Kasuun News
January 18, 2022
Letter from Mrs. Engstrom
Dear Kasuun Families,
Happy New Year! We are half way through January and things are going well. I am so thankful for our Kasuun community and how well we care for each other.
Last month, Kasuun PTA sponsored a Food Drive to help our community through the holiday season. Classrooms competed with each other to see who could provide the most canned goods. Ms. Ash's first grade won! Their class received a pizza party for the entire class and each student had the opportunity to smear whipped cream in my face. It was a fun time for all.
Dr. Bishop sent a letter to all families on January 13th. The Anchorage School District will follow the CDC guidelines and reduce the length of time to stay home from 10 days to five days for those testing positive for COVID-19. Another possibility in the coming days may be a return to temporarily suspended bus routes.
Conferences: Elementary schools will be having spring parent-teacher conferences as usual
February 16th-18th. The conferences will be in person, unless a virtual meeting is requested via Zoom.
Exciting events: Coach K will host Junior Native Youth Olympics (JNYO) & Kids Heart Challenge for Kasuun!
Junior Native Youth Olympics (JNYO) begins next Monday, January 24th and will continue for 3 weeks. All practices will be held M-Th in the morning from 7:40 am - 8:40 am. Permission slips were sent home with students and are due Friday, Jan. 21st. If you need a copy of the permission slip, visit our website: https://www.asdk12.org/kasuun
Schedule is as follows:
M - Grades 1 & 2
T - Grades 3 & 4
W - Grades 5 & 6
Th - All grades are welcome
Kids Heart Challenge - Monday, February 7th, Kasuun will have a Kick-Off Assembly via Zoom for our students. Information packets will be sent home.
Absences: To report your child's absence, call the Attendance Line before 9:30 am and leave a message. The number is: 349-9444 (press 1).
Arrival and Dismissal: Please help us keep students safe by driving slowly and following all staff guidance at arrival and dismissal. Parents, when you drop off your students by car, please have students exit on the passenger/curbside. It is unsafe to have your children exit your vehicle on the driver's side.
Attendance: Parents, I really appreciate you making the extra effort to ensure your child is on time to school (between 8:50 am - 9:00 am). In addition, scheduling appointments outside of your child's school day, provides them with the best opportunity to succeed socially, emotionally, and academically.
COVID Information: Scroll down to Nurse Linda's section to learn about new COVID testing sites and Vaccination registration. For more information about district COVID-19 planning and support click on the active link.
Winter Gear: Students wait outdoors each day until 8:50 a.m. and go outside for recess if the temperature is above -10 degrees. Please send your child to school with weather appropriate clothing (jackets, hats, gloves, and boots) to ensure their safety.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call or email me. My email address is: engstrom_korinne@asdk12.org and my phone number is: (907) 349-9444.
Kind regards,
Kori Engstrom, Principal
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
~Gandhi
Upcoming Events
1/17 - No School: Martin Luther King, Jr.
1/24 - JNYO begins
2/01
- PTA meeting at 4 pm
- Spring Lottery Opens
2/7 - Kids Heart Challenge Kick Off - Info Packets sent home
2/9 - Student Council Meeting 3:45 - 4:45
2/10 - JNYO Ends
2/16 & 02/17 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (Half-day on W and Th)
2/18 - No School: Professional Development Day
2/21 - No School: President's Day
2/23 - NAEP Testing for 4th Grade Students - More information will be sent to 4th grade families.
2/28 - Spelling Bee for Grades 3-6
3/04 - Quarter 3 ends
3/17 - 03/11 - No School: Spring Break
3/14 - Quarter 4 begins
4/27: Administrative Professionals Day! Shower Carrie and Michi with letters, notes, and cards for all the work they do for our school.
May 2 - 6: Staff Appreciation Week – Stay tuned for more information about how you can help Kasuun make this week extra special for our staff that week (breakfast, lunch, snacks, prizes, gift cards).
May 6 - Nurse Appreciation Day! Send letters, notes, cards to show Nurse Linda how much you appreciate her hard work and dedication for health and wellness.
Our COVID protocols are changing. Please read the information below :
- The real-time school COVID status can be found here.
- Contact tracing letters will no longer be sent home, but instead families will be notified of a positive in the classroom.
- Quarantine time is 5 days if symptoms are resolving and fever free for 24 hours.
- Covid Test Registration can be found here.
- See the flyer below for symptom guidelines. Students displaying one or more of the symptoms will need to be tested unless a doctor's note has been provided.
Nurse Linda
COVID Testing at ASD Schools
COVID-19 testing for students and staff that are having symptoms is now available at Kasuun. Specimens may be obtained from nasal swabs or saliva collection. Please register in advance using the link for Beechtree Diagnostics, https://beechtree.rymedi.com/#/registration-form?irbuuid=bdfc13af-f77b-4778-b666-feaa965a1360 or scan the green circle QR code (below). When entering the registration information, please complete the questionnaire using the student's information, not the parent/guardian's information.
Once the student is registered, their QR code can be used for future testing-please keep a copy of it.
Please call Nurse Linda at (907) 742-8301 if you have any questions about the registration process.
ASD is Symptom Free.
Pediatrics Anywhere
ASD schools now have access to telemedicine visits through PM Pediatrics. This is a convenient way for parents to connect with a healthcare provider, during a school nurse office visit, or from home, via video conference.
Registration with PM Pediatrics is required, using the PM Pediatric app, or their website:
https://pmpediatrics.com/pmpanywhere/ or QR code on the flyer: (see attached)
Please contact Nurse Linda at 742-8301 for more information.
Mask Bucks
Kasuun PTA
PTA Newsletter: https://www.smore.com/uh7xm
PTA Meeting the first Tuesday of each month from 4 to 5 pm in the Kasuun Library
Connect With Us!
Email: kasuunoffice@asdk12.org
Website: https://www.asdk12.org/kasuun
Location: 4000 E 68th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99507, USA
Phone: (907) 349-9444
Facebook: facebook.com/kasuunelementary