In Like a Lamb...

You know the old saying, "If March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion."  I don't recall the weather here in Shishmaref at the beginning of the month.  I know that my hometown of East Jordan, Michigan took a major hit early in the month after having a rather easy winter season.  They were dumped on by several inches of wet, heavy snow which led to thousands of folks throughout Northern Michigan losing power for several days.  Then just a few short days later, they were basking in temperatures reaching into the 80s.  Go figure!

I think I'd be safe in saying it was cold here in the frozen tundra.  But I want to share how this month is ending....in another arena.....my classroom.

Our classroom is in a building that was built in 1975.  Keep in mind that putting up a structure here on the island is not quite the same as somewhere down in the Lower 48 where the ground is most likely a lot more stable.  This is a sandy island resting on permafrost.  Thus, our building has been experiencing some....shifting....settling....call it what you will.  As a result, our ceiling has been hinting at the stress it was under even as early as last fall.  Well, this is the end of March....and we're going out in style.  We had to close our ECE/Head Start program until further notice as of today.  The "elongated opening" (21 feet) has been noticeably widening this week.  Gravity is taking a toll on the sheetrock above our classroom.  The decision to close the building was finally made when some rather ominous cracks were discovered along the support beams in the far end of the building.

Consequently, we will be searching for a place next week to relocate at least our four year olds so they can finish out the last seven weeks of school.  We're hoping for the best.

Thus ends my March postings!

Let's see....I've come back to "edit" this posting.....hope I don't screw it up!  I want to add a picture taken of Mickey, Matt and me on Friday.  We still had to report to work so we "borrowed" some dress-up hats from the kids' play area.....

Mickey, Donna, Matt...in the "safest" part of the building!  We feel so safe with our "hard hats" on!