12 May 2010 I Finally Have A Cohort!!

What A Week!

Tonight's rainout of our tennis match allows me to share a bit about the wonderful experience I had last week up in Fairbanks, Alaska! As a 2009 PolarTREC alumni, I was invited to participate in their 2010 Orientation and ShareFair. (Yes!! They are grant funded for another four years!)

What a jam packed, fun-filled, inspiring time and hands down the best professional development that I've ever had the privilege of attending! If all professional developments were of this quality…OK…if MOST were of this caliber…well...the thought of what that would do to teachers across this country makes me almost delirious with excitement!

Because I came on board after last year's orientation, many times I found myself sitting there thinking, "Hmmm…..that would've come in handy. " Yup…would've been good to know that, too!" "OK….won't do that again." And, while Janet and Kristin did an awesome job of getting me up to speed last spring, there is no substitute for being immersed in such a rich, nurturing, supportive environment with colleagues from across the country who bring an enthusiasm and knowledge base that is uniquely theirs.

An environment of such lends itself well to connecting and bonding with others who understand why it's important to go back to "The Basement" of the "Bone and Stone" shop to have your picture taken holding the remains of a Wooly Mammoth's brain cavity. And, they were as excited as I was about the whole thing!

Relationships that are forged amongst the skulls, antlers, vertebrae, jaw bones, bone dust and other large animal structural parts--in the legendary "basement"--are special indeed. Now that's a camaraderie that's hard to come by!

With that, let me introduce you to PolarTREC's 2010 Teachers…and three alumni thrown in for good measure.

I encourage you to check out each of their journals as I have no doubt that you will be fascinated by each and every one!

So, while Koru left Alaska with his new buddy Bernie, I left Alaska a more learned women with myriad of memories and several new friends. I finally have a cohort and that makes me very happy indeed!