• April - Month of the Military Child

• April 12th - AK STAR Testing begins

• April 15th - Purple Up Day

• April 22nd - Intent to Return forms are due

• April 22nd - 5th - 8th Grade Social/ Dance

• April 26th - STEAM Night and Open House

• April 27th - 6-7 pm Open House at Tanana Middle School

• May 3rd - Art Night

Here’s six simple tips for parents to help your student perform his or her best on testing days.

1. Prioritize attendance

Tests are ultimately intended to be a measure of how well students have learned the material being taught in class. With that in mind, what is the best piece of test-prep advice for caregivers is to do what you can to ensure that your child is fully engaged with his or her classwork throughout the year. If your student is absent, check in with them to make sure they can make up what they missed.

2. Communicate with teachers

Regular communication with your child’s instructor can help you gain insight into his or her progress. Make a point of meeting or talking with your child’s teacher to understand what your child is working on, what he or she will be tested on, and the areas that he or she is excelling and struggling in.

3. Talk to your child about test taking

Have open, ongoing conversations with your child to explain the benefits of testing, focusing on how it helps them, their teacher, their school, and other educators understand their strengths and weaknesses and figure out the most effective ways to teach. You can also use this opportunity to ask your students how they feel about testing, and offer reassurance or perspective if they have any anxiety around exams.

4. Offer positive reinforcement

A little encouragement can go a long way in helping students walk into testing days feeling confident—which, in turn, can have a huge effect on their performance. Praise your child for the work that he or she does to prepare for testing, and share in his or her excitement when he or she has success with a new concept or skill. Similarly, when he or she is struggling with a topic, point out the progress that he or she has made and encourage him or her to continue working. Having already experienced success with the material that he or she will be tested on will help your child avoid test anxiety and perform to the best of his or her ability on testing day.

5. Support healthy habits

Sleep and nutrition can have a huge impact on your child’s ability to focus and retain information. One of the most helpful things that you can do as a parent is focus on supporting these basic needs. Well-rounded meals and a regular sleep schedule will help your child succeed in the classroom on a day-to-day basis. On testing days, it’s especially important to make sure that your child gets a good night’s sleep and starts the day with a filling breakfast.

6. Debrief after the test

After testing days have come and gone, talk with your child about his or her results and how he or she felt about the test. By discussing their thought processes and feelings, you can gain further insight into what he or she is struggling with and excelling at and then help him or her better prepare next time. Talking about testing can also help your child process the experience and overcome any anxiety that he or she might have had.

As part of our continued efforts to raise student achievement while maintaining efficient and effective operational practices, the FNSBSD is undergoing an accreditation review with Cognia. Accreditation is voluntary and certifies that the schools and districts meet high standards and provide a quality learning environment set forth by expert evaluation teams. You can see the District's accreditation webpage if you want to learn more.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from stressful experiences, such as the small ones that come up everyday and the larger ones that come up every year. Bouncing back means having stressful feelings get smaller or go away so that our bodies can rest and heal, and so that we can feel connected to others and safe.

To bounce back from stressful experiences actually takes exercise – just like bending your knees and pushing off on a trampoline to get airborne.

Resilience increases when we exercise because when we move our bodies we are increasing circulation to the 400 miles of capillaries in our heads. Exercise also uses and strengthens the parts of our brain associated with regulating our emotions, understanding a bigger picture, and relaxing us through endorphins.

When people use computer screens for recreation, they are often not moving around very much for circulation and balance.

To increase resiliency in your family, walk everyday multiple times! Steps on the ground support steps in your head for feeling happier and healthier.

Go to Schoolcafe.com to apply for "free or reduced" lunches or download the app. Qualifying students will receive a scholarship to the Summer camp that takes the price from $230 to $25. After you finish applying on Schoolcafe.com, fill out the scholarship form below and

contact Ms. LaSota at the school at 907-356-2038.

If you are interested in being involved with the PTA please contact me at 920-660-9615. We are looking to finish out the year prepared to build our foundation for next year. We will be looking to fill PTA positions in the fall and we are always looking for volunteers. We are currently selling Papa Murphy coupon cards as a fundraiser ($10).

I don’t know who needs to know this, but

even if a bear wears socks and shoes, he

still has bear feet.

I arrived early to the restaurant and the manager

Said, do you mind waiting a bit. I said no.

Good, he said, take these drinks to table 9.

Dad, can you tell me what a solar eclipse is?

No sun.

Finally, my winter fat is gone.

Now, I have spring rolls.