Care Package #4 Thank you K. Scott

Now I can make Huevos Rancheros... and tea... Zoey even gets a treat!

Unplugged

The network here at school is about to be unplugged so I am going to have to haul my laptop to Fairbanks this weekend to post.

Running out of time to drive

So my NM drivers licence runs out in one week. I was unable to get a licence in Fairbanks when I first got here because I did not have proof of residency. When I got proof of residency in Barrow I could not take the written test because they were low on toner and would not print me a test. I did just get my Alaska ID in the mail today... photo and all, so at least I have valid ID but Now I am in AKP where I was able to take a written test, but can only get a rural licence for driving in bush Alaska. What a heck of a lot of good that will do me! So unless I can get to a DVM office in Fairbanks before September 2nd, I will have to take a driving test in Fairbanks, and I don't even own a car!!!! So my plan is to get a rental car this weekend and drive around until my licence expires!!! DENALI here I come!!

Akpik Berries

Things have been busy here this week. Last week before school started went for along walk on the other side of the John river and picked berries. I found a new kind of berry I have never seen before... the Akpik or Salmon Berry. Salmon berry is a common common name and caused confusion to those that may live in southern Alaska where a different Salmon berry grows. The Akpik berries, as they are called in Inupiaq, area yellow to peachish colored berry that grows on a single stem coming from a plant with 2 broad leaves. They have an almost peach like flavor and are related to the raspberry. They are one of the favorite berries of the locals. So I save the quart of berries that I picked to make Akpik Berry Muffins the first day of school for my high school kids.

School started on Wednesday the 20th. I am teaching mostly high school. Here is my schedule

First period: Health (14 Students)

Second period: North Slope Science (14 students)

Third Period: Algebra I (3 Students, including the Principal's son, and another teacher's son, both of whom are actually in 8th grade, and the former pastor's son.)

Fourth Period: Home Economics (14 students)

I have heard it said "Kids are Kids", "Kids Everywhere are the same." Well I had a great group of kids in NM and I have a pretty darn good group of kids here too. I did not know what to expect. I have heard some horror stories from some teachers in other villages, but so far these kids are friendly. They seem willing to work and follow most directions. We already have one successful field trip to look at plants on the tundra and write in our field journals.

I am really excited to teach the North Slope Science class, there is an awesome curriculum focused on the natural history and human use of the area. This is going to be a hands-on-field based class, much like the environmental science class I taught in NM.

Oh and did I mention I am teaching a packaged math curriculum to 4th graders for an hour after lunch? They can not even sit still for an hour! The whole time I am telling them to ignore each other, as they are constantly poking or sticking out their tongues or falling off their chairs. Sigh. This is going to be interesting. They are FAR below grade level. I had a long talk with the principal about the program I was supposed to be teaching them. I did not understand why they are not getting 3rd grade math if they are not on grade level. He assured me that if I use the curriculum they will come up to grade level because the curriculum spirals... well we'll see!

I'll post some school photos later in the week. Here's some more photos from the tundra for now.

Friday night in AKP

Well after a nice dinner of Beef Stew, Ashley and I walked down to the lake. I saw a Gyrfalcon and a pair of loons. Well now it is 8:30 and there is not much to do... It was warmer today, in the 50's and now the bugs are bad. Little gnats getting in your eyes and ears. enough to make you want to stay off the tundra. Hope it is nice tomorrow so I can go berry picking.

Care package #3 from Jammin' Jenn

Yeah Jenn! Thanks for sending the Jam and Pesto. I recived raspberry jam, black raspberry jam and a jar of Garlic Scape Pesto.

Last night I made chicken with the garlic scape pesto. It was yummy. I had to bake some bread so I could have something to put the jam on. I used half whole wheat flour and half unbleached white flour. It was the first loaf of bread I made in years and it came out surpisingly well.

Got to go now, I am in a meeting about grade level expectations, on ploycom we are watching a presentation in Barrow on a smart board.

Care package #2 Thank you Becky!!

Today I recived my second care package. Becky sent me some homemade maple syrup from Maine. Can't wait to try it on Blueberry Pancakes! Chocolate is always good, especially after school, and durring school, and after dinner, and late at night... someone better send me some more chocolate this is not going to last long =)

She also sent un-breakable glasses... well they are not glass, so that is why they will not break. Yeah! Now I can have company and offer them a glass of water! (seeing how I do not have anything else to drink.)

Thank you Becky!!!!

Tundra Hike

My last free Sunday before I really have to get to work. I was contemplating going to Church, you know meet some of the local town folks. But it was just too nice a day to spend inside.

It was cool, maybe mid 40's but sunny with a light breeze. It was not long before I discovered caribou Skulls and other bones littering the tundra. The bones were returning back to the earth, decaying in the acidic boggy tundra.

Picked a lot of Cranberries and Blueberries. Also there were Crowberries. There seem to be so many common names it is hard to keep track of what is what.

Crow berries Below:

After picking the tiny bog cranberries, each less than 2 mm, I called zoey back after she had been out chasin ground squirrels. I put her on a leash... good thing too, with in 15 minutes a lone male caribou trotted by about 80 yards away. That was a nice looking animal. I was too busy admiring it to take any pictures until after it had passed by.

About two miles south of the village I stumbled upon a little lake. On my way down to the lake I found some great blueberry spots. Yum. I almost stepped on some ptarmagine.... I can see how they would be easy shoot. They just stood there staring at me...

Shopping in Barrow

On Friday we spent some time shopping at the AC Arctic Corporation Store, the only grocery store in Barrow... It seems like a booming town of 4000 should have one store... how they corner the market?

I Never thought I would see produce like this in the Arctic. We did not have produce this nice in the Adirondacks!!

Some how they can even get flowers up here...

And in the freezer isle... a Brand new Snowmobile!

Look, you CAN sell ice to Eskimos...

Vermont's Finest!

hand made parkas, some with fur trim.

detail of Embroidery:

Last week I realized how lucky I am to be in this Village. All of the other villages in this district use Barrow as a hub. Food prices in Barrow are about double of what they are in the lower 48. So people using Barrow as a hub shop in Barrow and they have to have their food flown out to their villages. I guess they could place Barge orders... but the boats can't come in when it is iced in.

Food Prices in Fairbanks are comparable to what I would pay in the lower 48. I can get produce, meat and even Ice cream if I so desired... I can place an on-line order for 10% they will package my food and drive it to the airport where it will be flown directly to my village. The Plane comes in around 2:3o in the afternoon. There are actually several planes a day... but I think that is the one I will use. I pay $0.85/ lb to have food flown in so for about $140 I got 5 lbs of meat, fresh strawberries, celery, taco shells, various toiletries, 5 lbs of Carrots, two bags of lettuce, a cucumber and an lb of Organic Bananas flow in. I am not sure what would have happened to my boxes if I did not meet them at the airport. I guess it is possible someone could have take off with my goodies....

Thank you Fred Myers Bush Orders!!!

Midnight Birding

So lastnight I hired a taxi to take me out Cake Eater road. This road goes to the south of barrow, out on the tundra where there is a pump house for the gas lines that come into town. We did not have to go very far before seeing the first snowy owl

Not sure about this one, Maybe a ruddy turnstone or a sanderling?

Peregrine Falcon hunting from a telephone pole.

Dunlin?

Jaeger... I think I may have seen all three species while I was here this week. I think this one is a long-tailed Jaeger. I also saw Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers. I saw some dark morphs as well.
Dark Morph Jaeger Pomarine Jaeger... I think...
Longbilled dowitcher?

Short Billed Dowitcher?

Duck Crossing

Arctic Dip

No, I did not go in. Not today. maybe tomorrow.

Some of our group waiting in line at Pepes to get ready for a dip in the Arctic Ocean.

After the dip, which I photographed but did not particiapte in, we drove around. We got to see almost all of Barrow. We Drove out as far as you can go on Point Barrow. Found some palm trees, sort of.

The Point Barrow separates the Arctic Ocean and the Beaufort Sea. Here are some folks fishing in the Beaufort Sea.

Near the point you can find the most northern Airforce base and totem pole...

Hoary redpolls on a whale skull.

Birds

Since I have been in Barrow I have been keeping and eye out for birds...

I have seen

Snow buntings
Jagers (sp)
Loons (sp)
eiders (sp)
Geese (sp)
Peeps
I think I saw a hoary red poll

okay this is a pretty weak list, I will try to do better tomorrow...

There are 4 long tailed ducks visible out my window now.

On Top of the World

Today was a beautiful day in Barrow. The sun was shining and it got up to around 40 degrees... it must be global warming. We attended the elder and youth conference, it was a forum on education. Many of the native elders spoke of the importance of native culture, values, language and knowledge and how that can conflict with the western education directives that are coming from Washington DC. Some of the elders had beautiful fur ruffs on their coats. The fur on the hood helps protect your face from the wind chill and frost bite. This one still has the claws attached.

After the forum, we had some free time so I went to the DVM to try to get a drivers licence because mine expires in a month. I have to take a written test. The printer in the Barrow DMV office was out of toner, so they were unable to print the tests. No Test, No Licence. I guess this gives me an excuse to go to Fairbanks. So then I wanted to go to the post office, which was half way across town. I was able to hang a lift in a taxi with a lady that was going that way. I mailed off some postcards... if you are lucky maybe it will be for you! And picked up the insurance claim forms I was unable to get in my village because the post master has no idea what I am talking about. Then I walked around a bit.

Abandon boats along a pool. Cotton grass in a cemetery. After dinner, We visited the BASC or the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium. There studies are being conducted on everything from Biomass, carbon and methane gasses, Tundra, Archeology. There was a necropsy on an arctic fox going on while we were there.

Here some grad students are sorting vegetation samples taken from the tundra. They have sorted it into piles by species. The samples will be dried and weighed to calculate biomass.This poster created using GIS and GPS technology shows the paths taken over the ice pack to the whale hunting locations. This shows how technology and native knowledge can come together.

Barrow

Flew into Barrow Sunday night. Sea ice is pretty broken up and was blown off shore. Took some photos out the window as were were landing. When I got off the plane in the tiny Barrow airport, a tall bearded man, looked at me and said "Kerri?" as if I was wearing a name tag. "How did you know?" Brain, my new Principal said, you look like a science teacher. While we were waiting for our bags we were driven to the store to get something to eat. We are staying at Ilisagvik College.

Sea Ice Near the Shore... A seal skeleton at the college.

There are about 70 new hires in the district. We are all here in Barrow for the new teacher training. The North slope Borough School district has many struggling schools, not making Annual Yearly Progress... including the school where I will be teaching. I think I have discovered the purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act. Schools that are struggling are forced to take some sort of corrective actions... many school are buying assessment tools and programs. We are going to be using many packed programs that the district is paying big bucks for... The No Child Left Behind Act is to make big business in small struggling schools. These Corporations that make these assessment tools are like the contractors in Iraq, they are just there to make money... Now I get the purpose of the NCLB... When I was in a school that made AYP every year I did not understand...

The North Slope School District is very generous. Today we found out about the Pay for Performance plan. Basically, if I do my job, keep in contact with parents, write Individual Learning Plans for a few students and work together with my colleagues, communicate with parents, take college classes and continue to develop myself as a teacher, I can earn an additional $3,000 a year. If my school makes AYP I get $500. It won't. My new school has never made AYP.

There is a $3,000 stipend for living in a village. This will help pay for shipping in my groceries and flying out to Fairbanks for a weekend. It costs about $0.90/ lbs to have fresh or frozen food flown in to me. There is plenty of good food available in Fairbanks and Fred Myers will have it shipped to me.

After about 6 hours of mind numbing seminars on how to use the packed programs to assess and track our students we were invited over to Inupiat Heritage Center for a Village pot luck.

This was my chance to sample many of the traditional dishes...

I tried muktuk, or whale, Bowhead whale and beluga whale, seal, caribou stew and eider soup. Great, this may be some species of Eider I that is not on my life list, but now if in my stomach. An Eider is a sea duck that eats muscles.

The Potluck was held as part of the Village Elder's Council. The Seal Skin in the photo below is painted to symbolize the past, present and future.

I have Whale breath and can not wait to get home to brush my teeth.