It is April, the snow is melting and the temperature is rising. As the flowers bloom in the spring, mosquitoes burst to life. Alaska is home to 35 species of mosquitoes, some even say mosquitoes are our official "state bird". With the incessant buzzing and blood...

Is there any word that strikes more fear into the hearts of students than the dreaded word...  TEST? Probably not. Well, last week the Third, Fourth and Fifth Graders completed eight ERB (Educational Research Bureau) tests. While testing was intense, with some...

We all have gone through life when, at some point, we feel left out. We have somehow felt how it is to be alone. When we move to a new school, new job, new city, even when we show up to a party, we try to find a friend we can talk to. Making friends or building...

Without a doubt, the big news for this week was Pacific Northern Academy's production of The Twilight Fairy Tales -- a show that originated with, and was written by, the kids here at PNA. The point of projects such as the show, and PBL in general, is to put creative...

​Project-based learning focuses on preparing students to become successful in school and in life. Academic content and 21st century skills are the heart of any unit.Target Content: NGSS Standard: 4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of...

This week, the Third and the Fourth and Fifth Grades hosted their own parent lunches. In gearing up for the student-led parent conferences on Thursday, the theme for the Fourth and Fifth Grade was self-reflection. Students presented their Social Studies/Language Arts...

Third grade reading standards require students to analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact with a text to demonstrate reading comprehension. In third grade, readers go beyond identifying whether the character is nice or mean, they dive...

Lookin' sharp! The last few weeks in Third, Fourth and Fifth Grade have been a whirlwind! We've done lots of work, but we've still squeezed in a tremendous amount of fun, as you'll see in this week's blog! Math & Social Studies Work... In Fifth Grade math, we...

Think about the times when you have had a really great talk with someone. It might be a great conversation with a parent, a best friend, or even a stranger. What made it so great? Now, think about the times when you had to talk with someone and it was awful. What made...

As is tradition, this past week Pacific Northern Academy hosted its' annual DAY ON in honor of the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Students participated in a student-directed, -written and -run assembly focused on informing and inspiring the entire school. But the...