Orion Elementary School
December 2023
A Note from the Principal
Holiday Greetings to all Orion Families,
Happy December Orion Families! The busy holiday season is upon us. We are hoping to keep the students engaged in learning as much as possible in the next three weeks as we approach the holiday season. Students will be involved in benchmark testing through MAP diagnostics, MCLASS, FastBridge assessments, and other various academic checks to see how much progress they have made throughout the first half of the school year.
True to winter in Alaska, the weather outside is becoming snowy, cold, and icy. Please be sure that your children come to school prepared to go outside for recess. Our students will be outside for recess unless the temperature is below a wind chill temperature of - 10 degrees. Students will not be allowed to stay indoors! Physical wellness is a ASD School Board initiative that is a daily expectation. Please have winter coats, hats, mittens, snow pants and boots ready! We have a limited number of loaners in our borrow bin for students needing them. Please take time and label your child’s items with initials or last name. Also, please check the “Lost & Found” bin by the library for any missing items.
With the winter weather, comes the cold and flu season as well. This year has been hitting our community very hard. Please be sure to remind your little ones to practice careful hand washing and to not share water bottles, etc. If your child is sick, please have them stay home until they are symptom free. We want to try hard to keep illness to a minimum! Please see Nurse Wyant's message below for more information and ASD policies.
As we are entering this holiday season, on behalf of Orion Elementary students, teachers, and staff, I want to wish all our families a safe, joyous, and wonderful holiday season filled with cheer and laughter! We look forward to seeing you at our various holiday events in the school and around the community. Please view the December events below for a preview of different events that will be happening.
Happy Holidays,
Principal Cheathon
December Events
- December Quarterly Testing
ALL GRADES
- December 4 - 14
Anchored 4 Life Donation Drive
- December 6
Orion Choir Winter Performance at the Ed Center (10:00 am)
- December 14
5th/ 6th Grade Health Parent Night (4:00pm - 5:30pm)
- December 15
6th Grade Band and Orchestra Concert (9:30am)
6th Grade Salmon Dissection
- December 19
Kindergarten Winter Performance (9:30am)
- December 21
3rd Grade Cocoa, Coffee & Cookies (1:00pm)
Holiday Sing a Long (2:00pm)
Please check in with your child's teacher for any other holiday events or parties!
- December 22, 2023 to January 5, 2024
Winter Break
- January 8, 2024
Students Return
Dear Orion Families,
Hi everyone! As I know many of you are already aware, our community is seeing incredibly high rates of RSV, Influenza, Covid, and other viral illnesses right now. Unfortunately, these strains of Flu and RSV are incredibly contagious and will most likely continue to spread in the coming weeks. Please work with us to keep our children healthy by keeping any student with a fever home until they are fever free for 24 hours and their symptoms have improved. Here is the link to the ASD guidelines for more information on when to keep students' home from school: https://www.asdk12.org/Page/6622.
Additionally, please talk with your student about the importance of washing their hands, avoiding touching their eyes/mouth/nose, coughing into their arm, and practicing good healthy habits overall! As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out! I am always happy to answer any questions and work together to try to keep our students healthy and able to be in class as much as possible!
Oivia Wyant, RN, MSN
School Nurse
Orion Elementary