18 Months of Free Energy -- Thanks Best Sunshine!

We still have $64.20 in credit with the CUC thanks to Best Sunshine.

When Best Sunshine wanted to received the blessing of the people of the CNMI to open an casino on Saipan, they were promising to make a positive difference in the lives of the people and the island. Many people were opposed to the casino and it was placed on the ballot. Before that important election, Best Sunshine gave the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation $10 million dollars to distribute to residential customers. At the time, our share was $635.71. It was placed in our account back in October, 2014 and the election was in November the same year. Since that time, we have not had to pay for our power and we still have some credit left. We are leaving island in June and I'm actually not sure we will finish the $64.20 we have left in our account. We rarely use the air conditioner (known as aircon on the island) and we shower at Club Elan in the Hyatt because we are members. We basically run two fans and a couple of lights in the evening, which translates to not much power usage as you can see in the photo of our bill. Some people said that the money was a bribe to buy the election. They could be right; they could be wrong; all I know is that we haven't paid for power in 18 months. Will the casino ultimately be a positive impact on the island? Only time will tell us that story.

What Would Gus D'Amato Do?

"Cus D'Amato, Boxing Icon" by Unknown - Steve Lott.
Licensed under FAL via Commons

The Marianas Variety had an interesting article the other day about a doctor who moved to the island and left the very next day. Although I find it surprising that a doctor, someone who has sworn an oath to help people, would flee a disaster area after only one day without even treating one person, I can understand the mixed feelings the guy must have felt. He isn't he only person to run away from the aftermath of typhoon Soudelor.  Rumors abound about people leaving the island permanently or closing up shop after the typhoon permanently. The Thai House Restaurant, for example, has lost its entire roof and the damage to the interior is substantial. I haven't been able to contact the owner and ask if it will be rebuilt or relocated, but no work is being done on it currently, which isn't a good sign. Gus D'Amato, the legendary boxing trainer, would always tell his fighters that the cowardly person and the courageous person feel the same feelings, the difference is how they handle those feelings. Or in other words, it isn't the problem, but your reaction to the problem. Would Gus quit the fight? Never.

Now to admit a painful truth... After the storm, I wanted to flee. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to admit it. I'm human and I have human feelings and emotions. There have been days since that I have felt despair and frustration and thought to myself, "Tim, just leave this mess." But every time I collect myself and think about our teachers and students. What example would I set for them by fleeing? Our school is founded on six virtues: integrity, compassion, respect, perseverance, initiative, and scholarship. Does running away show perseverance? Integrity? Respect? Compassion? No. If I don't believe in our virtues, then who will? This is the exact time that leaders are needed; decisions must be made; plans implemented. Others need to be encouraged to continue in the face of adversity and you can't to that from the seat of an airplane as you leave. You need to be on the ground, in the foxholes with the troops. They need to see that survival and recovery are worth the effort. Besides, school has a normalizing tendency; it is a way to feel like things are getting back to a regular routine, even if the new normal is quite different than what we remember.

So I'm not ashamed to admit that I felt like fleeing, but I'm proud to admit that I have conquered that feeling and I continue to fight the good fight. I think Gus D'Amato would smile.

Update from Saipan -- Life with Generator

The 9kw generator powering the high school.
Old -- but it works.

The new normal of life on generator power has been a little difficult, but we are making it work. We are currently running four different small generators to power the basics -- photocopy machines, fans, water pumps, and wifi. No lights, but wifi -- priorities! The teachers and students have been great about being positive and making the situation work. There are very hot days and they are difficult to get through, but things are tough all over. We need to move ahead with the learning in face of the challenges and we are doing it. Some new duties that have been added to the regular role of principal are generator maintenance and repair, refueling generators, and generator storage. Oh, and let's not forget things like covering the generators when it rains. The morning begins with our current maintenance person refueling and starting all generators. I chip in on most mornings by either moving generators or stringing power cables from one room to another and to the photocopy machine.

Refueling the 55-gallon storage drum.
Donated by Tan Holdings.

In the afternoon, the process of shutting everything down and storing them occurs right after the school is over. We leave the office generator a little longer, so my business manager and I can accomplish some more work. Around 4:00pm I shut that one off and place it in storage. This is when things are "normal" now. However, there are non-normal days like yesterday. The generator that powers the office and middle school was acting up by to some bad fuel. Every 30 minutes it would cough, sputter, and die. Finally the gas was drained that a quick cleaning of the filter was done, but by the time it was up and running again. It was already 4:00pm. Luckily today it is running pretty well (only coughing and sputtering every once in a while -- fingers crossed). Over the weekend, Steven will clean the filter completely and we should be back up to 100% capacity for life with generators. We got this SIS!

Generator storage house, made by
Barnard. Keeps kids safe, the generator
dry, and safe from theft.

Opening School After Typhoon Soudelor

The first day of school for Saipan International School was supposed to be August 5th, but we had a visitor to the island that made that quite impossible -- Typhoon Soudelor. On Sunday August 2nd, Soudelor rocked Saipan. Our school, luckily, was saved from major damage. We did lose the roof to our palapala and there was some water damage to ceiling tiles in several classrooms, but compared to what many people woke up to on Monday morning, SIS was blessed. In the face of no power and no water, we had to make some tough decisions. Several schools were damaged and simply could not open; plus, many families on the island had no homes left, or at least they were without power and water as well. Lines for fuel were four and five hours long and lines for water were similar. We had to decide when we would open for school. The teachers were the first to respond with those that could coming to campus to help clean up the school yard. Although we received very little structural damage, the trees lost many branches and the debris from the palapala roof was everywhere. Teachers came in for several days during that first week and attempted to clean up. Barnard, a local carpenter, came by, once his house was repaired, to assist us with our repair work and clean up. Steven Metayer was able to locate a generator and chainsaw on island for us. These items were not easily found right after the typhoon as people purchased everything they could in the aftermath of the storm.

Kyoung Min Song, the Treasurer of our Board of Directors, donated some of her workers to do the dangerous part of the clean up work which involved cutting down loose hanging branches from the giant trees in our school yard. The next round of help came from students and parents as they organized a major clean up day. Kyoung Min cooked a huge amount of curry and rice and served all the students, parents, and teachers who pitched in to help that day. It was a wonderful site to see -- the entire community pulling together to get the school back on its feet. Another member of the board, May Ling Colombo, help throughout the day as well -- cleaning debris and serving curry along side Kyoung Min. John Nersten, a new parent to SIS, volunteered to repair the palapala roof. Currently he is planning to finished the job tomorrow (August 19th).

Steven Metayer came in to help us with arranging generators and power to the buildings. The first thing we needed after the storm, in order to have school, was running water. Steven was able wire our generator directly into the regular circuit board, which supplied some power to the office and to the water pump for the elementary and middle school. Today we have the ability to run the server, both office computers, the water pumps, and a couple of power tools thanks to Steven's work. Without Steven, it would be impossible to even have school at this point.

Due to the efforts of many people and some luck, we were able to open school on August 17th. Students were happy to be back at school and feel that their lives were returning to some type of normal mode. It is hot in the afternoon, but teachers and students are trying to make the most of their time as school. Today, August 18th, we were able to get water running in the high school as well. As more generators arrive, we will be able to power more of the school. The next hope is to be able to run some fans to provide a little relief from the heat in the classrooms. Every day we are making little steps forward.

WASC Accreditation Training on Saipan

Saipan International School will be heading into an accreditation cycle in the spring of 2017; but, if you have gone through the process before, you know that the work starts much earlier than that. Especially if you really want your institution to improve, you need to begin the process early to have time to truly include the community in the work. I contacted WASC to find out what training and resources were available to us and they were very helpful. On December 8, they are offering a webinar about the accreditation process for folks in the Pacific. It will be at 12:00pm-2:00pm Saipan time. I will be watching the entire webinar and if people on island would like to view the event with others to facilitate discussion, SIS is open to you. Please contact the office and let us know that you are coming for the webinar. It is an opportunity for us to get the ball rolling early and also have a support base of people to turn to when we have questions and concerns about accreditation.

Working @ SIS for SY2014-15

Everybody Is Important, All the Time

I'll be totally, completely honest about my first day has a Headmaster at Saipan International School with my full faculty -- I was nervous and I believe it showed; but, I did survive and the second day was much better. The first day of classes with students went well and I wasn't too nervous. Every day I'm feeling like things are getting a little better, a little easier. So to reflect this early in the year could be a mistake, but I learned a lot during the faculty orientation and the first two days of school. My big take away thus far is -- everybody is important and everybody needs to know that you think they are important. Everybody. When parents come to campus and visit, they need to feel like they are welcome and part of the community. When students come into the office to ask questions, they need to feel like their concerns are important to you. When faculty make requests, they need to feel like you are supporting them. When staff members are working, they need to know that you noticed their efforts. Everybody is important, all the time. This job is about giving, not taking.

An example, one of my staff members was asked to move three stacks of chairs; when the teacher pitched in by grabbing one of the stacks and I joined in by grabbing the other stack, I thought her jaw was going to hit the floor. She was very appreciative that the "boss" was willing to help out with the manual labor. A simple gesture, but it meant a lot to her. Little things add up. Another example, a teacher has been using her class to organize the library every week and for three years, she has been asking for an extra shelf to be moved to the library to provide more room for books. The shelf is in another room and not being used. It will be moved this weekend. A simple gesture, but it meant a lot to her. My business office manager told me, "Each one of them (teachers) have a pet project and it means a lot to them." She is absolutely right. If you help people achieve things that are important to them, even if they are small actions, it shows a solidarity as Ben Summerton would say.

Returning to Saipan and Saipan International School

Sunset overlooking the lagoon.

From 2003 to 2007, Saipan was our home; we taught at Saipan International School. We formed some very strong bonds with the community and we were thinking of returning at some point; but when Dr. Jenkins decided to retire at the end of this school year, our opportunity to return came quicker than we had planned. May 2-9 we returned to Saipan to meet the teachers, students, and parents that we will be working with to continue SIS's tradition of being the best school on Saipan. Among the teachers, there were some familiar faces, but many new ones; among the students, we saw many new faces, but some familiar ones, only seven years older; and among the parents, we saw many familiar faces who welcomed us with open arms. I will be returning once again in June to work directly with Dr. Jenkins on more transition items. It was wonderful to be back on the island and we are looking forward to the coming school year and the new challenges ahead. Although the tropical climate is great and the environment on Saipan is amazing, we are really returning for the people. We took some photos during the May visit, the first round with many, many more to come.

PE class playing baseball on the basketball court. 

Front of the high school building.

The elementary building on the left and the middle school building on the right.

One of the many Flame trees on campus.