In my last entry, I wrote about the things that make being in a small high school in the Alaskan Bush so different. I want to follow that up with the events of today as an illustration.
Our volleyball team was playing in a tournament, which was hosted at another school here on Prince of Wales Island. One of the games was scheduled for 8:00 this morning. Last night, our principal sent out an email to all staff announcing that we were going to take attendance for 1st period, then load the buses and go to the game to cheer the team on.
When I arrived at school, there was a large crowd of students in the hall. People were busy painting each other's faces and decorating banners. The cheerleading coach had some kids go up to the 2nd floor storage and get the old uniforms, which were distributed to the students who were waiting. One student even put on the mascot uniform, a large black panther.
The athletic director spoke to all the students before we boarded the two buses. He told them what the expectations were for their behavior, and emphasized the need for them to return to school ready to work if they wanted to have this opportunity again. Then we all got on the buses.
15 minutes later, or thereabouts, and we were at Klawock High School, home of the Chieftains. The first game was well underway when we entered the gym. Our girls, in green and gold, were winning against the Petersburg Vikings, dressed in black. Maybe you already know, but I didn't, that the girls were playing for best out of 5 games.
Our cheerleading season hasn't started yet, so there wasn't any formal cheering. Our students did just fine without leaders. They had made all kinds of posters to hold up, cheering on their favorite players. They were enthusiastic when we scored, sympathetic when we missed, and polite when the other team scored. They were also incredibly loud!
The Panthers won the first two games, then the Vikings won the next two. It looked to me like the players were tiring during the 4th game, and I really doubted we would win. Amazingly, the Panthers rallied and won the last game. Yay, Panthers!
We arrived back at school in what would normally have been near the end of 3rd period. Instead, the students were told to have their break time, and when the bell rang, report to 1st period. We ran 1st and 2nd period, then lunch, and then 3rd and 4th periods.
I can't imagine a large school doing that at all, and especially not with only 12 hours notice. Our kids handled it well, even including the schedule changes. I love that we can be flexible and responsive to the moment as a school, and everyone handles it just fine.
Way to go Panthers!
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