Eagle River Elementary News

News from the Principal

April 2018Happy Spring, Families!

This has been a busy month with our 3rd-6th Grade Students taking the PEAKS Test; the AIMS Web and MAP Tests will follow for the rest of our students. Teachers have been doing Walk to Intervention (WIN Time) every day with students getting instruction in areas of specific need. We have been meeting in Grade Level Bands to discuss individual student progress and it’s our intention to move every student forward academically. April is the Month of the Military Child.. We have been celebrating our Military Families every day this month by reading messages our students have written, on the morning announcements, and about other activities being planned. This Friday, from 2:00-3:15, please join your student, if you are a military family, with a culminating activity! Thank you to Kaleigh Wotring for organizing this event! The Science Fair was a wonderful event this past month and I am sad that the bridge incident impacted attendance that day as well as canceled our evening event. Shannon Oelkers, ERES Parent and School Business Partner to our school with her business Integrity Environmental LLC, was instrumental in not only helping Mrs. Hemphill with Science Club all year but with the Science Fair – even putting on a Parent Night for families interested in helping their children create a viable project that could compete in the state competition. Thank you, Shannon! She has also been selected to receive a 2018 School Business Partnership Spirit of Tomorrow Award on April 25 for her work with the school and Mrs. Hemphill. Where would we be without all of you wonderful volunteers? Lastly, I want to say goodbye to some of our wonderful staff who are moving on to new adventures. First, Miss Gail’s last day in the office will be this Friday, April 20 as she was selected to move to Tudor Elementary to assist their school as they’ve had seven different Administrative Assistants this year and former ERES Principal and Tudor Elementary Principal, Mrs. Sommerville really needs her help. Congratulations, Gail – you will be missed! Retiring this year are also our Librarian, Mrs. Daw, Speech Teacher , Kim Johnson, and Kindergarten Teacher, Mrs. Vandegriff – their shoes will also be hard to fill! Nurse Brandy will also be taking a job in the private sector next year – all sad news for us but we are happy for these ladies. It has been a sincere pleasure to work with these four ladies! I hope everyone is out and enjoying the sunshine and thank you for sending your children to Eagle River Elementary School!

Warmly,Miss Prince

Student Sign-Out Policy If you are signing your student out early,

please allow enough time for your student to be called down from the

classroom when you arrive. We will no longer be calling students out of class

until parents have arrived in the building. It is important for students to be in class as much as possible and we don’t have room for students to wait in the office.

Thank you for understanding as we transition to this new policy.

Dates to Remember April 17- Sports Spirit Day 18- Administrative Professionals Day20- Dr. Long’s Class Play 10am & 6:45pm24- Kindy Round-up 3:45pm-4:45pm 27- PEAKS Testing Ends27- Student of the Month Assembly 10:00am27- Purple Up! Day - Wear purple to support our military families27- Month of the mIlitary Child Event for MILITARY FAMILIES ONLY 2:00pm-3:15pm28- Super Sweepers Clean-Up Day 9am - 2pm30- AIMSWeb testing beginsMay 1- Optional Learning Labs 9:30am-11:30am3- Cold Stone PTA Fundraiser 4:00pm-8:00pm4- Spirit Day - Sci-fi/Star Wars Day8- Spirit Day - Twin Day8- PTA Meeting 6:30pm-8pm9- Breakfast with the Principal 9:00am9- Optional Steering Parent Mtg. 5:30 @ Pizza Man11- Benchmark Testing Ends11- 4th - 6th Gade Dance 1:50pm-3:00pm 15- Band & Orchestra Concert 2:00pm 23- Students’ Last Day24- Summer Vacation Begins!*Breakfast with the Principal is a catered breakfast sponsored by Subway. It is a chance for parents to come in and ask questions

and find out more about what is happening in our school.

Parent Volunteers make our school better! Please stop by the office to get a volunteer badge after contacting your

child’s teacher in advance about the best day and time to assist.

AbsencesPlease remember to call and leave a message on our attendance line to excuse your student’s absences by

10am to avoid receiving an automated attendance notification.

After School Pick-upPlease remember there is no parking in the cul-de-sac across the street. Please

use our parking lot for after school pick-up.

If you are utilizing Parent Pick-up, please have a piece of paper with your student’s

name visible in your windshield. This helps the process go smoothly for

parents, staff, and students.

Also, the Parent Pick-up line starts at the stop sign. The right hand lane is for drop off and pick up. The left lane

is for exiting the parking lot. Please do not stop and release students from the left lane. This is a very unsafe practice. We ask that if you do not want to wait in the pick up line, that you park and walk inside with your student. Thank you for

your understanding .

Spring AttireAs the weather warms up, we are seeing more water on the playground. Please make sure your students are dressing appropriately for playing outside. We

will continue to go outside rain or shine. Also, there is still the unfortunate

possibility of snow.

Upcoming Events in Our School

April is the Month of the Military Child. Eagle River Elementary has activities planned throughout the month of April that we would like to make you aware of.

Starting 1 April, 2018, during morning announcements, some kids will be sharing what it means to them to be a military kid. We will be adding to our map board the index cards from each of our military kids (who choose to participate) sharing what

it means to them to be a military kid.

27 April from 2:00-3:15 we will be having an event for our military kids and families. If you are a military family, your child should bring home an invitation the

week of 9 April.

27 April is PURPLE UP! day at school. Wear PURPLE to show your support for our military kids!

It is with sadness that I share with everyone that Gail Patarini’s last day as our AA will be this upcoming Friday, April 20. For this reason, we will move Administrative Professional’s Day up

to Wednesday, April 18 (from April 25) so we can celebrate both Gail and Cassi before Gail moves to her next school. Tudor Elementary’s Principal (and former ERES Principal) Nicole Sommerville, has gone through SEVEN AA’s this school year, as well as numerous secretaries, and their school needs

the stability and knowledge that Gail possesses to get their school set on the right path.

Gail was already planning on taking a trip to see her daughter the night of the 20th, so this was a natural time to move between the two schools. We are all going to miss Gail and I know we will

do a nice job of celebrating her this week as she helps us get “settled” and schooled-up on the budget and our finances before she leaves. It is quite an honor for another school to seek out your specific

expertise. Thank you, Gail, for so many dedicated years of service to this school. I know that you are still going to be a part of the school community and will only be a phone call away but your laughter

and energy will be missed!!

Please join us this Thursday, April 19 from 4:30pm to 6:00pm in the Art Room to celebrate her 16 years in our school.

Science Fair 2018

Despite the bridge debacle, we judged over fifty projects and matched up kids with engineers, an ornithologist, microbiologists, dentists, a herpetologist, an ASE certified mechanic, a helicopter mechanic, an industrial fire fighter, and environmental scientists. We had 15 scientists & engineers volunteer and ten of them made it in

despite the bridge incident. Thank you to all the students that participated in this year!

The following is a list of the Grand Champions for each grade level that participated: 6th - Gabriel Hawkins clean hands/mold project (Spain) 5th - tie between Livia Valenote’s wood tension project and Jada Whitmore’s

diaper testing. (Both Spain) 4th - Reese Woodward’s Density project (Long) 3rd - Shelby Beuch’s peanut butter & germy project (O’Hara) 2nd - Steven Carlgren’s slime project (Dolan)

Congratulations to all the Science Fair Participants!

Mrs. Oelkers and Mrs. Hemphill

Jump Rope for Heart Eagle River Elementary School

April 23-27 Jump Rope for Heart is a great way to take care of your own heart and raise money for other people with heart disease. Mr. Ruggles will have a jump rope unit in all P.E. classes. Ms. Ortiz will hand out donation collection envelopes. All donations should be returned by April 27. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Ortiz at Ortiz-perham_patty@asdk12.org Let’s team up for Cleanup!

Eagle River Elementary will participate in the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce’s Super Sweepers program again this year!

Super Sweepers will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 28. Program participation is a

great way to teach students the importance of litter prevention, and it’s also a lot of fun. Families are welcome and encouraged to join in the efforts! Each participating school will raffle one $50

Fred Meyer Gift Card to students who participate.

For more information, contact Eagle River’s coordinator, Ms. Ortiz at ortiz-perham_patty@asdk12.org

Thank you to the Elks Lodge for their very generous donation of Dictionaries to our 3rd Grade students and $1,590 to our school. That money will be used to bring

more technology to our classrooms in the form of Chrome Books!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!

Excellence in Education

Our wonderful and amazing Mrs. Conny Vandegriff was honored at the Chugiak Eagle River Chamber of Commerce for

her Excellence in Education.

Pennies for Patients First we’d like to thank all of you for your generous donations! This year our wrap-up tally for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), Washington/Alaska, Student Series was an amazing $4,886.25! Our first place winner goes to Mr. Long’s class raising over $500, 2nd place was Mrs. Summers’ class and a very close 3rd was Mrs. Campbell’s class with each of their classes raising over $250 each. Our silent auction was a big hit raising $1,000! Online donations increased this year, and in fact, people can still donate; just remember to address your support to Eagle River Elementary School.

Classes will be receiving their classroom pennants to display before the end of the year. Mr. Long’s class will receive a delicious lunch to thank all of their students for their hard work for LLS. We have always been so proud to support Eagle River Elementary in the community projects! Go Eagles!

With much appreciation and love, Dr. Penny & Nurse Nickel

Band and Orchestra

Join us on May 15th at 2:00pm for our Band and Orchestra concert in the MPR. Our students have

worked really hard to learn how to play instruments this year.

Come support all their hard work and enjoy an afternoon of music!

Dear Eagle River families, The weather is changing and we are so excited to have the sun and the warmth. As we go through these climate changes, please plan to dress your student appropriately for the weather. While it is getting warmer outside, please send in your student’s snow gear until April 21, 2018, just to ensure that we are prepared in the event that the weather is chilled. Additionally, as the snow melts on the playground, there will be wet areas. Please send in an extra set of clothing for your student, should they get wet outside. We appreciate your assistance and look forward to the warmth as we get closer to summer.

Sleep Health By Brandy Proctor, BSN, RN

Did you know that sleep is essential to our daily functioning and how much we get daily can have a direct impact on our health? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are many benefits of sleep. For people of all ages, an adequate amount of sleep supports one’s overall quality of life. Benefits of adequate amounts of sleep:

Improved attention, behavior, and learning Memory Emotional regulation Mental and physical health

Potential Problems due to lack of sleep:

Increase in injuries High blood pressure Obesity Depression

How much sleep should my child get?

Ages 3-5:

10-13 hours in 24 hours

Ages 6-12: 9-12 hours in 24 hours

Ages 13-18: 8-10 hours in 24 hours

Sleep Hygiene Support:

Establish a consistent bedtime routine American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, “Brush, Book, Bed” Turn all screens off 30 minutes prior to

bedtime Avoid having televisions, computers, or

other devices in children’s bedrooms

Video on how sleep affects the brain: https://sleepfoundation.org/video-library

Dear Eagle River Elementary Community,

It’s been said that the best time to retire is before the boss suggests it. I have decided to take that advice before my due-date arrives or my shelf-life expires.

It has been my privilege to work with the finest staff in the district and teach the most wonderful children any educator could hope for. As the librarian, it has been my unique experience to “check-out” students from pre-school all the way through sixth grade and watch as they write a new chapter in their story every year. Nothing gave me more satisfaction than finding a just-right book for the just-right kid and seeing a reluctant reader become a voracious one.

After 21.5 years in the district (12 of them at Eagle River Elementary School), I can truly say I’ve had a storied career. Now it’s time for me to return my school library card and focus on my family. I’m looking forward to exploring this new episode as a retired book whisperer. The future will be full of volunteering, reading, crafts, reading, adventures, reading, friends, and, (did I mention?), reading.

As of this writing, we don’t know who your new librarian will be. When he or she arrives, I hope you will be sure to make your new librarian feel welcome and as special as you’ve made me feel during all these years.

Sincerely,

Elaine Daw, Librarian

School Business Partners & Community SupportersWe are so lucky to have an amazing community who supports our school. We would like to thank our School Business Partners: Subway, Starbucks, Anchorage Fire Department, Chugach Chiropractic, ECHO News, and

Integrity Environmental LLC.! They have gone above and beyond to support our staff and students.We look forward to continuing to work with them to make the school a better place!

If you or someone you know has a business and would like to help support our school, please contact the office for ways you can help.

Thank you to Eagle River Missionary Baptist Church for donating over 50 Brown Bag Snack Packs

twice a week!

Families, if you are experiencing difficulty feeding your children, please contact the school at 742-3000 for support out of our food pantry.

School Business Sponsor Award!

We here at Eagle River are pleased to announce that Integrity Environmental LLC has been selected to receive a 2018 School Business Partnership Spirit of Tomorrow Award along with our

school partner, Shannon Oelkers!

The award will be presented at the SBP Spirit of Tomorrow Award Luncheon on April 25th, 11:30 AM to 1 PM at the Dena’ina

Convention Center. If you are interested in going, you can purchase a seat online at https://sbpawards2018.bpt.me.

Congratulations Shannon and Integrity Environmental LLC !

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday2 3 4 5 6

9 10 11 12 13

16 17 18 19 20

23 24 25 26 27

30

Frosted FlakesB'Fast Meal

Amazin Raisins

Banana PancakesGraham Crackers

Orange JuiceApple

CroissantGraham Crackers

OrangeApple Juice

Sausage B'fastBites

Graham CrackersApple Juice

Satsuma Orange

Cereal Brkf Brk FruitLoop

Applesauce PC Cup

Frosted FlakesB'Fast Meal

Amazin Raisins

Blueberry MuffinGraham Crackers

Orange JuiceApple

Ham & Cheese B'fastSandwich

Graham CrackersOrange

Apple Juice

Dutch WaffleGraham Crackers

Apple JuiceSatsuma Orange

Cereal Brkf Brk FruitLoop

Pineapple FruitCup

Frosted FlakesB'Fast Meal

Amazin Raisins

Egg & Bacon B'fastPizza

Graham CrackersOrange Juice

Apple

Maple PancakesGraham Crackers

OrangeApple Juice

Egg, Cheese &Potato Burrito

Graham CrackersApple Juice

Satsuma Orange

Cereal Brkf Brk FruitLoop

Applesauce PC Cup

Frosted FlakesB'Fast Meal

Amazin Raisins

Blueberry WafflesGraham Crackers

Orange JuiceApple

Ham & Cheese B'fastSandwich

Graham CrackersOrange

Apple Juice

French Toast BerryBlast

Graham CrackersApple Juice

Satsuma Orange

Cereal Brkf Brk FruitLoop

Mandarin OrangeCup

Frosted FlakesB'Fast Meal

Amazin Raisins

April 2018Elementary School Breakfast

Menu

All meals include achoice of:

White 1% milk

Chocolate Fat Free milk

Lactose Free milk

Daily Cereal Offerings:Frosted Flakes

Fruity Cheerios

Rice Krispies

Frosted Mini Wheats

Chocolate Mini Wheats

2017-2018 Breakfast MealPrices:

Elem/Mid $2.10 High:$2.55

ES Adult: $3.00 Mid/High Adults $3.50

Cereal Nutritional info

Milk Nutritional Info

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday2 3 4 5 6

9 10 11 12 13

16 17 18 19 20

23 24 25 26 27

30

Beef and Broccoliwith sweet potato

friesChili with Sweet

Potato FriesDinner roll

Apple

Bbq Rib SandwichW/ Baked Beans

Hamburger w/ BakedBeansOrange

Teriyaki Chicken w/Oriental Rice andMidori VegetablesMini Corn Dogs

Midori VegetablesBanana

Pepperoni PizzaBroccoli W/ Jello

Applesauce

NachosCorn

Frozen Lemon BerryCup

Chicken DrumstickDinner roll

Tangerine Chicken &Rice

Midori VegetablesApple

Mini Corn DogsGrilled Cheese

SandwichCarrots w/

Applesauce

Chicken Caccitorew/ Pasta & Corn

Dinner rollTeriyaki Beef w/ Rice

& Baked BeansBanana

Cheese PizzaBroccoli W/ Peaches

PancakesSausage Patties

Tater totsFrozen Strawberry

Cup

Popcorn chickenwith sweet potato

friesBBQ Rib Sandwich

Tater totsApple

Chicken WingsCheesy Meatloaf

MashedPotatoes

Garfield BarDiced Peaches

Hamburger w/ BakedBeans

Mini Corn Dogs W/Swt Potato Fries

Banana

Pepperoni PizzaBroccoli w/Applesauce

Breaded ChickenSandwich W/ Trio

VegBattered Fish

Dinner rollPineapple Fruit

Cup

Popcorn Chicken,Broccoli w/ Cheese

SauceApple

Bbq Rib SandwichW/ Baked Beans

Hot Dog w/ BakedBeansOrange

Chicken DrumstickW/ Trio Veg

Mini Corn Dogs W/Trio Veg

Dinner rollBanana

Cheese PizzaCarrots & Pears

Dutch WaffleSausage Patties

Tater totsFrozen Strawberry

Cup

Popcorn chickenwith sweet potato

friesFresh Apple

April 2018 Elementary School Lunch Menu

All meals include a choice of:White 1% milk

Chocolate Fat Free milk

Lactose Free milk

2017-2018 Lunch Meal Prices:

Elem $3.65 Mid: $4.05 High: $4.50

Elem Adults: $4.50 Mid/High Adults $5.00

Milk Nutritional Info