Write Alaska 2013

Although it's been a while since Write Alaska ended

I enjoyed all the people that I befriended

And even though we went our separate ways

The memories we made, will be cherished always

You can find us at Bartlett or Service or East

But the next time we meet up, we'll be throwing a feast

People compete like Nevada and Nebraska

But nobody compares like us Write Alaska

Climbing Arctic Valley

Climbing, hiking, blood, sweat, and tears

Failing is my most deepest fear

Im Climbing Arctic Valley

Taking breaks and sitting down

Too much fog, can't see the town

Im Climbing Arctic Valley

I push myself more than you know

On this land, that's meant for snow

Im Climbing Arctic Valley

Keep rushing me and I'll cuss you out 

Friendships what it's all about

Im Climbing Arctic Valley

Half way there, we turn around

All the snacks, is what we found

Im Climbing Arctic Valley

Hiking took most of the day

Versace Squad all the way

No More Climbing Arctic Valley

Personal Narrative

DIANA @ A.Valley!!

Mouth is dry

To the top

I struggle to try

Sweat riding down my back

Breathing hard

The air I lack

The sun no where to be found

The breeze however

Was the only sound

Mist covering up the air

Valley beauty

Rocks and grass everywhere

Bugs buzzing in my ear

The height

I did not fear

Mountain is steep

Feeling buried under

Ten times deep

Closed in by clouds of white

Nothing except

a little light

To the finish we strived to run

Then we stopped

We were done

Then we start the journey back

Being careful

Staying on track

Although the Sun being gone ruined the day
On the bus we left
We had fun anyway.

Last friday when we went biking, that was the best day ever

Day Nine: Alyeska and Winner Creek

On our trip to Alyeska on our last day was just relaxing. The sun was barely out giving us that nice breeze. So when we got to the resort everything was full of signs. Signs this and signs that. It was just different I guess. Then we dropped off half of the crew closer to the trail where they were going to hike up the Alyeska trail. To me they did a good job because man they hiked up a steep hill. While on the other hand we were lazy so we went up the Tractor thingy. But overall it was fun because we got to see a lot of cool stuff like man made benches or the big tree butt that someone put out there to make a joke out of it I guess. As you can see Noya was standing there trying to smell something come out of it. Naw, just kidding, It was a good brain buster because we were hiking a little quiet. So on our way back from the top of the resort we rode the tractor again and it was kind of scary. Overall we had lots of fun going to the resort. I'll look forward into doing the activities we did again next year.

My group we hiked all the way from the day lodge and on the way Darren was making us take brakes like every 100 ft. I believe that made me even more tired then actually walking on the way I took pictures of the city of Girdwood and of the everyone. This was one of my favorite hikes because there was no easy way to actually get up the mountain so everyone was either booking it up the mountain or they were like ben at the back of the group. About a good 3/4 of the way up we came across a small chunk of snow so we all took a break and so of us chilled.. Literally everyone got some of the snow and we cooled off after we made it to the top of the mountain we all met up at Seven Glaciers the restaurant at the top of North Face. Everyone was tired but we all took a good group photo. Afterwards we took the tram down and Tilo looked like she might throw up but the day was vary good and I loved talking with everyone I had a blast doing Write Alaska and I hope to see all of these guys later on in life.

Day Eight: Resurrection Trail and Fishing in Hope

Today’s reporters are Diana and Hekili. First we’ll hear from Diana and the fishing group:

It's our second trip to Hope Alaska and the fish were just popping out of the water. The luck of the water seemed to have flowed right past Danny and Kekoa, who caught the first two fish. Shaista, a good friend, stood in the water trying to see if she could also catch one, but she just couldn't get one hooked on. Danny looked like he had a fish hooked on when all of a sudden Kekoa called his name. Later during the day, Will, Kekoa, and Danny caught a few more.

     

After a little while, more people caught on. Pulling fish out of the water like it was nothing. I felt a little dizzy after seeing Sage smash the head of a fish off, leaving the blood entirely everywhere. Then I heard a sudden squeal. It was Marlene!! She caught a fish. Shortly after, Sam had caught onto his second fish. Shaista and I watched as he tried to pull his line out from under a rock, then he slipped, but before his face could touch the water he landed into a push up position.  Though he still managed to get water into both of his boots. That was not at all the worst thing that had happened to him. After he changed out into clean clothes one of the birds decided to take a pit stop right on back.

    

Finally, Write Alaska and Science Alaska reunited. We gathered together in laughter, had roasted hot dogs, and smores. Our day was done and we got on the bus to head home, enjoying the last long day we would have together.

Now let’s hear from Hekili, who hiked Resurrection Trail:

Just as we thought the trail was going to be flat, instead, it became straight uphill.

On the trail it was steep, weather constantly changing, and difficult at times. To me, most of the trail felt like there was no end. I found out later that Taylor wanted all of us to hike eleven miles as apposed to five and a half. As the group began the start off the trail, everyone saw it to be easy. Like I said, it went straight to uphill. One way most of the hikers found how to pass time was to just keep talking. Nearby the end of the trail, I thought to myself, ''This trail was never to end." But when I got sight of the end, I was so relieved.

Resurrection Pass seemed to be full of plants and animals. When we all got midway up the trail, we saw birds, and MANY mosquitoes. I think the mosquitoes were the worst part of the trail because where we were, there were mosquitoes everywhere. Some other beautiful sights we saw were very tall trees, streams, flowers, and the joyfulness of hiking.

Sifale-Vaipapa

We hiked Arctic Valley
it was super fun,

We hiked Arctic Valley
unfortunately there was no sun,

We hiked Arctic Valley
I did not make it all the way,

We hiked Arctic Valley
there's nothing more to say,

We hiked Arctic Valley
it was an okay day.

Brandon Macdonald

The Story

We went to Arctic Valley

we drove, we drove.

We went to Arctic Valley

we hiked, we hiked.

We hiked down Arctic Valley 

so slow, so slow

We left Arctic Valley

we slept, we slept

So we all had fun at Arctic Valley

the end, the end

Border Lands
by Tabatha Calkins

The rolling fog settles it's self
with the crisp cool air that follows
it's a graveyard
but some how at ease
with all the fallen long since gone
leaving this place hollow

their light whispers can be heard
over the hills, across the land
not cursing it but enchanting
making the grounds a haven for wayward souls
this is where history speaks
Here is were past meets present.

Day Seven: South Fork Eagle River

Today we went to South Fork Eagle River Trail, I was in the medium fast group. On the way out I talked with Sam and Ms. Brown about work that Sam and I do and all the outdoor stuff we do. We decided to stop and camp at the bridge till we had to turn back. On the way back we passed this bearded guy with boobs three times. It  was very disturbing, but we all acted like we didn't notice on every encounter. I talked to Crystal on the way back about our boyfriends, it was a mildly interesting conversation. We stopped at a spot where there was a path straight up and some of us wanted to go up for the fun of it and because we were running early. Others, like me, did not. So three staff members stayed with the bulk of the group and one walked up with about four kids. While we were sitting there waiting for them to come back down the fast group went running by. When we got back we heard Tilo went boss mode and carried Maddi back to the bus after she got hurt.

Today we hiked about four miles in South Fork Eagle River. We were split into three groups. There was the fast group for the overachievers, like Kili, Brandon, Koa, and Tilomai. Then we had the medium group for people like me, Tabatha, and Cherelle. I was in this group for awhile, until I got tired and was too lazy to catch up with the group. We made it to this awesome bridge, which made me want to jump in and swim. Then we stopped there and turned around, ‘cause that's all we had a time for. I saw a lot of creepy looking people, but they were friendly. It was warm, but it wasn't really sunny. We stopped a couple times for breaks and I kept complaining about my thighs hurting from those really long hills. After about two hours of hiking, we finally made it back down. We were all exhausted, but we had fun. These hikes have been really painful for me, but at least I was able to go halfway and back, even though I kept complaining the whole time. As I got on the bus, I noticed some of the group members from the fast team were missing. Until I looked out the window and saw this mysterious warrior named Tilomai carrying Maddi, who had gotten hurt and needed help to get back to the bus. Never in my life have I seen such a strong girl like Tilo. This young warrior chugged four water bottles. Finally we came back to school. Overall, this program has been a wonderful experience for me. I made new friends, met new teachers, like Ms. Taylor, who is awesome, and this weirdo named Ben who thinks he's a great teacher but he isn't. Just kidding, Ben you’re an awesome teacher, although you’re very weird sometimes. Today is my last day, cause I'm moving. But I had fun.

Day Six: Arctic Valley

Today's reporters are Kekoa and Daniel. Let's hear from Kekoa first:

It was another great day with the Write Alaska team. The date was July 15, 2013. We were about to go on a 3 mile hike up Arctic Valley. The way up the hill to our final destination was very bumpy. As we reached the top of the hill, we saw the mountain path that we had to take. All we could see was just a straight incline and you could barely see because of how thick and heavy the fog was. Most of the pictures that we took were hard to make out. When we were all ready to go, we had to make sure that everyone had plenty of water. The mountain path was just killer on your legs. I know my calves were on fire. We were almost ready to give up, but then my team made it to the top. Then, Ben made us wait at the top and write a story of all the different kinds of feeling and emotions we felt when we reached it. The assignment was given. We had a ten minute time limit. Well you kids better finish those stories if you want to pass this class :)

Now let's hear from Daniel:

Yesterday we got to go to Arctic Valley for a hike, but on the way up we got to see green vegetation and water flowing through the rocks. Even if the fog didn't blow away,  it would still be fun going down the mountain. Other than the hike up, when we got to the top it wasn't that great because I couldn't see anything at a distance. I can taste the water in the fog even though the fog got in the way of most of the pictures. It was still awesome going up the hill as well as going down, but I was hoping to see a bear or any other type of wildlife. My favorite part was going up because I haven't gone up Arctic Valley before and I only saw land, but only a couple hundred yards from where I was standing. I heard people in the distance as well as the wind, but couldn't see them for a while when the wind finally picked up. When we were up on the mountain, I felt the sun with a slight breeze, which felt awesome. Also, I loved the smell of the land around me as well as the food that we had with us. I hope in the near future, I get to go back and hope it will be will be less foggy.

This Alaskan Life

Listen to our students tell stories from their lives that exemplify what it means to be Alaskan.

Day 5: Downtown Anchorage and Coastal Trail

This is Marlene reporting for Friday, July 12. Today, for the first time ever the class and I learned about some history and ghosts that had happened downtown, well at least it was my first time hearing about it all. Honestly, I thought it was going to be boring, but it's pretty cool to be hearing about about ghosts and even history. As I was looking around to try to take some fascinating pictures, the results of the picture didn't really come out so fascinating, but I tried! At first, I thought the old man that was telling us stories about ghosts was a magician, but come to find out he wasn't! Oh well. While we were walking downtown, I was so exhausted! I just wanted to lay down, that's all. Over all, being downtown and hearing ghost stories was pretty cool and I actually liked it, I would totally do it again, but the only thing I would change is the walking part. 

Now let's hear from Maddi. Today we biked to Kincaid Park from downtown on the coastal trail, it took about an hour 15 minutes to get there. I had the chance to stop to take photos on the bike ride. I knew we would be taking a cruise sometime during the program I was super excited, because I am a biker I love biking. It's always so good to go on bike rides, especially in a program like this with hiking and fishing. The best part is, everyone in the program went on this bike ride. Some people don't even do physical activities like these past five days. Next week I know it's going to be fun also, because we get more hiking done. 

Day 4: McHugh Creek to Potter's Marsh

For starters, the day was awesome, we had some really good food in our stomachs and headed off to the big yellow bus for our hike to Potter's Marsh. Some of us, due to injuries, only went to Boardwalk, which is also a nice vertical pathway on-top of a marsh, while the rest of us hiked from McHugh Creek to Potter's Marsh. It was so fun and tiring at the same time. Everything seemed to just go up and up and up and up. Nothing could beat the scenery which was seen at Little Big Rock, our mid stopping point so everyone could regroup. Darin, a staff member lead the way with a couple of other students who wanted to walk super fast. As for the rest we went mid-pace: not too slow, not too fast. At this pace I exchanged stories and ideas with Tavai, a nice woman who I learned along the hike graduated from BYU and has so much potential you would be blind not to notice. Overall the hike was amazing, even though the bug spray did not work due to all our sweating and the sun shining super hard on us. 

The hike was a hard one. It was too hot, the hill was too high, mosquitos kept biting me, my foot was cramping, my back was hurting, I was thirsty and it was way too long of a walk. But everyone else seemed to have had fun, though. Some people couldn't catch up and some people were hiking like it was nothing and Tilomai was trying to go on some kind of sweat marathon. It felt like we were hiking for hours until our group ran into a moose. The moose wouldn't move, so we had to hike all the way back down, which took more hours. Though the hike wasn't easy it was a good workout and exercise for everyone.

After all of that painful walking up and down the trail and getting a bloody nose and after that almost falling off the trail, Rachelle saved me!! I returned the favor by leading her and this teacher out the trail after being left in the dust by Darin.  They got lost and were so confused, so I helped lead them out. So we walked down to the parking lot thinking there were going to be drinks and watermelon. Almost dying of thirst, there was nothing to drink. I got on the bus and Brandon, Koa, Kili, and Ane were playing animal, a really loud game. I can't believe me and half the bus really fell asleep.

       

     

Day 3: Gull Rock and Fishing in Hope

On July 10^th, it was a hot and a beautiful day to go fishing at Hope. We started our trip with a long bus drive. It was boring and tiring at first. But when we got there, that’s when the fun began. We had to eat before fishing- we were starving. After a full stomach, we grabbed our poles, life jackets, and went on to fishing.  The hikers hopped on the bus and left. We all looked liked professional fishermen, standing in the sun with our poles. Some students got their hooks hooked on the rocks, others just looked like they didn’t want to fish anymore, just sitting and chilling, and two girls were washed away by the river. Luckily Alicia pulled them out, they were soaking wet and freezing.

A few hours later, 5 fish were caught. David, his brother Eric, and Sam were the lucky ones that caught them.  They were true fishermen. After a hot bath, Alicia and Noya started the fire. Once it was up and burning, students surrounded the fire, making s’mores and hotdogs. And when the hikers got back they joined us, they looked really exhausted and hungry. So everyone was eating, laughing, and enjoying the sun. But we all couldn’t wait to get on that bus and head back, we all needed a bath.   

 The group and I (Brandon) went on a hike in Hope, Alaska. We attempted to hike Gull Rock, but we weren't able to get all the way out there. We saw a lot of trees, some waterfalls, and a lot of mosquitos. About half way through the hike we came across a rock slide where we took a break and ate some food. Although we didn't actually make it, we came across this nice view that overlooked the water, and my group and I took some pictures.

 Then we decided that we had to come back so we started our journey back to the bus. On the way there, though, it almost seemed as if we saw more stuff than we did going out. I guess it was because we all wanted to get to the end. We walked faster, but we but I guess you could say I observed more. I saw a lot of birds, I noticed a lot of the flowers, and I looked at all of the colored rocks as Ben and I talked the entire time about hockey and the meaning of life. Finally, when we got back to the bus, we came back to where everyone was and we made hotdogs and s'mores and heard about how everyone did while fishing. In all we had a pretty good day hiking.

Day Two: Prospect Heights

Today’s report comes from Noya and Lynda.

Before we went hiking, we took a long bus ride around Alaska. We made constant U-turns, changed our destination several times, and had no electronics to entertain our selves. It was totally awesome! There were some people who slept while others told their life-long stories. It was a pretty interesting way to learn more about the people I was traveling with. For example, I learned that Eric is a Rubik’s Cube whiz. He’d scramble the puzzle box for a couple of minutes and then within seconds, all colors were back together again. He did this more than twenty times. Apparently he had been practicing since he was little. Michael and Ms. Brueskie are hard-core gamers. Michael absolutely loves his blood shield, apparently it protects him from a shooting star. Ms. Brueskie prefers video games that have to do with shooting people, so I think it’s best for people to try not to get on her bad side, just in case. Diana is a heavy sleeper who won’t wake up no matter how much you mess with her. Elizabeth forever be having boyfriend issues. Stay strong Elizabeth! LeBron sucks at basketball. Ben likes to sit in a bubble bath and listen to Mariah Carey’s Christmas album. Most of the students on the bus probably don’t go to church, and I say this because we turned into Chapel of the Cross and everyone started screaming that they didn’t want to go to church. God bless America. And last but not least, I learned that there is such a thing as bear spray. It’s a spray that keeps bears away, it’s kind of like bug spray but for bears. And so our long adventure on a cramped bus ended as we went to go walk in the dirt. 

Today we went to Prospect Heights for hiking. For some of the students today was their first time hiking. For example, like me- today was my first time hiking. It was kind of hard, but I tried my best. The staff brought us backpacks, bear spray, and put some snacks in our backpacks. Today was fun, it was a long ride, but everyone had fun. On our way to hiking everyone thought we were going to go to Arctic Valley, but that didn’t happen because the army was doing sniper training there. Write Alaska students have to write a journal about hiking and the Science where collecting plants and take picture of plants. My partner and I were taking pictures of the important things that we saw.

Today Ben divided us into three groups faster, medium, and slow. My partner and I were in the slow group. We tried to figure out how to do our blog.  We only remember places that we went and things we did.

    

Day One: Kincaid Park

Welcome to Write Alaska 2013! Today was our first day of the program. I'm pretty sure anyone who had doubts about how this would go was pleasantly surprised at how great it was. Actually, I'm pretty sure everyone new this class would be great. We opened the day with a survey and 100% of the students predicted that this class would be amazing. I can tell you now, you won't be disappointed.

We kicked the day off with a thrilling 3 hours of classroom time. Students explored this blog, did some writing, and went over class and program expectations. When it was finally time to leave the classroom, kids started getting a little misty-eyed, because they could not envision the day getting more exciting than it already was. Let me tell you, though, more exciting the day surely did get.

Ok, so here's where I talk about Kincaid Park. We piled 28 students and nine staff members into a school bus. I say school bus, but I might as well say limousine, because it was so roomy and luxurious. More like a stretch Hummer. I wasn't cramped at all on that bus. I'm 6' tall and the teacher I sat by was 5 or 6" taller than me, but we both had just a ton of leg room. Luxurious is all I can say. I felt like a celebrity. Plus, after we left Kincaid, despite having run around for several hours, everyone smelled great and the limo, I mean bus, smelled great, too. It was like flowers, fresh-baked cookies, and freedom. It was the perfect smell.

Alright, back to the day's activities. We ate some Costco pizza. I'm not gonna exaggerate here, Costco pizza is Costco pizza. There's nothing else to say about it. It was served with a smile, though. A smile and Caesar salad. And Capri Sun. So we ate this pizza, got nice and full. Then we moved on to a sort of field day arrangement. Everyone numbered off into five groups which rotated through some different activities. I'm not sure what the other four were, something like hopscotch, macaroni necklace making, and learning how to correctly brush your teeth. What I do know is that my station was doing NYO. That stands for Native Youth Olympics.

Students at the NYO station tried out and competed in a mix of one-foot high kick, Alaskan high kick, Eskimo stick pull, and everyone's favorite- Indian stick pull. A highlight for me was when I achieved my personal record for one-foot. Coincidentally, my record in the one-foot is about one foot. Anyone you ask will agree that I executed the event with remarkable grace. It was an inspiration for all. I guess Sam was pretty good at one-foot. Noya, who had never done it before, also seemed to have some hidden talent for the event. However, no one did it with the breathtaking finesse that I displayed. I wish I had a picture to show you. It was truly a thing of beauty.

An important part of this blog reporting business is the photography. Where are all my photographs, you say. Well, there are none. That's where Indian stick pull comes in. See, with Indian stick pull, participants wrestle over a short tapered stick covered in Crisco. The Crisco likes to stay on one's hands, which gets in the way of taking pictures. So, that's why I had to use pictures from last year's program.

Alright, this has gotten really long and it's time for me to say goodbye for now. Like you, I can't wait to see what adventures the following two weeks hold!

Blog Reporters

These are the people you will be working with on your blog report and your assigned day.

Tuesday 7/9: Noya & Linda
Wednesday 7/10: Brandon S., Robert & Cadeesha
Thursday 7/11: Alicia, Mone' & Danny
Friday 7/12: Marlene & Maddi

Monday 7/15: Kekoa & Daniel
Tuesday 7/16: Ane & Tabatha
Wednesday 7/17: Kili & Diana
Thursday 7/18: The Brandons

Meet the Students

These are the students who will be participating in the Write Alaska activities and contributing to the blog. Get to know them!

Maddi

  Hi my name is Madison Rose. I am from Bethel, Alaska. I was born in June 1996. I like to go by Maddi. I will be a senior this fall. One thing I'll tell you about myself is that I can speak yup'ik. I am yup'ik, cup'ik and athabascan.

Metanoya

My name is Metanoya. People call me Noya because it's short and easy to remember. I have two older brothers and four sisters. I am Samoan and Chinese. I was born in San Diego, California. I was raised in Phoenix, Arizona. I moved to Alaska because I've never seen snow before. Yeah its really cold. I love food. Jack-in-the-box is the bomb. I love sports. Volleyball, basketball, softball, and football is fun. Bartlett's where it's at right now. Apparently I'm on my way to hike up a huge mountain today. Hopefully I don't die! Story of my life.

Lynda

Hey! My name is Lynda. I'm 17 years of age. I was born on the 22nd of September, the year 1996. I was born in Oceanside, California but I was raised and grown the half of my childhood in Hawaii&AmericanSamoa. I go to Bartlett High School. I'm going to be a senior this year. I love to learn and try new things. I love to play any kind of sport and read books. I love to listening to music like rap&R&B. I love to eat nuggets, Mc chicken, pizza&macaroni cheese. And that is folks, my autobiography.

Danny

Hi I'm Danny h junior.
I love all kinds of movie's
Like being outside camping or fishing and or playing sports.
Can't lie I love food no lie.
My place of paradise would be Hawaii, Samoa, and Tongan.
Favorite color is blue.
Go to Bartlett high school. BLUE AND GOLD

Leleane

Cadeesha

 Hi my name is Cadeesha. I'm 17 years of age. I was born on the 29th of February, so I'm a leap year baby. I go to East High School and I'm excited to be a senior this year. I enjoy having fun with family and friends as much as I love to sleep. I love to learn new things. I'm not a good swimmer or a fast runner but I do know I have great vocals, I got singing skills.  I honestly dislike school, but I have no choice. I love listening to rap,R&B, and sometimes reggae. I hate snow. I enjoy the long summer. I really don't like talking about myself to much so I'm done here. (:

Diana

My name is Nana Diana Pepelemoe Teresa.  I am a mix of Samoan, Hawaiian, Fijian, German, and Japanese.  I was born in Park Village Compton, CA on September 12.  I have a beautiful family of 12 brothers and sister, 5 girls and 7 boys.  I am the second youngest.  I was raised in the ghetto, but I grew up on a farm.  I love sports, music, poetry, culture, and religion. I am church bound and family oriented.  I am a showerhead singer who loves to surf, play sports, dance, campout, and have long walks alone.  I am vegetarian.  I am a pink freak who loves monkeys.  My favorite type of music is everything that doesn't include passing the genre of metal.  I also love nature, meeting new people, jammin out.  I am a cricket bowler. I play any sport with a ball or involves a frisbee.

Kekoa

My name Is Kekoa. Everyone who knows me all call me koa for short. I am Samoan, Hawaiian and Tongan. I was born in Kahuku Hospital in Hawaii. I was raised in Laie, Hawaii for about 10 years before I moved to Alaska. I am the oldest of 5. I have a huge family pretty much everywhere. I love all kinds of sports like football, rugby, basketball, baseball, volleyball, bowling and track and field. I love the outdoors and enjoy hiking, fishing and playing with sports with my friends outside. I am currently attending Robert Service High School and am a senior in 12th grade. I'm in the class of 2014. I plan to be an engineer or go to the military after high school. 

Marlene

Hi guys! My name's Marlene and I was born In Oceanside, California and mostly raised there. Then I moved and I am now currently living in Anchorage, Alaska. I go to church and I love it. I also just love to have a good time with friends and family. I like to make the best out of everything in my life. Family is everything to me, I don't know what I'd do without them. #FoodIsLifeThough

Alicia

Names Sifale-Vaipapa Alicia Lenee' but I go by Alicia. I'm pretty much an open minded person and is not your average Samoan Tokelauan kind of girl. Nature fascinates me and I look forward to all the activities that await us these next two weeks.

Hekili

Hekili
I like pizza
Love to listen to music
Any sport with a ball I would enjoy it fully
My basketball idle is Dwight Howard
My role model is my father
Love my family and friends
I was born in Hawaii on the island of Oahu

Mone'

My name is Mone' Eunique. I was givin the name Mone' by my dad who liked the word "money". I was born in Newark, New Jersey on June 30th, 1996 and was raised in Delaware. My nationality is African-American and Jamaican. I have two brothers and no sisters. My favorite color is yellow, my favorite animal are all cats including the wild ones, my favorite thing to do is sing, and my favorite hobbie/sport is volleyball. My dream is to become a singer when I grow up but my interest in what I want to do after high school is still unknown. Hopefully I can achieve a singing career. I am a very open minded person and see things not based on ignorance or judgment. I am very honest and trustworthy, and tend to be nice when it is necessary.

Brandon Macdonald

"Woa Li Gams"(wassup) My names Brandon Macdonald and I'm 16 years old. I attend Bartlett at this moment and play football for them too. Football is my passion. A way of motivation to me. Something you must know about me I love to compete. Strive for the best. I can be rough sometimes but the rest of the time I'm just chill. I can tell you that life is pretty much the best for me because I have everything I could ask for,my family. To me family means more then anything. So if you got a problem with any of them better believe I'm going to be nocking on your door. Naw just kidding, but overall Family over everything.

I am Tabatha aka Tabi. I am about to turn 18 in August and I'll be a senior in the fall. I was born here in Anchorage. Alaska has been my home all my life and I've never seen anything outside Alaska in person. I have a younger sister and 2 brothers. I have family everywhere in some way because I am Inupiag Eskimo and about 5 different kinds of white. My mother gave me her native name, Ahktweena, which means swift as the wind. I've been to Northwood Elementary, Spring Hill Elementry, Mirror Lake Middle, Wonder Park Elementary, Central Middle, Clark Middle, Golden Veiw Middle, and Bartlett High. I've also called 6 places home, 5 of which were here in town. I spend most of my time reading, listining to all kindas of awsome music, and hanging with friends and my boyfriend.

Students Only- Please Fill Out This Survey

Meet the Staff

Ben Dexter

Hi there, I’m Ben and I’ll be working with you for these next couple of weeks. I live and teach in Tuluksak, Alaska. It’s a small village on the Kuskokwim River, about 60 miles upstream of Bethel. If you magically walked 400 miles west of here, you’d probably end up pretty close to my house.

I teach high school Language Arts, which is a pretty great job. I recommend it to anyone who is interested at all. Sure, the idea of spending the next 30 years of my life in a high school is a little cringe-inducing, but I just take it one day at a time.

In addition to being the most amazing Language Arts teacher you’ll probably ever have, I also coach volleyball. Mix 6 volleyball, to be exact. That’s where you have boys and girls on the same team. If you’ve never lived in a village in rural Alaska, you’ve probably never heard of it.

Occasionally I find myself not at school and have to find something else to keep me busy. That’s when I read, listen to and make music, and go crazy about sports. My favorite authors are Haruki Murakami, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and John Steinbeck. I like all kinds of music, for some reason a disproportionate amount of it is Canadian, though. I play guitar and banjo pretty well, and a few other instruments not so well. As far as sports, I prefer baseball and hockey. Extra credit to those who figure out my favorite and least favorite teams.

Steve Kim

Hello! My name is Steve Kim and I am very excited about being a part of the Write Alaska Summer Program this year. This is the first year that I have taken part in this program and can’t wait for the good times to begin. I have seen the itinerary and it looks like we are in for a great deal of fun.

I have been a math teacher at Clark Middle School for the past 4 years and taught math and social studies for half a year at Gruening Junior High prior to that. My original plan was to be a high school ESL teacher but I started teaching middle school and it has been hard for me to leave. I fell in love with teaching as a substitute teacher and decided that after 7 years of subbing, I should get my own classroom. 

I was born in Seoul, Korea and soon after moved to Honolulu, Hawaii with my parents. My earliest memories are of living in Hawaii and being a baby beach bum. I loved it. When we moved to Anchorage, Alaska, I stepped off the plane in shorts and flip-flops to see snow for the first time. You can imagine my surprise and the huge change that my life undertook. To be perfectly honest, I learned to love the snow. My parents used to have to force me to come into the house because I loved playing in the snow so much. Now that I’m older, I don’t seem to care for the snow as much. It’s funny how that works. 

My loves are family, skateboarding, art, music, and fixing and riding old bikes and motorcycles. I recently had my first child and even though it is a lot of work, I enjoy it immensely and look forward to sharing my loves with my son Max. In fact, I can’t wait until we can go skating together. His new favorite word is “vroom vroom” and he says it whenever he sees a motorcycle go down the street. 

Tavai Lealaisalanoa

TALOFA, my name is Tavai.  I am so excited to be joining you this summer!  I will be teaching you about writing these next two weeks.  I am currently working as a bilingual tutor over at Romig Middle School.  I have been there for a year and a half now.  I enjoy working with middle school kids and I’m sure I will feel the same after with high school students.  

My new favorite thing to do is biking.  I also like to hike but not as much as I do biking.  I come from the island of Samoa.  My first time leaving home was when I went to college.  I attended Brigham Young University- Idaho and graduated with my Bachelors degree in communication.  I can speak my native language (samoan) and I also know spanish.  ADIOS!

Amanda Brueschke

I was born in Western Washington State and am fairly new to Anchorage; I moved to Alaska from Washington State in 2008. I have been a teacher for a total of nine years, most recently including three years at East, and the past year at Central Middle. Before that I taught in Washington State. I hold a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, and a Master’s in Science Education, both from Western Washington University. I am an active online gamer (World of Warcraft, Civilization, and others). Other hobbies include caring for my 5 lizards, 3 turtles, and 2 cats. I also enjoy gardening, reading, and watching movies.

Mrs. Brown

I have been teaching in the Anchorage School District for 21 years. At the present time I am the Department Chair for Special Education at East Anchorage High School. My hobby is anything outdoors.