Leopard Lines

• Quarter 3 Sports Sign-ups
• Tardy Reward Dance
• PE Department News
• MAP Testing
• Schedules for Quarter 3
• Canned Food Drive Success
• Access Testing Quarter 3 at Begich

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.

Students have done an AWESOME job developing their skills in recent units such as volleyball, badminton, table tennis, rope climbing, weight training, broomball, and cardiovascular endurance assessments! We’re looking forward to future units such as ice skating and hockey. Begich has ice skates available for students to borrow, but students are welcome to bring their own if possible. Teachers will give advance notice when this time comes.

We are seeing some low grades in classes primarily due to absences. Please encourage your student to complete make-up work. Students can complete a make-up form located in the gym, or else select from the options on Canvas.

Thank you for all of your support and we hope you enjoy the holiday season!

Students should now be able to view their schedules in Q Student Connect for 3rd quarter and Semester 2. Counselors have sent 7th and 8th graders a Google form in Canvas that students have until December 13th to make schedule request changes. All requests should be filled out on-line. If students are having trouble accessing the document, they can come see their counselor for support.

Sixth grade students do not need to select any new classes. They have year long music and are in an elective rotation that will automatically change.

Seventh and 8th grade students will only be allowed to change semester long classes and will be required to stay in all year long classes through the end of the year. Year long elective classes are music and world languages. Counselors will call students down or send Canvas messages regarding their change requests once processing begins.

Congratulations to Team Kookooligit who brought in the most cans (approximately 550 cans, by a wide margin) during our Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive. All donations go to the Food Bank of Alaska to help feed hungry Alaskan families this holiday season. As part of their reward for winning, students will get to put a pie in the faces of their favorite Kookooligit teachers-- Mrs. Barnett, Ms. Bucayan, Ms. Carroll, and Mr. Glasionov.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

In February, 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 at 907-742-0500. 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,

Begich Staff