Introducing Mystery Class #1 Homer, Alaska, US (59.642 N, 151.548 W) Ms. Owens, Fireweed Academy, Homer, Alaska Hello From Homer! Greetings from.... have you found us yet? We live in Homer, Alaska! Our school used to be called "Homer Charter School", but just this year we changed the name to Fireweed Academy. According to one seventh grade boy named Avery, our school is "the coolest school around". Maybe that's because we use a theme immersion approach to learning. Right now our theme is "Journeys". How appropriate! Fireweed Academy There are twenty-eight third through seventh graders who go to school here. We have two teachers, Kiki and Kris. Kiki teaches Language Arts, and Social Studies. Kris teaches Mathematics and Science. Our mascot is the Gryphon. Do you know what a Gryphon is? The Gryphon is a mythical creature with the head, forelegs and wings of an eagle, and the hindquarters and tail of a lion. Now we'll tell you a little about our state and our city. Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. with an area of 586,000 square miles. Our tidal shoreline is estimated to be an amazing 47,000 miles. This is more than that of the other 49 states in the U.S. combined. Our entire population according to the most recent census is 626,932. We are part of the "Pacific Rim of Fire." This is the string of volcanoes stretching from Asia into North America. We can see several volcanoes from where we live including Mount Augustine, Mount Illiamna, and Mount Redoubt. Some of our students were babies during the most recent eruptions of two of these volcanoes. Mount Redoubt erupted in 1989-90 and Mount Augustine in 1986. When Augustine erupted, so much ash was falling on our town that it looked as if it were snowing. Homer is located at the southwest tip of the Kenai Peninsula on Kachemak Bay. We are 225 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, the nearest major city. We have a population of about 4000 year-round residents, although it grows each summer. Our economy is based on tourism, fishing and seafood processing, private enterprise, and the arts. Homer was founded in 1896 by gold seekers, and named for one of these early adventurers. His name was Homer Pennock and he was said to be of questionable character! Coal mining was also very important at the turn of the century and helped to develop the town even further. The original town was at the end of the Homer Spit, but it burned down when an exposed coal seam caught fire. Homer became a city in 1964. On the spit Speaking of "the spit", do you know what one is? A general definition is that it is a narrow point of land extending into a body of water. Our spit is about four miles long, extending into Kachemak Bay. Many people feel that Homer is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We have incredible views of rugged mountains, snowcapped peaks, glaciers, volcanoes, and fjords. Across the bay from us are the Kenai Mountains. With one sweep of the eyes, you can view several glaciers and active volcanoes at the same time. Our climate is considered to be mild in terms of where we are located in the world. We have even been called "the banana belt of Alaska". It is actually pretty nice, with temperatures typically in the teens and twenties in winter. We get enough snow that we can enjoy skiing, snowboarding, sledding, and all the winter sports. In fact, there is still snow on the ground right now! In summer, the average temperatures are in the fifties and sixties. Occasionally we get even warmer. As you may have noticed with our photoperiod data, we are heading towards the extremely long days of summer. We are already experiencing over 15 hours of daylight! At this time of year you can be skiing at 9:00 in the evening while enjoying the sunset. We have loved being a Mystery Class. If you would like to know more about our school, please visit our website at: Fireweed Academy Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form