At the Creek....
October 24, 2019
A note from Ms. Peterson
I am writing to you from my home this month, as I'm out this week recovering from foot surgery. My goal is to be back next week to see our wonderful students, staff and community members. I'm missing the fun Red Ribbon Week days-if you have photos of your children all dressed up, do share them on the PTA Facebook page so I can see what I'm missing!
I have to touch on an important topic in this newsletter-student computer usage and smart, safe decisions. Students have access to Chromebooks at school and utilize them in nearly every classroom for academics. Whether it's working on an enrichment program in math, working on letter sounds/phonics in reading, typing a document for social studies, or more, our students have many opportunities to be online at school. I suspect many of you have computers or smart phones for your children to access at home as well.
In the past two weeks we have had three incidents of inappropriate use of technology at school. Each of these have happened to come through the use of Google products. All ASD students have a Google account that allows them to use documents, presentations and more. The student accounts and passwords are all similar to allow for safety within the district- enabling ASD to view accounts as needed when a problem occurs. Students sign an internet safety agreement at registration-or parents do so for them-and the expectation is for appropriate use at all times.
It's come to our attention that students are using Google Docs/Presentations with their peers to communicate in a manner that is similar to instant messaging. When students are in one class on their Chromebook, a peer (or multiple) is adding information to a document that is immedately seen and responded to. Additionally, students are accessing home technology to also put information into these group pages. While most of this is innocent, there have also been times when it has been similar to harassment. Photos have been shared that don't belong in school, mean statements have been written and such. One thing that is important to know is that we have the ability to access all revisions of/additions to documents to include student names, dates and times. These can not be erased and the use of district technology and tools inappropriately can have strong consequences.
We at school have the responsibilty to monitor student use of computers and know that we need to increase our work in this area. I've asked teachers to make sure students are sitting in the classrooms at a place where their screens can be seen throughout the room. Ms. Kean does a number of lessons with a focus on online safety and security as well. I also would like to ask parents to spend a few minutes reviewing their children's online accounts. Ask your child to sign into their ASD Google accounts to show you what they've been working on. You should see progress on school tasks and hopefully that's a positive opportunity to see learning. It is my hope that you would be alerted to anything that's not good as well.
Our PTA is working to bring a screening of the documentary Screenagers to our school later in the year. We will keep you posted on the exact date. I hope you will make time in your busy world to attend this viewing-it's a quality piece on the impact of technology on our children and society today. There are many great tips for parents that are worth your time in learning.
Thank you for your time this week attending conferences and meeting with school staff. Have a great weekend!
~Ms Peterson
Coming Soon:
10/29-Picture Retakes
11/2-Christmas Towne Bazaar and 6th grade Cookie Caper at South High 10-4
11/11-No school for students-Professional Development day for staff
11/12-PTA meeting 3:45 pm
11/28 and 11/29-Thanksgiving Holiday
12/2-12/19-Winter Benchmark for Fastbridge and MAP
12/10-PTA meeting 7pm
12/19-End of second quarter and start of winter break
Cookie Caper News!!!
One Hundred Twenty One
In the month of August, only 78.58% of our students maintained attendance for 90% of the days. We were able to jump that up to 90.95% in the month of September. Whew! School--the more you go, the more you know!!!
Bring Your Parent to Lunch Day
From Your PTA President
Hello Rabbit Creek Families,
I want to start out by saying thank you to the many volunteers of Rabbit Creek. I am lucky to be surrounded a team of great parents and staff members. Jill Boyd, our VP for Membership, has spent countless hours working on helping us meet our membership goals and assisting with Jog-a-Thon accounting; Svea Lunoe and Beth Elliott, co-VPs of Fundraising, have also poured their hearts into our one and only fundraiser for the year, the Jog-A-Thon. Speaking of which, thanks to all our RC runners and supporters, we raised over $35,000, which more than met our goal for the year! Tina Baldridge, our Community VP, organized our Fall Dance, the Monster Mash and is working on a Winter Fun Day next. Sammie Curley, our secretary, helps keeps us all informed and up-to-date by taking notes at every meeting and providing her support at nearly every event. Juleen Rogness, our amazing PTA Treasurer, spends unseen hours at the bank, coordinating the change and deposits for all events and running around delivering reimbursement checks. I’d also like to thank Tara Gardeline and Kim Evans our PTA teacher liaisons, who keep the communication lines open with the staff and attends all our meetings!
In addition to these key people, there are many other parents and staff who contribute their time and energy to help our school and our kids be the best they can be. Maybe we don’t always take the time to say it to one another, but have no doubt that your efforts are noticed and appreciated. When you see smiling faces being picked up from school, hear your children’s enthusiasm as they share what they learned and experienced that day, let those be reminders that YOU are making a big difference in many small ways, every day.
Here’s hoping everyone has had positive and productive parent-teacher conferences. One more thank you to Jessica Riedel for coordinating meals and keeping our teachers fed on these long days. Our next board meeting is Tuesday, November 12th right afterschool at 3:45 pm in the library. As always, all members are welcome to attend.
See you soon at Rabbit Creek,
Heather Birch
PTA President president@rabbitcreekpta.org
907-317-0015
Monster Mash!!!
Memory Book Cover Contest
Memory Book Cover Art Contest Deadline THIS TUESDAY, October 29th!
If you are a 5th or 6th grade student interested in submitting artwork for consideration on the front or back cover of this year’s RC Memorybook, the deadline is THIS TUESDAY, October 29th! So far there are very few entries so you have a good shot at being considered and there are prizes for winners and runners up so why not go for it!?!
Picture Retakes on October 29th!!!
Did you miss picture day or looking to get a new school photos of your kiddo?
Tuesday Oct 29th is Picture re-take day!
Simply return the originally purchased photo package with your handsomely-dressed student on Tue morning, we'll take a new pic starting at 9am for all classes, and photos will be delivered to the school within 3-4 weeks.
Look for flyers to come home in backpacks this week! Questions? Contact Sara Krokos at kroki005@gmail.com.
Book Fair!!!
The Fall Book Fair could still use a volunteer on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as well as for the Book Fair Breakdown on Friday. Any amount of time would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Book Fair Hours
Monday, October 21: 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday, October 22: 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday, October 23: 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Thursday, October 24: 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Friday, October 25: Book Fair Breakdown begins at 1:00 PM and last about one hourBook
Student Council News!
A Note From Student Council:
We want to thank everyone who ran for Student Council officers last week! Your speeches were creative and we appreciate your bravery!
The following students were voted as your Rabbit Creek Student Council Officers for the 2019/2020 school year,
***For President, congratulations to Addison Bailey!
***For Vice President, we had a TIE! Congrats to both Darby D'Amico and Brianna Bailey, as you BOTH will serve as Co-Vice Presidents!
***For Treasurer, congratulations to Alivia Bailey!
***And for Secretary, congratulations to Archer Selby!
All students who ran for a Student Council officer position, are welcome to join Student Council and attend the meetings! Be sure to get a blue representative packet from your teacher. If teachers need another copy, they are in the work room near the copier, or you can see Mrs. Gardeline!
Classes will also be choosing their two classroom representatives this week, and names need to be submitted by Wednesday, October 30th.
Our first Student Council Meeting will be held in room 22, on November 5th, at 8 am. See you there! Mrs. Gardeline and Ms. Jones.
INFO from Health class....
Last week in health class, all classes had a chance to participate in the Kids Don’t Float presentation provided by the State of Alaska! Cosette, Alek and Olivia were fantastic, and hopefully your children came home with cold water survival tips!
We learned about the 3 steps of cold water immersion, which life jacket to wear for which activity, and did a cold water relay race where students had to submerge their hands in ice water for 30 seconds and then try and put on a life jacket! It was a lot of fun and every informative! I personally had no idea that 9 out of 10 drowning deaths are men- scary! I know my children will now be reminding their dad to wear his life jacket at all times when on the water! Hopefully your children went home and put their whistle on their life jackets or on a coat/backpack to use in case they are ever in need of help.
--Mrs. Jones
Wreath Making with Rabbit Creek Staff
A great time was had by all: measuring, cutting and tying to make these beautiful and unique wreaths. Mrs. Bookman, Mrs. Faulk, Mrs. Maesner and Mrs. Gardeline loved seeing the creations and kept busy helping to cut fabric. Thank you to all of our great crafters!