“Stay awkward, brave, and kind. Love each other. Spread calm.” -Brene Brown |
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Dear Families, Welcome to another year! This year marks my sixth year as the principal at Chugach and I am beyond grateful to be part of the amazing community. It has been so joyful to meet new families and to see the children at the ice cream social. Thank you to parents Nina Anderson and Amy Mick for organizing that event and for all who helped Nina and Amy! I have sent several individual emails and I thank you for reading them, responding, and engaging. We have been very busy at Chugach getting fully staffed and prepared for our children. In addition, we were able to get the school's exterior painted and the grounds spruced up! A big thank you to ASD for allocating funds to get our school's exterior painted. Chugach is still looking for a cafeteria manager. Please reach out if you are interested or know someone who would like more information. I am going to start right off the bat by acknowledging that covid mitigation is again a focus. I am fielding a lot of different opinions with the way our school should be managing mitigation. We are following ASD's plan; however, we do have some room for unique planning at our school. You can see on ASD's plan there is small text identifying areas where individual schools have room to make individual accommodations. Access that HERE. I am going to ask the community to join me in the space of kindness and empathy. In that same space I ask that you join me in the desire to keep Chugach open and the children and families healthy. No matter our belief, I think those values are ones we can all agree upon. We look forward to getting started with our school year. We will be sending out curriculum maps for each grade level in early September. Themes will be getting underway and we will have our specials (library, music, art, health, and pe) back this year! As I said in prior emails, we are waiting until there is a community plan to invite parent volunteers in the building. This plan is being drafted by parents who will ask for input from the larger community. In the mean time, we really hope parents take us up to volunteer outside for lunch + recess (11:30-12:30 p.m.). Thank you for your kindness, flexibility, and encouragement to one another and our staff. A great year is ahead!
Warm Regards,
Clare |
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Important Dates to Remember Tuesday, August 17 First Day of School (Grades 1-6) Tuesday, August 24 First Day of School, Kindergarten Friday, August 27 Early Release @ 11:15 a.m. Monday, September 6 Labor Day--No School Friday, September 10 Early Release @ 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, September 14 Picture Day--LifeTouch Wednesday, September 29 @ 7 p.m. Parent Night--Virtual No Place For Hate--Working Toward Anti-Bias as a Community
*Please refer to our website calendar for dates specific to grade levels or clubs* |
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Be Kind A Chugach B What is Kindness? Kindness is being friendly, generous, and considerate to others and yourself. Being kind often requires courage and strength, as it involves the willingness to celebrate and give attention to someone else. It is also about giving honest feedback when doing so is helpful to the other person. Moreover, kindness includes acting and speaking in a compassionate way to others and yourself. However, do not confuse kindness with weakness. You can be kind and still have boundaries. It is not a replacement for avoiding difficult conversations or standing up for yourself. Just be kind when you are in those situations. Consider, 'how would I want to be treated if I was in X situation?'. Why Kindness is Good Each act of kindness is changing the way we see ourselves and others, as well as how others see us. As our kindness positively affects others, we feel more compassionate, confident, useful, and in control. We also find ourselves feeling more appreciative and optimistic. Furthermore, there is nothing as rewarding as giving back to others. Kindness and being generous can change the world. Moreover, one small act of compassion can make a significant impact on someone's life, including your own. The Benefits of Kindness From being kind to your partner, family, friends, and colleagues, as well as strangers, kindness has many benefits. Even in business, kindness is an incredibly powerful tool for building your business, retaining your customers, and attracting referrals. Brings you happiness Brings happiness to others Improves relationships Enhances mental and emotional well-being Releases feel-good hormones Eases anxiety Reduces stress Is good for your heart Can help you live longer Can prevent illness Can slow down the ageing process
Can you remember the last time somebody was kind to you? How did it make you feel? Now imagine how others must feel when you are kind to them. Kindness is vital to the human existence and is an important value to harness. In fact, it is the most important.
(Article by Amy Kauler via linkedIn articles) |
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Running Club Running club will be starting September 2 for grades K-6. Kindy runners need to have a parent or someone running with them. It will be after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-4 pm. We need LOTS of volunteers to run/walk with a group. All levels needed from super runners to encouragement walkers! Information and permission slips will be coming out soon. Contact Polly, PE teacher, for more info. email: smith_polly@asdk12.org |
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Super Simple 2021-22
Our Chugach Community Fundraiser!
Each fall, Chugach has our annual classroom fundraiser, called Big Simple and a Fall Auction to fund enrichment. This is the second year that the pandemic has ruled out an in-person auction for the fall, so our effort is a combined ask in hopes of supporting our school in these ever changing times. In past years, the suggested donation was $90 per child for the classroom and an additional $92 per child was raised by selling donated items at our fall auction. We know with COVID-19 there are economic hardships. We ask families to consider this year giving what you can, even if that is $5. If you are not able to give, we understand that too.
At our spring 2021 Community Assembly Meeting we funded a reduced budget with reserves from previous years, but do anticipate additional needs and want to make sure we can approach the next school year in a good financial position. Our goal for fall fundraising this year is $27,366, which makes our suggested donation $115 per child and we know we can get there! We are keeping it Super Simple this year! Donate what you can, when you can and help support Chugach Optional!
Chugach Educational Corporation is organized under IRS code section 501(c)3 as a tax-exempt public charity. Your donations to the Super Simple fundraiser are tax deductible to the extent of the current tax law.
Donate Here |
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Lunch Time: 11:30-12:30 p.m. Volunteers appreciated ------------------------------------------ To kick-off the year we are going to eat outside. We have always valued outdoor time for children, and it is part of what makes our school special (two recess, longer recess, outdoor school + more). This is a plan to help us start the year, while covid case counts are high. We plan to roll our cafeteria tables outside. Children can eat and will have access to trash cans, etc. They may bring a picnic blanket and choose to eat picnic-style as well. If the weather does not allow for us to eat outside, we will eat in the classrooms with barriers. While planning, I just couldn't agree to five classes in the cafeteria at once and feel good about that decision. I also am trying to support the teachers not having kids in their classrooms during lunch. We know that our teachers put great effort into making those spaces optimal for learning and it is hard on our carpet, etc when food and beverages are in their daily. I also want to make sure this is a peaceful time that our teachers can relax in their rooms. Interested in volunteering? We would love to have you! Helpers are needed 11:30-12:30 daily to support lunch and recess. If you are volunteering outside, masks are optional at this time. I will close this note with a focus on kindness. I am receiving a lot of different opinions from parents. Please trust I am doing my best to hear all parents and understand we are all in very different spaces with covid and our belief system. Just like on a national and local level--this is also the case at Chugach. The place I will meet all of you is: I want Chugach to stay open, I want kids and families healthy, and I believe in-person learning is incredibly important. I am going to ask that kindness + empathy is a focus for all of us as we start the year. -Clare |
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Save the date: 9/29/2021 @ 7 p.m. via Zoom A parent night to grow our tools as a community. |
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The Anchorage School District Communications team is working hard to provide current and up-to-date information on the district website. Please go to that site for any questions about our COVID-19 response, information to download the ASD App, and more. If you have feedback or need additional support for any resources, do not hesitate to reach out to our school directly (742-3730). |
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Thank You to Our School Business Partners *We are still looking for additional business partners * |
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