The Scoop

Dear Chugach Families,

It is hard to believe that February is already upon us, and even harder to believe that Anchorage has already had enough snow this year that we have surpassed the entire amount of snow we received last year.

Speaking of snow, we continue to have several students (primarily middle and upper) who are not coming to school with the proper snow gear. It is important that students have boots, gloves, winter jackets, and snow pants. Snow pants, especially, if they wish to sled.

February is also a busy month around Chugach as we are starting our school tours (Tuesdays 9:00-10:00) for families wishing to have a chance at a lottery position next year. We will also be staffing a booth at the Alternative Schools Fair this Saturday (Feb. 10) from 12:00-4:00 at Begich Middle School. Please let any potential families know this information. If any of our families would like to stop by our booth and help answer questions we would welcome the support.

Sincerely,

Joel

Thursday, February 1 - ASD Online Lottery Opens; JNYO practice (11:30am-12:30pm)

Friday, February 2 - Parent Coordinator Meeting (8:30am-9:30am); JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am); Basketball Game @ Bowman Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm)

Monday, February 5 - Primary AK Animal Musical Presentation (8:25am-9:00am); JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am)

Tuesday, February 6 - School Tour (9:00am-10:00am); JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am)

Wednesday, February 7 - JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am)

Thursday, February 8 - MINI-COURSE DAY!!!!!; JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am); Basketball practice (3:00pm-4:00pm)

Friday, February 9 - EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @ 11:15am)

Saturday, February 10 - 2024 Alternative Schools and Programs EXPO @ Begich Middle School (12:00am-4:00pm)

Monday, February 12 - NAEP Testing (4th grade only); JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am)

Tuesday, February 13 - Primary Portfolio Share (8:10am-8:45am); School Tour (9:00am-10:00am); JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am)

Wednesday, February 14 - Primary & Kindy Friendship Day!; Primary Portfolio Share (8:10am-8:45am); Kid's Heart Challenge (11:30am-1:00pm)

Thursday, February 15 - Primary Portfolio Share (8:10am-8:45am)

Friday, February 16 - Primary Portfolio Share (8:10am-8:45am); Upper Portfolio Share (12:0pm-1:30pm)

Monday, February 19 - Presidents Day Holiday - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, February 20 - School Tour (9:00am-10:00am); JNYO Practice (11:30am-12:30am)

Wednesday, February 21 - Parent-teacher Conferences (Student Dismissal @11:15am)

Thursday, February 22 - Parent-teacher Conferences (Student Dismissal @11:15am)

Friday, February 23 - In-service Day - NO SCHOOL; JNYO for Uppers (9:00am-7:00pm@UAA Sports Complex)

Saturday, February 24 - JNYO for Middles (9:00am-5:00pm@UAA Sports Complex)

Sunday, February 25 - JNYO for Primary (9:00am-5:00pm@UAA Sports Complex)

Monday, February 26 - Chugach Alumni Night (6:00pm-7:30pm in the Library)

Tuesday, February 27 - School Tour (9:00am-10:00am)

Wednesday, February 28 - Badminton Practice (11:30am-12:30pm)

Thursday, February 29 - Badminton Practice (11:30am-12:30pm)

Friday, March 1 - Parent Coordinator Meeting (8:30am-9:30am); EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @ 11:15am); CHUGACH ART NIGHT! 6:00pm-7:30pm)

Chugach Optional students go outside for morning and lunch time recess in almost all weather. The only exception is when the outdoor temperature falls below -10F. Please make sure your student(s) come to school with the appropriate outdoor gear. This time of year that includes: winter coat, boots, snow pants, gloves/mittens, hats or hood. Nurse Maya has a very limited selection of gear to lend out, but this tends to disappear quickly (especially gloves) so please do not assume that the school can provide appropriate winter gear. We would happily accept any winter gear donations for our lending selection.

PLEASE encourage your student(s) to be prepared.

It's almost time for the most anticipated day of the year: MINI COURSE DAY!!!!!

Parents and students - please be sure to get any necessary permission slips completed and turned in to the office as soon as possible. Permission slips are only needed for mini-courses happening off school grounds. Parents - if you are driving students on one of the mini-courses, you must have your volunteer driver forms completed and turned into the front office by Wednesday, February 7th.

Please have students prepared for their mini-courses (proper clothing, equipment and/or supplies).

On Mini-course day, school starts at 8:10am as usual. Please be sure to be on time, especially if you are in one of the morning mini-courses that is leaving school grounds. We don't want to leave without you!!!

Regular school lunches will be available on min-course day for those staying at Chugach. Any students going on a full day field trip need to bring their own packed lunch.

A very heart felt (and warm) thank you to our Chugach community that volunteered, supported, and participated in Winter Carnival. It was a joy to see our families joining together in celebration of our school community.

A extra special thank you to Kaladi Brothers, Desiree and Blake Bennie, DJ Spencer Lee, Gonuts Donuts, Erica Rose, and all our volunteers. Your contributions make a positive impact on us all.

The ASD Online Lottery is now open until March 21, 2024. Please go to https://lotapp.asdk12.org/apply/ to submit your application. If you are already a Chugach Family with an incoming kindergarten student, you MUST still submit an application for your incoming kindergartner to attend Chugach Optional. Please be sure to complete the "Sibling" section of the application so that the sibling preference will be taken into account. Parent will be contacted with the results of the lottery on March 29th at starting at 5pm.

We will be holding school tours for prospective parents throughout February. If you know families who are interested in entering their students in the Anchorage School District lottery for Chugach Optional, please invite them to attend our parent-led tours! Tours will be held each Tuesday (Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27) from 9-10 a.m. We will also have two evening tours on Tuesday, Feb. 20 and Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. Children are welcome. No need to register in advance.

Would you like to be part of our tour team? We will provide a sample script and talking points and a tour partner! Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A094AAAAE2FA7FA7-47323558-chugach

Dear Parents,

In PE we are learning about and preparing for the annual Junior Native Youth Olympics. We will be learning about the different games and how they originated. If your child would like the opportunity to compete in these games with kids their same age from all over the state of Alaska; the dates are Feb 23-25 at UAA Seawolf Sports Complex (the old gym). The actual date depends on their grade level. If we have more than three athletes interested in competing in their event, we will have an in-school competition to narrow it to the top three athletes in each event. JNYO is a friendly competition that is a fun-filled time. There are medals awarded to the top 5 finishers, but just as important is the fact that the kids are learning our Alaskan culture from each other and enjoying the simple act of competing.

The starting times are approximate, except for the first event of each day, due to the nature of the competition.

Practices will be during Lunch Recess, Before School and during PE. I will have practices starting January 29. Your child must participate in at least two practices per week.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE

*Friday, February 23: 5th & 6th grade students

10:15 AM Welcome

10:30 AM Scissor Broad Jump

12:30 PM Alaskan High Kick

2:30 PM Eskimo Stick Pull

4:30 PM One-Foot High Kick

*Saturday, February 24: 3rd & 4th grade students

10:00am Welcome

10:15am Two-Foot High Kick

12:45pm Arm Pull

2:45pm Wrist Carry

*Sunday, February 25 1st & 2nd grade students

10:00am Welcome

10:15am Kneel Jump

12:30pm Eskimo Stick Pull

2:30pm Seal Hop

Permission Slips (click below) must be completed in order for students to participate:

Exciting changes are underway for Art Night in 2024!

Art Night, our cherished schoolwide fundraising event, is taking a fresh approach to making a positive impact. Historically, the funds raised during Art Night have only benefitted Mauni Primary School in Malawi, Africa. This year, Art Night will continue its commitment to supporting Mauni School while expanding our reach to contribute to national, state, and local needs and programs. This change will also empower students in the decision-making process about funding Art Night proceeds.

Students will actively participate by casting ballots to determine where the funds raised during Art Night will be directed. This approach engages our school community and ensures that the impact of our collective efforts extends to areas and programs that resonate with our students. In the coming months, we'll be unveiling more details on how you can lend your support to these programs through Art Night. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting development!

Art Night will remain an event where the Chugach Optional community comes together to make a difference. Students, families, school groups, classrooms, and community members all play a crucial role by creating or donating an array of arts and crafts. The event features a diverse selection of artwork, including paintings, jewelry, wall art, pottery, quilts, knitted garments, stained glass, garden art, and furniture that are donated or created by established artists and amateurs, students, parents, and enthusiastic beginners.

Please consider donating art for this event!

The Chugach Science Share is on Tuesday, March 26 at 5:30 pm. Science Share is our non-competitive Science Fair that challenges students to practice the scientific method with their own experiment and share their findings with our Chugach community. All students are invited to participate by completing a science project and meeting a Science Mentor on Science Share night. Science Share is open to all grades, and completing a science project is an expectation for 5th and 6th graders. For more information, please visit our Science Share page: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/15069

Can you be a Science Share Mentor? We need Science Mentors to meet with kids individually about projects on Science Share night. Mentors can be anyone from our Chugach community – parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents – with a science background (this doesn’t have to mean working full time in science, can be educational background, hobbyist, etc.). If you are interested, please click here for more information about mentoring: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6MHPzNgCl-B07JOeoH4aVAo7GiFqr5RVHKURXwzxmLai6EA/viewform

Questions about Science Share or being a Science Mentor? Please contact Rebecca Emerson, Science Share Coordinator, at rebecca_bailey@yahoo.com or 907-590-0648.

Digital Citizenship: Like it or not, we live in a digital world. When I went to elementary school, there were no computers. (Yes, I just aged myself and sounded like my parents!) Now we carry devices in our pockets that have the capability of launching the space shuttle if programmed correctly. Technology is an amazing tool and one that needs to be taught. Digital citizenship and tech tools are taught during library classes, especially with Middle and Upper family groups. Students are learning how to use Google Drive along with its tool, Google Docs, Google Slides, NoodleTools, etc. ASD supports Common Sense Education’s Digital Citizenship Curriculum.

Common Sense Media has a free tool for families to support their children and the use of technology. There is a tab called ‘Parents, Media and Everything in Between’ which is filled with informative articles about social media to explaining news to kids, balancing screen time to AI and more.

SLED: Do you know about SLED? It stands for Statewide Library Electronic Doorway. It is an online portal to a variety of databases and other information that is free to Alaskans. There is information about auto repair to BrainPop for kids, from ‘how-to’ craft instructions to Homework Help. Check it out! If you have difficulties accessing SLED, please contact me. I can help you!

https://lam.alaska.gov/sled/home

If you have any questions, please connect with me - visit me in the library, send me a Remind message or email.

Many thanks!

Amy

brabec_amy@asdk12.org

Dear Families,

We are getting ready to kick off the Kids Heart Challenge adventure with the American Heart Association, and we need your help! Our students will be learning about their heart, raising awareness and funds for the American Heart Association and staying strong in body and mind. We’ll get moving with fun activities, meet kids with special hearts and raise funds for the health of all hearts. Plus, they’ll feel good for doing good!

I will be passing out the donation packet in PE during the week of February 6th, but if you want a headstart please download the Kids Heart Challenge App or visit heart.org/KHC to register today and earn your own BE THE TORCH WRISTBAND, so you can help light the way! Once you've registered, start Finn’s Mission and complete the challenges. As a family you can help to create a community of lifesavers by learning the lifesaving steps of Hands-Only CPR. It’s quick, easy, and fun!

Why we support the American Heart Association: About 90% of people who suffer out of hospital cardiac arrests don’t survive. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double, or even triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.

Thank you for joining us and helping us save lives!

Polly Smith

Thank you to Chugach parent Dr. Susan Beesley for presenting at our January Community Assembly Meeting! Susan introduced us to mindfulness and provided an overview of mindful parenting. For those unable to attend, Susan provided a link to a blog post she wrote on this topic: https://www.mindfulgrowthak.com/post/mindful-parenting

Friendly reminder on When to Keep Your Child Home From School

If your child has a cold that causes their nose to run constantly and/or the cough is frequent and wet, or your child is experiencing nausea or is too tired and uncomfortable to function at school it would be best to keep your child home for a day or two of rest.

Students should ALWAYS stay home for fever (100.4) and/or vomiting and if positive for COVID. Current ASD policy does not require COVID testing for illness, however if you believe your child’s illness is related to COVID and choose to test we do require that the current CDC guidelines for isolation are followed when positive:

• If you have a positive test, isolate for 5 days.

• You may return to school/work with symptoms resolving on day 6. You will need to wear a mask at school days 6-10.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Parking Etiquette

Friends - please help our community to ensure a safe and efficient parking lot for arrival and dismissal. We know parking is limited especially wih the record snow fall this year. Please refrain from parking in any of the "RESERVED" parking spots, the fire lane or the loading dock area. Please do not park in such a way that you block others from getting out of their parking spots or that blocks the flow of traffic.

Chugach families are welcome to park at the New Hope Church across the street and in the Municipal EOC parking lot but please be good neighbors and do not park in their reserved parking areas and be mindful of your speed at all times.

The Chugach Optional Office is open from 7:30am - 4:00pm every school day. We can be reached at 907-742-3730 or by email at ChugachOffice@asdk12.org