Over the summer Herr Beattie, a math and German teacher at Dimond, had the opportunity to accomplish a variety of different activities that almost anyone would be impressed by. One of the highlights of Beattie’s summer according to him was the two different trips he took. One of these trips consisted of chaperoning a trip to 4 different Countries within eight days, such as Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. His second trip of the summer was going to Scotland to hike the Hadrian’s Wall path from the East Coast to the West Coast with a friend.
If you didn’t know, Beattie frequently travels to Germany either because he’s going on trips with students or because he’s helping other teachers bring their students to Germany. That being said, he also finds trips around the United States enjoyable as well.
One thing Beattie wanted to do this summer and was actually able to accomplish was a week-long kayaking trip at Icy Bay Squire Island. He mentioned seeing orcas, sea lions, otters, and many other creatures along the way. Overall, he said the weather was great for five out of the six days. On that sixth day, it only rained for three hours, which didn’t end up affecting the overall experience.
Something Beattie wanted to do over break but wasn’t able to accomplish was more hiking. Even though Beattie said parts of the trip in Germany might have been considered hiking by some, he thought it was more on par with walking as opposed to some of the hiking we’re able to do here in Alaska. He states wishing he could have hiked the Kusubi Ridge Commerce over the summer, so he hopes to do it sometime soon instead.
Being that teachers have to renew their licenses for teaching about every five years, Beattie was able to complete his certifications and training around the last two weeks at the end of the school year. This then allowed him to enjoy his summer without needing to worry about finishing it later on.
In addition to all the other exciting things Beattie did over the break, he was able to attend a large family gathering after having not met with everyone all together in a fair amount of time. Did you know that Beattie actually has a very large family? According to him, he actually has 38 cousins! With that number in mind, his family has a “Gries family calendar” that contains all of the birthdays and anniversaries of each family member so everyone can keep track.
If you ever have any questions about anything German or geometry, be sure to see him in room B108!