Flashes From the Year

There have been many colorful memories from the year that I have neglected to share.  Here is an effort to make a quick recap.

Mark invited a few of us for an evening of silver fishing out at Pikmiktolik.  Couldn’t have asked for a more picturesque event.  In the picture below I am carrying on a Bryson family tradition of kissing your first catch to insure future good luck.

At the beginning of the school year we always hold a community picnic to welcome parents and kids back for the new year and to introduce new teachers.  This year we met down on “glass beach” behind the school.  Mark collected drift wood for four different fires and we set up a plywood table with the makings for the best hot dogs.

The next couple of pictures are from a school celebration we had near the beginning of the year.  The celebration was meant to honor the students for their great success over the past two years (making AYP both years).  At the event we shared the testing data with the community to show how much improvement our kids have accomplished in the past 5 years and also passed out a Storm Pride shirt to each student K-12. 

These are 7 of the kids in my homeroom class.  I started the year with 18 rowdy students.  At the beginning of 2nd quarter we shifted 6 of my students up into the 5th grade classroom to balance out the class sizes.

One of my favorite places to visit is Clear Lake, about 4 miles from town.  The lake was once used as the communities source of fresh water during the winter.  Now our water comes from a clear lake that is halfway between Saint Michael and Stebbins.  On this adventure Jill and I saw geese and caribou and glorious fall colors.

The reindeer herd seems to grace us with their presence in the fall and then again in the spring time.  During the winter months I think they wonder over to the main land in search of lichens and reindeer moss.  Interesting fact about reindeer: they have a 4-chambered stomach like a cow.

In the above picture I am standing on one-peaked corning of Saint Michael Mountain.  Saint Michael Mountain is the tallest point on Saint Michael Island.  It is the remains of a dormant volcano and at its center is a dug-out crater bowl.  On the horizon many similar crater mountains can be seen providing a visual reminder of the natural history and geography in our part of Norton Sound.

This is my second year coaching Jr. High basketball.  There are some pretty significant differences playing sports in the bush in Alaska compared to on the road-system in AK and even more compared to playing for teams in the lower 48.  The biggest difference is in travel.  For our team to have any playing time we have to travel by plane, usually a cessna caravan 9 passenger plane, allowing only 8 players and one coach.

This year, I had twelve solid players coming to practice.  They came regularly, worked hard, and showed great improvement from last year.  We were able to play against Stebbins twice, a benefit we have with a road connecting our villages.  Apart from that we had only one tournament to attend.  This group did better than I could ever have imagined.  They really worked as a team.  I was so proud.

These last few pictures are of the latest adventure.  With Dan leaving our staff next year, Mark invited our group out to join him for a spring picnic at his family’s camp.  Jodi, Sara, Julie and I drove the 17 miles across the channel and east down the coastline (but inland over the tundra) the night before for the first annual girls retreat.  My honda did get stuck more than once on the rumble over, but nothing we couldn’t dig out and push our way through.

Mark was so great to share this place with us.  It was perfect for everyone to get away from town, play around outside, enjoy the fresh air and good memories.  This was one of my favorite times of the year.  This picture really gives a feel for how crowed we were packed into Mark’s cabin.  Lots of bumping shoulders and squirming to make room.

This last picture is from a weekend camping expedition to Pikmiktolik with Charlee and her brother Floyd.  We extended the voyage on the last day by boating further west to Point Romanoff.  We pretended to tan out on the smooth, flat rocks, and found beuhaulks hidden in tall grass.