Potlatch Already?

I cannot believe this year has flown by so quickly. I look around the village and realize just how much we have gone through this year. To start, there was a gigantic flood in November. I have never seen the water come as high in the village as it did then. A large portion of our village ended up living in the school while the water went back down. The flood brought large chunks of ice through the village, destroying anything in its path. About half the village was without water/sewer for a few months due to the damage from the flood. Most of the village has water/sewer now, but some residence have to wait until summer for their water and sewer to get reconnected. I took some wonderful high school students to the Lead On! conference at the end of November. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with some students I do not have very much contact with on a regular basis. It was great to see them step up and learn how to make a positive impact on their community. We are working on a community project as I am writing this blog. More details about that to come! We hosted the Junior High Downriver Basketball Tournament. The students here really played their hearts out! The girls made it all the way to second place overall. Their second to last game ended with a heart-stopping 3 point shot literally in the last second, which ended up winning the game for them! The cheers were deafening!!! I am getting ready to take two students to the State Science Fair in Anchorage at the end of this month. My daughter and her best friend really worked hard on their project and are excited to go present to the state judges. I know they will do fantastic! I am excited about Potlatch coming up this weekend here in Kotlik. It is a wonderful celebration of the Yupik culture and I look forward to listening to Yupik songs and watching the wonderful dancing. I view Potlatch as a milestone in our school year. This event signals the end of the school year. Shortly after Potlatch we will be giving the state tests, which are followed by the end of the year wrap up. I cannot believe this time of year has snuck up on me already. I look forward to posting pictures of the wonderful Potlatch our village will be hosting. I will try to stay on top of more postings throughout the next few months. I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted. We have had a crazy, busy year as a family and I am just getting a moment to collect my thoughts here. Jacqueline :)