Falcon Focus
Archibald Alexander Elementary: May 8, 2020
Alexander Elementary is committed to the relentless pursuit of excellence for each and every one of our scholars. We believe in our students, staff, and families and dedicate ourselves to creating a community that prepares our scholars for college or career.
Chris Gibson, Principal, Gibson.Chris@iowacityschools.org
A Message from the Principal
This past week has been Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week. As I mentioned in my email to families earlier this week, we are so blessed to have this particular group of humans working with our scholars at Alexander Elementary. Although much of what we absolutely adore and love about our work in education has been taken from us, we are still working incredibly hard to change up how we work with your children in this challenging and unprecedented time. THANK YOU to our Alexander Falcon staff!
It was so good to see many of you at our workbook distribution on Tuesday. Made my whole week! If you missed the pick up date, there will be another on Monday, May 11 from 4:00-6:00 pm in the front of Alexander school. Here are the Assignment of Pages.
If you are in need of support, please feel free to call or text me at 319-423-8551 or Ms. Shannon at 319-423-9917. gibson.chris@iowacityschools.org miner.shannon@iowacityschools.org We are available during school hours between 7:40 am-3:40 pm Monday-Friday. If your family is in need of support right now, we are sending out weekly gift cards. Contact us if you would like this support right now.
Love and miss you all!
Chris Gibson
THANK YOU TO OUR ALEXANDER STAFF! As Alicia Keys sings, you are doing a good job!
Daily Schedule Options for Families
Here are some options for you to help structure your days:
Learning From Home Suggestions
Book Madness: Weeks 3 and 4
Reading with our Title Teachers
Hello Falcons!
April 30th was Poem in Your Pocket Day so we would love to take some time to give poetry some love! Read some poems, jot down your favorite one, and share it with everyone around you throughout the day. So many of you are so talented with reading, rhythms, and beats. Use your skills to share your poem! See this link for some inspiration! https://poets.org/text/poems-kids
Music with Mrs. Laughlin
English Language Learning
Find a story on Tumblebooks. Listen to the story, and then answer the questions below.
You can write the answers, record the answers, or tell them to someone at home!
https://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f
username: 3141alex
password: aea10
What was the story mostly about?
What was one detail from the story?
Who were the characters in the story?
Physical Education with Mrs. Neubauer
Check out the creative ways to make your own equipment to keep active at your house. It's nice to see the art, science, and math skills coming together to create items for physical activity and family fun!
A Message from our School Counselor
Hi families,
As the weeks continue of our "new normal," I want to encourage you to check in on each other (from appropriate distances, of course. While that sounds simple, it is easily lost in the busyness of just trying to keep up.
- Check in with your child(ren). They are amazingly resilient and often seem to be ok, but the confusion and change in routine is most certainly affecting them.
- Check in with other family members. A simple "How are you doing today?" can mean the world to someone.
- Check in with neighbors and friends. Now, more than ever, we need to come together as a community and show compassion and kindness.
- Check in with your child's teacher and let them know you see them and appreciate them. They miss your children so very much and are concerned for them every single day.
Also, I want to share with you some wonderful apps that are available for your children (or you) that are useful tools in addressing mindfulness, emotions, and mental health. The link below will take you to a site that describes a variety of apps that you may find beneficial or interesting.
Common Sense Media Mental Health Apps
As always, please feel free to contact me if I can be of help to you or your child.
Diana Frisbie (frisbie.diana@iowacityschools.org)
Alexander School Counselor
Community Resources/Student Family Advocate Updates:
PTO Family Emergency Gift Cards: all Falcon Families are eligible weekly for a $20 gift card to a local store to support essential items during this pandemic. Families may request one card, per week, until funds are no longer available. Families must call each week. To have a gift card mailed to you please contact Ms Shannon at 319-423-9917 or Ms Gibson at 319-423-8551 during regular school hours. Leave a message with your name, your student's name, and the best contact number for your family and we will call you back!
Family Resources During COVID
A Message from Mr. Shoppa, (Extended Learning Program)
Hello Falcons!!
Are you ready to travel safely from the comfort of your own home? Start stretching and pack your day bag, include a notepad and pencil. Google Earth Voyager has numerous adventures to explore and topics to learn about culture, architecture, nature, math, language, and history to name a few. There is something for everyone!
Below you’ll find three links to games that are a reboot of a PBS Kids favorite of mine and my kids that we used to watch together- with a new twist. Use your sleuthing skills on an interactive geography trip to locate Carmen Sandiego! In Carmen Sandiego & Google Earth: Detectives & Travel Agents Games you’ll act as both detective and travel agent as you become true digital globe trotters. There are 3 different adventures:
1. CarmenSandiego:The Crown Jewels Caper
2. CarmenSandiego:Tutankhamun’s Mask Caper
3. Carmen Sandiego:Keys to the Kremlin Caper
Interested in castles and what influenced their design? Travel to several sites and learn how angles, line of sight, and properties of circles help define the geometry of castles.
I hope you enjoy these adventures or choose one of your own at Google Earth Voyager. Safe travels, enjoy!!
Check out the ICCSD Student Enrichment Guide
Grab and Go Lunch Sites
Lunch and breakfast will be served daily for our children. Meals are free and available to children age 1 – 18. These free Grab & Go meals are available at each site from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, unless otherwise noted.
Meal Pick-up Sites:
City High School
Hills Elementary School (12:10 – 1:00 pm)
Mann Elementary School
North Central Junior High
Northwest Junior High
South East Junior High
Twain Elementary School
West High School
Wood Elementary School
Breckenridge Mobile Park (12:10 – 1:00 pm)
Cole’s Communities Mobile Park (11:00 – 11:50 am)
Forest View Mobile Park (12:10 – 1:00 pm)
Hilltop Mobile Park (11:00 – 11:50 am)
Holiday Lodge Mobile Park (11:00 – 11:50 am)
Lakeridge Mobile Park (11:00 – 11:50 am)
Regency Mobile Park (12:10 – 1:00 pm)
This program will be solely for pick-up of meals and meals will not be consumed on-site. The District encourages families to continue to be proactive in reducing the risk of COVID-19 by not congregating at the school site once meals have been distributed. Meals are intended for immediate consumption and should be stored/refrigerated as needed. Additional resources for food assistance can be found through the United Way of Johnson County.
Alexander PTO Meetings
We will have our second virtual PTO meeting on Monday, May 11 at 6:30 pm. Please feel free to email alexanderelementaryPTO@gmail.com for the link to get into our virtual meeting.
Check out the PTO information on our website, including minutes from past meetings. https://www.iowacityschools.org/Page/14399
Important Dates to Remember:
May 11 May PTO mtg (virtual) email alexanderelementarypto@gmail.com for link
May 29 Last day of the 19-20 school year!
Non-Discrimination Statement
It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Jeremy Tabor, Director of Equity and Employee Relations, 1725 N. Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52245, 319-688-1000, Tabor.Jeremy@iowacityschools.org.
Email: gibson.chris@iowacityschools.org
Website: https://www.iowacityschools.org/Domain/105
Location: 3571 Sycamore Street, Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone: 3196881095
Facebook: facebook.com/archibaldalexanderelemtary
Twitter: @AlexanderElem15