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Mission: Birchwood ABC promotes a positive Attitude, excellent Behavior, and a Commitment to lifelong learning.

Vision: Our commitment to ensure ALL students receive a high quality education and to produce responsible students in a safe environment that values lifelong learning.

Happy September!

Teacher are working hard at setting up classroom expectations and students are getting back into routines!

I have a couple of important updates.

MAP Testing

We will begin our Fall MAP benchmark starting on September 3-4. If you have a student in grades 3-5, please talk with them about the importance of MAP testing and establishing that fall benchmark.

MAP testing is an essential tool that helps us understand your child's individual learning needs and academic growth throughout the year. Here’s why MAP testing is so valuable:

• MAP tests are adaptive, meaning the questions adjust in difficulty based on your child's responses. This allows us to get an accurate picture of their current level of understanding in subjects like math and reading. The results help us tailor instruction to meet your child’s unique needs.
  
• Unlike traditional tests that measure only what students know at a specific point in time, MAP tests are designed to measure growth over time. We can see how much progress your child has made from the beginning of the year to the end, allowing us to celebrate their successes and identify areas where they might need more support.
  
• The insights gained from MAP testing guide our teaching strategies and help us provide targeted interventions. By understanding each student’s strengths and areas for improvement, we can make informed decisions about how to best support their academic journey.

We understand that testing can sometimes feel stressful for students and parents alike, but please know that MAP testing is just one of many tools we use to support your child’s learning. It’s not about passing or failing; it’s about gathering information that helps us help your child grow.

Open House

Due to construction still taking place, our Open House has been delayed until September 26. We want to be able to showcase a finished building and hope you will join us later this month!

Arrival & Dismissal Reminders

As a reminder, there is no one available to monitor students prior to 7:40 am, and 8:40 am on Monday's. Only students who have purchased school breakfast should be arriving at 7:30. Breakfast is not served on late-start Monday until 8:30 am.

We are happy to make changes to your students dismissal plan prior to 2:15 pm. If you need to take your child early, please plan to be at the school before 2:15. Please do not ask us to make any changes after 2:15 pm unless it is an emergency.

Thank you for your continued patience and support with our new dismissal procedure. We appreciate your kindness and understanding! Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s education.

If you have any questions or concerns for the upcoming 24/25 school year, you may email hershman_tammy@asdk12.org, or call the front office 907-742-3450.

~Principal Hershman

• September 2, No School for Labor Day
• September 3-4, MAP testing for grades 3-5
• September 5, PTA meeting @6pm in the school library
• September 17, Cross-country jamboree
• September 19, BAC meeting @6pm in the library
• September 26, School Picture Day
• September 26, Open House 5:30-7pm
• September 27, Popcorn Friday

Please visit our PE website for details about physical education at our school. This gives general information about your child’s PE teacher, expectations, grading, curriculum and some of the extras that happen at our school. Click image to visit!

GYM SHOES- There is an expectation that children have shoes that securely stay on their feet and that are made for movement like running, jumping and quickly changing direction.

“Sports Mode” Crocs are not PE shoes, just a neat name someone made up.

Tuesday Sep 17th- CLICK images below to sign up!!

This is a FREE community event for students from area elementary schools to try out a “just for fun” race, sponsored by ASD Health and PE Department. Different race times for each grade level including preK! More details on the links. Printed forms are also available at school in the media rack. Return registration AND waiver to Mr. Olson. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Olson at olson_kirk@asdk12.org.

Your child has PE homework. It’s optional and it’s easy!

Your child should have brought home a Healthy Futures Activity Log from school recently. Students keep this log at home and fill it out each day they accomplish 60 minutes of healthy physical activities. If they complete 15 days of active activities, they may return their activity log to Mr. Olson and they will receive a small “thank you” prize in a couple weeks.

Click images for more info!

Hello Birchwood Families!

During the course of the school year, I will be checking height, weight, vision, and hearing on our students. The extent of the screening depends on the grade of the student (not every student has each screening annually). My goal is to have screenings completed by Winter Break.

The Lions Club will be at Birchwood ABC to help with vision screenings the morning of Tuesday, September 17th. If you are able and willing to volunteer with vision screening that day, I could use 2-3 volunteers to help things run smoothly. If this is something you are interested in, please email me at dixey_paula@asdk12.org.

If not already done, please complete the ASD volunteer application and waiver form. The link to the ASD website for volunteers is here: https://www.asdk12.org/volunteer . Locate and select the link on the right in a blue box stating, "Online Application and Waiver." Complete and submit the application. Please contact us at 907-742-3450 to check the status of your application. You may also complete the paper version and submit it to our front office for processing. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

-Nurse Paula

The Birchwood Advisory Committee thanks all who helped with Back to School Night and Open House! Many hands make light work. If you haven’t yet, we’d love for you to get involved. The BAC helps maintain high academic standards and sustain the already recognized exceptional ABC Curriculum. We assist by highlighting and encouraging our values of leadership, citizenship, self discipline, and character development.

You don’t have to be a member to attend BAC meetings. They are open to everyone. Please join us Thursday, September 19th at 6 PM in the Birchwood ABC Library for our next meeting. We hope to see you there!

PTA wants you!!

Join us for our first PTA meeting Thursday, September 5th at 6pm in the Library.
We will outline the year of events and how you can help.

• Our Believe Kids Fundraiser starts September 20th. Look in Monday mail for more info!

• Donuts with Dad will be Monday September 23rd from 8-8:50 am! We will need volunteers, more info on volunteering will be discussed at the PTA meeting.

• Tuesday September 24th, GAPCO Fundraiser (Great Alaska Pizza Company) Tell all of your friends to grab a pizza for dinner that night.

• Popcorn Fridays start in September, the last Friday of each month we make and send home popcorn with the students. GPS Alaska (Global Positioning Systems) is our sponsor this year for Popcorn Fridays! Be sure to thank them for their gracious contribution to our students!

Thank you for your support this year!!
-Becca, Julie, Jessica and Erin

Parent connection is your go-to for things like finding your student's bus number, route and times.

This is where you will find a link to pay for lunch/breakfast.

If you need help with your parent connection pin, please call the front office and we can assist with your login information.

Click here to access parent connection

Students may not be dropped off prior to 7:30AM for breakfast. Only breakfast students who are eating school served breakfast may enter the building at 7:30AM. Regular drop-off time is 7:50AM and no earlier than 7:40AM because there will be no adults outside to supervise prior to 7:40AM.