Sigóowu Yées Taakw! Happy New Year!

Welcome Back, Families!

Happy New Year! We hope you had a restful and joyful winter break with your loved ones. As we return to school, we are excited to refocus and set the stage for a successful second half of the school year.

Before the break, our students completed their middle-of-the-year benchmarks. These assessments give us valuable insights into each child’s progress and help us tailor our teaching to meet their needs. We’re proud of the effort students have shown and look forward to building on their growth as we move forward.

As we dive into the new year, we encourage you to:

• Celebrate your child’s progress so far and discuss goals for the remainder of the year.
• Support daily routines that help your child stay organized and prepared for learning.
• Communicate with us if you have questions or need additional support.

Thank you for your continued partnership. Together, we can make 2025 a year of growth, discovery, and success for all our students.

Warm regards,

Dana Wyatt, Principal

The district is hosting a combine Super Site Council Meeting on Thursday, January 23 from 5:30 - 7 p.m. in the Library at Thunder Mountain Middle School.

This is our opportunity to share our priorities for the Budget for FY2026. It is important to have representation from our school site. All are welcome so please join us! For additional info, please email dana.wyatt@juneauschools.org.

Budget Process Calendar

Our 3rd through 6th-grade classes proudly sent participants to compete in the school-wide Spelling Bee held on Friday, December 6th. The school champion was Israel "Izzy" Galletes-Fale, a 5th grader from Mr. Joe Luger's class. Izzy will now advance to the online bee, where the top 75 participants in the state will be invited to the in-person competition in Anchorage this March. Congratulations to Izzy and all the participants in this year's Spelling Bee!

• January 6 & January 7: No School, Inservice Days
• Tuesday, January 14: BOE Meetings @ TMMS, Work Session @ 4:30, Reg. Mtg @ 6-9 p.m.
• Monday, January 20: No School, MLK Jr. Day
• Tuesday, January 21: GVPG Site Council & Parent Group, 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Library
• Thursday, January 23: Combined Site Council Meeting @ TMMS Library
• Saturday, January 25: BOE Work Session, 8:30-12:00 p.m.
• Thursday, January 30: Cocoa & Books! 6:00-7:00 p.m.

Please encourage your child to visit the Lost & Found for missing items. We have a TON of coats, shoes, and other items that may belong to your child. If you are on campus, the Lost & Found is just past the Office to the right of the Health Office. Please stop by and find those missing items.

The System for School Success is Alaska’s accountability system designed to celebrate success in our schools and identify areas we can focus on to help provide additional support. This accountability system fulfills the requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to regularly evaluate school efficacy and close gaps in student achievement.

Accountability systems are not meant to be punitive. State standards and assessments are set as expectations for what students should know and be able to do. Accountability systems help to set the expectations for school performance and effectiveness and are one of the ways we can identify what is working well and what we need to improve. A brief overview of Alaska’s accountability system can be found at: education.alaska.gov/akaccountability/schoolsuccess/accountabilitysystems.pdf.

Alaska’s accountability system allows us to:

• Articulate goals for student achievement, growth, and success

• Collect, analyze, and report on school performance

• Recognize high-performing schools and provide additional support to schools when needed.

School report cards can be found on the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s website under System for School Success.

Sít' Eetí Shaanáx - Glacier Valley received a school designation of Universal Support. This means that the index value is higher than schools identified as the lowest 5% of Title I schools, the graduation rate is higher than 66.67% for schools with grade 12, and the index values for each subgroup in their school is higher than schools identified as the lowest 5% of Title I schools. You can find more information from the state about this designation here: Universal Support (education.alaska.gov/akaccountability/schoolsuccess/Universal_Support.pdf)

SES-GV will create an environment with a sense of well-being and safety for all students and families by supporting the social eotional health of all students using a trauma informed lens and restorative practices in order to reduce office referrals for the 2024-2025 school year.

Dana Wyatt has been a resident of Juneau for over 20 years and has dedicated the past 12 years of her career to SES-GV. During her tenure there, she has served in multiple roles, including Kindergarten Teacher, Special Education Teacher, and Principal, showing her commitment to supporting students across various stages and needs. Her husband, Geoffrey Wyatt, also shares her passion for education and works as a third-grade teacher at SES-GV. Together, they are raising two teenage sons, aged 16 and 14, who attend JDHS. Additionally, they are the guardians of two younger children, aged 9 and 2, adding a busy and rewarding dynamic to their family life.