Paw Print Press 2.0

The holiday season is a special time for people all over the world. It's a chance to celebrate, connect with loved ones, and reflect on the past year. With decorations, parties, tasty treats, gifts, and time spent with family and friends, it’s a season filled with joy. But beyond all the festivities, the holidays bring a sense of love, hope, and generosity. It’s also a time to step back from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and focus on what truly matters.

One of the most important things about the holidays is the opportunity to spend time with those you care about. Whether it’s exchanging gifts, sharing meals, or just being together, the holidays give us a chance to strengthen our relationships and make lasting memories. This is especially meaningful for those who can’t always visit loved ones due to busy schedules or distance.

The holidays also provide a much-needed break from the pressures of daily life. Between work, school, and other responsibilities, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This time off gives us a chance to slow down, relax, and come back feeling refreshed. On behalf of everyone at Rogers Park, we wish you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Take this time to rest, recharge, and enjoy the company of your loved ones. We look forward to seeing students back at school in the New Year on January 6, 2025.

Mary Wood, Prinicipal

Beginning 12/18/24, all adult visitors to Rogers Park will be required to present and scan a current government-issued photo ID upon entering the school. This adjustment to our visitor management policy is a significant step forward in strengthening our school’s safety protocols.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our students, staff, and school community, we are excited for this important enhancement to our ASD visitor management policy.

This new requirement will enable us to:

• Quickly and accurately verify the identity of all visitors.
• Enhance our ability to maintain a secure environment for our students and staff.
• Ensure that we have accurate records of who is in our buildings at all times, further enhancing our ability to respond in the event of an emergency.

What is Raptor?

The visitor management system records the visitor’s name, date of birth, and last four digits of the ID, and checks against a national database of registered sex offenders. Schools will follow School Board policy regarding registered sex offenders in the building (see: Restrictions on Sex Offenders on Campus BP 3515.5). The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the system. No other data from the ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency.

We understand that changes in protocol may require adjustments from our community, and we appreciate your cooperation and support in making our school a safer place for everyone. Please rest assured that all information collected will be treated with the utmost respect for privacy and confidentiality, used solely for the purpose of enhancing the security of our school premises.

Thank you for your understanding and your continued partnership in keeping our school community safe.

Ms. Lavy led our Running Wolves in two fantastic choral performances last week. The students worked hard over the past several months learning their songs. Congratulations to the students who performed. You did a fantastic job. Thank you to families who attended the daytime or evening performances. It was truly a beautiful performance!

Our Rogers Park choir students caroled through the neighborhood on Saturday afternoon filling the streets with sounds of joy. Thank you to all who joined in the merriment.

Thank you to those families for their generous donations. We were able to collect enough gift cards to help several of our Running Wolves families. This generosity will bring added holiday cheer to our students and families in need.

It is a team effort in ensuring bus safety. Please remind your child to stay seated, use an indoor voice, and keep their hands to themselves. Riding the bus to and from school is a privilege. Please help support bus safety by talking with your children at home about bus safety expectations.

Calling all Scientists!

Week of March 17, 2025 (exact details to be determined)

• Open to all students (K-5, neighborhood and HG)

• Free and optional to participate, teams welcome

• Start thinking about project ideas now! (see below for helpful science websites with great ideas)

Please register your project below to help with fair planning.

All projects are also welcome to register for the Alaska State Science and Engineering Fair, April 4th - 6th. Students do not have to win the school fair to enter the state fair.

After-School Club for Science Fair Project Prep will start in late January/early February with limited capacity. More details and registration info coming in January.

Seeking volunteers for the After-School Club and School Fair!

Rogers Park PTA website to register a project for the school fair, submit questions and/or sign up to volunteer

Science Buddies project ideas

STEAM Powered Family project ideas

Alaska State Science Fair Judging rubric to help guide your project. Note that the school science fair judging rubric will be adapted from the state rubric.

Hosted by Rogers Park PTA Science Fair/STEM Night Committee.

Hello Rogers Park Families,

We're very sorry for the delayed start of recess ice skating and the cancellation of our first Family Skate Night due to weather and ice conditions. We are looking forward to begin our skating season this last week before winter break and we plan for our first Family Skate Night on Friday, January 17th, from 6-8 pm. More details to come.

Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 16th at 6pm in the school library and on Zoom. A meeting agenda and Zoom details will be sent to members the week of the meeting. Thank you for continuing to support the PTA and we hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and winter break.

The holiday break offers a wonderful opportunity for our students to explore new experiences—whether it's celebrating the season at local events or traveling to new places.

For families looking to keep the learning going, here are some engaging activities that promote growth and creativity:

• Try out new recipes and explore cooking together
• Dive into art or music by experimenting with different mediums or instruments
• Capture memories by taking photos and journaling during trips, then create a slideshow to share
• Write and send letters to family or friends
• Build coding skills through Code.org
• Start a science fair project to explore new topics

Students can also continue developing their math skills with these learning programs:

• · Beast Academy
• · Khan Academy
• · iReady Math (through your child’s clever account)

Reminder: If you're using these programs, be sure to gather your child's usernames and passwords before the break begins!

Susan Best, Assistant Director of ASD Gifted Program

Families - get involved! Join the Rogers Park WolfPAC!

Our first Parent Advisory Committee (WolfPAC) meeting will be

January 9th, 5pm in the STEAM Lab.

We will start with a Meet & Greet

with Susan Best, Assistant Director for the Gifted Program.

Subcommittees will also be forming. Join us!

Check out our brochure for more information about the mission and vision of the HG WOlfPAC.

Dec 16-19 mClass & MAPGrowth *MOY* Make-up

Window

Dec 19 (Th) Last day of Q2

Dec 20 (F) *no school* *Grading Day - no school*

*End 2nd Quarter*

Dec 23 – Jan 5 Winter Break

Rogers Park Mission: Preparing Passionate, Productive, Learners for Life

Rogers Park Vision: Empower the HOWL

(Help each other, Own our actions, Work together, Listen & Learn)