and actually closed my eyes for a little while.  Before I knew it we were landing in Levelock and I couldn't be more excited.

Landing in Levelock!

One of the teachers from the school and 2 itinerant teachers, who had just arrived themselves, were there to great me and help me transport my stuff to my apartment.  We managed to pack everything in the back of the pickup truck and then cram in so we could drive back to the school and apartments.  This was about a 5 minute drive or maybe a little longer since the road was solid ice.  We made it with no problems and began to unload into my new apartment!



Starting my adventure!

Wow!  It takes a lot of time and patience to get to Alaska!  It took me 13 hours, 3 planes and a ton of patience.  My first flight left State College at 12:30pm but first I had a send off brunch with my family.  The first flight only took about an hour and it was very smooth.  I sat next to a gentleman who slept most of the time but at least I had a window seat!  When we arrived in Detriot there was about 30 minutes for Jordan and I to grab a sandwich before we started the 5 hour flight to Seattle.  Again I received a window seat but this time it was not as nice of a gift.  Jordan sat on the aisle and there was an 8th grade girl between us.  This meant I only got out of my seat once to use the restroom.  Also we sat on the runway for an extra 30 minutes before taking off.  I was going insane sitting for 5 hours because I can't even sit still and watch tv for an hour, I have to get up and move.  When we arrived in Seattle I was desperate to get up!  Since we were late from sitting on the runway and then we had to wait for everyone to get off in front of us (being in the back of the plane) plus adding a short layover, we had to run to make our connecting flight to Anchorage.  We had to take several escalators and 3 different trains to get to the gate we were leaving from.  When we arrived our flight was boarding.  Luckily we were still waiting on a few other connecting flights so we weren't last.  This did not help my need to move even after running across the airport, since I had to sit right back down.  Luckily this time I had an aisle seat so there was no disturbing anyone to stretch my legs or use the restroom.  And since it was dark there was no scenery to see out the window.  I sat next to a nice native couple who were very interested in the fact that I was coming out here to teach.  They were just coming home from a vacation in Vegas which I thought was awesome.  I even managed to enjoy a good hot burger for dinner.   Being able to strech my legs made this 3 hour flight seem much shorter.  We finally landed in Anchorage at 9pm local time but that is 1am PA time but we still had to claim our luggage.  Of course our bags were some the last up the chute.  After meeting the teacher who was picking us up we made our way back to our rental house which is awesome!  We each have our own room and a large living room which will be great for packing our food supplies.

We have now done 98% of our shopping.  I feel like I bought a lot of food but I know that I won't be buying any for 2 months so I need to remember that.  I am soo excited to be here and I am having the time of my life!  Keep posted for more updates!

                                             Boarding in State College

Getting ready for the Adventrue of a Lifetime

I have been busy getting ready for the adventure of a lifetime.  I will be leaving for Alaska next Wednesday February 9th.  That's less than 5 days away!!  After a few days in Anchorage for shopping I will be traveling to Levelock Alaska.

This is a small bush village of approximatley 60 residents, 18 of which of will be my students in Kindergarten through 12th grade!  I cannot wait.  I may not have a lot of information about my students yet but I do have all the excitement I need and that will carry me all the way there.  I will be posting more as I arrive and settle in!