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Introductions

Please take a moment to introduce yourself to your classmates and your instructors. Tell us a little about your background, what drew you to the position you now hold, and what you are hoping to get from this class.

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Replies

  • Eli Barsy here. I teach in Atmau and do 6-12 Language Arts and Social Studies. I'm hoping to get some new strategies and ideas to use in my classes (whether Social Studies or not).

  • Greetings,

    My name is Pamela Helmich.  I have taught 5 years in Tuntutuliak.   I started with just fourth grade but now I teach fourth and fifth grade in a dual language setting.  I love looking at photographs and using photographs in my lessons.  My hope is to come away with new and interesting ways to incorporate art and photography in the classroom.

  • Hi,

    My name is Kristen Hendrickson.  Growing up, I had always wanted to visit Alaska so when the time came to find a job I made sure to check out school districts in Alaska.  When I was offered a job in LKSD, I took a few days to decide and finally convinced myself that I could do anything for 10 months...and here I am almost 8 years later.  During this time, I have lived and taught in Kwethluk.  l have taught ESL (K-12), 5th grade, and 6th grade.  It's the adventure that's part of every day that makes this place a challenging and rewarding place to live and teach.  

    I am excited to be a part of this class because I enjoy photography and social studies.  I look forward to working with others as we investigate ways to incorporate art and photography into the classroom to create more meaningful learning experiences for our students.  

  • Hi Everyone!

    My name is Amanda O'Boyle, and I teach Study Skills, US History and World History (9th through 12th graders) at Bethel Regional High School.  I have taught here for 8 years and truly love my job!  I was able to take the Dance and Music class offered through AHUAH in November, and got so much out of it.  I am eager to come this weekend and learn more. 

  • Howdy,

    My name is Segue Grant and I live and teach in Oscarville, AK.  I am the high school teacher and really enjoy teaching multi-subjects in a multi-grade classroom.  I have taken ANUAH classes before and have found them both enjoyable and very useful in my classroom.  This class in particular is interesting to me because it uses art and photography and, unfortunately, I think the use of art in the classroom is minimal at best most of the time. This provides an excellent opportunity to infuse it in the curriculum in a meaningful and interactive way.

  • My name is Alicia Weaver. I teach third and fourth grade in Napakiak. This is my second year in Napakiak and I taught one year in Quinhagak before that. Like someone else said I too came out for one year and am now on to year three! I have really been exposing my students to Social Studies this year and have been able to incorporate it into other subjects. I like the arts and my students do as well, so I am looking for more ideas to incorporate photography into my teaching.

  • I am Martin Smith.  I've taught elementary education in LKSD for 14 years. Prior to my current position I taught sixth grade for 11 years in Toksook Bay and coached cross-country and  Native Youth Olympics.  I currently teach 5th grade at Gladys Jung Elementary in Bethel and have held the position for three years.  I enjoy being outdoors whether that is during the winter or summer months.  Hobbies include hunting and camping.  I also work during the summer as a trail maintenance crew foreman at the US Forest Service.

    I enjoy taking pictures of the outdoors and believe this is a great way to "take students" places.  Geography is one of my favorite social studies topics.  I would really like to find out more ways to utilize my favorite topic in my social studies class in a hands on and practical way.

  • Howdy Ya'll,

    I am Rachel Kohl and I have been teaching social studies in Kuiggluk for 8 years now. I signed up for a year in Alaska because teaching positions were so hard to find in Michigan. Now my family wonders if I'll ever move back. I teach 7-12th graders and I enjoy trying to get my students to participate in world affairs. I love introducing them to cultures all around the world and I have found some success using text materials and movies. I am hoping that this class will help me bring more stories from all around the world into my class and allow my students to fall in love with people they might not ever get to meet otherwise.

    Rachel

  • Hi folks!  

    My name is Beverly Chmielarczyk and this is my 15th year with LKSD.  Save this year-all my years teaching have been in "bad river" country... a.k.a. Kwethluk.  While there I taught pretty much every subject area and every grade level in some way, shape, or form.  

    I love teaching and continue to look for ways to connect my students to the world and their own learning.  I'm curious to see what Using Art and Photography as a Primary Source will offer with regard to these things.  

    I love to travel and have seen most of the places I have viisted through the lens of a camera.  I believe public transportation and markets will tell one more about a country and its people than any book.  For this reason I believe photography as a primary source is very powerful.  I also have a strong interest in photo journalism and documentary.  

    I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to share.

    Beverly

  • I'm Mike Gehman.  I teach 9-12 social studies and science this year at CPMS in Kipnuk.  I taught LA for the three previous years here, and have dabbled in math as well.  I enjoy trying to help students find the fun in learning history, and to hopefully love the stories about the past as much as I do, but I find that they don't often see the connections to the present.  I'm hoping that by using more forms of media I will be able to capture their attention, and trick them into loving history.  Looking forward to seeing/meeting you all in Bethel.

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