The Scoop

Dear Chugach Families,

It is hard to believe that we are entering the final days of the 2023 calendar year. What a whacky November we had with the record snowfall and then ending with the rain and slick roads. Hopefully, December will be a more normal month - weather-wise.

Next week we will be starting our mClass testing (Kindergarten - 3rd grade) as well as our MAP testing for grades 3-6. Chugach will be doing our mClass testing on December 6th and our MAP testing on December 7th and December 14th. These tests are important as they will help your child’s teacher know if they are in need of extra support in reading or math, or if they are on grade level. Extra support can be thought of both in terms of students below or above grade level.

IGNITE Update

As many families know, our IGNITE teacher, Ilana, needed to make some personal choices at the end of October to her IGNITE work schedule and made the difficult decision to have Chugach Optional taken off her work load. I am continuing to work with Dr. Beltran in Teaching and Learning to find an IGNITE teacher for our school, but it does not look as if we will have someone in the near future. I will plan to work with IGNITE parents and middle and upper teachers should we not have an IGNITE teacher hired in January so we can continue to support our students in that program.

Sincerely,

Joel

Friday, December 1 - Parent Coordinator Meeting (8:30am-9:30am), Upper FT - West High Dance (9:30am-11:30am); Upper BB Game vs. O'Malley (4:00pm-5:30pm), Middle BB @AK Native CS (4:00pm-5:30pm)

Monday, December 4 - CEC Board meeting (8:30am-9:30am), Middle BOB (11:40am-12:20pm), Lego League (3:00pm-4:00pm), Upper BB Practice (3:00pm-4:00pm)

Wednesday, December 6 - mClass Testing for K-3rd, Upper BOB (3:00pm-4:00pm), Middle BB Practice (3:00pm-4:00pm), Upper Cone Ball Jamboree @ Bowman Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm)

Thursday, December 7 - MAP Testing 3rd-6th; Upper BOB (11:30am-12:20pm)

Friday, December 8 - EARLY RELEASE DAY (dismissal @11:15am), Upper Bake Sale @ Dismissal, Upper BB @ Baxter Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm), MIDDLE BB vs. Kincaid Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm)

Monday, December 11 - Middle BOB (11:40am-12:20pm), Lego League (3:00pm-4:00pm), Upper BB Practice (3:00pm-4:00pm)

Tuesday, December 12 - Holiday Sing-Along (8:10am-8:30am in Library), MAP Testing 3rd-6th

Wednesday, December 13 - Kindy St. Lucia Day!, Upper BOB (3:00pm-4:00pm), Middle BB Practice (3:00pm-4:00pm), Community Assembly Meeting (6:00pm-7:30pm)

Thursday, December 14 - Holiday Sing-Along (8:10am-8:30am in Library), Upper BOB (11:30am-12:20pm)

Friday, December 15 - Upper BB @ Fairview Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm), Middle BB vs. Muldoon Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm)

Monday, December 18 - Middle BOB (11:40am-12:20pm), Lego League (3:00pm-4:00pm), Upper BB Practice (3:00pm-4:00pm)

Tuesday, December 19 - Holiday Sing-Along (8:10am-8:25 am in Library), Band/Orchestra Winter Concert (8:30am-9:00am in Gym), Middle BB @ WillowCrest Elem. (4:00pm-5:30pm)

Wednesday, December 20 - Middle Portfolio Share (8:10am-8:55am), Upper BOB (3:00pm-4:00pm), Middle BB Practice (3:00pm-4:00pm)

Thursday, December 21 - Holiday Sing-Along (8:10am-8:30am in Library), Upper BOB (11:30am-12:20pm)

Friday, December 22 - In-Service Day - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Monday, December 25- Friday, January 5 - WINTER BREAK

Thanks to our amazing Chugach community the 2023 Auction was a huge success! We made over $30,000 and had a blast at a groovy party. We could not have pulled this off without the amazing team of procurement, pickup, classroom projects, delivery, setup, decoration, DJ, photography and cleanup helpers as well as ALL of our donors and those who made purchases. Wow, you all rock! If you are interested in chairing or co-chairing the auction next year, please get in touch with the CEC Board (chugachoptionalcecboard@gmail.com).

-Becca and Becky

The Soboliks were this year's auction winners of the prized Chugach Optional Parking spot. Please be sure to respect the RESERVED - AUCTION WINNER sign and avoid blocking this spot with your vehicle. Thank you for your cooperation!

There will be a Upper Group Bake Sale at Early Dismissal on Friday, December 8th in the MPR/Lunch Room. Funds raised will go towards covering the cost of the amazing Outdoor School experience that Uppers had in September. Please consider bringing some change to purchase a tasty treat!

Please mark your calendars for the upcoming Winter Carnival on Friday, Jan. 26, 5-7:30 pm. This will be an opportunity to celebrate our school community, light up our winter season, and enjoy the fun that winter can bring. The evening will include ice skating, music with DJ Spencer Lee, hot cocoa, food trucks (weather permitting), sledding, and fun with our Chugach community. Over winter break, please consider saving your ice lanterns, candles, and holiday greenery to donate to the carnival at a later date. If you have questions or would like to be involved in the event planning, please contact Sarah Jefferies at sarahgrunwaldt@gmail.com or visit the link to volunteer with this great event: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4CA4A622AAFAC52-46471078-winter

Mini-courses will be held Thursday, February 8. And we need lots of volunteers!!! This is a day in which parents and family members create and lead classes (full or half day) for kids to choose and enjoy. Minicourse examples include knitting, rock climbing, dance, photography, yoga, bugs, baking, ice fishing, birding, and world languages. If you can dream it, we can help you turn it into a mini-course! More information will be coming via email soon from the mini-course coordinators, but in the meantime if you have questions, want to help, or think you might be interested in developing a mini-course please contact Sara Falkoff saralaska@hotmail.com or Anne Severin.

Chugach students and families donated 45 pounds (!!) of Halloween candy for the Downtown Soup Kitchen Hope Center. That is a total of 2014 pieces of Halloween candy! Thank you so much for your generosity! We also colelcted just over 300 pairs of socks which will also be taken to the Downtown Soup Kitchen.

There is a donation collection box under the school calendar in the MPR. We are collecting donations of new or gently used toys/games/craft supplies for Compassionate Directions. This is a family-focused agency that provides compassionate care to families in the Matsu Valley. The goals of this agency is to help support children toward wellness and resiliency. Check out their website (codialaska.org) for more information. Donations are being collected until Wednesday, December 8th.

Woohoo!! We have kept over 1000 plastic bottles out of our environment by using our new water bottle filling station!! How many will we save by the end of the school year?????

In our 50th year, we are adding a new section to The Scoop where we explore the Chugach Philosopy. Please click the button below to read an article by Alan Bailey, a former Chugach parent on "Helping to Build a Learning Community"

Form more information about our 50th Anniversary Celebration click here.

Parking Etiquette

• Please refrain from parking in any of the "RESERVED" parking spots, the fire lane or the loading dock area. We know parking is tight and the weather is cold, but for safety and courtesy reasons these areas/spots must be respected.

Outer wear

• All students need to have proper winter gear when going outside for recess.
• For Kinder, Primary and Middle, this means boots, snow pants, jackets, hats, and gloves.
• For Uppers, they must have boots, jackets, hats, and gloves (although snow pants are recommended as well).
• Students who don’t have the proper gear with them and can’t find something that fits from Nurse Maya will be spending their recess sitting on the benches by the front office.

Please encourage your student(s) to be prepared.

Attendance

• If your child is going to be out of school for the day please contact the office before 9:30 am at 907-742-3730
• All students arriving after 8:20 am must sign-in at the office

Opportunities

• We are still in need of Noon Duty attendants and Building substitutes at the school. Please go to the ASD website to apply if interested in these positions or check in with the front office for further information.

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

Email: chugachoffice@asdk12.org
Website: https://www.asdk12.org/chugachoptional
Location: 1205 E Street, Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone: 907-742-3730