Project Ki'l: Passages

Hello everyone! I have been busy skiing and going to Project Ki'l classes in addition to teaching. The ski pictures are from Hatcher Pass in Palmer. I talked about it last blog but I didn't get the pictures until this week. I know you will find this hard to believe but I FORGOT to take my camera with me skiing. I take my camera everywhere. Anyway, Beth took these pictures. Some of them are black and white and some are in color. Can you believe that gorgeous blue sky? It is so blue. I know other places get blue skies but not this crisp and clear. That is one of the things I like most about Alaska. Come on up and enjoy these beautiful skies in person!!! I have a second bedroom ready for your visit. The buildings are from the Independence Gold Mine we skied around in the Talkeetna Mountains (about 3500 feet) and about a 761 acre park and is under original ownership since Federal Patent Application in 1963. The lodge makes the best homemade soup and halibut fish bagels!

I have been attending Project Ki'l: Passages classes. It is 30 hours of class for graduate credit completed in 5 classes. Four hours three days after school and all day on two Saturdays. Today we went to the Native Heritage Center, The Anchorage Alaska Museum and then a guest speaker at the educational center. Great information but very long days. Project Ki'l builds a path of success for Alaska Native boys. The focus on boys is due to the disparity that exists between Native boys and other groups. As educators we are learning the history of the Native boys, strategies and activities to build strong academic, social and cultural foundations for Native boys and their families. I learned so much about the different cultures and the male role from the different sections of Alaska. Paul Ongtooguk, our instructor, is the gray haired gentleman in the first picture. He grew up in Kotzebue, Northwest Alaska above the Artic Circle. He shares a lot of personal experiences and how Anchorage has grown. He said that Alaska use to be thought of as a northern West Virginia only with mountains. Poor, no tourist, and subsistence living. Then the biggest oil field was discovered in Prudhoe Bay since the oil fields in Texas. Life changed for many of the Native Alaskans. Mr. William Hensley, Iggiagruk is his native Inupiaq name, came to talk to our class about the battle for Statehood. William went to boarding school in Tennessee, which is what we are talking about in the above photo, and then to George Washington Univ and then became a legislator for Alaska at age 25. He is helped fight for the Alaskan Land Claim that caused the US Government to pay the Alaska Natives for their land they needed to build the 800 mile Alaska Pipeline through many of the Native villages. Very controversial and very informative. William Hensley wrote a book, "50 Miles form Tomorrow" because Kotzbue is 50 miles from the International Dateline. Here are some words we learned tonight. Inupiaq word for person is Inuk pronounced like in-yuke, anun is man pronounced ang-oon, and Inupiaq for knife is savik prounced sah-vik. Nigi is "to eat" pronouced nee-ree. It was very interesting.

Speaking of Prudhoe Bay, today was their first sunrise since early November. They have been in 24 hours of complete darkness since before Thanksgiving. The temperature at Prudhoe Bay was minus 50 degrees and then they added the wind chill and it was 70 degrees below zero. They are expecting a high tomorrow of minus 40 degrees. They are really far North. I hope to visit Prudhoe Bay or the North Slope in the summer, definately not during the winter months.

That is about it. I have been busy and staying out of trouble. Teach and attend class or teach and ski then sleep. I have found the secret to a great night's sleep. Xcountry ski for about 1 hour after a day of teaching. Sound sleep!!!

Enjoy your day! Sheryl the Nanuq

Snowmobile Fun!

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

I have to admit this day means a bit more to me since I have had the opportunity to visit the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. If you haven't been to the Civil Rights Museum, please go. It is terrific and very educational.

These are pictures from our families snow machine trip at Thanksgiving. Isn't our guide cute? Those white marks are the big, Super BIG snow flakes. It snowed so hard and fast we were in fresh snow all day and eventually the snow ended up to our mid thighs. I feel in the snow drift and couldn't get out. Every place I put my arm to get out I only sunk deeper into the snow. The kids had to finally help me out. Our family has had plenty of experience snowmobiling but never in snow this fluffy and deep. As you can see from the next picture we got stuck in this deep stuff. This one particular spot took the boys 10 mins to dig the machine out so we could continue with our ride. You can see how high the snow is by Tyler's thigh is almost completely covered. He wore the snow machiners camo "black and white". The white so you can't see his legs from the snow and black on top to find him in the snow. The last picture is another beautiful sunset. Jenna took this from the car window on our trip home. Not bad from a car window.

This blog will be about my life in Anchorage. I love it up here. There were two weeks when the lower 48 states had colder and snowier weather than we had up here in Anchorage. We finally got snow last week. I am amazed at our nightly news. The weather person gets about 15 minutes to do the weather because Alaska is so big. There are about 6 sections of Alaska so by the time the weatherperson talks about the panhandle (Ketchikan) the Aleutian Islands, Kenai Peninsula, Barrow (the farthest North point), The interior sections (Fairbanks) and then Anchorage area. The inland areas are about 25 - 45 degrees colder than Anchorage. Last week, Barrow was minus 40 temp and minus 65 with windchill. Brrrr that is cold. Anyway, you would think we should expect snow. But the weather person makes it sound like it amazing that we would be getting snow. We LIVE IN ALASKA for goodness sake. Along with the snow comes the ditch divers. I counted 9 cars stuck in the ditches on my way home from school last week. I travel on a 6 lane highway for 6 miles and there were so many accidents. The policeman who lives below me said it is because most of them are military and are not use to driving on these conditions. I think the Military should give them driving lessons before they can drive here. So if your car is in the ditch you can only get your car out at certain times a day. You must contact the local highway police to get permission to remove your car. I think the time is from 11 - 2 Tues - Thurs only. So the other day a tow truck was trying to remove a stuck car but he ran overtime and was getting a ticket from the police because it was almost 2:30. Crazy!!!

I just finished my two week rotation at the "more native" school of my two schools. I LOVE teaching there. Here are some interesting things I have discovered. These kids just want to be recognized, loved, and taught. If you walk through the halls and smile and say good morning and their name they smile so big and give you a hug. Most of them can't remember Warmbold so they call me "Ms Health". Isn't that sweet?!!! Each teacher at this school, including me, greet each child at the door and shake their hands and welcome them into to class. They are so cute. Here is another thing that is interesting. The Natives use the English language as it is phonetically pronounced. This is what took me so long to discover. Silly isn't it but so simple. So here is what I mean. I have three little girls called Alecia, Alicia, Aleseea. They all pronounce their names the same. A (soft a) Le (leeee) C (see or sea) A (soft a). In my lower 48 classes a girl with this name, Alecia, would pronounce it A (soft a) Le (leee) C (she) A (soft a). Up here there is no CH or SH. I am trying to think of other names but if I just pronounce each name as it would be phonetically pronounced I have it correct. Fifooa (Fi) Foo A. or Nikaoy (Nick) A (soft a) Oy - like Chips a Hoy brand. or Nilaniamoopooua (we call her Nilani) for short.

We received a new student this week. His name is Devine Sampson Austin. A little Native. Devine is a dwarf, shorter than 22 inches tall. His legs are about 8 inches and he has a difficult time going up stairs. He has never been to school so he has no academic skills, no social skills, and is 8 years old. He has been put in 1st grade because of no skills and the other children accept him nicely. One little girl, Shayntayia said, "I thought I was small but you are really small!" Kids say what they feel. Again, another first for me.

I got to watch, briefly, our PE class participating another great activity. Snowshoe softball. The kids all wear snowshoes and play regular softball. They run the bases on snowshoes. I didn't take my camera when I went to watch them. I hope to get a photo at my next school. I am sure I will have to try snowshoeing since I haven't done it before.

My friends and I have been xcountry skiing all weekend. Saturday we skied in Anchorage, Sunday we went to Palmer at Hatcher Pass and Monday night we skied Chugiak (close by). I have found an exercise I really enjoy. It is free, fun, beautiful views and a great dose of outdoors. My son, Tyler, would never participate because it is a lot of work!!!! I am confident I will have firm breasts after this ski season. It is hiking only on snow with long skinny skis. The glide is so much fun. When we went to Hatcher Pass to ski (about an hour up the Alaskan mountain range) the sky was turquoise blue and the freshly fallen snow, groomed paths, and delicious food at the lodge. We had to ski uphill (about 1 mile) and the work was worth it when we got to the top. We skied around the Gold Mine (still works) and then continued around the trails all surrounded by a beautiful mountain range and glistening snow. We were about 3500' feet above sea level. Amazing. At one end of the Mountains, there were people taking helicopters up to the top of the mountain range and skiing down (Extreme skiing). Others hiked up (with skis in backpack) and then skied down. This one guy had his dog hike up with him and then his dog ran after in his tracks as he skied down. It took him almost 20 mins to get down. We watched from inside the lodge eating homemade soup!! The sledding is awesome too. The kids and parents would be dropped off at the top of the first mountain and then sled down. It takes about 10 mins to get down and a truck waited below to bring you back up the mountain. This all costs $2 per person all day long. What a deal!!!! Our local high school (Chugiak) has about 25 miles of groomed and lit trails behind the school. The Chalet is open until 11 pm. It is so close and a great workout. I have been sleeping so well with the outdoor playground. For those of you who can't sleep, come on up and night ski with me and you will learn how to fall asleep soundly!!!!

Our sunrise is about 9:30 am now (vs 10 am) and the sunset has gone from 4:15 to about 5:30 pm. The white snow also makes it seem brighter all the time. Everyone is looking forward to the spring solstice (end of March) until the solstice where we get closer to having equal day and night times. The summer solstice is in June but the Natives tell me by the end of March we will see a lot more sunshine and later sunsets. Yipee!!!

I hope my blog finds all of you in good health and having fun times. David has been "golfing great" and so he is very happy. Jenna is now working 3 days from home and seems to enjoy that. Tyler is looking forward to his spring and summer activities. So all is well with the Warmbold family. Enjoy. I will see you next week.

Sheryl the Nanuq

Happy New Year 2010!

Happy New Year to all of you! Another fresh new year is here, another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me to live each day with zest, to daily grow and be, my highest and my best!!!

I hope you had a wonderful holidays with your family and friends. It is now time for 2010 to get back into routine. I had a wonderful time in Memphis. I was so blessed to get together with all of my friends, eat some delicious meals, and spend quality time with my family. It was delightful to have my nephew, Logan (5) with us during the holidays. It was refreshing having a child's enthusiasm and energy to keep the adults moving and laughing. I am back to school and the kids were terrific this week. I hope it continues. I am busy taking two more classes. One on technology because I can't figure out Macs. I am not computer savvy anyway so this will help me a lot - I hope. I am taking another graduate class - Project Ki'l. I will be learning about the background and strategies to use for Native boys to encourage higher literacy and math skills. This class will have several field trips and I like those kind of classes. Get this, Anchorage School district will pay for me to take this 3 credit course and give me a stipend. I have never worked in a district where they pay for graduate school and give stipends. This is good. I have decided to start saving all my stipends for my great adventure next year. More about that later. I have become very involved in the Delta Gamma Kappa sorority. This is the international society for women educators to promote excellence in education. Our Eagle River chapter, NU, focuses on early childhood literacy. We have a monthly fund raiser called "feet and fannies" where we collect socks and underwear for children of all ages. Many of ASD children live in shelters or the families can't afford the simple necessities. ASD also has an entire department of teachers (45) that go to shelters and Head Start programs and local Native programs and centers to teacher the parents how to help their children become familiar with books, games and coloring. They have to teach parents how to hold their child and how to read a book to their child. They just don't know who. Doesn't this amaze you? I never thought about this - I just assumed all parents sit and read to their children, look at a picture and ask the child to make up a story, color pictures for each season. After my fund raising efforts I headed over to Wasilla to make Iditarod dog foot ointment. That is a statue of Joe Reddington who founded the Iditarod. My job was to the the official "stir person". I guess my experience laying tile in our bathroom gave the necessary job requirement to use the electric stir. I had a blast. The handsome gentleman in the green is Dr. Stewart. He is the Official Iditarod Veterinarian. Ladies, he is single. He said he hasn't found the women who is willing to live on the move with him. He splits his time between Montana, Idaho, Canada and Alaska with rescue animals and serve as Iditarod Vet. The ointment is pink like pepto bizmo. It is a combination of Thuja-Zinc Oxide, mineral oil, antibiotic, lanolin and one other ingredient (I forgot). Talk about soothing for your hands. Each musher will get 20 tubes of this stuff for the dogs. The dogs get about 2 TBS placed on their feet before they put on their feet booties at each check point. The Iditarod goes through about 2000 booties for 100 sleds. Each bootie cost about $2 a piece. That is a lot of bootie!!!! You can see how pretty pink it is (which is also stained on my sweatshirt as a memento)and the next group of people filled the tubes. Filling was easy but putting the clamp on the end was extremely tricky. Remember I said the stuff is very soothing aka slippery. Many of the workers had whole tubes of pink on their bodies. I got off easy being the stirrer. Another group filled packages of dog worm pills. Each musher will receive these pills 10 days before the race for each dog. My reward for today's work was an official Iditarod Volunteer hat. I have signed up to help on two other committees before race day. I am just a busy bee!!! By the way, my great adventure I will start saving for is to bid to ride with one of the Iditarod mushers next year. People bid to ride from Anchorage to Wasilla on day one. The most anyone can bid is $7500. I better sign up for a lot of courses that pay stipends to get my bid money before Feb 2011!!!! One of the ladies today is bidding for her favorite musher. She was one of his dog-handlers last year and hopes to get to ride with him. She and her husband are moving back to Alabama next summer. Isn't this a small world? Alabama. By the way, she didn't gloat about the BCS bowl game. I thanked her for that.

The next group of pictures are from our Thanksgiving family flight around Mt McKinley. Mt McKinley is 20,230 feet. The day we flew our flight it was sunny but a cloud hung over the last 2000 feet of Mt McKinley. The flat area in the front right-hand corner is base camp during the summer. I think that Mount McKinley looks like a bear in the picture. Just below the cloud is two brown eyes and a nose. We flew over the Kahiltna Glacier on our tour. This glacier is 45 miles long and 3 miles wide. Our guide told us the national geologist measured the glacier at the end of the summer and they measured the depth of this glacier around 4500 feet deep. That is very deep! The four brown mounts are called the Moose Tooth. They look just like a moose tooth. The last picture is the beautiful sunset (from the airplane window) over the Alaskan mountain range. I love the all the beautiful colors that shine in the skies up here.

The last three pictures are of my little kids. They are so cute. During our recess periods the kids get to go ice skating. Isn't that great. Ice skating and sledding for recess. I love this. If you look closely you will see several of our Native boys dressed in their regular winter clothes. Short sleeve shirt! They have switched to long pants since winter break. Up until then they still wore shorts to school. These boys and girls walk to school. If they live within one mile they walk. I have tried to get them to wear coats but they don't think it is cold. The counselor said some Natives just wear shorts and short sleeve shirts all year round. Brrrr. The three on the play gym are just sweeties. Don't you love their smiles. I must admit I am jealous that the lower 48 is getting cold weather and snow and we are not. We have sun and temps in the mid 30's but no snow. We need some more snow for the Iditarod. There is however, enough snow in the interior of Alaska. Fairbanks was minus 45 air temp during the holidays. I can't believe how much colder Fairbanks is than Anchorage. Fairbanks is about a 4 - 5 hour drive or 12 hour train ride. Prudhoe Bay is consistently below zero since Thanksgiving.

Well, that is all for this week. I hope to have some more great pictures and learning experiences for my next blog. Have a wonderful week. Aspeekahah. Sheryl the Nanuq