Out of Town Guests

The week of February 22 was busy in our little school. We had 2 visitors from out of town. We would have had a 3rd, but the weather didn't cooperate. I don't want to get ahead of myself, so I'll tell it in order.

Our first guest was Eddie Wood, an artist-in-residence. His visit was paid for by our district. He flew in on Monday and started his residency that afternoon with a combined class of both primary and secondary students. On Tuesday through Thursday, he had classes with the primary students and the secondary students separately in the morning, and then the combined classes in the afternoon. He finished on Friday with two abbreviated classes, and then he flew away.

Eddie is primarily a percussionist, but he dabbles a bit in dance and drama as well. On Wednesday morning, my boys showed him one of the men's drumming songs they know. Wednesday evening, the community was invited to a social dance class, featuring a two-step. 9 people attended, including two of my students. (I wasn't able to attend because on my way home after school I slipped on some ice. I didn't fall, but I pulled the same muscle I injured the last time I fell. I'm still nursing it back to health!) Then on Thursday, the students did a short performance for anyone who wanted to attend, followed by Wednesday night's dancers showing off a little.

I didn't attend most of Eddie's sessions, except to take pictures, so I didn't get to observe his process. I got to see his results, though. The kids were very polished and competent. Eddie got good music out of them, so overall, I was impressed. He had a wide variety of instrument, so he was able to match each student to both their ability level and their interest. He would like to return, but he would like to come for 2 weeks next time. I could support that!

Our other visitor was Kirsten Swann, a reporter from an Anchorage-based magazine. An upcoming issue is on education, and Kirsten's editor wanted her to focus on small schools, especially those schools that would close if the legislature changes the minimum size of a school from 10 to 25. Kirsten had seen a posting about Yakov T. Bear, and decided to reach out to Yakov's school.

Kirsten also arrived on Monday. As soon as she got settled, she came over and started learning about our school, especially my class. We had release forms signed ahead of time so that she could interview, video, and photograph the kids. Kirsten was young, attractive, and cheerful. After a couple of days, she fit in with the kids as if she'd always been there. I overheard a conversation between her and the kids about popular music; that's always a good sign that someone has been accepted. Kirsten was one of the participants in the social dance class, and got up to dance with my boys. I'm looking forward to seeing what she writes about us.

Our superintendent was supposed to have arrived on Monday as well, but there weren't any seats available for him. He wasn't able to fly in on Wednesday (and Kirsten wasn't able to leave) because of a storm along the route. Then on Thursday, the plane was needed to fly to Akutan. Since Thursday is an Akutan day and not an Atka day, the make-up flight to Atka was canceled. Joe postponed his trip until March, and Kirsten ended up leaving on Friday with Eddie.

As I write, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Unalaska. My class is here for our big field trip. The week isn't even half over, and already it's a success! But I'll tell you about the trip next time.