Walking in a Winter Wonderland

… NOT!

I believe we had our first snowfall around September 24th. It came and went then came back again.  During Thanksgiving, the snow was pretty thick I thought we would have it 'till the end of May. Apparently there is a lot I still don't know living here.

Right after Thanksgiving weekend, the rain came. It washed everything away.

So now that means no snow. like at all. (ok, maybe a little bit).

I chuckled to myself last week and some this week when I heard the surrounding area of my hometown all had snow days. I was FaceTiming my mother just now and she showed me the outside lawn.. snow everywhere! It looked so magical!

Helloooo! I live in Alaska and southern IL has more snow than us. Something is seriously wrong here! Take a look...

It has confused the students as well. Some preschool students asked the teacher if it was already spring time. Alaskans don't know what to do without their snow!

But since it is the Holiday Season (even though it doesn't look like it), Newtok had their Christmas program today where all the students participated. It was really neat to see the students get up there and perform. 

My well-behaved 5th/6th graders. They are a hoot!

 The beginning part of the program was the high school where they started to Yupik dance - than some other students joined in.

 I didn't take a picture of all the class groups performing, but these next two are my Jr. High class. They are a big group of students with a lot of personality. They were acting as a present wrapping machine, each student doing a different job.

 Then we have the first graders. Now, I'm not much of a little kid teacher, but I help with these students three times a week during their after school computer program. There is something about the little kiddos that melt your heart. They are so fun-loving and energetic. I don't know how the first grade teachers do it! But they did a dance that was the most precious thing. I wish I had a better camera for these exact moments…

 And obviously Newtok saved the best for last… 5th/6th grade!

My students sang The Twelve Days of Christmas half in English and half in Yupik. They even made signs that went along with the words they were singing. If you know them at all, they can be a lively bunch, so it was funny to see them become suddenly nervous right before they were to perform. I had never seen that side of them. But of course, they did awesome!

And speaking of my first graders, today I received a special award from them: The Helping Hand Award. I feel like a celebrity now. The Yupik teacher came in with one boy student and told me that they were discussing this award and that he had mentioned my name. They had a piece of paper signed and everything for me!

I don't know if you can see it, but the bottom left of the picture is supposed to be me helping a student with a computer. How precious, right?! Totally made my day.

Also, speaking of day's made - only one more sleep before I get to see Joshua!!!

That's right.. tomorrow we leave on a charted flight at 3 pm and I will land in Anchorage around 8:30 pm - meaning three long weeks to enjoy my time off and time in our new town!

P.S. Joshua had his first day of work today. He should be getting off just as I type this, so pray that it went well and he is glad with the decision to begin his career there!