Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

 

From time to time, we lose our electric power, or we have such a rainfall that our roads are impassable.  The most recent was September 21, 2004 when electricity went off sometime in the middle of the night and was not restored until almost 8 A.M.

 

We have three snow days built into the 2004-2005 school calendar.  I am delighted that we did not have to cancel school on September 21st as we have the winter ahead and who knows what weather may confront us.  I also know that we have to keep a day for the Navajo basketball tournaments.

 

I knew the first major decision that I had to make early on the  21st was how I was going to have coffee, since my Mr. Coffee operates on electricity.  I solved that quickly.  I heated water on my stove in a tea kettle.  I took the removal filter container from the Mr. Coffee, put a filter in it, and filled it with one scoop of coffee.  When the water was boiling, I poured it into the Mr. Coffee filter holder.  I then took a large coffee mug and put two filters into that cup.  I then poured the coffee mix from the Mr. Coffee filter holder into the cup.  That filter holder contained both the coffee grounds and the liquid.  The filters in the mug shifted and I could see the whole mix, including the coffee grounds, falling into the cup.  I picked up that mug and had my first sip.  I smiled.  While I could taste the coffee grounds, and it was very strong, still it tasted great.  I was happy.

 

I made several more batches and improved the process by using more coffee filters when I got to the mug switchover.  At the end, I had good coffee with no grounds mixed in the cup.

 

I was thinking that morning as I was sitting in the darkness what should our students do if the day went by with no power and school was cancelled.  Here are some ideas:

  • Go back to bed and sleep late.
  • For once and for all, clean your bedrooms.
  • Shine your shoes until they sparkle.  Soap your sneakers in bleach and soap.
  • Talk with your parents.  Ask them to tell you what it was like when they were teenagers.
  • Do a giant jig saw puzzle.
  • Sit by the window and read a book from cover to cover.
  • Give your dog a bath.  He probably needs it badly.
  • Do your homework!!!!!!
  • Recopy your notes from class.
  • Study those subjects that are giving you problems.
  • Spend time flossing your teeth.
  • Get out those picture albums that you never look at.
  • For once in your life, eat a full breakfast.
  • Go for a walk or play some card games with friends.
  • Write your grandparents or brothers and sisters who live off the Reservation.
  • Write a short story.
  • Practice some dance moves that will put you over the edge with the competition.
  • Exercise.
  • Sit down and write out some goals that you want to accomplish in different areas of your life.  Research has shown that people who write out goals are much more likely to accomplish them.
  • Write a country music song.
  • Experiment with various hair styles.
  • Offer to do something for your mother.  You owe her “big time.”