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Students from Nulato Visit Cleveland

A Fieldtrip and Adventure

by Education Department

08/11/2008

Last spring, six students from Nulato went on their senior fieldtrip to Cleveland, Ohio.  Their teachers, Laura Barnett and Jim Bob Webb shared information about their adventure.  We knew you'd enjoy hearing about this journey!

Nulato Students Take 'Fieldtrip' to Cleveland

By Laura Barnett

We all had an amazing trip to Cleveland.  The seniors met their hero,
LeBron James, which was apparently a miraculous feat. My reporter friend
worked hard to 'put pressure on the Cavs' and when the Cleveland community
heard about our seniors from the news, they had no choice but to give us a
moment for photos and autographs.  It was a memorable moment for the kids.

We went to two Cavs games as well as an Indians baseball game.  It was
funny because I told the kids to dress warm for the Indians game but they
laughed at me since they know cold being from Alaska.  It got down to the
40s during the game and after plenty of hot chocolate, they were all so
chilled to the bone from the wind off Lake Erie that they couldn't wait to
leave.

We visited Shaker Heights Middle and High schools and the students were
awed by the size and variety of courses.  Shaker now offers Chinese
language classes which even impressed me.  Randy Yates, the middle school
principal is a good friend of mine and he suggested we go to Niagara Falls
one day.  So Randy joined us for the road trip and I think it was well
worth the detour.  The falls always impress me and with the beautiful day
we had, the seniors were also thrilled to be there.

In addition to visits to the zoo and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
students were interviewed by the media, were invited to a live local TV
program, and stopped on the street and asked if they were the students
from Alaska. It was heady stuff for six kids from Nulato!

For the chaperones - Jim Bob and me - it was great too especially when the
students weren't complaining about not having enough time to visit more
malls! We were really proud of how well-behaved they were and how
seriously they took on the roles of 'Alaska Ambassadors' when they talked
to the media, fellow students, and regular Clevelanders.

Thanks for asking about our trip.  It was memorable for all of us.

All the best,
Laura