Leopard Lines

• From the Principal - Title 1 Community Needs Survey
• Sign-Up for Quarter 3 Sports
• Native Youth Olympics Sign-Up
• Quarter 2 Grade Recognition
• Cell Phone Policy Update
• PE Department News
• Message from Indigenous Education
• ASD Student Advisory Board - Begich
• Access Testing Notification

Happy New Year Snow Leopard Families!

With the new year we are looking for input on how we can continue to improve as a school. We invite you to take a few minutes to complete our Title 1 needs survey. Your responses are anonymous and will be used to guide decision-making and improve our school community. We truly appreciate your time and effort in sharing your thoughts with us. The survey is only 5 questions and shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to complete. - Title 1 Community Needs Survey Link

Sincerely,

Matthew Witthoeft

Principal

Quarter 3 sports include: girls basketball, wrestling, and cross-country skiing. Both girls and boys may participate in wrestling and cross-country skiing. Practice for wrestling and girls basketball begins on January 7th and practice for cross-country skiing begins on January 9th, 2025.

To sign-up, students will need to turn in: middle school activities registration form and $110 fee which can be paid at Begich or on Parent Connect. Fee waivers are available.

Students must have a current (within the last 18 months) physical on file. Please contact Ms. Heiken at 742-0507 if you are unsure about the status of your physical or paperwork. Make an appointment to get a physical as soon as possible. If you do not have a doctor's office in the community, the school clinic may be able to help. Parent permission is required, but can be given during ASD online registration. The clinic bills insurance, if you have it, and can adjust your bill based on family size and income. More information is available here. Appointment requests at the school clinic can be made by clicking here.

Begich Middle School Native Youth Olympics (NYO) practice will start on Monday, January 13.

Permission forms are available at Mr. Jerue’s or Ms. Holman’s (7th grade school counselor) offices.

NYO is for ALL students in 6th, 7th & 8th grade!

Students may have a chance to compete in an event at the end of the season if they come in first or second place: Scissor Broad Jump ○ Alaskan High Kick ○ Eskimo Stick Pull ○ One-Foot High Kick ○ Two-Foot High Kick ○ Seal Hop ○ Wrist Carry ○ Kneel Jump

Practices are on Monday and Tuesdays from 4:15-5:30 in January and February.

Congratulations to the following students who earned a 4.0 for quarter 2! These students will be recognized at our 4.0 breakfast on February 21st. Great job Snow Leopards!

6th Grade:

Lillian Beals

Karina Chang

Seng Sai Chang

Kini Ene

Shawn Fo'ilefutu

Mahealanialoha Gionson

Chloe Grunst

Averie Hannafious

Benny Her

Thomas Her

James Hill

Laniya Holmes

Jaden Kiehl Islan

Bailey Ivanoff

Adrianna Jordan

Angelina Khang

Emma Lee

Sandy Lee

Jacob Malone

Crista Meekins-Ortiz

Jamil Nguyen

Kaitlyn O'Toole

Presley Parks

Paige Popely

Getsemani Reyna Hernandez

Grant Schaffan

Isabel Siaumau

Cale Stamm

Benjamin Stevens

Jeanette Sund

Louis Taylor

Amy Vang

Avery Vang

Annabella Welch

Casen Witt

Richard Xiong

Ryan Xiong

Andrew Yang

Xian Andrea Arevalo

Theia Zafina Bautista

Daniel Blanford

Parker Bowlin

Keefe Kaizer Ceballos

Arika Chang

Alayna Davis

Gavin Dunham

Tory Fike

Reilly Fitch

Leanezariah Fonoti

Roselynn Galles

Moanilehua Gionson

Butch Hunter

Lawrence Keobouala

Alex Miller

Madison Pearson

Evan Seng

Justice Shinn

Jayla Stevens

Henry Strickland

Kaillou Thao

Angel Vue

Cameron Young

8th Grade:

James Drake

Zheiany Vreil Fieldad

XzavierTisega Fogamomi

Jasmine Frey

James Gay

Genevieve Gendron

Thaddeus Greenwood

Caden Grunst

Charlotte Hemming

Analina Henderson

Tyler Howell

Mindy Huynh

Jeremiah Johnson

Amoon Lee

Jason Lee

Emily Mott

Kaleinani Naka'ahiki

Achilles Nunez

David Ofiu

Delia Rima

Minah Vang

Delilah Vue

Alexander Xiong

Liana Xiong

All student’s confiscation counts will reset for second semester. This means everybody will start 2025 with a clean slate. Please encourage your student to keep their phone off and away in their locker for the duration of the school day. Most of our students did a great job with this during first semester. Thank you for being responsible Snow Leopards!

We want all of our students to succeed!

Here are a few tips for thriving in PE:

-be in your assigned spot for attendance on time and ready to go

-wear proper shoes

-give your best effort in warm-ups and activities

-complete make-up work when absent

-have a positive attitude and be a team player

Thank you for your support towards our goal of having every student exercise for at least 60 minutes every day!

Welcome back from Christmas break!

Indigenous Ed is having a Fashion Show. See the flyer attached. This will be a FUN one!

CITC has a Before School Program for Middle school students only. See the flyer attached.

Goooooooo Snow Leopards!

Mr. Jerue - Student Support Specialist at Begich Middle School

Our Student Advisory board has been busy representing Begich at the district wide meetings. Our 8th grade representative moved away and was replaced by 8th grader Ichiro Justo. Keep up the good work SAB representatives!

On February 27th, during period 7, Begich will hold an all grades dance. To be eligible to attend the dance (or go to the library at this time) students may not:

• Have more than 20 tardies in quarter 3

• Have a truancy in quarter 3

• Have more than one phone confiscation in quarter 3

Tardies are counted while students are traveling between classes at Begich and do not include first arrival at school. Students really enjoyed our first two dances, so we hope to see your student on the dance floor at the end of the quarter!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Beginning February 1st our school will be conducting a state required assessment for English Language Learners. This assessment is called ACCESS and provides important feedback about the progress of our English Language Learners in Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing. Students will take the test using our school’s computers. Only students who are currently identified as members of the English Language Learners (ELL) Program will be assessed. Most of the assessments will be completed during the first two weeks of February but some may continue into March. More information about the ACCESS assessment can be found on the Alaska Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s ACCESS page, http://education.alaska.gov/assessments/elp.

If you have any questions about this test, you are encouraged to contact us here at school (907) 742-0501. You may also contact the District’s ELL Department at 742-4452. Information about the English Language Learners Program in the School District can be found on ASD’s website.

As always, with testing, we ask that families plan so that their students are in school and are well rested for testing. Your patience and support for this process is very much appreciated as this assessment does provide useful information that helps our district and school improve programs for English Language Learners.

Sincerely,

Matthew Witthoeft

Principal

Begich Middle School