We hope you all had a wonderful time off for Winter Break. We have been busy since welcoming our students back. Classes have been completing their winter iReady diagnostic. Students are still working hard to complete 2 lessons per week in iReady! We are tracking our progress this month with snowflakes. Our board can be seen in the hallway.

Our SEL focus for the month is confidence. Confidence refers to our belief in our abilities and worth. With in increase and exposure to technology, our confidence can be inhibited as we compare ourselves to others online. We are talking in school about ways to grow your confidence and find things you are good at and letting the kids know it is ok if we all have different abilities and strengths. Letting your child know that everyone can be confident in different things is a good skill to nurture Our 5th graders led a wonderful assembly for the school with the confidence theme as well on January 14.

We are looking forward to a few upcoming events. We will have a spelling bee on January 27 at 1:00. Classroom winners in grades 2-5 will compete for a spot in the district bee happening in February. We are also having a STEAM Night with a Science Fair. Details are below for this event on February 20.

Thank you all for your support as Bear Valley navigated some challenging conversations during the district's rightsizing discussions. For those of you who wish to continue advocacy, the PTA has put together some great resources on their webpage.

Have a wonderful January! It is really great to see how the students are progressing in the middle of the school year and we look forward to many more months of collaboration in education this year!

Mrs. Scherer

Principal

Monday- 4/5 Grade Basketball 2:30-3:30

Tuesday- 2/3 Grade Basketball 2:30-3:30

Wednesday- NYO grades 1-5 2:30-3:45

Thursday- Spanish Club 2:30-3:45 Grades 2-5

Here are some of the important resources available on our Student Nutrition Web Page Link.

• Meal prices
• Free & Reduced Meal Applications
• A list of Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools where meals are free for all students
• General information about Student Nutrition

Free & Reduced Meal Applications:

While paper copies are available, online submission via the Student Nutrition Web Page is faster.

SchoolCafe:

Families can sign up for balance notifications and view the menu through the, SchoolCafe Link.

Online Prepayments and Payments:

These are process only through Parent Connect.

In second quarter we had 63 students with perfect attendance! Way to go! Our attendance rate has been wonderful this year. We are currently averaging 93.3%. Thank you for making attendance at school a priority and routine!

Please remember that any absence over 10 for the school year means Chronically Absent and students can be at risk of academic difficulties. Use the tracker below to help track your child's attendance for the second semester.

ASD Personal Property Policy

Adapted from the ASD Student Handbook

Student desks and/or coat closets are not secure enough to store personal property (e.g. iPods, electronic devices, etc.) The same restrictions apply to toys, Pokemon Cards, legos, earbuds, etc. These and other items are not permitted at school. Cell phones must be turned off and stored during the school day (8:40-3:30- and not be taken out until students are in a bus or vehicle) including lunch/recess. Smart watches must have bluetooth/wifi disconnected as these can function in the same way as a cell phone.Repeated violations will be regarded as willful disobedience.

ASD is not responsible for loss or theft of personal property.

To minimize distractions during the school day, we are asking that parents refrain from bringing in balloons and treats for birthdays. We have students with allergies and treats are not always appropriate. We do a special certificate, pencil and announcement from the office, as well as classroom recognition.

8:10-8:45 Conference Room

January 22- Topic understanding middle of the year benchmark testing

February 19- Ideas and questions for parent teacher/ conferences

In February, students will be given a couple different opportunities to spread kindness for Kindness month. For this year’s community kindness project, Student Council and Health will be collaborating on a community project once again. This year we would like to support the local animal shelters. In Health classes, students will be working on various donation projects for our furry, unhoused population: toys, comfort items and treats. The following items that will be needed in February:

Outgrown or damaged/stained T-shirts

Tube Socks

Tennis Balls

Empty disposable water bottles

Yarn (for cat toys)

Fleece Remnants

If you have experience making DIY animal shelter donations (or don’t have experience but this is right up your alley) and you would like to share your knowledge and expertise in this area, I would love to have you as a volunteer during your child’s Health block. Send me an email at mcdonald_jennifer@asdk12.org . Also, in need of pet treat recipe ideas (because of allergies, peanut butter and nut butters cannot be used).

Email: bvattendance@asdk12.org
Website: https://www.asdk12.org/bearvalley
Location: 15001 Mountain Air Drive, Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone: 907-742-5900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bearvalleyelementary