Here at K-Beach Elementary, we love to focus on the positive. For me, near the top of the list of positives is pausing to enjoy the many wonderful things that our students have been learning this year. Please take a moment to read through this newsletter and help us celebrate some of the tremendous things that our staff and students have been busy accomplishing. Remember to take time to acknowledge some of your student's outstanding work as there was much to be excited about in February. We are looking forward to another incredible month of learning at K-Beach during March!

Students have been working hard to earn pom poms for displaying positive behavior around the school. We recently filled our school pom pom jar in the office. This means it's time for another celebration! Students were able to help us choose our upcoming celebration by voting for one of three choices. They chose to have an electronics party in their classes this Friday! Students may bring an electronic device to school with parent permission or they may use a school computer.

Congratulations to the students who earned Positive Office Referrals in the month of February!

Cooper Aragon

Bella Furrey

Carson Hensley

Kal-El Napouk

Pepper Seymour

Asher Kircher

Asher Van Slyke

Jack Van Vleet

Bronsyn Palaoro

Liberty Anderson

Catherine Backstrom

Olive Madrid

Alex Capsul

Drettalynn Lehr

Brody Tonione

Finn Nash

Charlie Feather

Kyra Gray

Elizabeth Backstrom

Afton Luck

Ernie Barber

Tatem Van Slyke

Irie Duemmel

Jack Van Vleet

Dear Caribou Community,

It is with great sadness that I must announce that I will not be returning to K-Beach as music teacher after spring break. I have greatly enjoyed my time here and I am disappointed that a personal health complication is shortening my time with you all. I would like to thank you for your support and encouragement during my time here, and I wish you all the best as you finish the school year with a substitute music teacher! Mr. Huhndorf will be finishing out the year in music class. He is an experienced teacher with his Master's in Education.

Sincerely,

Kristen Dillon

Our third and fourth grade team, coached by Mrs. Bryan, tied for third place in the district battle! Congratulations to Judson Smith, Holland Nyboer, Roudy Zulkanycz, and Chloe Bartell. Our fifth and sixth grade team, coached by Mrs. Klaben, worked hard and did fantastic in their district battle. Congratulations to Abigail Schafer, Tatem Van Slyke, Avah Cozzini, and Shyla Kieliszewski. Way to go!

Routine arrangements should be made with your child prior to coming to school. End-of-day messages for students should be limited to urgent messages resulting from an unexpected change in plans. Please call the school prior to 1:30 p.m. After 1:30 p.m., we are busy preparing students to go home and there may not be anyone available to answer your call or time to relay your message.

On March 1st, K-Beach had a visit from a very special alumna! Dr. Tess Caswell hosted a special assembly for our students. A former K-Beach Caribou and a 2004 graduate of Soldotna High School, Dr. Caswell now works for NASA as a Spacewalk Operations Engineer. She told students about her education and all of her accomplishments in her career. Students had the opportunity to see pictures and videos from astronaut training facilities and the International Space Station. They even got the chance to ask Dr. Caswell questions about NASA, space, and rocketry. Thank you Dr. Caswell for visiting our students and sharing your passion and knowledge.

We are pleased to inform you about the progress your children have made in our recent curriculum units. In the third unit, students in kindergarten through fifth grade learned about ways to manage intense emotions such as sadness, anger, and worry. As a result, they should be able to identify at least three methods to calm themselves down. These skills are essential for problem-solving at school and at home.

Our fourth and final unit focuses on problem-solving using the acronym STEP. The four steps are as follows:

1. State the problem without blame
2. Think of safe and responsible solutions
3. Explore potential consequences
4. Pick the best solution and make a plan

While there are various approaches to problem-solving, we encourage your children to use these steps when faced with a challenge.

Our sixth-grade students have been preparing for the transition to middle school. They recently received support from the school counselors at Skyview and Kenai Middle Schools to assist them in registering for seventh grade classes. Additionally, an introduction to career development was initiated through the use of www.AKCIS.org. Sixth graders are engaging in ten different activities (one per week) to help them identify career interests. Each student has a personal portfolio that they can access from home and will be available throughout their middle and high school years. We encourage you to ask your child about their progress by having them log in to their account from home.

Please be sure to reach out to Mr. Bultsma (907-260-1322 or sbultsma@kpbsd.k12.ak.us), if you have any questions or concerns.

On February 6th, K-Beach presented to the School Board and highlighted the fantastic things happening in our school. The Ukulele Club played a beautiful song to start the presentation. Our Student Leadership Team shared the different ways that they help our school and community. Mrs. Butler and several student presented beautiful artwork to each member of the Board. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our school during our presentation and, as always, thank you to the members of the School Board for your continued dedication to our students.

Recently the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (DEED) released the 2021-2022 Report Cards to the Public for each school district and school in Alaska. These Report Cards present information about performance for the 2021-2022 school year. During this first administration of The Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR) assessment, students in grades 3-9 were assessed in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Students in grades 5, 8, and 10 took the Alaska Science Assessment.

To view a 2021-2022 School or District Report Card to the Public, go to https://education.alaska.gov/compass/report-card. Once there, you will be able to select which School or District Report Card to the Public you wish to view. This user-friendly website aims to provide families with clear, common information about all public schools and districts in our State. These Report Cards to the public contain data and information about academics, school environment, teacher quality, and more. If you are unable to access the Report Card to the Public online, please contact your student’s school.

We know that the Report Card to the Public is just one of many ways you will engage with us at K-Beach Elementary. We look forward to sharing our school’s successes with you, and working together to make our school better every day.

We hope you will closely follow your student’s academic progress and work with his or her teacher to help ensure academic success. Working together as a team, we can improve not only how well our students are performing individually, but how our school and district is performing as a whole. There is nothing more important to administrators and teachers at K-Beach Elementary than ensuring that students are ready for the next step in their academic career. We look forward to partnering with you.

• March 9th: Early Release, Dismissal at 12:55pm
• March 10th: No School, Inservice Day
• March 13th-17th: No School, Spring Break
• March 23rd: PTO Meeting in the Library at 3:00pm
• April 7th: Make Up Snow Day - School is in Session
• April 14th: Early Release, Dismissal at 12:55pm