ORCA NEWS
¡Bienvenido marzo! Welcome March!
From the Principal
Hello Inlet View Families and Friends,
Thank you to all those families who were able to make it to conferences. It was great to see you involved and interested in how and what your child is doing in school. Also thank you for the enormous support with Skate A Thon. The event was a success and with your support we will be able to continue providing professional development to all teachers and supporting the IB-PYP Program.
March will bring us more daylight, warmer temperatures (hopefully), and the sense that spring is coming soon. March also comes with tons of fun and important activities for you to have in mind. Please note, there are eleven weeks left of this school year. Although, this might be exciting, it is important that we keep routines and schedules as consistent as possible. Assessment season is around the corner. New state standardized test AKSTAR for students in grades 3-6 will start the last week of March. FastBridge screening for K-3 and MAP for 3-6 promptly in April. We will provide you with some tools and strategies to help your children be better prepared for standardized test environment. Going to bed early and eating nutritious items, will help them stay focused.
Classes will resume on Monday, March 14th, and this will be the beginning of the fourth quarter of the school year. I want to let all parents know that starting on Monday after break, we will be able to open the playground for classes to play together. This means we won't have assigned areas for classes as we've done for the first three quarters. Students have expressed how much they miss interacting with other friends in other classes. I received request letters asking for the playground to be open. All staff discussed the requests and we feel confident we can make this decision and still keep students safe.
Last, as if the past 2 years have not been hard enough, teachers all over the world are now facing the challenge of talking with children about the horrific events unfolding in the Ukraine. It is hard not to feel overwhelmed by both the violence and the complexity of the issues. In these times, I am even more grateful that I have the opportunity to work with the Inlet View Community and with such a wonderful team of educators that thrive to be better and to create a culture of inquiry in their classrooms. I hope as teachers we feel less challenged and more comfortable with children’s inevitable questions, theories, fears, emotions and viewpoints.
I'd like to share with you a New York Times article that could work for both teachers and parents. It talks about how we can approach students' inquiries in difficult times. I hope you take a moment to read it and discuss it with family members and your students as you see it fits.
I wish everyone a safe and healthy spring break.
Thank you for all your continuous support and Here's to a new month!
Patricia Ahrens
ahrens_patricia@asdk12.org or phone (742-7630)
New Night Custodian
Thanks to them our school looks clean and neat all the time.
Lottery Closes Next Week
- Spring lottery closes for applications on March 17, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.
- Spring lottery runs March 18, 2022
- Parent notifications will be released on March 25, 2022, at 5:00 p.m.
Rincón de Español
Want to keep practicing your Spanish over Spring Break? Check out our World Language Program website for grade level tips and tools to keep the learning happening at home. See our site here: https://sites.google.com/asdk12.net/inletviewespanol/home
Last month our cooking project was a wonderful success, and we are hopeful to extend this experience to intermediate grades as well. Can you help Monday or Thursday the week of March 21st or March 28th? Please contact Señora at bundtzen_meghan@asdk12.org
We also enjoyed the amazing generosity of friends and family of Señora Bundtzen who contributed over $1,500 via Donors Choose to expand our access to world language materials. Students in our primary grades explored 'talleres' or centers in Spanish for the first time! Students were able to listen and read along to a familiar story translated into Spanish, they explored building language, playing with number vocabulary, and searching out
new words from the story in a 'sopa de letras'. Their work was impressive as they were independent from their teacher and collaborative in their center's groups.
Next month we will finish up that work, explore more grammar concepts and investigate visual dictionaries to find more patterns and enrich our basic vocabulary skills. Thank you for all your support!
School Climate and Connectedness Survey is about to close. Your feedback is important to us.
The survey will close on March 25
- Families can take the survey anytime
- Language Options: Survey is available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Hmong, and Samoan. Families can toggle to their target language in the upper left-hand corner.
Family Survey Link: https://surveys.panoramaed.com/aasb/asdfamily
IB Learner Profile of the month : RISK-TAKER
Students who are Risk-Takers have the daring to try new things. They try to solve problems in a lot of ways. They have the bravery to tell people what they think is right.
How can parents help to develop students who are RISK-TAKERS at home?
Here's what you can do at home
If your child is feeling uneasy about trying something, encourage them to attempt it and then reflect on both whether they liked the activity and how it felt to try something new. Your child might want to set some short-term goals. Consider activities that make him/her nervous. What are realistic goals for the week? Your child might set a goal to:
- Offer an opinion in class
- Spend one recess with someone they might not usually play with
- Order something different from the lunch menu
- Try an activity they haven’t tried before
- Be careful to explain to your child the difference between being a risk-taker by trying new things and doing dangerous things.
NEWS FROM THE INLET VIEW PTA
Funding for the long awaited and desired Inlet View Elementary Replacement school is nearly on the April municipal ballot—we have one last checkpoint:
March 9th the Urban Design Commission needs to approve the design.
MOA and the UDC need to hear support from our neighborhood for our new school. MOA has received about 15 letters of opposition — none from current or past users of Inlet View.
Please rally and send a note of support to the UDC as one last homework assignment before Spring Break! Or sign up to testify in person or on the phone.
HOW TO SUPPORT
The public hearing for Case 2022-0024 (Inlet View Elementary Site Plan Review) before the Urban Design Commission (UDC) is on March 9th at 6:30pm in the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library. Members of the public may speak at the public hearing for 3 minutes. Group representatives (for instance, one representative from South Addition Community Council) may speak for 5 minutes. Spoken testimony may either be provided in-person at the meeting or over the phone. Notify PlanningPhoneTestimony@anchorageak.gov if you wish to speak by phone no later than 2pm the day of the meeting. You can still sit in the audience even if you do not wish to speak or watch the livestream of the meeting on the Municipality’s YouTube channel.
EMAIL LETTERS TO:
Senior Planner Elizabeth Appleby elizabeth.appleby@anchorageak.gov
TALKING POINTS
THIS DESIGN SUPPORTS LOCALLY ADOPTED PLAN GOALS
· Anchorage Land Use 2040 Plan
· AMATS Non-motorized Plan
· Spenard Corridor Plan
· Anchorage Downtown Plan (See specific goals supported at the end)
IMPROVED SAFETY
· The new design includes wider paths, more landscaping, better wayfinding, and gateways to the community.
· Vehicle access will be concentrated on the east side near L street and greatly reduced on two sides.
· The new design allows for traffic coming on the north and west sides of the school and will provide safer, more comfortable access for pedestrians, bicyclists and people with ADA accessible needs.
· This design will result in less conflicts between turning vehicles and people who are walking and biking.
IMPROVED MOBILITY
· Reduced vehicle congestions at pick up and drop off as waiting vehicles queue up onsite
· The new design will provide improved bicycle parking facilities
· Improves Anchorage’s bicycle and pedestrian network by making N street a safer connection between downtown, local parks, shared trails, and the local neighborhood
· Both the new school building and playground will be ADA accessible and will support and delight more student ability levels than the current 1950s design.
SUPPORTS THE ECONOMY
· Moving the entrance and the primary vehicle access to the east side of the lot creates much stronger connection to New Sagaya and downtown.
· Quieting vehicular traffic along the west side strengthens a primary bike and pedestrian corridor between Anchorage’s downtown and Spenard neighborhoods, promotes major shared use pathways including the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and the Chester Creek Trail and provides better access to local parks such as Westchester Lagoon, Westchester Lagoon Nature Trail, and the Westchester Lagoon Disc Golf Course.
· Health and equity will be improved for Inlet View’s highly diverse student body and teaching staff
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
· The new site design addresses stormwater issues on the site with retention tanks and bioswales. It will improve current runoff problems for south side residents and persistent boggy playground issues.
· These stormwater improvement support and help to implement Anchorage’s Climate Action Plan.
· More, dry greenspace will be available for kids and neighbors year around.
· More pedestrians and bikers mean fewer vehicles and less air pollution, lower Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and improved health and equity.
· Green space has been preserved to the maximum amount possible. The new design accommodates more students and parking spaces while maintaining nearly the same amount of existing playfield.
· The new design stacks the classroom wings which reduces construction costs and materials (less foundation, less roof, etc.) and increases energy efficiency.
PRESERVATION OF ALL THAT WORKS IN THE CURRENT DESIGN
· Heavily used neighborhood sidewalks and pathways around and across the site will be preserved and improved
· Traffic Signal Equipment along Inlet Place and possibly at the L Street intersection will be improved as recommended by an in-depth traffic study and model
· All the building and site utilities will be upgraded and improved
· Earthquake resiliency will be greatly improved
· Re-orienting the entrance to L Street provides a safer, more comfortable connection to public transit stops for pedestrians and people with ADA accessible needs.
· By providing safer, more comfortable walking and bicycling connections to the school and surrounding non-motorized facilities, this design greatly improves equity, access and health of the student body as well as staff and parents.
Land Use 2040 Goals Supported by This Project (pg.3-30)
GOAL 1:. Plan for Growth and Livability
GOAL 6: Coordinate transportation and land use to provide safe, efficient, and affordable travel choices.
AMATS Non-motorized Plan Goals Supported by this project (pag 4-5)
GOAL 1 : Increase the use of the non-motorized system
GOAL 2: Promote & Improve Health and Quality of Life
GOAL 3: Improve Safety and Security
GOAL 4: Optimize Maintenance For All Seasons
GOAL 5: Connect Communities Through All Modes to All Destinations
Spenard Corridor Plan Goals Supported by this project (pag 11-22)
GOAL 1: Support Transit and Increase Ridership
GOAL 4: Enhance and Protect Neighborhoods Surrounding Spenard Road
GOAL 5: Create great public spaces
GOAL 8: Create a Safe Pedestrian and Bike Network
GOAL 10: Accommodate Safe and Balanced Roadway Access
GOAL 11: Accommodate & Manage Parking
GOAL 13: Prioritize Sustainability and Resilience
GOAL 14: Create a Climate for Investment
GOAL 15: Focus on Strategic Economic Development Efforts
A PICTURE FOR REFERENCE
If you are a visual person, I’ve attached current site plan of the new design. There is much more detailed design information available on the project website.
https://inletviewreplacement.com/
Salmon Run T-Shirt Design Contest
Inlet View Mission Statement
Inlet View Elementary focuses on the development of the whole child as a knowledgeable inquirer, both in the classroom and abroad. We aim to develop caring, respectful, and mindful people who recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.
We will empower students to successfully solve real world problems and strengthen their enjoyment of working towards a goal. We will facilitate learning and support all students so they become compassionate, engaged life-long learners, who help to create a more caring and peaceful world.
Mark your Calendars!
- March 7-11: Spring Break
- March 17: PTA Meeting at 4:pm in the school's library
- March 28: State Assessment Starts
Anchorage School Board
Margo Bellamy
Carl Jacobs
Andy Holleman
Dora Wilson
Pat Higgins
Kelly Lessens
Dave Donley
About Us
Email: ahrens_patricia@asdk12.org
Website: https://www.asdk12.org/inletview
Location: 1219 N Street, Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone: 907-742-7630
Facebook: facebook.com/inletview