News at my school

So this past week there was a tragedy at my school. A freshman student died on Friday night from alcohol poisoning. I was at home in Sacramento when I heard about it. It was the final week of school for the seniors and so they threw a big party. Even though he was a freshman, the student showed up to the party already pretty drunk and then drank way too much. His blood alocohol level was .40 when he was brought to the hospital (he was dead on arrival). That is the highest BAC New Mexico state police have ever seen for a high school student.

Monday was a pretty sad day. Students were pretty confused and melancholy about the loss. We were told to teach our classes as if nothing was wrong and told to try to refer kids to counselors if they needed someone to talk to. I had mixed feelings about our approach because on the one hand, I felt like we could have acknowledged it with a ceremony or something. On the other hand, the counselor I talked to said that a lot of kids prefer the regular structure of class so that they don’t have to think about the tragedy and they can resume life as normal. It’s also a bit difficult because Navajo culture is a little different. For very traditional Navajos, you aren’t supposed to speak about the dead at all. But there was a small ceremony by the students and anyone could leave class and go listen. There were a few older Navajo women who came and said a few words (I think one was his grandmother).

Tryan was the student’s name. I didn’t have him in class but had seen him around from time to time. Last week he came in to rub my shaved head I remember.
The most bizarre part of the story is that state police are now investigating the incident because they said adults were at the party (“Bluewater Bash” as its called). They believe there were staff members from both my school and Thoreau High School. It is all speculation right now but a kid that I coached in track and field is suspected of throwing the party (along with his parents who teach at the Junior High) and supplying all the alcohol to minors. Again, it is just what many of our seniors are saying. But sill, seems very weird that teachers would buy alcohol for minors even though it was a party for their son.

So that’s the whole story or at least what I now. We also just recently (Thursday) had another suicide in Thoreau. I teach in Crownpoint, which is about 30 miles from where we live in Thoreau. Suicide has been a huge problem this year in Thoreau. Two students at the high school have committed suicide, one at the junior high and one who went to the junior high last year. It has been a big problem for the community – they have had all kinds of meetings and talks dedicated to it.

So the schools are trying to move past these tragedies and get through the year. On a lighter note, my friend Craig is coming out to visit Erin and I and we are pretty excited because it’s the first time someone other than our parents has come out to visit.

If you are reading this, you are probably a friend of ours from California so get out here sometime and visit us. It’s very different, but very unique. I promise you a good time.

My Shaved Head

(PATRICK)

Ok so this blog is way overdue.

Almost two weeks I shaved my head. Basically down to a #1, not completely balled. It was pretty short.

I did it as a promise to the sophomore class. I am a sophomore English teacher at my school and represent their class. First, I told them I would do it if my class achieved growth on one of our regular reading comprehension quarterly learnia tests. Then I told them that if our class won the pennies for patients charity fund drive I would do it.

They ended up doing both. We were the only class to raise the full goal ($300). After week 1 we were getting slaughtered (down something like $50-12), but after I made my promise the floodgates of change poured in. I had sophomores from all over donating their change.

The actual shaving was a huge event. We did it in my room. Several students from all the classes came in to watch me go bald. In the end, the whole affair was pretty fun and brought some excitement to the school so I’m glad that I did it. And it’s already growing back to a respectable length.

Anyways, here are some of the pictures.

Snow Day in Thoreau

(Patrick)

So yesterday we had a day off of school because there was too much snow. As bad as I feel about my kids missing out on their education, I must confess I was rooting for it. Anyways, Erin and I ventured outside in the cold and took a few interesting pictures. These are all pictures of our house, neighborhood and town (Thoreau). Even the canyon-esque cool-looking ones are in Thoreau. I still can’t get over the fact that despite living in a town with less than 1,500 people, we have such nice scenery right in our own backyard. Anyways, here are the pics:












Check out Erin's facebook for all the pics.

(Patrick)
I swear from now on the blog will be updated regularly. So this weekend Erin and I went to Sante Fe and Taos. It was amazing. I think we’re both in love with Sante Fe and are talking about living there. Here were the highlights:

--Walking around downtown Sante Fe. Our hotel was located perfectly – right near the main square and large cathedral and also right next to the old Sante Fe mission (erected in 1610, oldest church in the US!).

--Dinner at Vanessie on Saturday night. It was a fancy restaurant in the Old Guadalupe district and difficult to find. We know this not only because it was hard walking there, but this pretentious Sante Fe snob told us “I haven’t heard of it. It must be closed.” Food was amazing, I had the Ahi Tuna.

--Drinks after dinner in a couple of swanky bars including one that was underground.

--Visiting Taos was pretty sweet. It’s about 1.5 hours north of Sante Fe and we went
the next morning on Sunday. The best thing there was the Rio Grande River Valley Gorge Bridge. It was a bridge going across an extremely large gorge. Amazing views.

--Also in Taos we went to a pueblo that has been around with Pueblo Indians living in it for over 1,000 years. No cameras, no cell phones, or electronics were the rules out of respect for the people. Other places in Taos of interest include a couple of old churches, a couple of art museums and a historic downtown square.

Overall, awesome weekend. Check out full pics on Erin’s facebook.