Waffles with Gram

This morning I woke up and decided I wanted Ego Waffles for breakfast.  As I was putting them on my plate and adding all the fix-ins I had a flashback to when I was staying with Gram, and how we used to eat Ego's in the morning.  "Do you want syrup, Gram"  "Oh, just a little....a little more than that!"  It really made me smile, but also miss my family, both the ones who are no longer with me and the ones that I am horrible at staying in touch with, very much.  I started to make a mental list of all the people I really needed to say "Hello!" and "I love you!" to, and I figured this would be much more productive.  Especially because I haven't updated since October!! (opps!)

Things in Alaska are going, surprisingly well.  I am very very happy here, and I am planning on staying here for at least another year.  My principal and the APC (our own little school board) are trying diligently to find a way to give me full-time certified next year, and I really think it is going to work out!  I have been looking and applying else where, not because I want to move, but I do want full time.

I love the Tongass School.  I work with the most amazing, kindhearted people daily, and I really have a great relationship with my students.  One of my students drew me a minion (from "Despicable Me" - one of my favorite movies) playing a trumpet!  To quote Vector, "OH YEAH!"  I also had two kids ask if they could eat lunch with me the other day.  That really made me feel good, and you know, I really enjoyed myself.  They are great kids, and they have such wonderful interesting things to say, that in the classroom, they don't normally get the opportunity to share with you.  It was really nice to sit around, singing "Silly Songs with Larry" and just ... talking.

As many of you know, I went to St. Louis for Christmas to visit with Dad, Nat, and Lex.  It was so wonderful.  It was really nice to interact with people on a daily basis, and not have it be focused around work or some kind of obligation.  It was so weird to be in a car for more than 10 minutes, to travel faster than 35mph, and to travel further than 30 miles.  It was also incredible that when I got picked up from the airport in the late afternoon, early evening, the sun was still out!  While I was there I got to sing at an open mic night, watch the Pens play on a regular basis (the girls have center ice), Socialized with a ton of different people, lost horribly at Mexican Rat Race (it's a card game, that I RARELY lose), also won a few times, got an iPhone(Whoo!), helped Natalie pick out her wedding dress(!!!!), received a visit from Justin from Youngstown, got mocked for my new 99901 zip code, Skyped with the Kijowski's, and spent some much needed quality time with friends and family.  It was really wonderful, and I was not ready to leave; however, I did have to come home.

When I got home, I decided that I really needed to put in more of an effort to be social.  It was one of my goals for this year.  So far I am doing pretty well at it, though it is hard to be social when I am so busy!  One of the biggest improvements I have made is to go to the rec center, pretty much every night after school, with one of the other teachers at my school.  We decided that it was a healthier and cheaper way to socialize than going out to get something to eat after school.  Sometimes, she literally has to drag me there (you all know how much I LOVE exercising), but it has really helped.  I feel better, and I get so much more accomplished.

I am still staying very busy.  In addition to Community Band, I did join Jazz band.  Man, was that a kick to my self esteem!  Jazz is...HARD!  It's a completely different style than what I am used to, and I've never played jazz before.  This is a huge shout out to Dr. Krummel, my trumpet professor.  You were right! I totally should have practiced my scales and arpegios more!  I should have listened to more Jazz, I should have played with the Jazz band, I should have....well, I could go on and on.  Kids, listen to your professors, they know what they are talking about....*sigh* Darn it!

I also started helping out with a Girl Scout troop up here.  It is kind of crazy to be singing all those songs, and participating in all those activities again.  Today, I am going to one of our grocery stores to help sell cookies. I guess 15 years of scouting will do that to you.  Ann, if you are reading this, expect a call, I have tons of questions for you.  I can only remember bits and pieces of some of the stuff we used to do, and I need someone to fill in the blanks.

I guess I have been doing a lot of reminiscing lately.  I think that is my brains way of saying "Katie, you are allowed to miss people, just do something about it!"  I miss you, terribly.  Even though I am horrible at staying in touch, I think of you all very often, and I hope everything in your life is going well.  For those of you who do not know, I will be in the Western Pa area for June and July!  I am coming home, and I am going to stay with my Aunt Heather and Uncle Tom in Pittsburgh.  It's going to be a crazy few months with Natalie's wedding, summer classes, Pirates Games (Woot!) and trying to visit with everyone, but I am really looking forward to it.  I can't wait to sit around a campfire and just...be. 

Well, I suppose I should sign off and try to be productive on this sunny Sunday (that's right, it is sunny!!)  Once again, I leave with with a huge apology, I will really try to be better at keeping people updated.  I love you all!

Katie

P.S.
A few pictures:

The waterfall!  One of my favorite places to visit in Ketchikan.

This is a Christmas gift I gave to one of the other teachers at TSAS.  He is a Flyers fan, and thought it would be "funny" to send some students into band class wearing Flyers Jerseys.  So I decorated his room with Pens logos, and a team roster.  Merry Christmas, Matt!

 

 Origami Penguins!!

It's really hard to see, but there is an Eagle there.

This is my road.  It looked like this for about 2 weeks.

A view from my school!

Oh no, Katie, It rarely snows here, and when it does, it doesn't stay cold enough to stay around....HA!

My Christmas Amaryllis

Visiting with Dad in St. Louis!

In front of the tree!

Justin came to see me!!

Deidra and I performed at the Monthly Grind!

There are swans here!!

Xtratufs!

XTRATUF

This is something my cousin shared with me! (Thanks Matt!).  This is a podcast that talks about moving to Alaska (Just listen to the last part of it.)  As you can all see from my previous blog, I have a pair of Xtratuf's, but I can now say that my name is written in each one now!  I will not be one of the Alaskans with 2 different size shoes.  

As for the salmon, I am still learning, but I am working on it. :)

Things I never learned in school

Well Hello Everyone!! First of all, I would like to apologize for taking so long to update my blog!  I have been meaning to update for a very long time, but I always get distracted.  Sorry!!!

So things are going pretty well all in all.  School started a month ago and last week I got my first official salary position big girl check! YAY!  It was Friday (which is always a plus), and last Friday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Ketchikan.  Last week we had major winds (NOAA was calling for winds up to 85mph, but I don't think it ever got that bad) so when I woke up in the morning I was afraid that it was going to be an ugly day, but the sun was shining and it was barely raining!

I am going to jump around a bit and explain my school.  My school is a very different school in it's approach as well as its over all layout.  The best way to picture my school is to think of a completely open HUGE room, and then divide sections with filing cabinets, student cubbies, and bookshelves.  We have 7 classroom teachers (K-6), but the students are not divided by grade in the traditional way.  There are two 5/6 teachers two 3/4 teachers and two 1/2 teachers.  Each teacher has students from each grade in their homeroom classroom, but really they team teach the curriculum.  At first I was a little worried about how this would work, but the teachers here are absolutely amazing, and while there will always be issues to having a school without walls or doors, there really aren't too many issues.  The students are really learning how to be respectful and focused during the school day.

That all being said, this kind of set up is not conducive to a music classroom at all!! To solve this issue, music classes are held in a little tiny hut right out side of the school.  I call it my shack!  It is cute little building, but there is a huge emphasis on the word little.  The school has a beautiful set of Orff instruments (http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/training/orffinstruments.asp), but the instruments take up half of my already very limited space.   Thankfully, my principal is getting me shelving, so eventually they will have a functional home, but initially I was really stumped as to what to do.  For right now, they are sitting in the main school in display cases, because we are not using them yet, but hopefully soon, I will get to bring them back!

And now it is time for the comic relief portion of this blog. Things I did not learn in college:

1.)  Being a teacher is HARD!!  You will ALWAYS be tired, even when you get enough sleep, and you are always playing catch up! Who though you could feel like you are failing a class when you are the teacher!

2.)  "Because I said so" is the most empowering phrase...ever!

3.)  Children do not understand what personal space is.

4.) A child’s definition of an emergency, and my definition of an emergency are two very different things.  For instance, I do not have a bathroom in my classroom, so for a child to use the restroom, they have to walk the whole way into the school by themselves to use the bathroom.  So my rule is that they are not allowed to leave the room once they are there, they must use the bathroom before they come to my class.  In short, they don’t!  I typically just don’t let them go, but it is really hard to tell when there really is an emergency!! And once you let one child go to the bathroom, the whole room has to go to the bathroom!  I swear they can smell my weakness!  And how do you tell a child who has a tooth that is literally hanging out of their mouth that they aren’t allowed to go to the nurse.  I can’t do that.   A tooth=emergency.  

“Miss Gaggini, this is an emergency!........My shoe is untied!”  does NOT equal an emergency!

5.) I will NEVER look at playground equipment the same way again.  Swings, slides, climbers, monkey bars!!!!  AHHH I get a mini panic attack just thinking about all the way kids can hurt themselves, AND I am pretty sure they make it their mission to see how many times they can get me to make that panic stricken face!!

6.)  Your last name will change.  For instance I went from Miss G to Miss Genie to Miss Magical Genie Lady.  I don’t see why it’s so hard to put a GA in front of Genie, but apparently it is.  

In all honesty, things are going very well, but I am overwhelmed with the amount of things that
I just never realized could happen.  Seriously, I am absolutely amazed by the amount of times I think "Did that really just happen...yes, yes it did.  How can it not happen again," each day.

Knock on wood, but apparently the majority of people in Alaska are Steelers fans.  I don't think this is actually true, but so far each game has been aired in Alaska!! I do have to be ready for the game by 9 am, but it works.  I am able to get stuff done around the apartment and watch the game at the same time. For example, right now I am watching the Steelers kick the Tenesse Titan's butt while writing a blog, doing laundry, and working on some projects for this week!

Being away from everyone has been hard, but I am so grateful for technology! Skype has been wonderful! I had a nice conversation with my the Texas Kijowski's (Minus Emily) last week, as well as my cousins Trish and Jim.  Dad has totally mastered Skype, as well as ichat screen share, so we are still able to fight about who gets control of the mouse when we are 3000 miles apart.   I actually think I get to talk to my sisters more now, than I did when I was living at home.  It is so wonderful.  To everyone who has called or e-mailed and I still have yet to get back to you...I am so sorry! That is on my to do list for this week.  I finally feel like I am starting to get a grasp on my crazy schedule.  The hardest part about being in Alaska is the time difference.  I don't get done with school until 4 or 4:30, which is 8 or 8:30 ET, so my window of opportunity to talk to people is small. Especially since I have been trying to get involved in the community.

Did I mention that I have joined a lot of groups since I've arrived to Ketchikan.  I joined Community Band which I love.  It is so wonderful to be playing my trumpet again.  I didn't realize how much I missed it.  I might also join a jazz band.  It's something I am REALLY interested in joining, but my schedule is already so full, so I am not sure yet.  But I really think that it is something I could benefit from.  I have never really done much jazz, and it is something on my bucket list.  

I am also the new director of the handbell choir at the Methodist Church.  Initially I thought they were asking me to ring with them, which was was so excited about.  I rang handbells in High School, and I really enjoyed it.   Then they clarified that they have enough ringers, and they are looking for a director.  I was a little bummed, and a little bit more mortified.  I really and not that strong at conducting, and I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted to do.  I am still not sure how comfortable I am, but I figured that this was a really great and safe opportunity for me to beef up my directing skills.  The group is really wonderful, and I am really enjoying myself so far.

In addition to handbells and community band, I joined the Core team of the LifeTeen program at Holy Name Parish.  I am really excited about this.  This is a wonderful program for Catholic Teens, and it is something I wish I would have had when I was a teenager.  The team is wonderful, but I am still learning a lot about it.  As a group we all go to the 5:30 evening mass on Sunday, and then stay for group after.  I have to admit that I am not so much a fan of the Sunday evening thing.  I really like starting my Sunday's off with Mass in the morning and then being productive the rest of the day, but at least now I get to watch most of the football games!  

As of right now, that is all that I have joined, but it is keeping me pretty busy.  There is a very small two letter word that I need to learn not only how to say, but how to say at the correct moment! "No" "No" "No" "No."  But to be honest, everything has has a positive impact on my life, so I think I am ok.  If I get to bogged down, I will have to cut something out, but I am hoping it doesn't come to that.  

I think I will end today with more pictures!  Again I am so sorry this took so long to update, I will do better, I promise!! Love you all!

Katie

Hiking Dude Mountain!

 Outside our Apartment

 Hiking to Coast Guard Beach 

 Coast Guard Beach

 More of Coast Guard Beach

 We found a friend!

 And another friend! Don't worry, we threw him back in!

 Hiking back up the trail.

 The moon was so low and bright.  The little lights below are the Airport runway lights

 My School!  The little building on the left hand side is my room.

 My Shack!

 The school is on stilts, and the playground is underneath the school.

Inside my room.  It is starting to come together, but I still have a long way to go!

 An essential in Alaska!  See Uncle Kevin, Practical, not fashionable! Just like I promised!

The house on the left with the blue roof is our apartment, we are at the very bottom, so there are 2 levels above us.  I stole this picture from Deidra's facebook.