Aniguiin School

With the first semester behind us, we are ready to move on to the second half of the year.  The staff at Aniguiin School will continue to challenge our students academically and try to make the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills exciting and fun.  Parent and community support will be a big part of this equation, so I want to thank you in advance for any support that you can provide our students in the days ahead.

I want to draw your attention to one error in the December newsletter.  I stated that students will not attend school on January 6th and that school would resume on January 7th.   Those dates are inaccurate.  Students will not attend school on Monday, January 5th.  That day is set aside as a teacher work day.  School will resume on Tuesday, January 6th.   I apologize for the confusion.  I’m sure students will be happy that they have an extra day for Christmas break and will be ready to return on the 6th.

I have attached a new elementary schedule for parents.  Starting Jan. 6th, students in grades 1-5 will be released at 3:15 p.m.  We have added 10 minutes to the overall schedule – 5 minutes to math and 5 minutes to writing.  We were at a bare minimum for instructional minutes for what the state requires and these two subjects are both areas where students can use more instructional minutes.  The Kindergarten students will still be released at 3:05 p.m.

Here are some important dates to mark on your calendar for January:
Jan. 7    -    A.E.C. Meeting  7:00 p.m.
Jan. 8    -    Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences   2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the school
Jan. 9    -    Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences   1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the school
Jan. 13    -    Honor Assembly for 2nd quarter awards at 2:30 p.m. in the gym
Jan. 30    -    Parent’s Day – 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Parent’s Day is scheduled so parents and students can meet with their class advisors and discuss their third quarter midterm progress.  We want these meetings to be student-led conferences for the upper elementary, junior high and high school students.  Your student will show you how they log into DART on the computer to check their progress.  You will have an opportunity to see firsthand how technology is used to document and track student progress and discuss the third quarter academic goals with your student and their class advisor.  We are looking forward to making this a big success.

I’m pleased to announce that we will have a girl’s basketball team this year.  Ricky Nassuk will coach the Lady Eagles this season.  We have signed an agreement to co-op with Shaktoolik and two of their girls will be on the team.   Once again, John Lindula is our boy’s coach.  There are currently 9 boys on the squad and they look to return to the state tournament this year.  A season schedule was not available to send with this newsletter, but they will be posted and also made available at the first home game.

We look forward to a fun and productive second semester at Aniguiin School.  Thank you for your support.

Best Regards,

Steve

September 8, 2008
Dear Parents and Guardians of Eagle Athletes,

As some of you are aware, the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) has implemented a new policy regarding citizenship.  Included in this policy is a section focusing on tobacco, alcohol and drug misuse (TAD).  The TAD policy is designed to promote healthy choices by our students across the state.  The TAD policy applies to every ASAA school.  In support of TAD, BSSD is adopting this policy for all activities at all grade levels, not just high school.   As such, the policy will apply to all Aniguiin School extra-curricular activities.

Students who violate these rules will face suspension from student activities.  The consequences for TAD violations are as follows:
1st Offense – 10 day suspension from all activities.
2nd Offense – 45 day suspension from all activities.
3rd Offense – one year suspension from all activities.
4th Offense – lifetime suspension from all activities.

There is an orientation that is required for all parents and athletes before a student can participate in an activity.  You and your child have two options to complete this component.

1.   You can visit www.asaa.org and click on the “Play for Keeps Orientation Video” link located in
the new TAD Policy section under Special Notes.  After watching the video with your athlete,
you and your child must sign the Student, Parent/Guardian Acknowledgment Form stating that
you both have watched the video together.  The Student, Parent/Guardian Acknowledgment
Forms are located in the school office.

2.   The school will make designated times at the beginning of each sport for you and your athlete
to watch the video together at the school.  After watching the video with your athlete, you and
your child must sign an acknowledgment form.  Remember, your student will be held account-            able for TAD during the entire school year, not just when he/she is involved in an activity.

In addition to academic, attendance and behavior requirements for activity eligibility, students must also be
in compliance with the new TAD regulations.  Each athlete and their parent(s) are responsible for watching the video together and signing the Parent/Guardian Acknowledgment Form.  At the beginning of each activity, the student must sign a new form.  These forms must be turned into me prior to the first day of competition for the student to be eligible to participate.

If you have any questions related to the new TAD Policy, please call me or stop by the office.

Thank you for your understanding as we begin the implementation of this new policy.

Steve

Elim’s Seniors prepare for graduation.  This year we have 6 seniors that will accept their diplomas; Janet Saccheus, Irene Murray, Maureen Aukon, Leigh Takak, Tammie Saccheus, and Kerry Nakarak.  They have all worked very hard to accomplish their diplomas.  Irene Murray plans to attend University of Alaska next fall studying computer science.  She than hopes to go to law school.  Leigh achieved her Nursing Assistance license last summer through a NACTEC program and has decided to remain here in Elim to do home care for Elders.  A very respected job, supported through Kawerak, that has been needed for some time here.

Graduation will be held Saturday the 10th of May in the school gym with a reception to follow.

Community-School Meeting Notes                                  November 15, 2007

The fall Community-School meeting was held in the gym starting at 4:30 pm. Principal Steve Sammons welcomed the Elim community members, Aniguiin students and staff. He started the meeting with an overview of the school improvement plan, including details of who is involved and how the plan is formed. Steve stressed that tonight was another part of the on-going effort to seek community input into the school improvement plan.

Dianna Gharst presented a powerpoint on the teacher and student use of the pacing guide and the DART system. Derek Moses was the student narrator on the presentation. Community members got to see firsthand the process used to record and report student progress.

After the presentations, Principal Sammons asked the community, Aniguiin staff and students to all help in a brainstorming session involving 4 broad categories of school improvement.  After the session, each group was asked to prioritize by selecting the top issues or ideas (denoted by the number of asterisks* after each entry).  The following notes document the categories and community responses in each of the four focus areas.

ACTIVITIES

*arts and crafts
*Elder teachers – esp. home ec. For students who are caught up on work ***
*Funding for starting something new in the school – where would they come from?
*Cultural center
*Carving (wood and ivory)
*Sewing
*Making bread
*Using resources around us ***
*Prom/dances
*Dance class
*Lip sync
*Field trips (hot springs,etc.)
*Construction
*Christmas plays
*Sell/raffles to fundraise for materials
*More Little Dribblers
*Cultural Day
*Outdoor School
*Game Nights ***
*Movie Nights
*Walking to Next Creek for end of the year picnic
*Storytelling
*Small Engine Repair
*Citizenship – recognizing kids who are doing well (lock-ins, etc.)
*Young helping elders at home – chores, errands, etc.
*Job shadowing in the community

ATTENDANCE

*Enforce curfew
*Earlier curfew
*Go to bed earlier
*Fun activities before school – ex. Gym or computer lab
*Incentives for attendance – ex. Pizza party, end of year attendance bigger prizes – iPods, gameboys, etc.
*Consequences at home

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

*At the first of the year, community members can invite teachers and staff over for social activities – just to visit with no strings attached
*Get the community and new and old teachers to participate in a Polar Bear Swim
*Bonfire in the fall
*Adult Game Night (esp. volleyball) ****
*Little Dribblers practice during PE
*Rolodex of local experts **
*Mini carnival **
*Community bazaar of local handicrafts **
*Eskimo dancing to tell local stories ****
*City league
*Open classrooms during the day by inviting parents into the classrooms at the beginning of the month
*Elder storytelling – students write the stories *****
*New teachers should visit local offices. Find a local friend to get information about our village.

CURRICULUM

*School district stick to one program
*Life Skills – learning the cost of living, etc. *****
*Concerns for multi-age classroom and questions on how it is working.
*Expectations of students outside of school – too much homework? Too little homework?
*Good reports in some areas, but not in all content areas – hear it from child
*Boy’s and Girl’s Club – Power Hour ***
*21st Century Tutoring
*Cultural Awareness ******
- What is there? (gather, hunt, fish)
- Art (carving, sewing, making tools)
- Subsistence calendar (yearly) – what you get year round
- How to prepare and preserve foods
- Figuring out your Eskimo name – where it came from, who they are named after and what it means

*Match Career Skills to skills needed for jobs in Elim (Job Shadowing) ***
*Community volunteering an hour a week to teach skills teachers cannot *****

What we Learned / Areas of Focus – based on community input in the four focus areas, we will try to develop programs in :

*Elders as teachers – having students write stories based on Elder knowledge

*Eskimo Dancing – with the focus on telling local stories

*Game Nights

*Life Skills – learning the cost of living, etc.

*Life Skills – community volunteers – one hour per week

*Cultural Awareness – subsistence activities and a calendar

*Career Skills – job shadowing in Elim

This Monday November 5th, a new tutoring session will begin.  The sessions will be held Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm.  The focus of these two hour sessions will be in reading, writing, and math.  Students enrolled must miss no more than 5 days during the November 5th to January 25th session.  We ask all parents and community members to help encourage students to show up and be on time.  Only twenty students can be enrolled at a time. If a sessions fills up, students who do not fulfill their contract will be passed up on the next sessions.

The session dates for this year are as follows:

• Nov 5 to Jan 25
• Jan 28 to Mar 21
• Mar 29 to May 9

When: November 15, 2007

Where: Aniguiin School

Time: 4:30-8:30

Meeting Topics:

• DART
  • Student Recording and Reporting Device.
  • Instruction on how to access your child’s information.

• Community Connection (Essential Questions)
  
  • What activities can the school sponsor to promote the community-school connection?
  • What activities can the community sponsor to promote the community-school connection?
  • What can the school do to make community members feel welcome?
  • What can the community do to teachers feel welcome?
  • What information does the community want to know about student progress/school/staff?
  • What can/should the staff do to be percieved as community members and not just as teachers?

• Activities (Essential Questions)
  • What community opportunities can we offer to our students?
  • What additional school activities should be sponsored?
  • What role does citizenship play in our school and community? What should be the consequences for breaking citizenship rules?
  • What funding sources are available?
  • What were the traditional citizenship? What is citzenship?
  • Is the school responsible to teach it?
  • Who defines and enforces the consequences?
  • What motivational speakers/conferences would the community like to see offered to the studennts?

• Attendance (Essential Questions)
  • How can the school and community work together to improve attendance (esp. AM)?
  • Can parents call parents at curfew? Have a communtiy calling trees?
  • How can the school, parents, community help eachother?
  • Can we send an official letter home?
  • What are the causes of poor attendance?
  • What incentives can the school and community offer to promote good attendance?
  • What can parents do to help with attendance?
• Curriculum (Essential Questions)
  • What opportunities should be available for our students in Life Skills, Career Skills, and Cultural Awareness?
  • What does Cultural Awareness include?
  • Should there be open standards?
  • What should the expectations be for similar standards at different levels?
  • Should there be local input into course outlines? And if so, what would you think is important?
  • What information do you want about your students content areas?
  • What do you expect from parent/teacher conferences?
  • What should be connections to college? How can we involve colleges (UAF, Northwest campus)?

6:30 Dinner

• You must be present by 5pm in order to receive a free dinner ticket. Otherwise, dinner will cost $7.00/adult and $5.00/child.

After Dinner:

• Computers will be available for accessing DART with students and staff.

Aniguiin School

PO Box 29

Elim, Alaska 99739

907-890-3021