Paw Print Press 2.0
December 2, 2024
A Note from Mrs. Wood
As the holiday season approaches, our school is brimming with joy and light! From the excitement of our PTA Family Skate Night on December 6th to the focus of our mClass & MAPGrowth Assessment Benchmark tests, there is so much happening to celebrate and achieve.
Our hallways are alive with the energy of holiday activities, and we’re incredibly proud of the hard work and collaboration happening in every classroom. As we approach the end of this second quarter, we remain committed to supporting our students and families for a successful and festive finish to the year. Thank you for being such an integral part of our vibrant school community!
Mary Wood, Principal
Raptor Visitor Management System
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I’m excited to share Rogers Park Elementary will implement a new visitor management software system in our school beginning December 17, 2024.
The Raptor Technologies safety software will add an extra layer of campus security. Upon entry, visitors, volunteers, and ASD staff whose primary location is outside of our campus must sign in using the self-serve kiosk.
The software has been piloted at ASD schools and is now being rolled out District-wide. The District is implementing the visitor management system to aid in the standardization of visitor check-in procedures in all schools, which supports Board Policy 3515.5.
Starting December 17, 2024, all adult visitors to Rogers Park Elementary School 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.
mClass Information
As part of The Alaska Reads Act, the State of Alaska requires that districts administer an early literacy screening tool three times a year to students in grades K-3 to identify potential reading difficulties in order to improve reading outcomes for students. Families can read more about this comprehensive K-3 reading policy at The Alaska Reads Act website: education.alaska.gov/akreads
mClass with DIBELS 8th Edition Assessments is the State of Alaska Department of Education’s and ASD’s Early Literacy benchmark screening and progress monitoring tool for students in grades K-3 in reading. mClass utilizes curriculum-based measures and is used by schools as part of the ASD Comprehensive Assessment System to support informed instructional decisions.
The Alaska Department of Education & Early Development explains the decision to adopt mClass as the statewide literacy screener here:
https://education.alaska.gov/Alaska-Reading-Resources/Statewide-Early-Literacy-Screener
mClass screening assessments will only be administered in-person during the benchmark window listed below:
Winter(MOY) 2024: December 2 - 13
Results for K-3 students that were assessed during a benchmark window, will be available in Parent Connect by January 6, 2025: ParentConnection Login Information and Reference Guide: parentconnect.asdk12.org
MAP Growth Information
MAP Growth is a benchmark assessment required by the state of Alaska for students in grades 3-9 as part of the Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR). MAP Growth is administered in the fall and winter as stand-alone benchmark assessments in mathematics, reading and language usage. In the spring, MAP Growth is an integrated component of the AK STAR summative English Language Arts (reading and language usage benchmarks) and mathematics (mathematics benchmark) assessments to provide both summative and benchmark results.
Alaska's Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has partnered with NWEA (MAP Growth) to implement a creative approach to balanced statewide assessment that better reflects learning throughout the school year and helps educators target instruction to students' individual needs. For more information about this balanced assessment approach, please visit the DEED AK STAR website, https://education.alaska.gov/assessments/akstar.
NWEA MAP Growth also provides resources for understanding each sub test.
MAP Growth assessments will only be administered in-person during the benchmark window listed below:
Winter(MOY) 2024: December 2 - 13
Results for students that were assessed during a benchmark window, will be available in Parent Connect by January 6, 2025: ParentConnection Login Information and Reference Guide: parentconnect.asdk12.org
Ice Skating Update
Ice skating will begin soon at Rogers Park. Please click on the link below for detailed information and to sign up for permission to skate at the Rogers Park rink. Additionally, we will be providing ice skates for any child who wishes to borrow a pair for the winter season.
We are seeking parent volunteers to assist with tying skates beginning December 3rd. Volunteers are welcome anytime between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Please check in at the front office upon arrival. Be sure to complete the ASD volunteer application so you are an approved volunteer.
Sign up to volunteer for ice skating below:
Rogers Park Skate Volunteer Sign-Up
Thank you!
Winter Gear Keeps Kids Warm
Winter is here. Please be sure to send students with snow gear. We want all students to be safe and comfortable in the cold weather. Students go outdoors for recess every day up to 10 degrees below zero. They should have snow pants, a jacket, and hat and gloves. Many items are already in our lost and found. Please encourage students to look in the lost and found if they are missing an item. Families who have used winter gear that no longer works for their children are invited to send it in to Nurse T to share with our students who need. it.
Parking Lot Safety
As a reminder our parking lot speed limit is 5MPH. This applies to the whole parking lot before, during, and after school. Vehicles have been moving through the drop-off loop too fast which could result in accidents or injuries.
We do ask that there is no parking on our crosswalk as this forces people to walk in the drive lane.Thanking for helping us keep our school community safe.
PTA Update
Hello Rogers Park Families,
Thanks so much to those who were able to participate in the Dine to Donate event at Lucky Wishbone last month! What a fun way to support a local business and our school. Please stay tuned for future Dine to Donate opportunities later this school year. We're very excited to begin our recess ice skating season this week and to celebrate we plan to host our first Family Skate Night of the year, this Friday, December 6th from 6-8pm. PTA will provide hot cocoa and Mr. Green will be in charge of the music. Please have your child bring home their skates that Friday afternoon if they'd like to use them for the event.
Here are some ways our PTA has supported Rogers Park this fall:
- Assisting the Lions Club and our Amazing Nurse T with vision screening. Thank you Adam Hays!
- Sponsoring Red Ribbon Week classroom door decoration contest by judging and providing pizza parties to winning classes. Congratulations to the winners - Ms. Nicholson's and Mr. Gibson's classes!
- Signing our ice rink maintenance contract, paying the deposit, and organizing for skate distribution and volunteer sign-up. Thank you to Ms. Singleton, Brittany Ford, and Willy Madeira for their contributions. We are still welcoming volunteers to help tie skates as we get our season started this week! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4EA9A929A0F4CF8-52673248-volunteer?useFullSite=true#/
- Paying registration for the upcoming Spelling Bee. Thank you to Colleen Thornton for taking on Spelling Bee coordination!
- Processing and paying out teacher reimbursement/grant requests.
- Supporting our young readers through the Battle of the Books program, thank you Ms. Grey-Levine for inspiring and coaching our participants!
We do not have a membership meeting during this busy month. 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.
Families in Need - From Nurse T
Nurse T is collecting gift cards from Wal-Mart and Fred Meyer of any amount for the holidays.
Gift cards will directly benefit families at Rogers Park!
If you are interested in donating, please contact Nurse T ASAP at 742-4801 or email her at hotlz_therese@asdk12.org.
Bus Transportation
Bus transportation will start one hour later on PLC Mondays only. Check your bus route information on ParentConnect for the exact time or call 907-742-1200. School will end at the regular time.
Bus Transportation- Hours: 5:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. | Main Phone: (907) 742-1200
Transportation page link - https://www.asdk12.org/transportation
