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