Reading Party

This afternoon, me & Mrs. Smith (our wonderful librarian) hosted an AR party for those students who met their Accelerated Reader goal for the semester (basically when students finish a book they can log on and take a comprehension quiz, each one worth a certain number of points depending on the book's level, and if they meet whatever the goal is for their grade level then they get to celebrate at the end of the term with a pizza party.) 

I was so excited because all three 4th graders that I've been working hard with this half of the year met their goals!! Jericho & Samantha both got the final points they needed yesterday, and their faces were priceless when they found out they made it. They were SO happy and so proud of themselves... and so was I!! We jumped around and celebrated and I felt like throwing a parade. These kids have never met their AR goal before and have just worked so hard with me this semester that they so deserved to celebrate ...and to feel proud of themselves!

Since they usually get to go to Pizza Hut but there wasn't enough time left in this last week of school, Mrs. Smith made it special with pizza, hot cheetos (these spicy kind of cheetos that everyone's obsessed with here), and root beer floats. I put on some music and we even turned it into a dance party (of course, haha)... it was so much fun! So proud of my 4th graders!!

Blurry but it's Colton and Jericho being reading champs :)

Last day of school tomorrow!! Unreal!

P.S. Updated this past post with working videos of the Talent Show!

Everybody dance now... for the last dance club of the year!

To end our hard work and fun times in Dance Club this year, and to celebrate their awesome performances in the Talent Show, we had an end-of-the-year Dance Club ice cream sundae/dance party... what could be more fun?!

Some of the girls were dancing around and wanted to make a video so here they are being silly :)

I had so much fun doing dance club this year and I know the girls really enjoyed it.. I'm so glad it happened! I'll miss it for sure! 

Graduation Day!

Today we celebrated the graduations of the kindergarten class (in the morning) and the 8th grade class (in the afternoon). Even though I've only known the 8th graders for a year, I could tell how much they have journeyed through PECA and how much they have grown... and how it won't be the same without them present as part of the Pretty Eagle family! They are a great group of kids and it was special to be able to celebrate them today.


The kinder grads.. so darn cute




Our tiny 8th grade class graduating!

After the ceremony Shiloh, Victor, & Tamara had their receptions right at the school which was fun, and then we headed to Hardin for Vernice & Beau's celebration at Pizza Hut. It was a fun, party- & friend-filled afternoon!

Me & Sarah with Vernice <3

In honor of Memorial Day,

Pretty Eagle students visited the Little Bighorn Battlefield on Thursday and placed memorial flags on the nearly 5,000 markers filling the national cemetery.




Placing out flags... yes, that's one of my ballet girls still wearing her tutu. Ha!








Many students and staff have relatives buried in the National Cemetery at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Did you know that Native Americans hold the highest percentage of military recruits out of all racial demographics? By a significant leap, too. I sure didn't...


"The muffled drum's sad roll has beat / The soldier's last tattoo / No more on life's parade shall meet / That brave and fallen few."

Remembering all those who have lost their lives in service, and hoping that everyone will be praying for peace today & everyday.

Talent Show Videos!

Got videos of the show from some of the parents!

"Dynamite" performed by my hip hop dance club :) They had been practicing it so well and doing it so sharp, but they spaced out a little bit on stage... but it still came out pretty cool! It was a fun dance!

"Love Story" performed by my ballerinas! A little clueless at times, but still so cute. Harly (in the back in the green tutu) was my star dancer- she always remembered all the dance moves and loved practicing... watch her to see the actual choreography, haha.

The "Iitchik Daloom (Glad You Came)" finale song :) 

["Iitchik daloom" is a Crow expression meaning "it's good that you came"... so close to the title of this song that's been on the radio! So I changed it into a Pretty Eagle version :) ]

The sun goes down

The stars come out

And all that counts

Is here and now

My universe

Will never be the same

I'm glad you came

IITCHIK DALOOM!

Pretty Eagle Academy, -cademy

Is the place for you and me to be, me to be

And these polos look well on me, well on me

We're the best any school can be, you and me!

We're gonna push dance now

Now I'll take you by the hand

Play it on the drum

Sing it if you can

Can you spend a little time

Time is slipping away

Away from us so stay

Stay with us we can make

Make you glad you came!

The sun goes down

The stars come out

And all that counts

Is here and now

My universe

Will never be the same

I'm glad you came

IITCHIK DALOOM!

We won the spelling bee, spelling bee

And every sports team got the victory, victory

We're proud of spiritu-ality, -ality,

Respect, excellence, integrity, -egrity

We're gonna push dance now

Now I'll take you by the hand

Play it on the drum

Sing it if you can

Can you spend a little time

Time is slipping away

Away from us so stay

Stay with us we can make

Make you glad you came!

The sun goes down

The stars come out

And all that counts

Is here and now

My universe

Will never be the same

I'm glad you came

IITCHIK DALOOM!

I'm glad you came

So glad you came

Iitchik Daloom

Iitchik Daloom

The sun goes down

The stars come out

And all that counts

Is here and now

My universe

Will never be the same

I'm glad you came

IITCHIK DALOOM!

PECA Health Fair

Today was a big Health Fair at Pretty Eagle which turned into a very fun day. Each grade rotated around the classrooms for the morning to visit presenters that came in from the community to teach about different health topics... Sarah & I ended up being one of the presenters and did an activity about being healthy by gardening. :)

Following lunch and recess we had a Mile Fun Run/Walk (even through it was drizzly and cold, wish it was a nicer day but oh well)

...then we all went to the gym for Native Games (handgames- yay!, "stick jump" where you toss a rock and try to hit certain sticks, and "shinny" played with foam bats/sticks and a buckskin puck.)

"Baby Eric" doing his signature MJ moves to "Billy Jean" in the center of the dance circle... he's a riot!
It was followed by a performance by rez celebrity Supaman, who raps & dances and is a great role model for the kids. They love him!

Making some noise for Supaman

They love him!
We got these shirts for the Fun Run from the Absaalooke Healing Center, so everyone spent the afternoon running around signing each other's shirts. I didn't realize how many names I got! I love it... it's like a wearable yearbook.

Laughing as I submit an application to Plymouth Public Schools...

... how ironic would it be to go from a Native American school to the land of the Pilgrims?!

Though I think I would actually love it; I think it would make for rich learning opportunities about the truth behind Native/white history and the real story/consequences of the Pilgrims. But gotta laugh at the irony.



On the hunt for (first grade) teaching jobs back home... positive energies appreciated!

Pretty Eagle's Got Talent!

Well today was the day of the big Talent Show and it was AWESOME! Okay, the most hectic day of the school year for me trying to get it all put together, but I loved it and was so proud of all the kids who got up on stage and rocked the show. My hip hop and ballet dance classes performed (I was so excited for them to show off the dances we've been working so hard on!) and I directed the grand finale too which was a Pretty Eagle version of "Glad You Came"... so fun. (In Crow, "Iitchik Daloom" means "it's good that you came"... so I thought it fit the song too perfectly. I changed the rest of the words to be about Pretty Eagle and had about 40 kids up there singing it. It was a hit!) :)

My "Dynamite" hip hop dancers :)

My little ballerinas dancing to "Love Story"!!

In between we had two of my best 4th graders Terrel & Colton each performing a hand drum song (awesome); a banjo rendition of "You Are My Sunshine" by Sarah & a bunch of adorable off-tempo & out-of-tune 2nd graders; and a crowd favorite, science teacher Mr. Joyce on the blues guitar singing an original "Bad Day at School" blues tune that he put together real quick, accompanied by a group of 8th grade boys in hawaiian hats and shades comically playing back-up on cigar-box guitars they had made in science class. They were hilarious in a Marx-brothers-esque improvised goofiness up on stage... it was too great.

Colton singing a hand drum song :)

Mr. Joyce & the Boys
It ended up being an hour-long show; I was so glad so many kids participated! It was truly an awesome show... I am so impressed with all the kids. We certainly have a lot of superstars at Pretty Eagle.

I was running around all morning trying to get everything together for the show (I was the only one putting it on) and didn't know how I'd get it all done in time... when I walked into the gym and my fairy-godmother 4th graders had every chair set up, the junk-strewn stage completely cleared off, and a big beautiful sign in the works. They were the best! We rehearsed for the rest of the day and got everything together before the gym filled with families at 2:30.

I couldn't have asked for better kids to work with. They were far from angels, and maybe gave me a headache at times, but we had so much fun together and they did totally awesome. Even my M.C.'s, they had been out on a field trip during our morning rehearsal, so they literally didn't know what was going on or what they had to do until they were on stage and I handed them the mic. A lot of kids would've been like "Uhh, what am I supposed to do?! What do I say next?!" but they just stepped up and did such a good job right away that I didn't have to worry about them for the rest of the show... and they even managed to improvise some humor to entertain the crowd. They jumped right in to help whoever was on stage with whatever they needed.. they really just made it a million times easier for me not to have to worry about that stuff. I'm just gushing now but these kids were seriously awesome.

I think I was sprinting every 30 seconds for the entire school day... making programs, setting up, scrounging costumes, gathering kids, rehearsing... but it was worth it to see the show come together so well. When it was over I was in that state of shock when you're going-going-going, or when there's a huge build up to something, and then it's just over and you don't know what to do with yourself. I was in awe of how good the kids were, relieved that it all came together, and filled with joy & pride. Everyone kept saying how great the show was and it just was so much fun. Yay, Pretty Eagle!

The "Iitchik Daloom" Finale :)

Loads of pictures from a day of fun :)

Field trip to the ZOO today! It was awesome!


My zoo group, my favorite 4th grade crew :) They named themselves The Buffalo Warriors




Having fun, being silly


Me & my girl Sam :)




Picnicking with peacocks!


Me & Jericho with the Big Horn Sheep. A very reluctant 4th grader but a great student of mine. He said, "This is my best day with my best teacher!" ... too sweet!!




No lions... but TIGERS and bears, oh my!


"Let's take a 'Pretty Eagle' picture with the Eagles!" ...this is what happens. Can't help but love it.

We also went to Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency on the way home to visit the greenhouse there.


Miss Debbie stopping to smell the roses




Smelling the lemon balm herb







From the field trip me & the soccer team left for our last game in Lodge Grass. They hustled and played well and had a lot of fun!

"Hold my hat!" as they throw them on my head...

I really can't imagine ever loving another schoolful of kids more than I do these ones.