S.O.S.

Out for a walk in King Salmon

After my whirlwind trip to Pilot Point, I spent the weekend at my district’s “home-base” in King Salmon. As I would be spending the following week in Naknek, it hadn’t made sense for my to fly home just to turn around and head down south again two days later. Though there are often people coming and going at District Office, I was the only one there for the weekend. On Saturday, I was able to have dinner and a nice long visit with my friend Kasie. Though she used to visit Pilot Point monthly when I lived there, we’ve not seen much of each other since my move to the north. It was great to sit down and catch up over a delicious meal at one of the local fishing lodges. I then hunkered down and got a bunch of things crossed off my to-do list on Sunday. 

Family reunion at Eddies:)

During the day on Monday, I worked at District Office and was planning to grab a ride to Naknek at the end of the work day. Some co-workers and I decided to grab lunch at Eddies, but little did I know that I was in for a big surprise. When we sat down, there was a group of men sitting at the table next to us, one of whom was in uniform. Being lunchtime, Eddies was busy and menus were hard to come by. The men at the table offered us theirs, and as the man in the uniform handed his to one of my friends, I felt that his profile looked very familiar. I wracked my brain trying to think of how I could know this man, when it hit me. I spent the rest of the lunch considering whether it was possible for my cousin to really be seated at the table next to me, at the only restaurant in town, in rural Alaska. When the men got up to leave, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw his face and the name badge on his uniform. I quickly called his name and was excited, yet also in shock, as I got up to
greet him. Have I mentioned that I hadn't seen this cousin since I was about eight years old? Though I knew he and his family had moved to Anchorage over the summer, I hadn't known that he would be visiting King Salmon. I then learned that he was just visiting for the day, and thought about how this was one of those "small world" moments. Had we gone to lunch just thirty minutes later, our paths would not have crossed! I still find it hard to believe that we were both in King Salmon at the same time, and I feel grateful that I was able to run into him.

Just another airplane picture

While I was busy having my family reunion, many of the schools from my district were sending their 7th-12th graders to Naknek for our first SOS Meet. In the past, there have been a few different events held in the fall for academic and athletic purposes. While it may sound like a distress call, the SOS (Sciences, Occupations, and Sports) Meet was held to combine the different activities into one jam-packed week, as opposed to holding a few shorter events. As we now have an SOS Meet and an AA Meet, my friends and I joked that we need to stop letting the person in charge name our gatherings. All joking aside, last week was a busy and educational one as we spent our days in sessions where students were led in activities by upcoming teachers from the University of Alaska. During my first year in the district, I was able to see the development of a collaborative effort between my district and the University. It has been great to watch this relationship strengthen and to see the effect it has had on our students and their understanding of, and interest in, the world around them. 

One of the rainbows
from our flight

During the week, teachers and other chaperones were put in charge of groups which contained both LPSD students as well as students from Bristol Bay School District. Bristol Bay School was also where LPSD students and staff were housed for the week. It was fun to be able to work with students from my district that I don’t often see, and also to get to know some of the Bristol Bay students. As our AA meet is usually the first time that 7th graders are allowed to travel, the SOS Meet allowed them to have an earlier start to their traveling for LPSD events. It was easy to differentiate between which students had been to a jamboree before, and which had not. Some classes that we attended included “Choreography”, “Amazing Glaciers”, and “Beauty of Nature". Throughout the week, students made “flubber”, learned how to identify a variety of birds, competed in different track and field events, and took part in a few other interesting activities that were relevant to the communities in which we live. I think it is awesome for our students to have the opportunity to attend events such as the SOS Meet, and I was glad to be a part of the fun. 

Some artwork on
the Alaska Peninsula Highway

While I enjoyed the daily classes, as the coach of our school’s Cross Country team, I had most been looking forward to the day of the race. It was a bit chilly and windy outside, but other than that it was a great day for a run. Due to some students needing a modified course,  I was able to get some fresh air and walk the course with a colleague. This allowed us to be able to cheer on students as we saw them along the path. Though none of my students placed, it was exciting to watch as the top three runners for both boys and girls came running across the finish line, knowing that they would get to travel to Anchorage to attend the state championship in a few weeks. At the end of the day, I considered it to be a victory that my students got out, participated, and put effort into completing what they had started. 

We were excited to get home!

By Friday morning, I think everyone was feeling the wear and tear of a week’s worth of long, tiring days and nights spent sleeping on the floor. With last year’s jamboree in mind, and the fact that we got stuck for two extra days, I wasn’t getting my hopes up for an early flight home. We watched as most of the other schools took off early in the morning, and then we awaited our call to load up. We made it as far as getting packed up and seated in the van before we were told that our plane had been running behind and that our departure would be delayed by about two hours. Thankfully, the weather was favorable for flying which meant we actually were able to take off about two hours later. Our flight home was a calm one, and we even got to see a few rainbows along the way. After more than a week away, it felt so comforting to touch down in Nondalton. 

We hiked to the top
 of the peak on the left

Though I had enough time to unpack, I quickly had to gear up again for my weekend commute down to Newhalen. I was ready for a relaxing weekend, but was also hoping to get outside to soak up some sunshine. It is becoming just a little bit darker with each passing day, and I know that our days will soon be darker for much longer than they are light. While it wasn’t the sunniest of days, Sam and I got out on Saturday to take a ride on my favorite trail. We took Bear Creek Trail all the way up to the base of Roadhouse Mountain, which we had planned to hike to the top of. However, we soon saw that we were not alone and spent some time watching a brown bear sow and her cubs traipsing along the mountain-side. It was my first up-close bear sighting near home, and even after they had gone over the other side of the mountain, I was a bit anxious that we might run into them on our hike. My desire to hike won out though and, after allowing the bear family to move on, we made our way up to the top of one of the peaks. 

Walking on top of
Roadhouse Mountain

Once we made it to the top, Sam’s GPS showed that we had climbed 2,313 feet up. I couldn’t believe how incredible the view was, and I loved that I was able to see Sam’s village and my own, at the same time. We took in the scenery and enjoyed the peacefulness, but didn’t stay long as we could see rain clouds approaching the mountain. We carefully made our way back down (the rocks were steep and a bit unsteady), and I think we both felt accomplished when we made it back to the honda. On our ride back to the village, we were able to see a bright rainbow which I had an overwhelming feeling was a sign from our friend Ryan, letting us know he had been with us on our adventure. 

A Rainbow from Ryan<3

Believe it or not, as it is mid September, I am typing this after having just taught my first Monday of the school year. Our first few Mondays were teacher inservice days, and last Monday had been the first in which students were to be in school. However, because of the SOS Meet, I had another Monday out of my classroom. It feels strange to be six weeks into the school year, and to be just now experiencing my first week in which I will have students for the entire week. To be honest, the hardest thing to believe is that we are already in our sixth week of school! Let’s hope it passes by quickly and without issues, because Miss Paige is in need of a hibernation-style nap, and it is only Monday..