The Raven's Call
Raven Homeschool
December 2019 Edition
Dear Raven Families,
Welcome to Raven's Call, your digital newsletter to keep you up to date on all things Raven. This monthly newsletter via SMORE will have an overview of highlights from each of our 6 Raven offices. Within this electronic version of our newsletter, you have easy-access to your local office news and resources by clicking on links within each section.
We are looking forward to another successful year and hope you will share pictures of your learning adventures with your local offices to be included throughout the year.
If you would like a printed copy, please contact your local office.
If you have questions, please contact Maegan mmascagno@yksd.com
- Raven Homeschool
From the Director's Desk:
Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours! I hope your holiday season is filled with happiness, love, relaxation & adventures! I’m thankful to have joined such an awesome program filled with so many amazing children & families. I’m also thankful for our amazing educational staff that serves Raven day in and day out. It truly is an honor to lead the very best homeschool program in the state, Raven Homeschool!
Architects of Deeper Learning
I’m in the process of reading an excellent book by Lissa Pijanowski entitled Architects of Deeper Learning. As homeschool parents, we have the privilege of designing & creating authentic learning opportunities for our children. One simple take away from the book I wanted to share are eight design principles that are critical to the process of lesson design. The principles are aligned with research and will lead to authentic and engaging learning experiences if you keep them in the forefront of your mind when planning instruction. I hope you find these principles as helpful as I do!
Learner goals and success criteria: Any great lesson begins with clear goals for what students need to know and be able to do.
Compelling content and product: Connect content and performance expectations to real-world problems or situations for students to solve.
Collaborative culture: Learning is social, and the purposeful inclusion of collaboration with you as the educator, siblings, or friends is highly engaging.
Student empowerment: Student ownership in learning increases exponentially when students are given choice over how to show mastery or create a final product.
Intentional instruction: Use the model of show them, help them, let them.
Authentic tools and resources: A variety of tools and resources should be leveraged to create student work. Providing our children with a variety of tools offers them choice and emphasizes process over product.
Focus on literacy: Regardless of lesson content, reading, writing, and speaking should be incorporated into every learning experience.
Feedback for learning: Throughout the learning experience, feedback loops should give students guidance on their progress toward the learning goals.
Counselor's Corner:
High School Seniors:
- In December all high schoolers should be thinking about having all of their course work for the year 50% completed before December 15th.
- All Seniors wishing to graduate in December: Your deadline for having ALL of your coursework completed is DECEMBER 10TH! You must contact Ryan or Megan by December 1st.
Attention Graduating Seniors:
Graduation is just around the corner and it is going to get busy, please stay in touch with your Advisory Teacher and Ryan or Megan. All Seniors planning on graduating or walking this May, please contact your Advisory Teacher, Ryan or Megan to complete a Senior Information Sheet before January 10th! We want to be able to order the proper cap and gown for you!
UA Scholars Program:
The UA Scholars Award is an $11,000 scholarship which can cover eligible expenses such as undergraduate tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, and other educational costs incurred for attendance at the University of Alaska. Students eligible for the award are designated by their high school counselors based on their academic standing at the end of their junior year. The award is disbursed to eligible Scholars in the amount of $1,375 per semester for a total of eight semesters over a five year period.
To learn more, click here: http://www.alaska.edu/scholars/
Alaska Performance Scholarship:
High school students can earn thousands of dollars to help pay for enrollment in a post-secondary institute after graduation. A combination of high school GPA and score on SAT/ACT or WorkKeys exam will determine eligibility. The award must be used at participating Alaskan institutions. Please contact your school counselor for more information regarding eligibility.
http://acpe.alaska.gov/FINANCIAL_AID/Grants_Scholarships/Alaska_Performance_Scholarship
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute:
High school seniors nationwide who demonstrate leadership, drive, integrity, and citizenship are invited to apply for the 2020 GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program. This program annually provides college-bound students with $10,000 renewable scholarships – up to $40,000 total per recipient – and supports them as they lead and serve in college and beyond. Applications for the 2020 GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program are accepted until January 3, 2020.
To learn more, click here: https://www.reaganfoundation.org/education/scholarship-programs/ge-reagan-foundation-scholarship-program/
PLEASE CALL YOUR SCHOOL COUNSELOR WITH QUESTIONS!
Megan Rosendall | Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla | mrosendall@yksd.com | 907.622.6631
Ryan Tilbury | Delta, Fairbanks, Juneau | rtilbury@yksd.com | 907.374.9432
Excel 10: Corporation/Leadership
10th-grade students take an in-depth look at the structure of a business and participate in a simulated corporation. Participants apply for a specific position within the corporation, be interviewed for the job, and carry out the duties of the position during their 10-day stay. Likewise, they will be paired with an employer in a career of their choice for a job-shadow, as well as learn valuable life and employability skills such as time-management, honesty, integrity, customer service, and superior work ethic. Students successfully completing an EXCEL 10 session can earn .5 high school credit.
When: 8 days, January 14th-21st in Anchorage
Application Deadline: is Monday, December 9th
Anchorage Office:
November Recap:
November was another busy month full of activities and workshops! We started the month with a fun field trip to the Atwood Theater to watch Soul Street Dance Co. perform their show “Breaking Backwards”. Terri’s FLL Robotics teams have been busy preparing for their competition on December 7th. She’s also been busy teaching Quilting Club, Jr FLL workshops, and book club workshops. Carmen’s Spanish workshops are making progress each and every week! She’s also been busy working with Spelling Bee participants to make sure they’re prepared for the city wide Spelling Bee this spring. Deb Fancher taught a few informational, hands on workshop about the Science of Oil, it was fascinating to learn more about such a huge part of our state economy! Danae’s Battle of the Books teams have been busy reading their books and practicing answer questions before our district battle in late January. Megan Rosendall, our graduation coach, was also in the office teaching a great workshop about the Strategies 4 Success. Our 25 Days of Giving: Reverse Advent Food Drive has been going on all month long, stop by and donate some canned/non-perishable food items by December 13th so we can deliver them to the local food bank!
Holiday Closures:
Our office will be closed December 23rd-27th, and December 31st-January 1st.
Upcoming Events:
December 2nd - Quilting Club
December 2nd - FLL Robotics
December 2nd - Drone Racing League
December 3rd - Elementary Spanish I & II workshops
December 4th - Science Workshops: The Science of DNA
December 4th - Jr. FLL Team 1
December 4th - Spelling Bee
December 4th - Jr. FLL Team 3
December 5th - Science Workshops: The Science of DNA
December 5th - Strategies 4 Success: Tracking Your Progress
December 6th - Field Trip: Sleeping Beauty
December 9th - Quilting Club
December 10th - Art with Rocky: Grades K-3
December 11th - Teacher In-Service: no meetings
December 12th - Winter Party at Bear Tooth Theater
December 12th - Book Club: Ender’s Game
December 13th - Field Trip: Dimond Greenhouses
December 13th - Jr. FLL Team 2
December 13th - Girls Who Code
December 14th - Wrapping Paper Station
December 16th - Quilting Club
December 17th - Elementary Spanish I & II workshops
December 17th - Civil Air Patrol
December 18th - Jr. STEAM: Drones
December 18th - Spelling Bee
December 18th - Program-Wide PAC Meeting
December 18th - Jr. FLL Celebration
December 19th - STEAM: Drones
December 19th - Strategies 4 Success: Financial Planning
December 23rd-27th - Office Closed
December 31st-January 1st - Office Closed
Staff Schedules:
Carmen will be out of office December 10th-13th, and 23rd-January 3rd.
Danae will be out of office December 2nd, 3rd, and 23rd-January 6th.
Terri will be out of office December 3rd, 20th, and 23rd-January 3rd.
Maegan will be out of office December 4th-10th.
For more details about our events and to RSVP, please click on our SMORE below!
FLL Robotics practicing their presentation
Civil Air Patrol
Quilting Club
Delta Office:
Looking back:
Our Raven Book Fair was a wonderful success. Thank you for shopping. We could not have had book fair without our volunteers: The Moskalenko Family, Andrea Peters, Sally Larson and Timothy Zastavskiy. Terrific Tuesdays were well attended in November. Our Lego Teams, Wreck It Ravens and the Lego Masters, have been working hard this year. The Lego Masters have a competition in Fairbanks on December 14th. They will compete with other teams from all over Alaska. Our senior class meets once a month to plan their graduation. Ryan joins us to help students prepare for life after high school. Our 2020 graduation will take place at the Word of Life Church on May 29 at 6:30 pm.
Looking Forward:
December 10th - Raven Christmas Craft Day
December 14th - Raven Lego Masters compete in Fairbanks
December 17th - Raven Christmas Open House
December 18th - Raven-wide Parent Advisory Committee meeting
Staff Schedules:
Heidi will be out of the office December 18th-January 3rd.
Holiday closures:
The office will be closed December 23rd-27th and December 31st-January 1st.
For more details about our events and to RSVP, please click on our SMORE below!
Eagle River Office:
November Recap:
November was the month of birthdays in the Eagle River office as all three staff got a little older celebrated by our amazing Raven families. Geography club taught about Europe, STEM taught more about playing with coding; and ski club got its first big snow in time for its first skiing outing. In December Clubs and classes will continue. We will be ramping up our Battle of the Books training as we get closer to battle time as well as throwing in some holiday fun in anticipation of the December holidays.
December Events:
December 2nd - Battle of the Books (All Teams)
December 2nd - TLC Meeting
December 3rd - 6 Most Important Decisions Workshop
December 3rd - STEM Club
December 4th - Eagle River PAC Meeting
December 5th - Field Trip: Sleeping Beauty
December 6th - Science Workshop: The Science of DNA
December 9th - Battle of the Books (All Teams)
December 11th - INSERVICE *no meetings*
December 11th - Geography Club: Africa
December 12th - Movie Event at Bears Tooth
December 13th - Art with Mandy
December 13th - Gift Wrapping Event at Fred Meyers
December 14th - Gift Wrapping Event at Fred Meyers
December 16th - Battle of the Books (All Teams)
December 16th - TLC Meeting
December 17th - STEM club
December 18th - System-Wide PAC
December 23rd-27th - The Eagle River office will be closed for Christmas Break
Staff Schedules:
Steve will be off December 20th- January 8th.
Megan will be off December 9th and December 23rd- January 7th.
For more details about our events and to RSVP, please click on our SMORE below!
Geography Club Treats
Hatcher Pass Ski Club outting
Art Through Geography
Fairbanks Office:
November Recap:
Halloween Skate Party: Raven Homeschool sponsored a Halloween Skate Party at the Big Dipper Ice Arena. Over 70 people attended and enjoyed skating, socializing, and refreshments. Families who attended enjoyed the event and suggested we do it again in the future. Skaters of all ages and experience levels were highly engaged in the event.
Fairbanks City Fire Department Field Trip: Fifteen K-8 students attended a field trip at the city fire department. The department is staffed by 100% professional fire fighters trained in state of the art fire and EMS services. Students toured the station and learned first-hand about equipment, fire prevention and truck inspection. There were lots of smiles due to the interaction with firefighters. They especially enjoyed the jaws of life demonstration. One group was lucky enough to see two firefighters gear up in 30 seconds for a rapid response.
Intro to Financial Aid Presentation: The University of Alaska Community and Technical College (CTC) hosted an "Introduction to Financial Aid" Workshop for Raven on November 18th. Topics covered were: Applying for scholarships, grants, and student loans as well as the UA application process. The Presenter, Mrs. Becky Phillips, is the Financial Aid Advisor for CTC.
December Activities:
December 2nd - Sewing Club
December 2nd - Raven Christmas Craft: Ornaments
December 3rd - Running Club
December 4th - Junior Lego League
December 4th - Caroling at Pioneer Home
December 4th - PAC Meeting
December 5th - Staff Meeting
December 5th - First Lego League
December 6th - Art Class
December 9th - Sewing Club
December 9th - Yearbook
December 10th - Battle of the Books
December 10th - Running Club
December 10th - Raven Christmas Party
December 11th - Junior Lego League
December 12th - First Lego League
December 13th - Art Class
December 16th - Sewing Club
December 17th - Running Club
December 17th - Fly Trampoline
December 17th - DVR & Access Alaska Info-session
December 18th - Junior Lego League
December 18th - STEM Day
December 18th - Raven Wide PAC Meeting
December 19th - Staff Meeting
December 20th - Art Class
Staff Schedules:
Natasha Anderson will be off December 16th, and 23rd-31st.
Ryan Tilbury will be off December 2nd- 6th, and he'll be in Delta Junction December 17th-18th.
Cathy Walker will be off December 6th, 13th, and 16th-31st.
Chuck Backe will be off December 2nd- 4th, 9th, 16th, and 23rd-31st.
Heidi Wright in the Manley Office December 3rd, 16th-18th. She'll be off December 2nd, 12th, 13th, 19th-31st.
Office Closure:
The Fairbanks office will be closed December 23rd-27th.
For more details about our events and to RSVP, please click on our SMORE below!
Fire Station field trip
Halloween Skate Party
Financial Aid Session
Juneau Office:
November in Review
November has flown by in a whirlwind of activity! The Yearbook Committee made another video advertisement to announce the winner of the Cover Design Contest and to promote pre-ordering by the end of the month for the final discount opportunity. Our JrFLL and FLL teams continued to meet weekly to work on this year’s challenge, Officer Cryderman kept teaching D.A.R.E. classes for 5th-6th graders, and Theresa continued meeting weekly with this year’s Battle of the Books teams. A good-sized group of 3rd-5th graders got to learn about marine life adaptations at DIPAC to finish off the fall Salmon Education Programs. The middle and high school students challenged each other during a special Goose Chase photo scavenger hunt all around town which proved quite humorous. During our monthly PAC meeting luncheon, we got to collaborate on upcoming activities in Dec and Jan, and our Assistant Principal Kim Bergey was our special guest for the meeting. The captain and crew at the downtown fire station led a large group of families on another excellent tour of the station and trucks. Art teacher Rocky once again led some fantastic art workshops for our students by videoconference--the younger kids producing some mind-bending fancy ribbon art, and the older students painting beautiful Alaska night sky scenes. More turkeys than ever before got disguised for our annual competition and were able to sneak past Thanksgiving unnoticed. It was a great month to remember how thankful we are for all the families that are a part of our Raven Homeschool family.
Holiday Office Closures:
December 23rd-27th & 31st - Office Closed
December Important Dates:
December 2nd - D.A.R.E.
December 3rd - FLL
December 5th - JrFLL
December 6th - Battle of the Books Teams Meeting
December 6th - Deadline to sign up & bring stockings for Stocking Stuffer Gift Exchange
December 6th - Yearbook Committee Meeting
December 6th - Scholastic Book Club Dec Orders Due
December 9th - D.A.R.E.
December 10th - Airlift Northwest Tour
December 10th - FLL
December 10th - PAC Meeting Luncheon & Hour of Code Activity
December 11th - Teacher Inservice Day: no appointments
December 12th - JrFLL final meeting
December 13th - Battle of the Books Teams Meeting
December 13th - Deadline to bring gifts for Stocking Stuffer Gift Exchange
December 16th - D.A.R.E. final class & celebration
December 17th - Holiday Craft Party
December 17th - Caroling at Wildflower Court
December 18th - YKSD Virtual Holiday Program
December 18th - Art with Rocky 4th-8th grades
December 18th - Raven-wide PAC Meeting via VTC
December 19th - Art with Rocky K-3rd grades
December 20th - Battle of the Books Teams Meeting
December 20th - Deadline to pick up filled stocking for Stocking Stuffer Gift Exchange
December 23rd-27th - Office Closed for Christmas
December 31st - Office Closed for New Years
Staff Schedules:
Theresa Off - December 16th, and 23rd-31st
Joan Off - December 16th-31st
For more details about our events and to RSVP, please click on our SMORE below!
Wasilla Office:
November in a Nutshell
Winter finally arrived for Wasilla in November with a mix of rain, ice, snow, and the melting-refreezing pattern that initiates the white season in Alaska. Before the snow came, several of our elementary students took a field trip to the local Mat-Su Central Fire Station, met some of our local firefighters, learned about fire safety and fire emergency preparedness, and got to watch two of the firemen race into their gear. Firefighters have a lot of personal protection equipment to put on in under two minutes when responding to a fire - and they look a lot different with their air tank, gloves, and mask on. Our other ongoing activities kept students busy last month, too, with Math Mondays, Battle of the Books team meetings, Rocket Readers, LEGO Club, Games Club, ARTiculate, Art with Rocky, Bowling Club, and Crafternoon. We had a speech workshop for middle and high school students, taught by vendor Wendy Golter. November's Culinary Cook-Off was a cinnamon roll competition, judged by our friendly Navy Recruiters in Wasilla. The Wasilla Office was smelling sweet as a bakery when students brought in their entries. We wrapped up November celebrating the Thanksgiving Holidays.
December Activities:
December 2nd - Mighty Mite Math (2nd & 3rd)
December 2nd - Mighty Midget Math Games (K & 1st)
December 2nd - Mrs. Horning's Marvelous Math (4th - 12th)
December 2nd - SCIENCE FAIR Informational Meeting with Ron Bergey
December 3rd - Rocket Readers (K & 1st)
December 3rd - Rocket Readers (2nd - 4th)
December 3rd - Middle School Battle of the Books
December 3rd - High School Battle of the Books
December 4th - Spectacular Science: Waters of Alaska
December 4th - PAC Meeting
December 4th - 3rd & 4th Grade Battle of the Books
December 5th - LEGO Club
December 5th - 5th & 6th Grade Battle of Books
December 6th - Spectacular Science: Animals of Alaska
December 6th - Crafternoon: ornament & card
December 6th - Parents' Night Out/Student Movie Night
December 9th - Mighty Mite Math (2nd & 3rd)
December 9th - Spectacular Science: Insects & Math
December 9th - Games Club
December 9th - Mrs. Horning's Marvelous Math (4th - 12th)
December 9th - Spectacular Science: Micro-world Part 1
December 10th - Rocket Readers (K & 1st)
December 10th - Rocket Readers (2nd - 4th)
December 10th - 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make (for Teens)
December 10th - Middle School Battle of the Books
December 10th - High School Battle of the Books
December 10th - SCIENCE FAIR part 2 with Ron Bergey
December 11th - Teacher In-service Day
December 11th - Spectacular Science: Acids & Bases
December 11th - 3rd & 4th Grade Battle of the Books
December 12th - Bowling Club
December 12th - Quilter's Club
December 12th - Strategies for Success with Grad Coach Megan
December 12th - 5th & 6th Grade Battle of Books
December 13th - Spectacular Science: Dry Ice
December 13th - Spectacular Science: Micro-world Part 2
December 16th-18th - Christmas Silent Auction: support our local MYHouse
December 16th - Mighty Mite Math (2nd & 3rd)
December 16th - Mighty Midget Math Games (K & 1st)
December 16th - Mrs. Horning's Marvelous Math (4th - 12th)
December 16th - Have Your Say Workshop with Wendy Golter
December 17th - Rocket Readers (K & 1st)
December 17th - Rocket Readers (2nd - 4th)
December 17th - Middle School Battle of the Books
December 17th - High School Battle of the Books
December 17th - Art with Rocky (4th-8th)
December 18th - Christmas Cookies Exchange
December 18th - Raven Program-Wide PAC Meeting
December 18th - 3rd & 4th Grade Battle of the Books
December 19th - Christmas Party at the Curtis Menard Ice Skating Rink
December 23rd-31st - Christmas Holidays Teachers Off
December 23rd - Office Closed
December 24th - Christmas Eve, Office Closed
December 25th - Christmas Day, Office Closed
December 31st - New Year's Eve
Office Schedule:
The Office will be CLOSED Monday, December 23rd; AND Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Tuesday & Wednesday, December 24th & 25th in observance of the Christmas Holiday
Regular Office Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
December Staff Schedules:
Cynthia will be off December 2nd, 9th, and 23rd-31st
Joy will be off December 6th, 13th, 20th, and 23rd-31st
Ruth will be off December 13th, 20th, and 23rd-31st
Kim will be off December 23rd-31st
For more details about our events and to RSVP, please click on our SMORE below!