The Scoop

Welcome back, Chugach families, and welcome to all of our new Chugach families!

After a well-rested summer, I am excited to get back into the building with the office staff and begin preparing for the upcoming school year. As many of you know, our upper teacher, Casey, decided that she would like to spend more time with her family and decided not to return to being a classroom teacher this year. The good news is that we’ll still see Casey quite often as she will now have two students attending here. The other good news is that to replace Casey, Angie Riley is coming to us from the Chinook Optional program.

Our Primary and Middle students will begin using a new reading curriculum this fall, as our former curriculum (Lucy Calkins) was no longer a program allowed by the State of Alaska. Last spring, our team from Chugach met with teams from the Bowman and Chinook Optional programs to develop an Optional reading program based on the CKLA curriculum. The Anchorage School District approved the Optional reading program, so we will be able to continue our tradition of having a separate reading program from neighborhood schools.

Once again, welcome back, and I look forward to seeing you at our back-to-school picnic on August 13th.

Joel

Now-August 15 - ONLINE REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR RETURNING STUDENTS (https://www.asdk12.org/register)

Now-August 15 - PRE-ENROLLMENT for KINDERGARTEN AND New-to-ASD STUDENTS IS OPEN (https://www.asdk12.org/Page/3297)

Tuesday, August 13 - Back-to School Picnic (5pm-7pm on playground)

Thursday, August 15 - First day of school for grades 1-6

Thursday, August 22 - First day of school for Kindy

Friday, August 30 - EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @ 11:15am)

Please join the Chugach community for our Back-to-School Picnic on Tuesday, Aug.13 from 5-7 p.m. on the Chugach playground. We’ll kick off the new school year and meet our teachers! Burgers and hotdogs will be provided by the CEC. See below for more information on what to bring, and scan the QR code below or click here if you can help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD2DABFD0-50461552-backtoschool

Kindy Family Group Supply List

Primary Family Group Supply List (Grades 1 & 2)

Middle Family Group Supply List (Grades 3 & 4)

Upper Family Group Supply List (Grades 5 & 6)

ASD requires ALL volunteers (including parents) to complete a volunteer application and waiver before volunteer activities can begin in our school.

Volunteer applications must be completed each school year.

Further information can be found on the ASD Volunteer webpage (asdk12.org/Page/13771). Click the blue “Online Application and Waiver” button to begin.

Chugach Optional Front Office staff will contact you when your application has been approved by ASD. Please note this may take 7 business days to complete.

WE LOVE OUR CHUGACH VOLUNTEERS!!!

Completing this survey will help your PCs and the CEC communicate directly within our family groups and school community. We need your participation! If you have not filled out our Family Communication Survey yet, please head over here or scan the QR code below (answer the last question and be entered to win some Chugach swag): https://forms.gle/J5c4F6deeoZqUrZz9

The annual request for our "Early Release" Fridays has been submitted to ASD and the Department of Education and Early Development. While we are still awaiting final approval for the 2024-2025 school year, the TENTATIVE early release Friday dates are listed below.

August 30, 2024

September 13, 2024

September 27, 2024

October 11, 2024

November 8, 2024

November 22, 2024

December 6, 2024

January 17, 2025

January 31, 2025

February 14, 2025

March 28, 2025

April 11, 2025

April 25, 2025

May 9, 2025

On these days, students are dismissed at 11:15am. Students eating lunch at the school may be in the building until 11:45am. Please note the dates listed above are tentative and may change.

A PDF of the full ASD Calendar for the 2024-2025 school year can be found here.

Parking spots at Chugach Optional Elementary are very limited. Luckily, we have two wonderful neighbors that allow us to use their parking spots for morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. Families are welcome to park across E Street at the New Hope Compassionate Ministries and also at the Municipal Emergency Management Building just to the south of the school.

The Emergency Management Building staff have asked us to remind parents of the following to help them continue to maintain their readiness posture while also continuing to share the parking:

1. ALL SIGNED SPOTS MUST REMAIN AVAILABLE TO STAFF IN THIS BUILDING. They are clearly marked for who they belong to, and constitute all of the parking in the middle of the lot
2. All parking along the north fence line (between our parking lots), and the east facing fence line shared with the playground are the spaces available to share
3. Speed in our parking lot MUST stay at a reasonable speed, for the sake of the families and children as well as for the sake of emergency services personnel

In ALL available parking lots, PLEASE refrain from parking in any of the "RESERVED" parking spots, the fire lane or the loading dock area. We would appreciate your help keeping these areas clear for emergency and delivery vehicles at all times.

Parents/Guardians must call the Attendance Line by 9:15 a.m. when their child will not be at school for the day. Please provide the following information on the attendance line:

Student name

Parent/Guardian Name

Reason for Absence

If your child’s absence is not called in by 9:15am or if a reason for the absence is not provided, parents/guardians will receive an automated ASD phone call regarding their unexcused absence.

Excused Absences: Absences may be excused for health reasons (including medical appointments), family emergencies, participation in religious activities, or other reasons as approved by the principal. If no reason is given the absence will be considered unexcused.

Pre-Arranged Absences: If you know your child will be out for longer than a few days please fill out a Pre-Arranged Absence Form, available in the Front Office. Travel/Vacation is generally considered a Pre-arranged Unexcused Absence (unless otherwise determined by the principal).

Late arrivals: Students are considered Tardy if arrival at school is between 8:20am -9:10am. Arrival after 9:10am is considered a morning absence. Please be sure to check in with the office when arriving after 8:20am to let them know you are here and to have your school lunch counted.

We will be kicking off Big Simple early this year! Big Simple is the Chugach Community Fundraiser that directly supports our curriculum and classrooms. This fundraiser pays for the projects and enrichment that make Chugach Optional what it is! Contributions are divided equally among our family groups to pay for theme studies, field trips, special projects, subscriptions, and classroom enhancement. The CEC and Chugach Assembly approved this year’s budget in spring 2024 with a goal of raising $30,000 for the Big Simple, which makes our suggested donation $125 per student. Look for the official Big Simple kick off email on Monday, Aug. 12 as well as the Big Simple booth at the picnic on Tuesday, Aug. 13. and make your contribution early!

School Picture Day for Chugach Optional is Monday, September 16th. Lifetouch will be taking both individual student pictures and family group class pictures. Look for more details to come in the September Scoop!

Outer wear

• 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.

Please encourage your student(s) to be prepared.

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 but for safety and courtesy reasons these areas/spots must be respected.

Parent/Visitor Sign-in

• All parents, visitors, and volunteers who are going to be in the school after 8:30 am need to sign in at the office.

Opportunities

• We are in need of Noon Duty attendants to assist with outdoor recess and lunch room supervision. Please go to the ASD website to apply or ask for more details at the front office.

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