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Wolf Pup Weekly
Woodriver Issue #15 - 1/12/24
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A WORD FROM MR. GUY
Hello Wolf Pup parents!
The district has announced their recommendations for closing schools. Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High and Ticasuk Brown Elementary were recommended. Two Rivers and Pearl Creek were also schools listed for the board to consider. The board will review the district recommendations and decide whether to close any of those schools. There is also always the possibility that the board closes a school not recommended by our administration. The school closures are in addition to increasing the number of students in each class by 5, cutting kindergarten aides, and cutting all custodians to bid out cleaning services, in the hopes to help balance our budget.
On a more positive note there was some progress made on education funding in Juneau this week. The House of Representatives passed HB 140 which includes an increase of 680 dollars to the Base Student Allocation (BSA), which is half of what would be needed to match inflation for the past 7 years. Even though this is not the full 1413 dollars recommended to the state by our school board and the borough assembly, it is a huge step for our state. If you remember last year, 680 dollars was the amount the legislature approved as one-time funding before Governor Dunleavy cut that number in half. The difference this year is that they are trying to add that money permanently to the BSA, as opposed to just a one time funding boost.
Also included in the bill was a 7.7 million dollar increase to transportation funding (the first increase in nearly a decade). While this money will be split with all the districts, I am happy to see the legislature recognizing that transportation costs have increased significantly. The bill also includes support for the Alaska Reads Act. There will be 500 dollars for each student who is not at benchmark, to help pay for reading tutors. The bill will now travel to the Senate. If the Senate agrees with the articles of the bill they will send it to the Governor’s office where he can either sign it, or veto it.
I will keep you up-to-date on any new movement of this bill, and other bills that relate to education, as well as updates to our district budget.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Lily Smith at recess showing her love for these warmer temps!
UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS
CHOIR CONCERT
Wolf Pup Honor Choir students (listed below) will be performing in a concert at Lathrop High School on Wednesday, February 28th at 7pm! Come support our musical wolf pups! Or, if you'd like to experience more student made music, attend any of the other concerts listed below!
Aurora Ashcraft
Kailala Bonnewell
Ruthie Braband
Cameron Edgerton
Logan Gianni
Joseph Nyameke
Juliet Nyameke
Clairebella Terra
Analyn Wells
Kilian Yarrow
SCIENCE FAIR
We look forward to seeing the students' Science Fair projects next Thursday, February 29th! Please bring your project to the MPR before school on Thursday, 8:30 to 9 AM. Plan to pick up your project after school on Friday.
Judging will take place on Thursday the 29th, and students will be viewing the fair with their classes on Friday.
** Parents, if you would like to view the fair, WE ASK THAT YOU COME FRIDAY MARCH 1ST DURING LUNCHTIME (12:00-1:00PM). **
If you are unable to come during this time, please contact the office and we can find a time Friday that will work for you.
If you are no longer planning to participate in the Science Fair please EMAIL MR. KINDER ASAP. rob.kinder@k12northstar.org Thank you
BOOK FAIR
Come to the Woodriver Book Fair!
Dr. Seuss's Birthday
Friday March 1st, Howling Helpers will celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday with a schoolwide DROP EVERYTHING AND READ event. At 1:00 our students will all be reading in some way, at the same time! Yay for reading! Please remember to read everyday with your child!
Congratulations!! Select Woodriver students have artwork featured in Up With Art, the annual FNSBSD Student Art Show hosted in the Bear Gallery during the month of March!
Come celebrate Youth Art Month in the Bear Gallery on March First Friday to open the exhibition. On Sunday, March 3rd, visit the Bear Gallery for the Elementary School reception and award ceremony. Please see the invitation below for details.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Greetings Wolfpups. Over the next several weeks we will be spotlighting a few of
Woodriver’s amazing staff members. Each staff member will be interviewed by Mr. Kinder's third
graders!
This week we proudly present our Attendance Secretary, Mrs. Wells! She was interviewed by students, Sam, Hudson, and Teddy!
Staff Spotlight: Mrs. Wells
Interviewed by Third Graders Hudson, Sam, and Teddy
Mrs. Wells is Woodriver’s new attendance secretary. She began working at Woodriver about 5 months ago. She loves working with and making connections with the students. When she can make a difference in a kid’s life, it's the best feeling in the world!
Prior to working at Woodriver, Mrs. Wells was a school librarian in Tok, Alaska. She loves reading, and kids’ books especially! Some of her favorite children’s authors are Rick Riordan, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Klausen, Mac Barnett, and Julia Donaldson. Mrs. Wells kind of fell into working in education after her kids were born and she became more invested in the education system.
Mrs. Wells loves reading, dog mushing, traveling, rafting, and camping with her family. She has a lot of experience working with animals. Her husband ran the Iditarod, and she has taken care of over one hundred sled dogs at an Iditarod Champion’s Kennel. Mrs. Wells is also a biologist. She was an ornithologist, and specialized in studying birds. She has captured and banded hundreds of birds, to track their movement.
Did you know that an elephant once saved Mrs. Wells’s life? When she was in Thailand, she was taking care of an elephant, and the elephant pushed her against a tree. She was almost squished, until another elephant came to her rescue. It moved the other elephant away, freeing Mrs. Wells.
Since joining the Woodriver community Mrs. Wells has been impressed with how kind and friendly everyone here is. She is very happy to be at Woodriver. She truly enjoys spending time with kids. She wants the Woodriver community to know that she loves her job, and being a part of our community and school!
SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY
School Climate Surveys are OPEN!
You are invited to participate in the annual School Climate Parent Survey! The survey is anonymous, takes about 10 minutes, and results are used to understand and improve the educational climate of our schools. Thank you for participating!
The parent survey closes on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
2024 NAACP Black History Month Contest
The local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the FNSBSD are proud to sponsor the 2024 Black History Month Contest. We invite all K-12 students to participate in this annual contest. This contest is an opportunity for students to showcase their knowledge, encourage the study of Black History, and show excellence in creativity. View the details by clicking the link below.
Entry submission deadline is Friday, March 1, 2024.
COMMUNITY EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
FREE family event! Join Alaska Children's Trust at the 26th annual Mush for Kids. This Fairbanks event at Pioneer Park has a variety of fun and exciting activities for all ages, including time with sled dogs from several kennels, hands-on activities, incredible entertainment from a host of performers, and much more!
No ticket or reservation necessary thanks to our incredible sponsors!
Join us between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Pioneer Park.
***Please note: Dog sled rides are for children ages 4-12 years old and are every half an hour from 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. There are 50 tickets for each time slot, so be sure to arrive early to secure your child’s (ages 4-12) spot!*** If your child is outside of that age range, don’t worry, there are always many other activities suitable for any age, including sled dog puppy petting!
AVAILABLE FAMILY RESOURCES
SLED/ Live Homework Help
Live Homework Help provides free, online tutoring to Alaskan students in grade K-12 and intro level college students. Offered Monday through Friday, 8am to 2am; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 2 am Alaska Time. Students can work with a live tutor or use the study resources independently. Click the button below for more information.
Bright Futures Fairbanks | Student Support Services
We firmly believe that every child in our community deserves an equal opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, many of them come to school without the basic necessities that most people often take for granted, such as food, school supplies, and winter gear.
If your family needs assistance in any of these ways, please reach out to Bright Futures Fairbanks by following the link below.
Our Social Emotional Learning & Prevention department is fully committed to supporting and uplifting our community. Our primary aim is to effectively identify and align local resources, with the ultimate goal of overcoming challenges and barriers faced by students in our district.
Through collaboration, we can ensure that every child's basic needs are fulfilled. Let us be the bridge that brings positivity and support to those who need it the most.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
An online application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is now available. Alaska SNAP provides food benefits to low-income households. The new online application is a “smart form,” streamlining the process and the amount of time it takes to complete the form by only populating fields that the applicant needs based on their responses. Learn more about SNAP by clicking below.
SCHOOL LUNCH MENU
SchoolCafe/Free & Reduced Meal Applications | Nutrition Services
SchoolCafe/Free & Reduced Meal Applications | Nutrition Services
If you previously had a free and reduced meal application processed and feel your children might qualify for a better meal eligibility, please complete a new meals application by clicking the link below, and send the following information to foodservice@k12northstar.org:
- Income documentation for the prior 30 days
- Student(s) names and meal application number (if completed online)
*With the new calendar year, the 2023 PFD value is required by the USDA to be used when calculating household income on the meals application.
BECOME A SUBSTITUTE!
LEARN AT HOME!
Want to access Classlink at home?
When your student puts in their username, please note that you will have to add the "@student.k12northstar.org". School computers do this automatically, so that is the most common problem families have at home
BUS INFO
There has been a lot of concern over late buses and finding out when students will be home. If you have concerns you would like to share, please call Durham at 1(907)206-7789. This number can also be called for Dispatch if you would like to get an ETA on a route.
If you cannot get ahold of Durham, please call the transportation dept at (907)452-2000 ext 11351
There are a few tools available to help as well: One is to set up email notifications for late buses. Directions to set that up are below.
The other tool is a new system the district has set up that is a live bus tracking service. This allows you to see where the bus is along the route, the time it arrived at each stop, and even if the doors opened at the stop.
you can use this service at http://busroutes.k12northstar.org
Click on your school (Woodriver is WRV - Ryan is RYN), and then on the route you would like to view.
There are additional instructions on how to use it at: https://www.k12northstar.org/cms/lib/AK01901510/Centricity/Domain/1159/Bus%20Route%20Tracker_2023-09-06.pdf
Please note: Special Education buses are not listed on the live tracker. Please call Durham Dispatch or the transportation department with questions/concerns about those routes
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITES
SCHOOL VISITOR GUIDELINES
CLUBS
AM Fitness
Grades K-5
Rom: Gym | Mon-Fri 8:45-9:15
Handwork CLub
HANDWORK CLUB IS FULL
$60/ QuarterGrades 3-5
Rm: 6 | Tues/Thurs 8:30-9:15
There are only 12 spots in this club. First come first serve, and spot must be paid for to reserve.
Game Club
Grades 2-5
Rm: 16 | Tuesdays 8-9:15
3rd Grade math tutor
3rd grade only
Room 16 | Thursdays 8:30-9:15
Band Club
5th grade
Band Room | Wed or Fri
STEM Club
NO STEM CLUB 3rd QUARTER!
$25/Quarter
Grades 3-5
Room 16 | Wednesdays 8:00-9:15am
There are only 25 spots in this club. Lottery is held to determine selection. Those not selected will be placed on a waitlist.
DISTRICT SCHOOL CALENDAR
IMPORTANT DATES
March
Mar 8 | Early Dismissal @ 2:15
Mar 11-15 - Spring Break | No School
Welcome to Woodriver Elementary School
OFFICE HOURS: 8:45-4:15
SCHOOL HOURS 9:15 - 3:45
Email: nicole.wells@k12northstar.org
Website: www.k12northstar.org/woodriver
Location: 5000 Palo Verde Ave
Phone: 907-479-4211