Alpenglow School Newsletter
December/January 2021
Home of the Snow Leopard
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).
From the Principal
It is hard to believe that the school year is about half over and the holiday season is here! Time sure flies when you enjoy what you do and the people around you. There is a lot of festivity and excitement this time of the year. Our minds and bodies are anxiously awaiting the up-coming two-week break from school. It has been rewarding to visit classrooms and observe students interacting with each other and with their teacher as they apply the concepts that they are learning. There is still plenty of learning going on. Please take a few moments to remind your student to stay focused on schoolwork and to follow our positive school-wide behavior expectations: Be Safe, Be Respectful and Kind, Be Responsible and Be Ready from the classroom to the playground and everywhere in between. With your continued support and encouragement at home, our children will indeed benefit.
As I embrace the last few weeks of the first semester, I also look forward to the New Year. This time of the year allows us to reflect on the successes and accomplishments of the past and start looking forward to the New Year and making new resolutions. My door is always open, stop in and say hello.
Wishing you a happy December, joyful holiday, a pleasant winter break and a happy New Year. The next Newsletter will go out in February.
Denise Demetree-Trombley
Principal, Alpenglow
Reminders
- We practice our emergency procedures regularly. If you have questions, please see your child’s teacher or me.
- The speed limit in the parking lot and drop-off/pick-up zone is 5 mph.
- Please don’t idle your car in the fire lane in front or in back of the school. Exhaust from idling cars is funneled right into the building due to the heating and ventilation system.
- Cars without drivers may NOT be left in the fire lane. This blocks in-coming traffic and disrupts the flow of traffic. Please, park your car in the parking lot and walk your student inside and/or to pick up your student after school.
- Remind your student to use the crosswalk. Students are darting between parked and idling cars. They are also running across the street or into the driveway to get into cars. With snowy and icy roads, we have had some close calls. We need your support in reinforcing proper use of the crosswalk to keep our students safe.
- Pull forward and drop off or pick up your student against the curb and not in the middle of the cross walk.
- Winter is here. Please send your child to school with proper winter attire: hat, gloves, coat, snow pants, and snow boots. We also recommend you write your child’s name on their belongings. That will allow us to return lost items more easily to students.
- Student supervision starts at 8:45 a.m. Please don’t send students to school before then.
- Students should go straight home at the 3:30 p.m. bell. They may return after checking in with you at 4:00 p.m. to play on the playground.
- The first bell rings at 8:45 a.m.
- School begins at 9:00 a.m. Students are tardy if they arrive after the 9:00 a.m. bell and will need to stop in the front office for an admission slip to class.
- If your student is going to be absent, please call 742-3300.
- Please consider helping our PTA. They do a lot for our school and could use a few volunteers to help with various events. You do not need to come to all the PTA meetings to be a volunteer. They are looking for individuals who can help once or twice per year. The PTA’s next meeting is Wednesday, December 1, 2021.
- Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to help.
Dates to Remember
Fridays – Wear Alpenglow school colors – black, teal, and white
- November 30: Great Alaska Pizza Company PTA Fundraiser
- Dec. 1: PTA meeting @ 3:45 in the Library
- Dec. 3: Popcorn Friday
- Dec. 9: School Choir Concert
- Dec. 10 from 5 - 7: PTA Winterfest - Ice Skating and Hot Chocolate
- Dec 6 - 10: Student Council Candy Cane Sale
- Dec. 13: Spirit of the Season - Roll your pants up and show off your festive socks.
- Dec. 14 - 16: PTA Santa Shop
- Dec. 14: Spirit of the Season – Snuggle up to the season in your coziest pajamas.
- Dec. 15: Spirit of the Season – It is sweater season, time to pull out your favorite 'ugly' holiday sweater.
- Dec. 16: Spirit of the Season – Holiday spirit day – Wear what makes you feel ‘Merry and Bright’
- Dec. 16: Band and Orchestra Winter Concert @ 2:30
- Dec. 16: Panda Express PTA Fundraiser
- Dec. 17: No School (Teacher Work Day)
- Dec. 20 - Jan. 2: Winter Break (No School)
- Jan. 5: PTA meeting @ 3:45 in the Library
- Jan. 7: Popcorn Friday
- Jan. 14: PTA Family Night - Game/Movie Night
- Jan. 17: MLK Jr Day (No School)
- Jan. 28: Spirit Day - Sports Jersey
- Feb. 2: PTA meeting @ 3:45 in the Library
- Feb. 4: Spirit Day – 100th day of school – Dress like your 100 years old
- Feb. 4: Popcorn Friday
News from the Fabulous PE Department
We would like to give special thanks to Eve Schlotthauer and her family for their generous gift of a sealskin ball for our Indigenous game unit. This ball was handmade by Mary Kakoona, an Alaska Native, from the village of Shishmaref, Alaska. Shishmaref is a city on Shishmaref Island, near Nome, in the Chukchi Sea, north of the Bering Strait. Eve first came to Alpenglow in 2019. She and her family have embraced many unique Alaskan activities. Among the activities included the Indigenous game unit in our PE classes. Eve took an interest in these games and participated in the local and state Junior Native Youth Olympic events in February 2019 and 2020. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 games were carried out through submitted videos. In the state events, Eve took 1st place in the Scissor Broad Jump, 2nd place in the 1 foot high kick, 2nd place in the kneel jump, 2nd place in the 2 ft high kick, 3rd in the Alaskan high kick and 3rd in the seal hop. We are excited to share this wonderful gift with all of our Snow Leopard students. Thank you Eve and family!
News from the Nurse
Counselor's Corner
All Pro Dad meetings:
All Pro Dad (Zoom) meeting: we will have a January 2022, meeting. Stay tuned to Facebook and your teacher’s emails immediately after the holiday when we confirm the date!
Character Matters!
As we begin December, Alpenglow staff and students embrace Peace as our character trait of the month.
Peace is defined as a stress-free state of security and calmness that comes when there’s no fighting or war, everything coexisting in perfect harmony and freedom. A perfect focus on which to end the calendar year!
Parents, thank you for helping your student find and practice peace. While we can easily see where peace is not present, it is also possible to make small changes to promote peace in our lives. For example, we can explore inner peace noticing what helps create it in us (meditation? exercise? time with friends and family?). Or, we can spend time in nature, feeling the peace of our beautiful local environment: snow on the trees, ravens dancing in the air, and clean, crisp air.
Thank you for joining us in discovering the gift of peace!
Your Alpenglow school counselor,
Jane Barber Barber_jane@asdk12.org, direct line: 907-742-9533
PTA News
Alpenglow Elementary School
Email: demetree_denise@asdk12.org
Website: https://www.asdk12.org/alpenglow
Location: Alpenglow Elementary School, Driftwood Bay Drive, Eagle River, AK, USA
Phone: 9077423300
Facebook: facebook.com/alpenglowelementary