Issue No. 6

Hello Friends and Family!

Winter vacation has finally arrived!  It’s crazy that we’re both halfway through the school year, but we are greatly looking forward to the next three weeks off.  We are happily borrowing our friends four wheelers for the next three weeks, so we cannot wait to explore the wonderful frozen tundra.

My class had their first official pizza party.  I use a classroom management system with my kids called Class Dojo.  It’s a system that focuses on the positives of each kids, and gives them points for good academic and moral behavior.  I ordered two family sized pizzas from Papa Murphy’s in Anchorage, and the kids were thrilled!  The pizza arrived fresh on the cargo plane Tuesday evening, and the kids enjoyed their first ever pizza party the following afternoon.  The pizzas were actually reasonably priced.  The shipping, however, was not J

I also took my first “steam” here in Togiak.  Steaming is a holistic ritual used by the natives to cleanse the body and soul.  It’s essentially the same thing as a sauna, but much hotter.  The shack is about 8x8, which contains a wood burner stacked with rocks.  Every few minutes, you pour the hot boiling water on top of the rocks, creating the steam.  And let me remind you that this homemade shack is very small. 

I arrived at the steam with limited knowledge of how this worked.  I quickly realized that the other three men immediately striped down to nothing.  And I of course couldn’t be the only one in underwear.  What better way to get to know a few people than to strip down and sit in a 175 degree shack together!  All joking aside, it was a very spiritual and calming experience, and I am now much closer with the gentlemen that took part in this steam.

Everything else is great in Togiak!  We are finally getting snow, and hopefully lots more.  I have officially taught for four months and the progress being made by each student is such a rewarding experience.   I religiously use a program called Daily 5 (used to help foster literacy independence) and it has been AMAZING for the kids.  They now have their own iPads in school, and they have proved to be an asset in both reading fluency and math. 

We will keep you posted with our upcoming adventures.  Amy and I are getting sent to Anchorage at the end of January for a conference, so we decided to add a few personal days to turn it into a well deserved vacation.  It will be amazing to enjoy a beer at a restaurant!  Something we haven’t had or seen in about 6 months. 

Attached are lots and lots of pictures.  Thank you for all your love and support as we continue this journey.  We are going to have a very blessed Christmas, and hope that you all do as well.