Week 37

Weekly Greetings!

The weeks are flying by and we will end school on May 28! The next few weeks will continue to be busy and I have a couple more field trips planned. I am sending the permission slips home this week, as the next trip will be on Monday May 11. We will be going to the Forestry Department to see how they protect the land. Also, we will visit a local burn area to see how the habitat changes after a fire. While you are filling out the information for the trip on the 11th, I figured it would just be easier to fill out the permission slip for the trip on May 20th also. On that day, we will be traveling to Delta to go swimming at the Fort Greely Army Base. It will be a long day, due to the 3 hours of driving each way. We will take snacks and a bag lunch, and then have a dinner on base before traveling back to Northway. There is a lovely pool there, with lifeguards and many water toys. We can swim for up to 3 hours, unless the group gets tired before then.

Last week started off with a visit from Kay Lynn Olde-Moore from the Tetlin Wildlife Refuge in Tok. She discussed local plants in preparation for our field trip the next day.

She also read them a story about the need to protect the rain forests.

In addition, she returned duck stamp pictures to the students that participated in the completion, and everyone got a certificate for participating.

Brandi Jimmie got an Honorable Mention ribbon, along with a lovely T-shirt.

The next day, we traveled to Seaton Recreation Area for our filed trip. We made a decision to go there instead of Deadman Lake due to the rain the day before that made the dirt road too soft. The students had a great time, and KayLynn had a number of activities lined up. First they played a Caribou game, and they had to find a partner for food, water, or shelter. The game was fast moving and partners constantly changed.

Next, the class learned how to make willow wreaths and went for a nature walk to find different plants to put in the wreath.

When the student's wreaths were complete, we took a group photo and then had a picnic lunch.

The last thing the students did before getting in the vans to travel back to the school was to hula-hoop out in an open area. Even though we have hula-hoops at the school, the group had so much fun in the outdoor area that many of them said it was the highlight of their day.

On Wednesday, the class had another "Instant Challenge" activity with students over the Internet all over Alaska. This month, they had to create a plane that could fly with paper and a small number of objects.

This group had one of the most detailed and creative planes. It looked like a real plane with wheels and a cockpit.

We will be having an early release on Wednesday at 2:15pm. Please watch for a notice from the principal. Have an awesome week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 36

Weekly Greetings!

I hope you all enjoyed the extra day with your child while we had teacher in-servicing last Friday! This week, I would like to remind you that we will have a field trip to Deadman Lake on Tuesday and your child will be outside all day. Please make sure they are dressed warmly, as it can still be chilly out when there is a breeze. Kay Lynn Olde-Moore from the Telin Refuge will be visiting our classroom on Monday to prepare for the field trip the next day.

On Wednesday for Earth Day, we also had Sharron Emry in to do a special project with the class. Most of the students took their paper green house home to set in the window, but a few students wanted to leave some in the classroom window.

Our field trip Thursday was very fun and interesting. We met a number of people working for the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge and how they serve our community.

There were even familiar faces from Northway working there. It was great for the class to see their dedication to the land and culture.

One of the biologists also used one of the students as and example of to show important traits of birds.

The class then got to meet the refuge manager and were sworn in as Junior Refuge managers, to help respect and protect the land.

After lunch at Fast Eddy's, we went o 40-Mile Air Service to see how aviation plays a role in servicing our community.

With the early release that day, we made it back just in time to catch the bus so I did not sent home any "Go for the Good" cards . All the students we well behaved and even got a complement at Fast Eddy's for being so mannerly!

There will be more pictures next week of our day at Deadman Lake. Have a wonderful week!

Kind Regards,
Julie Brown

Week 35

Weekly Greetings!

Before I get into the fun packed activities from last week, please note that we have a couple more field trips coming up with the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. The first trip is planned for this Thursday to the USFW office in Tok, and the following one will be to Deadman Lake on Tuesday April 28th. I am sending home permission slips for both, and a photo release form that the Tetlin Refuge would like filled out so they can use pictures from the activities. Please get all those forms back to me no later than Wednesday. 

We also have a fun "Spirit Week" activity this week that your child can participate in. I hope you saw the notice that went home on Friday. On Monday it is pajama day; Tuesday is formal or traditional dress day; Wednesday is hippie day, and Thursday is school colors day. Please also note that there is no school on Friday for teacher in-servicing.

Now that all the important information has been addressed, let me tell you about a few highlights from last week. In Science, we are continuing our unit on organisms and the students observed characteristic of a couple water animals. We have guppies and freshwater snails to learn about. The groups enjoyed discussing the organisms and then drew a picture of each.

We also had the privilege of learning from a special visitor to the school named Stephen Blanchett. The students really had fun hearing his stories in addition to learning a song and dance he made about an event in his life.

There was a great turnout on Friday to watch all the students that had worked with Steven. Each class group had something to preform and did a wonderful job.

 

On Friday morning, we also had a visit from a Tok dog musher named Hugh Neff. The students seemed to really like his presentation, and especially the two dogs he brought with him.    

 

 

Please continue to look for homework this week on Monday through Wednesday and have a wonderful week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

Week 34

Weekly Greetings!

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend, and looking forward to another full week of activities to learn and grow from. There will be a music, dance, and story telling time each day this week with a special visitor to the school named Stephen Blanchett. In addition, local Tok dog musher Hugh Neff, will be visiting with the students on Friday. I am not sure when the Quarter 3 awards will be, as it had to be postponed last week due to the basketball games. There should be a letter home from the principal with more information concerning the time and date for that.

Our field trip went well last Wednesday. The students really had fun making music, and lots of loud noise, with the large instruments they were introduced to when visiting the music room at the Tok School.

After music, we went to the greenhouse to see the new spring vegetable starts. It certainly looked different from last fall when every planter box was bursting with produce. We did get to bring back some fresh cucumbers that the class enjoyed as a snack the next day.

Since we were eating lunch at the Tok School, we had a little time before lunch for the students to have recess on the Tok School playground. They really had fun on all the different equipment there.

After lunch, we went to the Tok Post Office for a tour of how mail is sorted and moved in this area.

The students also got place the postmark on letters they wrote and will see how long it will take to get back to Northway.

The final stop was to put the letter in the mailbox. Also, they all got some coloring sheets with postal workers on them to take home.

I have four more field trips planned before the end of the school year, and our next one will be on April 23rd. More information and a permission slip to come on that soon.

Have a great week!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown