3-on-3 Spreads to Tok Courts

From Northway to Dot Lake, the 3-on-3 basketball tournament has arrived in Tok. Teams from Northway and Dot Lake gathered in the community of Tok to play basketball on Thursday 25.

The first game was played by Tok 1 and Northway 1 at 2:40pm. The last game was played by Tok 1 and Tok 2 at 5:30.

The Tok teams will be traveling to Mentasta next Thursday and the championship games will be held in Northway on November 13.

Tok 2 Plays Dot Lake

Dividends 2014

by Savannah Arnold

Last year, 2013, the permanent fund payout for Alaska residents was only $900. This year, 2014, it has doubled and then some to be $1,884. The official direct deposit date is October 2nd, also on this day the physical checks will be sent in the mail.Many residents from Tok plan to make a trip to Fairbanks or Anchorage and cash their dividends. All the banks in the bigger cities of Alaska will be very busy the day the owners receive their checks. Stores will be buzzing with business, the road from Tok to Fairbanks will be pretty busy as well.Mr. Dexter is planning on buying snow tires and diapers for his upcoming baby boy. Many adults around Tok plan to spend their share on bills. Mrs. Young plans on buying a used snow machine and a canvas painting of Mt. Stanford. Her children's dividends will go straight to a savings account.  Other adults that would like to remain anonymous will be buying birthday gifts and plane tickets for loved ones

Moose Hunting

Airdrop Package Challenge

Fourth grade is going to be doing something rather unique: they are going to be dropping boxes from planes. The Honors Cohort is a group that is going into the fourth grade and doing STEM curriculum, which is science, technology, engineering, and math. As a project, the Honors Cohort are helping the fourth grade to make aid-drop packages. The students have to package pasta noodles, an egg, and a bottle of water. They are allowed to use a box that they can fit their arms around and they can only use items from their home and school to modify their box.

This may sound similar to the classic egg drop that many people are familiar with, but the major twist comes from the sheer height of the drop. All of the students will "be going out to Tanacross, to the airstrip and, with parent consent, go up in a plane with their package. They will fly over a drop-zone and the pilot will open the door and the student will throw it out," said Tok teacher Ms. Knaebel. One thing is for sure, it is a very interesting idea, and I wish the fourth graders the best of luck.

Jammin' Out with Alaska Living Skills

By Jacob Kaus and Annie Sanford

On August 29th, the Alaska Living Skills class went on a berry picking expedition. The excited group went down the Taylor Highway and up a logging road in search of the little blue balls of goodness. 

The class’ plan was to use the berries to make homemade blueberry jam. The class piled into one of the school vans and was off. The trip took about 40 minutes and, as the van neared its destination, you could see many of the passengers looking out their windows, hunting for berries. 

As the van pulled to a stop, the students piled out with buckets and bags in hand. Each group went their separate way in hopes of picking the most blueberries. An occasional roll call from teacher Mr. Dorrel assured that the students were present. The class picked under a time limit to assure that the group would get back to the school at a sensible time.

After picking as much as possible, the class climbed back into the van and headed to the school. As they entered town, the group picked up three pizzas to enjoy at the school as they cleaned the berries and put them in the freezer. 

A few days later, the crew was ready and prepared to make some jam. The process was simple. First, they took the berries out of the freezer. Then the berries were placed in a medium-sized saucepan for boiling. 

After that, the all-important pectin was added to give the jam that jelly-like consistency. Then the whole 

mixture was brought to a rolling boil and the sugar was added. Once it was again brought to a boil, the hot jam was meticulously poured into glass canning jars and the jars were turned upside down to help seal the lid. 

Now all that was left was to clean up. The delicious blueberry jam is now residing with Mr. Dorrel and is for sale to recuperate the cost of making the jam.

3-on-3 Basketball Madness in Northway

By Annie Sanford

On Thursday, September 14, seven Tok School students piled into a school van pumped for the Northway three-on-three tournament. 

High school and middle school teams from Tetlin, Northway, Mentasta, Dot Lake, and Tok all gathered in the village of Northway to play a friendly game of basketball. Tok team A consisted of Brittney Alsup, Daniel Dompierre, and Annie Sanford. Tok team B consisted of Katrice Thomas, Kiara Young, Kia Thomas, and Shawn Frank. 

The games started at 2pm Thursday evening and the last game was played at 11:25 on Friday morning. Two games were played simultaneously on opposite ends of the gym. Each game lasted 20 minutes with each team allowed a 30 second time out. 

When asked what made them interested in participating in the 3-on-3 tournament, Northway player Dominick D. Jimmie Arnold said, “To participate in an activity with friends and other people from the area. Play basketball and get active once again.”

When Daniel Dompierre was asked the same question, he stated, “Well, it’s basketball, and I had nothing better to do. Plus, it was a way to get out of school.”

The teams were well fed and taken care of. On Thursday evening, after the last game, Northway school held a dance for the teams and outlying schools. The teams danced the night away, only to realize they had early morning games the next day.

Each team played their very best and seemed very happy to have participated in the tournament. Games are planned to be held each Thursday at schools across the district.  Dot Lake hosted on September 11. 

Tok is scheduled to host on September 25, then again on October 9 and 30. The championship tournament will be held on November 13 and 14 in Northway.

Tok Rifle Schedule

10/4/2014 – Tok & Delta @ Delta Jct.

10/10/2014 – NP & Tok @ Tok

10/18/2014 – Tok & NP @ ADFG

10/24/2014 – Tok & WV @ Tok

10/31/2014 – Hutch & Tok @ Tok

11/7/2014 – LHS & Tok @ Tok

11/8/2014 – Tok & Hutch @ UAF

11/15/2014 – Tok & WV @ TVSA

11/22/2014 – Delta & Tok @ Tok

11/29/2014 – Tok & LHS @ UAF

Middle School Basketball Practice Underway

Practice times are:

Monday           Girls (3:45-5:15) Boys (5:15-6:45)

Tuesday           Girls (3:45-5:15) Boys (5:15-6:45)

Wednesday       Girls (3:00-4:30) Boys (4:30-6:00)

Thursday          Girls (3:45-5:15) Boys (5:15-6:45)

Friday              Girls (3:45-5:15) Boys (5:15-6:45)

The cutoff day for joining the team is Wednesday, September 24^th.

Students must have a physical in order to practice.

MS Basketball schedule (home games in bold)

Date                             Event              

9/10                 Practice Begins                       

9/26-27                        Tok/Glennallen at Ft. Greely   

10/3-4              Tok/Valdez at Glennallen

10/16               Valdez at Tok                       

10/17               Cordova at Tok                     

10/24-25          Tok Sportsmanship Tournament

10/30               Tok at Valdez             

10/31-11/1       Tok/Valdez at Cordova

11/7-11/8         Valdez Tournament     

September Birthdays

Here are the students having birthdays this month:

2: Kameron Wilson

4: Dawson Brinkman

5: Christian Albert & Teddy Northway

6: Emma David-Maynard

7: Zachary Brooks

10: Trey Hillary & Hannah Beeman

11: Kyle Brooks

14: Jazlyn Fix

17: David McDermott & Ariana Eschenbacher

18: Bryant Joe

19: Richard Charlie

20: Joshua Salinas & Kelly Goneau

21: Annie Sanford

23: Jacob Kaus

24: Creede Berg & Vincent Wade

27: Kiaya Burfoot

30: Shainelle Adams

Welcome to the  Tok MOJO/Journalism class webpage. Here we'll be posting news articles that we write as part of the Wolverine Weekly. Make sure to check back every few weeks for exciting and informative local news!