The Glacier Bear Gazette
May 2024
Countdown to the Final Day of School!
Dear Families,
We have 19 days left before the last day of school, May 23. Teachers have planned fieldtrips, assessments for report cards, and important learning for this last month together. May is commonly referred to as "Sea Week or Sea Month" as classes visit the beach, local sites, and participate in culturally relevant and place-based learning opportunities. We work to ensure all children can participate and it is important to review safety expectations and guidelines with children. We also love having volunteers join us on field trips, so please connect with your child's teacher to find out if there are opportunities to volunteer.
AK Star Testing is Complete
Our 3rd - 5th Grade students have wrapped up this year's AK Star Testing! They worked hard and we are happy to have all of our students participate. Thank you for your support to ensure students were rested and ready to go! Families can also access LAST YEAR'S scores by visiting the State Report Card to the Public. Info was sent out in February about how to review this document or you can access the letter here.
Dibels Spring Benchmark
This week we will be wrapping up our Dibels Spring Benchmark. This assessment looks at literacy skill acquisition such as decoding, letter naming, and fluency. It is also the tool we use in accordance with AK Reads. Families will recieve a final report with their child's report card at the end of the school year.
Last Week of School
The last week of school is also a very busy week as students participate in Field Day, Slideshow, Ice Cream Social, and help with closing down the classroom. The process of shutting down a room can provide closure for students as they collect their artwork, reports, personal effects, and say good bye to one another. Teachers will be sharing info about opportunities to volunteer and help the last week of school.
Have a Great Month!
Dana Wyatt, Principal
Around the World Family Night -- Thursday, 5/2
LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR YEARBOOK
A limited supply of yearbooks are available for purchase. If you completed an online Yearbook Order, your child will receive their yearbook the last week of school. Yearbooks will also be available for purchase until supplies run out. Have your child pick up an order form from the front office. Cost is $15.00 per yearbook.
As you may be aware, next year we will have students at SES-GV in Pre-School through 6th Grade. We are expected to have over 300 students next year and it has been a few years since we have had this many students.
We have not finalized classrooms nor do we have teacher assignments at this time. Additionally, things can also change over the summer. What we DO know is that we WILL have 6th grade students. Therefore, we will not be having a 5th grade promotion this school year. Next year we will transition to holding a 6th grade promotion for our 6th graders.
We will also be ready for ALL students next year and we are thrilled to keep our students a little longer.
Our School Counselor, Alex LeGrand and Family Advocate, Tina Rice have been working with a brand new Student Council to help facilitate our rising 6th graders and their ideas for 6th grade. A student interest survey has been conducted and we are working to help student voice become student action while learning about the process to "make things happen"!
Important Dates
- Early Release Days: 4/29, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20 Dismissal is at 2 p.m.
- Parent Group/Site Council: 4/29, 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Library
- Around the World Family Night: Thursday, 5/2, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
- School Wide Assembly: 5/3, 8-8:30 a.m.,1st Grade Sharing
- Final Site Council/Parent Group Meeting: 5/13, 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Library
- Board of Education Meetings, JDHS Library or ZOOM
- Work Session, 4:30-5:45 p.m.
- BOE Meeting, 6-10 p.m.
- Primary Field Day (K-2): Tuesday, May 21
- Intermediate Field Day (3-5): Wednesday, May 22
- LAST DAY OF SCHOOL: Thursday, May 23, Report Cards go home
- Teacher Work Day - No Student Attendance: May 24
SES-GV Equity Goal for 2023-2024
SES-GV will create an environment with a sense of well-being and safety for all students and families by increasing the number of family engagement events, extracurricular activities and communications with/to families in the 2023-2024 school year.