Harborview Express
Feb. 11-17, 2023
MESSAGE FROM MRS. HARVEY
Hello Harborview Families! We look forward to seeing you all Thursday or Friday as you come in to meet with your child's teacher. Conferences (for me anyway) always come with a mix of excitement and also worry. We want to be able to share all the amazing things our kids are doing but sometimes we have to have tough conversations as well. Please know that all of the staff at Harborview Elementary are here to help support our students and families.
Ask just about any teacher how school is going and inevitably the conversation will include something about "unusual behaviors" or "kids are struggling a bit". I don't know the reason (and we all have theories) but it does seem like kids are struggling to be kind to each other. Not ALL kids of course, but it feels like more than in years past. We are working on how we can help support friendships and kindness and we need your help. Please watch how your child's friendships are going. How do they talk to each other? What are their text messages saying? What are they hearing (and saying) while playing online games? We do the same here at school especially at recess and lunch when kids have unstructured time to interact. I know that we can all support each other to help our kids have positive friendships and interactions.
BOOK FAIR IS BACK ALL WEEK. STOP BY DURING CONFERENCES TO SEE WHAT'S NEW!!
CONFERENCES ARE HERE!
Parent Teacher Conferences are this Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th. Please look for information (emails and newsletters) from your child's teacher for directions on how to sign up for a time. The actual end of the trimester is not until March 3rd so this is a progress checkin and report cards will go home in March.
If you have not signed up for a conference and need to, please reach out to your child's teacher or call 907-523-1850 for assistance.
IN THE SPIRIT OF SHOWING KINDNESS TO OTHERS, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A HARBORVIEW/TCLL TEACHER. 🥰
Our teachers start their day at 7:30, arriving at school to prepare the classroom, look over lesson plans, check emails, listen to phone messages, and deal with all the things that pop up each morning. At 8:00 students walk through the door and it is "game on"! :) During the day they get 36 minutes of prep time to: write those lesson plans (for reading, writng, math, social studies, science, intervention, art, etc), differentiate those lesson plans for extension-on level and below level learners, and prep all the materials they need. Kids leave at 2:30 and teachers head to staff meetings, Professial Development Trainings, Professional Learning Teams, Parent meetings, or (if they are lucky) they just get to debrief the day checking emails, phone messages, and addressing any concerns that have come up during the day, and then they prepare to do it all again tomorrow (often taking work home to get it all done).
I share this as a way to show my appreciation for how hard our teachers work for our kids. :) I am amazed every day by the love and commitment they show. Thank you teachers!
ELIZABETH PERATROVICH DAY FEB. 16
This date was established by the Alaska Legislature as the anniversary date of the signing of the Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, a bill which Elizabeth, a Tlingit activist, is credited with getting passed.
A grand president of the Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) during the time that she lobbied to have the anti-discrimination bill passed into law, Elizabeth and her husband Roy lobbied passionately to eliminate the blatant discrimination policies faced by Alaska Natives. Until the bill passed, many Alaska businesses wouldn’t serve Natives and treated Natives as second-class citizens.
The bill faced harsh opposition in the Senate. One senator asked his fellow legislators, “Who are these people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us?” Elizabeth Peratrovich was listening from the Senate gallery and requested the opportunity to address the Senate from the gallery. In a calm voice she said, “I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with 5,000 years of recorded history behind them of our Bill of Rights.” When Elizabeth concluded her speech, the room burst into applause.
Elizabeth’s dramatic response to a Senator when asked if she thought the proposed bill would eliminate discrimination is legendary. She said, “No law will eliminate crimes, but at least you as legislators can assert to the world that you recognize the evil of the present situation and speak your intent to help us overcome discrimination.” Her extraordinary testimony was met with a wild burst of applause from the gallery and senate floor alike. The Alaska Senate passed the Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act on February 8, 1945 by 11for and 5 votes against the bill. This was the first such law passed anywhere in America, and ten years before Brown versus Board of Education. Elizabeth Peratrovich’s efforts helped to preserve equality and justice for all Alaskans regardless of race, creed, and ethnic background.
Rodewald,edy (2/11) Elizabeth Peratrovich Day is February 16
https://keepitsacred.itcmi.org/2016/02/elizabeth-peratrovich-day-is-february-16/
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS 2023!
Congratulations to Ms. Drummond's 3rd grade team: Mayzie, Makai, Jazzy and Evans for winning this years Harborview Battle of the Books! And congratulations to all the students who participated. It was a hard fought battle and we are so proud of all of you!
MATH FAMILY NIGHT FEB. 23RD 5PM-7PM HARBORVIEW ELEMENTARY
Free to all students grades K-5
Please join us! We will have differnt games set up in classrooms that you can learn and play with your child. You will then leave with everything you need to play the games at home! We look forward to seeing you all.
CURIOSITY UNLEASHED STEAM NIGHT
Monday Feb. 13 5:30-7:30 Thunder Mountain High School
A free event for K-5 Families.
Hands-On STEAM Activities-Free FOLDSCOPE-Light Snack
Join for 50+ Hands-On STEAM Activities PLUS a special interactive RAven WRites Presentation designed for families!