Writer's Block

Forever exploring

While I have no clue how it is possible, the calendar tells me today that we are already well on our way through the month of November. As I type this I realize that somehow I let a month go by without even so much as a short post. Truth be told, I have thought about and even attempted to write an entry over the past few weeks. However, I seemed to have gotten into a funk and just could not get words onto the page. Not only that, but things have just not slowed down much and I have been busy with one thing or another since the school year began. The life of a teacher, right? Tonight though, I was finally motivated enough to try to recap on the last month of craziness here in Nondalton.

Flying home from
 King Salmon

Unfortunately, October began on a somber note as I learned the news that a close family friend had suddenly passed away. After hearing the news, I once again struggled with an overwhelming sense of homesickness. My initial desire was to be home with family and helping out in any way possible. However, home is no longer a short drive away and it now takes at least three planes and almost a day's worth of travel to get there. Most people know that I am a family oriented person, and being so far from my loved ones is without a doubt the hardest part of living in Alaska. In the past month I have been able to mourn this loss on my own time and in my own way. I have also spent a lot of time reflecting on how quickly life can change and the importance of making the best of every day. 

I got to live in a
lodge for a night:)

In regards to school, I have become more confident and comfortable in my role as a special education teacher with each passing day. While I loathe still don’t particularly like the system we use for our special education paperwork, I have come to tolerate it and feel that I have a solid grasp on the ins and outs of working with it. I am lucky to be learning the ropes at the same time as some other newbie special ed. teachers and we are helping each other day by day. In the past month, I have flown solo on quite a few IEP, re-evaluation,and amendment meetings and I’ve learned something new each time. 

Not only have I been adjusting, by our school team has gotten into a pretty good routine and we are working together to keep our 34 students under control and on track in their studies. In the middle of October, we were able to travel to King Salmon for a whole-district inservice and we all brought back new ideas to use in our school. My friend Caitlin and I were even able to present a session on the classroom management system, Class Dojo, that we use in our classrooms and explain how we use it as our school-wide behavior management system. It was fun to be able to share what works for us with other teachers in our district. 

It gets colder every day!

We might have been flooded with new information, but October inservice is a loved event by all. One disadvantage about teaching in rural Alaska is that we rarely get to see teachers from other school sites in our district. I hadn’t seen many of these teachers since last year’s inservice, so it was great to catch-up. In addition, I got some much needed girl time with some great ladies, and appreciated the chance to just talk about struggles, triumphs, and everything in between. 

Later sunrises are
still just as beautiful

Since we’ve been back, it has been another blur of visitors, traveling, meetings, and I think somewhere in there we have managed to squeeze in some teaching. The constant chaos certainly helps the time pass by quickly, and it will be Christmas break before we know it (43 sleeps until I’m back on the East Coast, but who’s counting?). Although I know without a doubt that the next month and a half will be busy and tiring, I am fueled by the knowledge that I will soon be rewarded with a trip home to see family and friends:)