Decisions, decisions

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.

It's Friday and testing week is...OVER! Testing week honestly was not that bad, and now it will be nothing when I have to do it again. The wind is still a mess and blowing snow all over the place. Bad weather = no mail, so I am hoping that it clears up here soon. The weather for the weekend forecast is looking much better, so I am hopeful that the wind will stop.

Hoping to have a nice long relaxing weekend before a straight week in Bethel. Here is a poster from the event that the kids are participating in.

The last month has been one of the most challenging months I have had here in Alaska. I had to dig deep and really think about a lot of things. It took lots of conversations, tears, and personal reflection. I have come to a decision that I will be leaving Quinhagak at the end of the school year. I will be teaching 3-4 grade in another Yupik village next year, I will be teaching in Napakiak, Alaska. It is a smaller village about 15 miles away from Bethel. A classroom has become available and that was my goal as a teacher to have my own classroom.

Doing SRA this past year was an unbelievable experience, but I am ready to have my own classroom and try a few different techniques on my own. My sole and only reason for leaving Quinhagak is to pursue a full time classroom. This experience and these people were more then I could ever ask for. I want to find that happiness in teaching that many of my friends here as well as people back home have experienced. Leaving Quinhagak will be one of the toughest things, but this experience has been amazing. I know that with all the thinking I have put into this decision, this too will be a good choice.

That's all for now, I could use some good thoughts as I finish up in the next month or so and begin transitioning into a new adventure for the upcoming school year!