Today was a school day. I went to The Meade River School to collaborate with their teachers. I had two goals: to do ITEX outreach and create a partnership between my school and their school.
So, I'm assuming you'd like know about this school on the North Slope...
The school is built on stilts so that it does not thaw the permafrost. It was built in the early 1980s. They have a library, reading center, gymnasium, and small suspended nadatorium all inside the school building. There are 71 students at Meade River in grades Pre-K through 12. They divide their grades into groups: Pre-K and K, 1 and 2, 3, 4 and 5, 6 and 7, and 8 through 12. Each grade has from two to nine students so the combine most of the grades. Every student in the school studies Iñupiaq, the native language of the North Slope, for one our a day.
Most of the teachers are from the Lower 48 and live in teacher housing. They teach everything: generally two grades together, all subject areas, including art, health, music and physical education. Every student in grades five through twelve receives a MacBook and backpack for school. However they have to return it when they graduate. Students love basketball. The high school has both a boys and girls team and they fly all over the North Slope to play against other teams since the only to leave Atqasuk is by plane. The high school students also have two hunting field trips a year. The teachers I met with pretty all pretty cool. Terry is going to teach 4, 5, and 6 with Lindsey. Neils teaches 3 grade. Mary Ellen teachers teaches first and second grades; and Doris is the counselor who will also teach health and physical education. We hope to have a class of Gateway students pen pal with students in Atqasuk. They are planning on creating a Gateway and ITEX bulletin board highlighting both my school and the research project. I hope to do the same thing at Gateway. They were so psyched about the prospect of Skyping with my students and creating videos comparing and contrasting our two schools.
I present the Gateway flag to Principal Kathy Blizard and her staff at The Meade River School.
After a tour of the school we began to discuss school and science collaboration possibilities.