Around 200 students participate in the Northwest Arctic Borough School District Battle of the Books each year.  The district funds this program and buys all the books. We put these battle books in the school libraries and in each grade level classroom.  We really want students to participate in reading for fun.

Each school can have more than one team per grade level but only one team per grade level per school can participate in the district battles.  From our district we send one team per level (grades 3-high school) to participate at the state level. Teams consist of 3 team members and one alternate.  The GCI Conferencing Center is used to route all our Battle of the Books conferences.  I run a “mock” battle competition the week before districts just for fun with anyone that wants to participate.

Congratulations to all Battle of the Books participants.  You are all winners!

- Sue West

District Winners

7/8^th Grade

1^st Kotzebue, 2^nd Deering, 3^rd Noorvik

5/6^th Grade

1^st Noorvik, 2^nd Deering, 3^rd Selawik

3/4^th Grade

1^st June Nelson, 2^nd Noorvik & Shungnak, 3^rd Noatak

2^nd Grade

1^st Noorvik, 2^nd Noatak, 3^rd June Nelson

1^st Grade

1^st June Nelson, 2^nd Kiana, 3^rd Shungnak

Kindergarten

1^st Noatak, 2^nd Shungnak, 3^rd Kiana

Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP)

The STEP position is a paid position for up to 120 days. While in the position, the student’s duties do not have to be related to their academic career goals; however, interest in meteorology, hydrology or computer/electronics systems are preferred. STEP applications are evaluated and competitively selected by one of the National Weather Service offices listed below.

For more information, click here.

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Kivalina Moves on to State Tournament

Kivalina dominated the 1A tournament in Kotzebue this weekend. Both the girl’s and boy’s high school teams placed first in the district tournament and will be heading to state on March 15.

After Upriver pulled close in the first half, the Kivalina girls kept a 10 point lead throughout the second half to win the district tournament Saturday night, 59-37. The girls celebrated their win by dousing their coach, Charlene Adams, with water bottles. According to Alexis Hawley, the win was “awesome.”

The boys game was much closer with the Kiana Lynx staying with the Kivalina boys throughout the game. In the last few minutes, the Kivalina boys pulled ahead and won 40-35. The team was thrilled with their win, though they faced a tough road to get to the tournament. Oran Barger said, “It was hard with only five players and one sub. We weren’t even sure we would make it to the tournament, but now look at us: we’re going to state.”

In the middle school tournament, Kotzebue led the way with wins for both the boys and girls teams. The girls beat Selawik 43-25 to win the tournament, while the boys stayed just ahead of Noatak to get their win, 39-24.

The Up River schools, Shungnak, Kobuk, and Ambler, had a high school team for the first time in several years. Their hard work, determination, and positive attitude was recognized when both the boys and girls teams won the Sportsmanship Award.

For full results, click Tournament Results.

The deadline is fast approaching for interested juniors and seniors to apply to the RAHI summer program at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The summer program runs from June 1 to July 15, 2010 and is FREE to any accepted student. The RAHI program can help you prepare for college and you earn college credit for the courses you take with us.

Application and all attachments must be submitted to the RAHI office by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, MARCH 31, 2010.

Please visit our website at www.uaf.edu/rahi/ to download the brochures and the application or call us toll free at 1-800-478-6886 if you have questions or need the application faxed or emailed to you.

Sen. Begich Accepting Applications for Summer Internships

Slots available in Washington, Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks

U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is accepting applications for summer internships in his Washington, D.C. office and in the Alaska offices. There are seven spaces available, four in Washington, D.C., and one each in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks. The internships run from June 8 – August 6.

Interns work in a variety of areas supporting the Begich staff including researching Alaska issues, working with legislative staff on congressional issues, helping with constituent cases and inquiries, and attending meetings and briefings.

Interns are college-age and the goal is to have the students work regular office hours from 9 am-6 pm, but accommodations can be made to work with class schedules.

To learn more, click here.