Ravenwood Elementary
February 23, 2021
Home of the Ravens
Ravenwood embodies community and thrives from the interconnected support system of Eagle River. Outdoor education, the arts, and the use of technology are all integrated into the academic experiences students are offered to optimize engagement, creativity, and independent learning.
Land Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge that our school is on the traditional lands of the Dena'ina Athabascan people. It is with gratitude and respect that we recognize the past and present contributions of Alaska's first people. Chin'an (thank you)
Dear Ravenwood Families,
It is SO great to have all of our students back in the building! So far, everyone is doing an excellent job keeping our building open and symptom-free and maintaining the mitigation plans for masks, social distancing, and LOTS of hand-washing/sanitizing.
Don’t forget this Friday, Feb. 26th is asynchronous learning day, so students will access learning options from home, while teachers are involved in planned staff development trainings. Then Friday, Mar. 5th is the end of the quarter and grading day for teachers, so students can get a jumpstart on enjoying their Spring Break, Mar. 8-12. When we return to school on Mar. 15, we will all need to buckle up, as there are no scheduled days off or holidays left on the calendar. We will just be vigilant about maintaining our mitigation plans to avoid any class closures.
I hope you will take a few minutes to read through this month’s newsletter and “catch up” on all the latest including: Covid-19 travel guidelines, Battle of the Books Champions, our Fur Rondy Button winner, the Subway iReady incentive, and much more. Please plan to participate in this year’s School Climate and Connectedness Survey. This survey is just one way to let us know how we are doing. The feedback we get from parents, staff, and students helps us keep Ravenwood a school where ALL students feel valued and succeed.
Joyfully,
Kim Bautista
Friday, Feb. 26th is an Asynchronous Learning Day
The ASD Board formally approved February 26 as an Asynchronous Learning Day for students. This counts as a student day on the calendar. These activities are not intended to be live ZOOM lessons or in-person learning activities, as the board’s intent was to honor Fur Rondy Day for any students who might wish to attend festivities with their families.
Battle of the Books District Champions!
This year’s district competition took place online, and our school teams shined! Our 5/6 Grade teams took 2nd and 10th places while our 3/4 Grade teams took 3rd and 7th places! Thank you to our teacher-coaches, Mrs. Pierce (5/6) and Mrs. Arnold (3/4), for leading them to reading success!
5/6 Teams:
Team 1:
Emma, Zoe, Mackenzie, Sophia
Team 2:
Landyhn, Emmah, Ivie
3/4 Teams:
Team 1:
James, Finley, Taylor, Kiernan
Team 2:
Aurora, Adina, Peyton, Aisha
We are so proud of this 3rd grader in Mrs. Bentson’s class!! If you would like to support Fur Rondy and purchase a commemorative pin for $2 – go to https://rondy-shop.myshopify.com/collections/2021-fur-rondy-collection/products/2021-booster-button
ONLINE LOTTERY IS NOW OPEN
The system opened for applications on January 1, 2021 for the 2021-2022 school year at 5pm.
Key Dates:
o March 18, 2021: Closes for applications at 5:00pm
o March 19, 2021: Lottery runs
o March 22-25, 2021: Schools validate accepted and waitlists.
o March 26, 2021: Parent notifications of lottery results. Both accepted and waitlisted families will be notified. Parents will have 2 school days (48 hours) to accept or decline the results of the lottery.
Click here for more information.
Please check out the NEW updated Covid-19 Travel Information!
Students may now return to school once they can verify they have a Negative test! Please refer to the complete guidelines at this link ASD Covid-19 Travel Link and contact Nurse Cottle if you have questions. (742-3254).
Nurse's Corner
Hello Raven Families!
I just wanted to give a great big shout-out to all our amazing students, families, and staff. What an incredible community we have. We are entering our 5th week of in-person school and everyone continues to do their part keeping Ravenwood symptom-free. This is my 22nd year as a school nurse and my 17th at Ravenwood. I am seeing very little illness and have only sent home 6 students with symptoms since 1/29/21. WOW! That is HUGE! Normally, this time of year, I am sending kids home on a daily basis with a variety of illnesses!
I also appreciate all the parents that are monitoring their children and keeping them home with symptoms. It is making the difference for Ravenwood to keep our classrooms and school open. The students have been doing a fantastic job wearing their masks, distancing, and washing their hands. Teachers and Ravenwood staff are following our mitigation and cleaning plans. Together, our school community is finding success. We have just over one quarter left to go in the school year- we’ve got this!
Please refer to the ASD website or contact me if you have questions on the NEW ASD Travel Guidelines that came out last Friday, 2/19/21 pertaining to return to school after travel outside of Alaska. Remember to please email myself or Debbie Weiss in the front office with your outside travel dates.
Spring/Summer airborne allergy season is just around the corner. If your child suffers from seasonal allergies in the spring please reach out to your child’s doctor so they can write a Chronic Symptom Exemption for their allergy symptoms. This exemption allows me to keep them in school when they are ONLY experiencing their seasonal allergy symptoms specific to them. If we do not have a chronic symptom exemption on file and they are presenting with symptoms, I will need to place them on 10 day isolation status per our district policy. Remember, no symptom is too small that it cannot be Covid. Thank you to the parents who have already sent in paperwork from their health providers.
Looking forward to more sunshine and warmer weather in the near future.
Updated Mask Guidance
Arrival and Dismissal
Thank you for doing such a great job at arrival and dismissal each day and keeping the traffic flowing with a simple stop, drop and roll along. A gentle reminder to PLEASE pull forward to the top of the circle driveway, even though it is SO tempting to stop closer to the main entrance. We appreciate the early arrivals holding students in their vehicles until 9:15 when staff are on duty to supervise students.
Is your child starting kindergarten in the Anchorage School District? Join us!
ASD staff will share what to expect as your child begins kindergarten in the fall. These sessions will provide information on transitioning to kindergarten and how to enroll. Families are encouraged to ask questions and will be provided digital resources. Together, we will partner to help prepare your child for school success. Join us for one of the sessions below:
April 6, 11am-12pm
April 12, 6pm-7pm
April 22 ,11am-12pm
April 26, 6pm-7pm
2021-2022 General Education & Buddy Bear Preschool Applications
The School Climate and Connectedness Survey is a statewide survey taken by students, staff, and families. This survey measures their perceptions of each school’s climate including the engagement of students, staff, and families.
The Student Survey will be given to students at Ravenwood in grades 3/4 during the week of March 1st and students in grades 5/6 during the week of March 15th, 2021. Students will complete the survey online during the school day. Survey questions ask how students feel about school rules, their perceptions of how students treat each other, their relationships with staff, and social and emotional skills. There are different surveys for younger students (grades 3-5) and older students (grades 6-12).
Family Survey: We also value input from our families. You are an important partner as we work to continually improve each school’s environment. Each parent/guardian is asked to complete one survey. If you have more than one child attending this school, you only need to fill out one survey. Parents can go to: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/aasb/asdfamily/surveys?language=en#
and choose Ravenwood in the drop-down menu!
All surveys are voluntary, anonymous, confidential, and do not ask questions about students’ families. If you do not wish for your child to participate, please notify the school in writing by Monday, March 1st, 2021.
Help us Evaluate ASD's Certificated Staff
The teacher and staff evaluation period is currently open.
ASD welcomes community input regarding our teacher and administrator employees' performance from now through April 30, 2021. This timeframe allows us to review the input received and take it into consideration during evaluations.
This input is allowed through Alaska state statute AS 14.20.149, which states that staff, students, parents, and community members have the opportunity to provide input on Certificated teacher and administrator performances. Per the statute, this comment period “provide[s] an opportunity for students, parents, community members, teachers, and administrators to provide information on the performance of the teacher or administrator who is the subject of the evaluation to the evaluating administrator.” https://www.asdk12.org/evaluations
Subway, one of our fabulous School Business Partners, is sponsoring an iReady Incentive through the rest of the year. Each week, classroom teachers will be looking for students who achieved their grade level lesson completion goal to be entered into their weekly drawing for a Subway Cookie coupon which will be announced on the morning announcements. All the students who achieved their grade level goal are also entered in their class monthly drawing for a Subway sub coupon. The class with the highest percentage of participation will win an end-of-the-year Subway party.
Lifetouch Photography was at Ravenwood last week taking traditional student photos. Look for packages and proofs to come home the week of March 15th, 2021. Pictures for ASD Virtual students and re-takes will be held on April 7th, 2021. Look for more info to come out closer to the scheduled date.
PTSO NEWS
Raven Spirit Challenge
Congratulations to Jennifer Walker for winning the January Raven Spirit Challenge! She won a Jitters Eagle River AK gift card. Thank you to all who sent in pictures!
February's Spirit Challenge: "Kindess of Ravens"
Show us your acts of love during the month of February. This can be anything! Submit a photo of your student making Valentine's cards for classmates, delivering flowers/cards to a neighbor, buying chocolates for someone, or volunteering in your community. Come join the fun!!
Spirit Challenge prizes are all hand-picked donations from our Ravenwood families.
Our next PTSO meeting will be March 3rd (the first Wednesday of every month) at 6pm via Zoom. Anyone is welcome; however, voting is only for PTSO members. See membership info on our website.
Please continue to support our school fundraising efforts with Boxtops, Amazon Smile, and Fred Meyer. Every little bit helps, and those little bits all go towards our amazing school.
FIND US AND GET CONNECTED!
SignUp Genius - search Ravenwood PTSO
Facebook: Ravenwood Elementary Group
Ice Rink Volunteers Needed
It takes a village to keep our ice rink looking amazing and we are SO thankful for all of our volunteers who keep our rink ready for students and families to enjoy! Many hands make quick work. Please email PTSO at ravenwoodptso@gmail.com with your name and contact number if you are interested in helping keep our ice rink looking great.
Boxtop Update
ASD Student Nutrition continues to serve up hot lunch meals free of charge, regardless of Free and Reduced Meal program, for the remainder of the school year thanks to a USDA grant to all participating National School Lunch Program schools.
ASD VIRTUAL LIAISON
School Business Partners
Anchorage School District School Board
2020-2021 ASD School Board
President, ELISA VAKALIS
Vice-President, MARGO BELLAMY
Treasurer, STARR MARSETT
Clerk, ANDY HOLLEMAN
Seat C, DAVE DONLEY
Seat E, ALISHA HILDE
Seat F, DEENA MITCHELL
DR. DEENA BISHOP, SUPERINTENDENT