Wolf Pup Weekly
Woodriver Issue #15 - 1/12/24
A WORD FROM MR. GUY
Hello Wolf Pup parents!
Happy Spring Break and happy early St. Patrick’s Day! There will be no school next week. We will return on March 18th. When we return to school we will begin prepping for our end of the year summative assessment called AK STAR. Testing will take place April 8th through the 12th, and make-up testing will take place the following week. There will be more information coming out about the AK STAR tests, and you can always find more information on our website: www.k12northstar.org/woodriver.
We will also start preparing for next year as we begin to work on class rosters. Beginning in April we will send home paperwork seeking your input on your student’s strengths and weaknesses. If there are no large changes to our funding, we could be looking at a lot of split classrooms next year, so be prepared for some very serious changes to the structure of our school. There is still time to contact legislators, you can visit the PTA’s Facebook page to find out exactly what you can do, or to learn more about our district’s budget.
I hope everyone has a great spring break and gets a chance to spend time with your families.
WOLF PUPS IN ACTION
Congratulations to our Wolf Pup Honor Choir members who performed in the Music in Our Schools Concert last week! They sounded wonderful! Great job Wolf Pups!
Aurora Ashcraft
Kailala Bonnewell
Ruthie Braband
Cameron Edgerton
Logan Gianni
Joseph Nyameke
Juliet Nyameke
Clairebella Terra
Analyn Wells
Kilian Yarrow
Check out these beautiful knitting needles students made in Handwork Club. They will begin learning how to knit with them after spring break!
Recess Fun!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Greetings Wolfpups. Over the next several weeks we will be spotlighting a few of
Woodriver’s amazing staff members. Each staff member will be interviewed by Mr. Kinder's third
graders!
This week we proudly present our Intermediate Resource teacher Mrs. Groth!
Staff Spotlight: Mrs. Groth, Intermediate Resource Teacher
Interviewed by Third Graders Everett, Mav, and Zoey
Mrs. Groth teaches Intermediate Resource at Woodriver. She previously worked at
Woodriver for two years as the Special Education Clerk and this is her first year back as
a teacher. She decided to work in education because her own children had amazing
teachers and those teachers inspired her to pursue a career in education.
Mrs. Groth most enjoys teaching students how to read. She recommends that families
read together every day for 20 minutes. Some of her favorite children’s books are Pete
the Cat, Where the Red Fern Grows, and the I Survived series.
Outside of school, Mrs. Groth enjoys spending time with her family, reading, camping, and
shopping. She loves animals and she has four dogs, three parrots and one turtle. One
time when she was teaching online, during COVID, one of her parrots started yelling
“Stop.” Her students laughed at the parrot’s antics.
Mrs. Groth is thrilled to be back at Woodriver, and she genuinely enjoys interacting with
the staff and students each day. She is really excited to be at Woodriver and she thinks
that we have a special school.
PTA UPDATES
Missed the last meeting?
Click the link below for a recorded FB live of the last PTA meeting where Mr. Guy presented on the budget.
School Closures
The school board is considering 6 scenarios for school closures. Two of these scenarios include closing Pearl Creek Elementary, which would directly impact Woodriver.
The link to the proposed redistributing map and information is below. Pages 14 & 15 give information about how Woodriver would be affected. If Pearl Creek is closed, approximately 145, 41% of University Park’s current students, would be moved to Woodriver.
Woodriver students capacity: 561
Current enrollment: 349 (62% capacity)
Projected enrollment if Pearl Creek closes: 507 (90% capacity)
We ask parents to please be informed and share your opinions both on a state and local level.
SCHOOL CLIMATE SURVEY
School Climate Surveys are OPEN!
You are invited to participate in the annual School Climate Parent Survey! The survey is anonymous, takes about 10 minutes, and results are used to understand and improve the educational climate of our schools. Thank you for participating!
The parent survey closes on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
COMMUNITY EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
UAF Summer Camps has a scholarship program for all students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. For camps that cost up to $250, qualifying families will only pay $25. Information about the scholarship program can be found at the link below. Additionally, the FNSBSD Migrant Education Program, the Alaska Native Education Program, and the McKinney Vento Education Program all provide funds for eligible students enrolled in their programs. Contact your program coordinator for a coupon code that you can use at registration to cover tuition.
AVAILABLE FAMILY RESOURCES
SLED/ Live Homework Help
Live Homework Help provides free, online tutoring to Alaskan students in grade K-12 and intro level college students. Offered Monday through Friday, 8am to 2am; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 2 am Alaska Time. Students can work with a live tutor or use the study resources independently. Click the button below for more information.
Bright Futures Fairbanks | Student Support Services
We firmly believe that every child in our community deserves an equal opportunity to succeed. Unfortunately, many of them come to school without the basic necessities that most people often take for granted, such as food, school supplies, and winter gear.
If your family needs assistance in any of these ways, please reach out to Bright Futures Fairbanks by following the link below.
Our Social Emotional Learning & Prevention department is fully committed to supporting and uplifting our community. Our primary aim is to effectively identify and align local resources, with the ultimate goal of overcoming challenges and barriers faced by students in our district.
Through collaboration, we can ensure that every child's basic needs are fulfilled. Let us be the bridge that brings positivity and support to those who need it the most.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
An online application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is now available. Alaska SNAP provides food benefits to low-income households. The new online application is a “smart form,” streamlining the process and the amount of time it takes to complete the form by only populating fields that the applicant needs based on their responses. Learn more about SNAP by clicking below.
SCHOOL LUNCH MENU
SchoolCafe/Free & Reduced Meal Applications | Nutrition Services
SchoolCafe/Free & Reduced Meal Applications | Nutrition Services
If you previously had a free and reduced meal application processed and feel your children might qualify for a better meal eligibility, please complete a new meals application by clicking the link below, and send the following information to foodservice@k12northstar.org:
- Income documentation for the prior 30 days
- Student(s) names and meal application number (if completed online)
*With the new calendar year, the 2023 PFD value is required by the USDA to be used when calculating household income on the meals application.
BECOME A SUBSTITUTE!
DISTRICT SCHOOL CALENDAR
IMPORTANT DATES
March
Mar 8 | Early Dismissal @ 2:15
Mar 11-15 - Spring Break | No School
April
April 8-12 | AK STAR testing
April 26 | Early Dismissal @ 2:15
May
May 15, 16, & 17 | Early Dismissal @ 2:15
May 17 | LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
Welcome to Woodriver Elementary School
OFFICE HOURS: 8:45-4:15
SCHOOL HOURS 9:15 - 3:45
Email: nicole.wells@k12northstar.org
Website: www.k12northstar.org/woodriver
Location: 5000 Palo Verde Ave
Phone: 907-479-4211