At the Creek......

Dear Rabbit Creek families,

Hello and happy almost Thanksgiving! This is a time to think about all that we are thankful for in our lives. Looking around the school each day, there are so many things I am grateful for...

• Our office team of Jonathan, Christy and Nurse Debbie work tirelessly each day to ensure that everyone is taken care of, from our students and families to staff and theirs. I spend a lot of time with these three and appreciate all that they do each day. Every member of the Rabbit Creek community is fortunate to work with these staff who prioritize their health, safety and overall well being daily.
• We have a tremendous kindergarten team (Mrs. Traxler, Ms. Hamre, and Ms. Krisinger) that has patience, compassion and dedication to bring success for our youngest learners. They work well as a team and are always sharing ideas and practices with each other. Foundational skills are developing in our students as a result. Ms. Nanor, Mrs. Guzman and Ms. Jill are keys to our team in kindergarten with their dedication to the classrooms and your students. Our kindergarten students are very lucky!!
• Our first grade team of Mrs. Browning, Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Traxler are focused on phonic instruction for their students to support their growth as readers. They share students amongst the teachers in an effort to meet each child where they are with the best learning experiences. It's exciting to watch the students excel!
• Our second grade teachers are continually looking for ways to adjust their instruction to meet the needs of students. Mrs. Bookman and Mrs. Maesner are working hard to find just the right intervention or extension for their learners and are working hard to collect data, collaborate with colleagues and more...all for their student's success.
• Mrs. Ferris works with our second grade team and our third grade team of Mr. Coderre and Mrs. Warnock. These teachers are doing all that they can to prepare their group for the intermediate grades. With reading being such a priority by the end of the year, they are teaming up to discuss quality instruction, support interventions and to look at extensions for students. It's great to see their hard work!
• Mr. Ring, Mrs. Hessler, and Ms. VanderMartin are hard working teachers who are driven by the desire to have every child achieve. Their work to learn the new curricula of our district, as well as all of the practices and policies, has been filled with collaboration and communication.
• Mrs. Cotten and Ms. Fabiano make a great team for students, also collaborating with Mr. VanderMartin for all of the fifth grade. We have very large classes in fifth grade this year and the team has started math groups to support all of the different learners. This group is very active in our school activities and their support of Rabbit Creek is greatly appreciated!
• Sixth grade is such a busy year! Mrs. Hipsak and Mrs. Werth are juggling a lot with the academics and student participation in band and orchestra. They've used data to drive their instructional groups and students are moving classes just like in the middle school.
• Our specialist team of Mr. Nees, Mr. Pemble, Mrs. Barnes, Mrs. Renninger, Mrs. Erikson and Mrs. Chelf are the catalysts to our arrival and dismissal daily! They fill all of the roles to supervise students and maintain safety, in addition to their fine work in their classrooms. Mr. Tom joins our team weekly for APE and kids love him! Our students love attending specials classes and I love knowing this team is looking out for everyone before and after school!
• Mrs. Cline, Mrs. Fettig and Mrs. Skannes have created incredible classrooms for their students that are full of activities to support all of the different learning levels. Every member of our team, including team members Ms. Tina, Ms. Sierra, Ms. Antionette, Mr. Brandon, Ms. Cara Beth, Ms. Sherry and Ms. Sara are AMAZING. We are very lucky to have every one of them here!
• Mr. K and Ms. Grace are a strong team to support our students with interventions as they work to meet IEP goals. They are working hard to build strong relationships with every student, as they are new to Rabbit Creek. Additionally, they are developing relationships with staff and families as they aim to be the best teachers for our students. I'm thankful for them!! Mrs. May and Ms. Lindsay team with these teachers to share their wealth of information with our students and staff. There aren't two better paraprofessionals out there who are willing to do whatever it takes for student learning and achievement.
• Mr. Burch is a Rockstar among our IGNITE students, who think he is pretty cool! Whether they're working on LEGO tasks, owl pellets, stocks or more, Mr. Burch provides opportunities for extended learning and we appreciate all of his work with kids!!
• Mr. Short holds us all together as our BPO. He's ready with the tools needed to raise a desk, fix a piece of equipment and more! He works tirelessly to check for safety each morning, maintain cleanliness and rush to each task needing his attention. We are very lucky to have Mr. Short!!!
• Ms. Karen is a ROCK star in our cafeteria, knowing nearly everyone's name and being willing to assist anywhere that is needed. She's quick to ask if she can help and often comes in early to team with the office staff in welcoming students upon arrival. We so appreciate her!
• Mrs. Felton spends every day at Rabbit Creek this year after we've shared her with other schools in recent years. As our Speech Pathologist, she supports students with their articulation and language skills. I've seen incredible growth in students as a result of Mrs. Felton's teaching. Yeah!!
• Ms. Feng and Mrs. Goldman are our team who provide support to our English Language Learners, working daily to assess, intervene and gather materials to bring their success. We are all English Language Learners, and this group of students is lucky to have these teachers.
• Ms. Lake, Mrs. Holliday and Ms. Fischer are our OT/PT team who work daily to meet the diverse needs of students. There isn't a need that they're unable to address and they're always creative in doing what's best for students through the inclusion of new tools and devices.
• We've just welcomed Ms. Carr as our new School Psychologist and there are no words to express how happy we are to have her on our team! She's full of knowledge, is ready to support in any way and brings new ideas to our school team!
• Our Noon Supervisor Team is the very best!!! Ms Terra leads the way with us at school each day, knows all of our students and is quick to ask questions or provide supports. She is joined by our other team members Ms. Robin, Ms. Julia, Ms. Gretchen and Ms. Elise who are willing to brave the cold to supervise our students and provide them a safe and enjoyable recess each day. There are not enough words to say thank you!
• Mr. Zelinsky and Mr. Coronado recently held concerts with their parent group to share the learning of students from the first half of the year, which were amazing to watch. Our sixth graders are growing as musicians each and every day, as shown by their performances. We are lucky to have some of the best teachers in our district in these two teachers.

I hope all of our families have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful for YOU. Thank you for sharing your children with me each day.

Kristina Peterson

11/21-23-Book Fair in the Library!!!!!

11/22 and 11/23-Thanksgiving Holiday

December to Remember coming soon!!!

12/8-Vision Screening with Nurse DebbieDebbie

12/12-Choir Concert 7pm

12/13-PTA meeting 7pm in Library

12/21-Last day of school for students

12/22-Teacher grading day-No school for students

1/9-Return to school!!

Mrs. Barnes and a team of volunteers will have our Scholastic Book Fair open next week at the following hours. What a great time to purchase holiday items for your children or family members!

Monday – 8:45AM – 11:15AM; 12:45PM – 4PM

Tuesday - 8:45AM – 11:15AM; 12:45PM – 6PM

Wednesday – 8:45AM – 11:15AM; 12:45PM – 4PM

Ms VanderMartin's class shared the photo above from their focus on kindness during the week of November 14-18. Students had pictures taken in front of our bulletin board shown here.

Hello Rabbit Creek Families,

Our biannual Dine to Donate event held at Texas Roadhouse is this week, on November 17th. You can sit back and relax, enjoy a meal out with the family knowing 10% of the meal will go back to Rabbit Creek!

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and there is no school November 24-25. Enjoy a wonderful holiday with friends and family. Gobble, Gobble!

You can still purchase memory books at ybpay.com with the Yearbook ID code of 13268823. The books are $20 each and parents can decide to personalize the book with their child’s school photo on the front, if they wish.

Please join us Tuesday, December 13th in the RC library for our next PTA meeting. To stay up to date with current PTA issues and activities, refer to our PTA website www.rabbitcreekpta.org and our closed PTA Facebook group "Rabbit Creek Elementary PTA".

Your fabulous PTA President,

Kelly Joy Quisenberry

President, Rabbit Creek PTA

president@rabbitcreekpta.org

The BEST school ever!!

Email: peterson_kristina@asdk12.org
Website: www.asdk12.org/rabbitcreek
Location: 13650 Lake Otis Parkway, Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone: 907-742-5700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RabbitCreekPrincipalPage