Saturday Sessions are designed to be on-site immersive learning experiences and will be held in various locations around Juneau on Saturday, August 13, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm.
Participants can meet at the location, or free bus transportation will be provided. Buses will run from Juneau Douglas High School to Saturday Session locations, and will make a return trip from the locations to Juneau Douglas High School at the end of the sessions.
Please be dressed for the weather if you are attending an outdoor location, and bring a water bottle and pocket snack. Conference participants can pre-order a lunch and pay for it at the conference on Thursday or Friday. Lunches will be delivered on location for each session. JSD staff: your district is paying for your lunch.
IMPORTANT: Due to space limitations, sign-ups are on a first-come first-serve basis. You must register for these Saturday sessions separately from your conference registration. Come back to this page when registration opens on Monday August 1 at 9:00 am to sign-up.
NOTE: If you're enrolling in the UAS course credit option, attending a Saturday session is required.
To view the sessions being offered, scroll down.
Being in Place - Why do we live here?
- Lead Instructor: Jasmine James
- Location: Aanchgaltsoow - Auke Rec
- Topics: Tlingit Ecological Knowledge (TEK), place names, science as inquiry and process
- Optional Companion Session: Being in Place - Why Do We Live Here?, Friday 2:05 pm
- Capacity: 24 students
Participants will investigate—with guidance from elders, cultural specialists, scientists and naturalists—the potential factors for choosing winter village sites and summer resource camps. Participants will be part of the pre-session on cultural ways of knowing—TEK, Western science and me. Please dress for the weather, boots and rain gear, bug spray and/or sunscreen. This event will be outside.
Cedar Bark Weaving Hanging - FULL
- Lead Instructor: Deborah Head, or Aanutein
- Location: Atnané Hít (Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus) -“Textile Room”
- Downtown Juneau on Main, Front, and Seward St.
- Audience: High school math teachers, but open to teachers of other subjects and at other grade levels.
- Required Companion Session: Basics of Local Native Weaving, Friday 2:05 pm
- Capacity: 12 students
In this session, Northwest Coast weaving specialist Aanutein will instruct teachers on how to develop a plated wall hanging piece. Students will process some of the materials needed for their wall hanging, including red and yellow cedar bark. During this process, educators will be given tips, ideas, and techniques for this activity to run smoothly in the classroom; Work with simple math patterns that create very different visual effects; Design a portion of their wall hanging, using their own creative energy to create. Basic twining and plaiting techniques will be used in this activity.
Community History - Intergenerational Learning in “Old” Juneau
- Lead Instructor: Mischa Jackson
- Location: “Old” Juneau, Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall
- Topics: Intergenerational learning, community, history, primary sources
- Optional Companion Session: Community History - Intergenerational Learning in “Old” Juneau, Thursday 2:00 pm
- Capacity: 24 students
Community is at the core of culturally responsive teaching. Beyond the classroom, culturally responsive educators need to engage with the local community to learn the history and cultures of the students and families. This session is designed to give participants an opportunity to actively participate in an intergenerational learning environment. Participants will learn tips on how to respectfully engage with community members through examples of lessons implemented in classroom settings. Indigenous community members and families that were raised in “Old” Juneau will then share their knowledge of the history of the local neighborhoods and their experiences with education, statehood, civil rights, and ANCSA. Participants will have the opportunity to build and develop relationships with the community and collaboratively create a “walking tour” that highlights the Indigenous community members and their lived experiences through Alaska’s historical times of growth, development, and chan
Formline Design and Math
- Lead Instructor: Abel Ryan
- Location: Atnané Hít (Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus) - “Wood Room”
- Downtown Juneau on Main, Front, and Seward St.
- Capacity: 12 students
In this session, Northwest Coast carving/formline specialist Abel Ryan will instruct teachers on how to create a formline design piece from start to finish, analyze and explore the math inherent in the design, and how to form that into a math/arts integrated lesson plan for their students. Aimed at high school math teachers, but open to teachers of other subjects and at other grade levels.
Hike and Harvest - FULL
- Lead Instructor: Josh Jackson
- Location: Mt. Troy Trail (Past Eaglecrest Ski area)
- Topics: Harvesting traditional foods, integrating harvest into classroom curriculum
- Capacity: 12 students
Join Josh Jackson on a hike starting from the Eaglecrest Ski area parking lot, following the service road to the top of Hooter, then break away from the service road to follow a trail to Mt. Troy. Josh will lead a discussion on traditional foods harvested and he’ll share stories of his numerous deer hunting trips and how he has integrated the deer he has harvested into his classroom curriculum. This activity may allow for berry picking along the way. Please dress in rain gear and boots, and bring water and berry buckets.
Hudson Bay Tea Gathering
- Lead Instructor: Jessica Chester
- Location: Eagle Beach, outer picnic shelter
- Topics: Tlingit language vocabulary for plants, drum making and Tlingit children’s songs
- Optional Companion Session: Tlingit Singing & Drumming, Thursday 2:00 pm
- Capacity: 24 students for Hudson Bay Tea Gathering at Eagle Beach
Participants will meet at Eagle Beach and do a short lesson on bear safety and Tlingit songs. Then we will walk to the Eagle River Methodist Camp trailhead where participants will learn how to gather tea. After picking tea for an hour participants will walk the trail to practice identifying plants in Tlingit. Lunch will be eaten back at the Eagle Beach shelter. Afterwards participants will sort tea and practice Tlingit children’s songs. Participants who participate in Thursday's drum making session should bring their drums! Participants should bring boots and rain gear—this event will be outside. If you are not able to make a drum in the pre-session, you are still welcome and encouraged to join in the tea gathering.
Northwest Coast Tináa Making - FULL
- Lead Instructor: Charlie Skultka, Jr.
- Location: Atnané Hít (Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus) - “Metal Room”
- Downtown Juneau on Main, Front, and Seward St.
- Topics: History of metal use by Southeast Alaska communities, tináa making, copper tináa making
- Audience: High school math teachers, but open to teachers of other subjects/levels
- Optional Companion Session: Northwest Coast Geometric Art, Friday 2:05pm
- Capacity: 10 students
In this session, Northwest Coast art specialist and teacher Charlie Skultka, Jr., will introduce Northwest Coast tináa making and provide tips on how you can create an interest in teaching math and science through this art form. An overview of Northwest Coast tináa making and the importance of tináa in Northwest Coast culture will be presented. Attendees will learn by doing: they will create two tináas, one for themselves and one to share. Join Charlie to gain practical applications and tips for creating a tináa making lesson plan.
Seaweed Identification, Harvesting, and Preparation - FULL
- Lead Instructor: Dolly Garza
- Location: Lena Beach
- Topics: Seaweed identification, harvesting, and preparation
- Optional Companion Session: Gathering and Using Local Seaweeds, Friday 2:05 pm
- Capacity: 25 students
Join Dr. Dolly Garza, the author of Common Edible Seaweeds in the Gulf of Alaska, on a walk on the beach to discuss and identify edible seaweeds and harvesting methods. Participants will identify edible seaweeds on their own, but we will not be gathering from this beach area due to permitting restrictions. Participants will learn how to use Fucus/popweed harvested on Sitka Sound to prepare a seaweed stir fry on the beach. Harvest and preparation of bulb kelp will also be discussed.
Southeast Plant Exploration - Unfortunately this session has been canceled.
(If you selected this session as your first choice, you've been assigned to your second choice)
- Lead Instructor: Anna “Jackie” Schoppert
- Guest speaker: Fran Houston
- Location: UAS
- Topics: Plant identification, gathering, traditional uses and recipes, forms of measurement
- Optional Companion Session: The Art and Science of Creating Local Plant Hydrosols, Friday 2:05 pm
- Capacity: 24 students
Participants will identify and sketch plants, learn the traditional uses of plants, and gather and make edible recipes and teas. This will include math, science, English, writing, and measurement.The measurement will not include standard European forms of measurement, and this will become very important when we consider climate change.