HUFFMAN NEWS
HUSKY TALES
Anchorage School District
http://www.asdk12.org/schools/Huffman/pages/
Volume 1, Issue 9
12000 Lorraine Street Anchorage, Alaska 99516 907-742-5650 SCHOOL BUSINESS PARTNERS http://www.alaskazoo.org/
CALENDAR
February 3, 2016
http://www.trinityalaska.org/ http://www.h2oasiswaterpark.com/
Dear Huffman Families, We hope this finds you well and enjoying the return of the sun. There are many exciting things happening at Huffman Elementary.
February 12 School Spirit Day– Disney Day
February 15 Presidents Day– No School
February 16 After school conferences begin at 3:45P
February 17 Parent/Teacher conferences School released at 12:30p
Visit Our Schools Month: ASD is opening our school doors to the community again for the month of February. Every Tuesday morning at 9:30, all ASD schools will be providing open tours. There will also be one evening tour on February 23, at 6pm. Please take this opportunity to learn more about all of the exciting options ASD provides for families of Anchorage. Please be sure to check-in at the office. Conferences: February 16 – 18. We look forward to sharing your student’s success. Please use the following link to schedule your conferences online. Please contact your student’s teacher if you have any difficulties or questions. Thank you. http:// www.asdk12.org/ConferenceScheduling/StudentScheduleStartExt.aspx AMP(Alaska Measures of Progress) Testing Dates: 3rd Grade: 3/29 – 4/1 4th Grade: 4/4 – 4/8 5th Grade: 4/11 – 4/15 6th Grade: 4/18 – 4/22
February 18 Parent/Teacher conferences School released at 12:30p
February 19 In-Service Day No School
Makeups: 4/25 – 4/29 PTA Events: Family skate night was a great success. Thank you to the PTA for organizing this wonderful event. “Winter Sports Day” is scheduled for February 26. This is a BIG undertaking and will require a great deal of volunteers. Please see the volunteer link below for more information. http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0849a5aa28abfd0-winter2 Let’s hope for some snow. Website: http://huffman.asdk12.org
February 22 I-Did-A-Read Starts
February 26 Winter Sports Day Grades 4-6 9:15a-10:45a Grades K-3 1:15p-2:45p
Huffman’s new website is up and running. We have some work to do and a few errors to clean up, but the calendar is up to date and we’re working hard to ensure this is a timely and useful resource for our families. You can always access our site through asdk12.org as well. Attendance = Student Achievement Thank you for getting your student to school on time everyday. ASD’s minimum attendance goal is 90%. As always, don’t hesitate to call or email if you have questions or concerns. Have a wonderful day. All the best. Chris 907-742-5650 opitz_chris@asdk12.org
HUFFMAN NEWS HUFFMAN NEWS
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PAW PRINTS 1-19-16
PAW PRINTS 1-25-16 Kindergarten
Kindergarten McDaniel
Sadie Condlin, Lia Moore
McDaniel
Nylah Lee, Jacob Ulofoshio
Sterling
Reine Hibbert , Jaxson Gutierrez
Sterling
Miles Zipsir, Beck Harth
1st Grade
1st Grade Carlson
Rakel Nevzoroff-Oppegard, Kane Estes
Carlson
Alyssa Romo-Lopez, Colin Digel
Sooter
Riley Harby
Sooter
Connor Lamb
Weaver
Brayden Coskey, Abby Page
Weaver
Daniel Choquette, Evy Coy
2nd Grade
2nd Grade Barrett
Zoe Zipsir, Aaron Fowler
Barrett
Jillian Janicka, Edi Pellumbi
Jungwirth
Neil Lefler, Gavin Swegle
Jungwirth
Troy Carte, Morelia Cortez
Sooter
Maya Tirpack
Sooter
Ethan Tran
3rd Grade
3rd Grade Calabro Kay
Eliza Brace, Jeremy Ulofoshio
Calabro
Grant Chythlook, Isabella Schuld, Marseya Melgarejo
Gracie Moore Kay
Audrey Schneider, Heyden Buck
4th Grade 4th Grade Carroll
Embyr Wagendorf, Kate Malcom, Aaron Griffin Carroll
,Ziegler
Joshua Christian, Tristan Markgraf, Allison Ward
Kate Unger, Parker Johnston, Sam Bilbao Ziegler
Nola Wilcox, Catherine Edge
5th Grade 5th Grade McGregor
Ashley Huang, Zoe Witter
Mitchell
Jade Whitt, Deedee Nevzoroff
Tjaden
Tyler Odell
McGregor
Colette Zidek, Ellie Schuld
Mitchell
Grace Lee, Brandon Moore
Tjaden
Grainne Rogacki
6th Grade Grumblis Simmons Tjaden
Hannah Yi, Molly Gallagher, Reed Donald Julia Thomas, Hunter Miller, Glenn Ball Hanna Matthews
6th Grade Grumblis Simmons Tjaden
Katie Tisdale, Eli Malcom Cassie Welch, Zac Nauls Carson Myren
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PAW PRINTS 2-1-16
Good Job Awards
Kindergarten McDaniel
Whole class for paper mache’ penguins
MCDANIEL
Jazmyne Nails
Sterling
Sophie Novakovich, Owyn Dowell
SOOTER
Elias Sandberg
1st Grade
JUNGWIRTH
Neil Lefler
Carlson
Jonas Nevin, Carson Madison
KAY
Sooter
Alyssa Christian
ZIEGLER Corbin Roberts
Weaver
Avigayil Cohen, Dylan Knutsen
TJADEN Rennick Heatwole
2nd Grade
Brielle Morehead
GRUMBLIS
Kylie Wagendorf
Barrett
Owen Harth, Cassidy McSharry
Jungwirth
Kira Moore, Zac Kenney
STERLING Kimberly Taylor
Sooter
Ethan Tran
WEAVER
3rd Grade Calabro
Alannah Harris, Ayden Long
Kay
Addison Stephens
4th Grade
BARRETT
Mya Blackwell
CALABRO
Kaelyn Hannon
CARROLL
Cory Driver, Rachel Gallagher
Ziegler
Reagan Winsor, Andrew Murray
5th Grade Ryan Bascom, Nick Barbosa, Emily Franks, Emily McCutcheon
TJADEN
Abigail Wilson
MCDANIEL
Lia Moore
CARLSON
Haley Calderon
SOOTER Mitchell
Cole Schmidt
MITCHELL Jasmine Griffith
Carroll
McGregor
Yasmine Baumgartner
Ethan Tran
Ny Le, Kaelin Lemon KAY
6th Grade
Addison Stephens
Grumblis
Daisy Calloway, Reese Cochran
ZIEGLER Hope Augustin
Simmons
Reese Bouwens, Verlana Jones, Garrett Lessley
MCGREGOR Tyler Wert SIMMONS
Tjaden
Nathan Shin
Emily Green
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HUFFMAN HUFFMANNEWS NEWS
SIGN UP FOR CONFERENCES ONLINE Huffman Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences February 16-18 Teachers are excited to meet with families and share students’ progress during parent teacher conferences. Please save the dates.
February 15: Presidents Day – No School February 16: Normal school day - conferences begin at 3:45pm February 17 & 18: Students dismissed at 12:30pm, conferences to follow February 19: No School
Beginning this quarter and going forward, parents and guardians will be responsible for scheduling conferences online. If you need assistance, please contact your student’s teacher. As a courtesy, the office staff has scheduled conferences for families with three or more siblings here at Huffman.
rd
The online scheduler will be available beginning on February 3 . Scheduling early offers you the opportunity to secure conference times that work best for your family. NOTE: If your student is in a multi-grade (combo) class, please choose “Mix” from the menu to navigate to your student’s teacher. Please include your email. You will receive automated reminders about your conference date and time. Please visit the online scheduler at: http://www.asdk12.org/ConferenceScheduling/StudentScheduleStartExt.aspx If you will be on vacation during the conference period, please communicate this with your student’s teacher and call the school office at 742-5650. Pre-approved Absence Request forms should be completed if your student will be absent more than 3 days. We know that many families choose to take vacations during these weeks due to the short week and half days. Please understand that conferences will not be rescheduled due to vacations unless specific concerns arise. Of course, if an emergency pops up, our staff will work with your family. Rescheduling numerous conferences is very difficult for teachers due to the limited time they are allocated for planning. Thank you in advance for your understanding. Please feel free to contact the school office if you have any questions. We look forward to sharing your student’s progress, answering your questions, and working together as a team to ensure your student’s success.
Chris Opitz, principal Huffman Elementary
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Spelling Bee
Battle of the Books Battle of the Books Wrap Up: 2016 proved to be another successful year for all Battle of the Books participants. Huffman had over 90 kids participate this year. Each child read, discussed, laughed, smiled, and spent lunchtime to be part of this wonderful program. Readers truly are leaders! Huffman sent 4 teams to the District Battle of the Books. Each team had incredible recall, excellent manners and great sportsmanship. I feel the 5/6 teams greatest accomplishment was bringing home the sportsmanship award. The Sportsmanship Award is awarded to only one school and is voted solely upon by their peers from 56 other teams. In the ¾ battle some of Huffman’s quietest learners volunteered to be their teams speaker! District Battle Results: 5/6 Teams: First Place: Rennick Heatwole, Cody Tirpack, Joey Baldessari Eighth Place: Skylar Berg, Grainne Rogacki, Zoe Witter, Colette Zidek 3/4 Teams:
The Huffman School Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, January 21, in the MPR. There were 18 participants from grades 3-6. Congratulations go to our Spelling Bee champion, sixth grader, Julia Thomas from Mrs. Simmons’s room. We wish her the best of luck in the Alaska State Spelling Bee which takes place on Tuesday, March 22 at the Alaska Center for Performing Arts in downtown Anchorage. Congratulations also go to our runner-up, sixth grader, Trevor Monahan who is also in Mrs. Simmons’s room. Our judges this year were Mr. Bob White (a former Huffman PE teacher), Mrs. Patty Gapinski (a former Huffman teacher), and Mrs. Margaret Griffo (a former Huffman speech pathologist). Our special guest pronouncer was Maria Downey, anchor and assistant news director at Channel 2 News who did an excellent job. A big THANK YOU to our judges, guest pronouncer, Huffman PTA for their support, and to all those who helped make this a very successful event.
Fourth Place: Elizabeth Page, Josh Christian, Brianne Wang, Josh Ulofoshio Participants: Stella Baldessari, Anna Boltz, Chloe Wilson This year I will be hosting a mini Battle of the Books for second grade students. I will be kicking this off with Huffman’s I-did-aread. The second grade list of 12 books will be available February 16th. I am hoping to gather enthusiasm, love of reading, and the background knowledge in Huffman’s second graders so they can start reading the 3/4 Battle of the Books this summer. I would like thank the Huffman PTA for supporting this wonderful program and parents like you. Without your support we would not of had multiple copies of books for kids to read, tee shirts for the tournament, and well prepared students for the battle. I look forward to an exciting year next year. Be looking for the 2016-2017 Battle of the Books list coming out in late April. Cindy Keller, Huffman Elementary School Librarian
Good luck to Julia and Trevor as they prepare for the State Bee!! Sue Archer Spelling Bee Coordinator
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Huffman TEAM PTA tidbits The next PTA meeting is Tuesday, 3/1 @ 4:00pm in the Library.
HUFFMAN HUFFMANNEWS NEWS
Thanks to all the parents who have donated skis and skates over the years. Check out our latest pair of skis from Brianna Wang and family!
“Bag-A-Thon” Food Drive…A HUGE Success!! Thank you to Jenny Cowles for taking on the event, being AMAZING and helping Huffman make a difference in our community! 2/22 – 3/21 ~ I-Did-A-Read. Watch for the packets to come home and get your kiddo READING to Nome! Parent help assisting the kiddos moving their dogs in the mornings during this period is always appreciated. 2/26 ~ Winter Sports Day (similar to Field Day but with snow)…we need volunteers! Look for the Volunteer Spot email that came out this week so you can sign up to help. This is a huge undertaking and needs lots of parent support to make it happen for the kiddos…but hey they are worth it!!! PS. We are sure you will have some fun while you’re at it! http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0849A5AA28ABFD0winter2/25514171>
3/4 ~ PTA Movie Night…don’t miss it! This will be the last one for the school year. 3/31~ Math & Science Night…Save the Date - Details to come. 4/29 ~ Save the DATE…Huffman’s first ever adult only Spring Event. Sure to be an evening of fabulous food & drinks, music, fun & FUNdraising. Watch for details to come…If you are an artist or business owner that would be willing to donate an item to the auction please let us know. We will not only appreciate you greatly but we just might sing a song in your honor… (or not whichever motivates you!) Have questions? Email us at huffmanteampta@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!
Skating in P.E. Thank you to all the wonderful parents that came out and helped tie skates, couldn’t have done it without you. Please stay tuned on facebook and e-mail regarding ski conditions for P.E. Think Snow!
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Saturday, March 5, 2016 A fun-day packed with winter activities to get kids and families outside & active. Register at: http:// www.anchoragenordicski.com/ ski4kids.html
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HUFFMAN HUFFMANNEWS NEWS
Notes from the
room
Happy February! Our 2nd Semester Choir had our first rehearsal this week! We have a great group of singers!! Coming up: Fifth & sixth grade students are exploring music from around the world. Fourth graders have started learning to play recorders. If your 4th grader has a personal recorder, they are welcome to bring it on their music days. There is no need to purchase one; I have plenty to loan. Third graders are spending some time with the Treble Clef and basic notereading. Second graders are eagerly preparing for their performance of “Seussical Jr.”. March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’ birthday and we hope you will be able to join us for the celebration. First graders are playing barred instruments and strengthening rhythmic understanding. Kindergartners will be making connections to Valentine’s Day and continuing to play singing games and classroom instruments.
With a song, Mrs. Elizabeth Hunt
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HUFFMAN NEWS HUFFMAN NEWS
Bag-A-Thon” Food Drive…A HUGE Success!! Thank you to Jenny Cowles for taking on the event, being AMAZING and helping Huffman make a difference in our community! Big Thank you to Yogurt Lounge" for supplying the winning grade with their upcoming yogurt party! (They are donating the yogurt, at no cost to us!) Volunteers of America was very thankful for all of your donations. Thank you Huffman students! Kindergarten was the Ice Cream Party Winner with 77%. 2nd place was 2nd Grade and 3rd place was 1st grade. We had 169 students participate that’s 45% of the school. Way to go Huskies!!
Anchorage School Board Kameron Perez-Verdia, president Kathleen Plunkett, vice president Bettye Davis, treasurer Tam Agosti-Gisler, clerk Eric Croft Pat Higgins Elisa Snelling Superintendent Ed Graff
Anchorage School District In agreement with the Office of Civil Rights-U. S. Department of Education, this statement must be included in all ASD publications, including student handbooks, administrative manuals, parent documents and other District publications. Compliance/Equal Employment Opportunity Office REVISED: 8/2007; 8/2012; 5/2013; 7/2014 ASD Statement of Non-discrimination for ASD Publications The Board is committed to an environment of non-discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, economic status, union affiliation, disability and other human differences. No person shall be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, any academic or extracurricular program or educational opportunity or service offered by the District. The District will comply with the applicable statutes, regulations, and executive orders adopted by Federal, State and Municipal agencies. The District notes the concurrent applica bility of the Individuals with Disabilities Act, Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act and the relevant disability provisions of
Alaska law. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the District’s Compliance/Equal Employment Opportunity Executive Director, who also serves as the Title IX and ADA/ADAAA Coordinator, ASD Education Center, 5530 E. Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99504-3135 (907) 742-4132, or to any of the following external agencies: Alaska State Commission for Human Rights, Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Director of the Office for Civil Rights-U.S. Department of Education or Office of Civil Rights-U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. EEO #024
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Stay Tuned for our Ski Conditions. We’ll e-mail and post on Facebook. Think SNOW Cross Country Skiing during Physical Education Classes
Ice Skating in P.E. is off to a great start. Ice Skating will run for 3 weeks from Jan. 11 – Jan. 29th. Cross Country skiing will run for 3 weeks from Feb. 1st – Feb 26th . Feb. 16-20 will be a regular indoor week due to conferences. During these weeks, students will be skating/ skiing either one or two days per week. See schedule below for your child’s “skate/ski” day.
K
McDaniel
Tuesday
1:00 – 1:45*
K
Sterling
Wednesday
1:00 – 1:45*
1st
Carlson
Monday
1:50 - 2:35*
1/2
Sooter
Friday
1:50 - 2:35*
1st
Weaver
Wednesday
1:50– 2:35*
2nd
Jungwirth
Friday
2:40 - 3:25*
2nd
Barrett
Thursday
2:40 - 3:25*
3rd
Kay
Tues./Fri.
2:40 - 3:25/9:05 – 9:50
3rd
Calabro
Mon./Weds.
2:40 - 3:25
4th
Carroll
Tues/Thurs
10:45 – 11:30
4th
Ziegler
Mon./Weds.
10:45 - 11:30
5th
McGregor
Friday
10:45 – 11:30*
5th
Mitchell
Mon./Thurs.
9:55 - 10:40
5/6
Tjaden
Weds./Fri.
9:55 – 10:40
6th
Simmons
Tues./Thurs.
9:05 - 9:50
6th
Grumblis
Mon./Weds.
9:05 - 9:50
5-6
Sura
Monday
11:35-12:20*
APE/Ladd
Tuesday
1:45-2:30*
*Mr. Pemble may take some classes snowshoeing during their other PE day – stay tuned General Information: Equipment: We have equipment for all students and will spend some time fitting skates and ski boots. If students want to bring their own equipment, they must store it in their classroom and it needs to be clearly marked with their name. Skis are not allowed on the bus. Students may bring skates with skate guards on the bus. Clothing: Students should be prepared to be outside for 45 minutes on their ski or skate day. They must have warm clothes, a hat, and gloves or mittens. Please provide LONG wool or synthetic socks. Short cotton socks or no socks = raw ankles. Yikes. Parent Help: YES! WE NEED HELP, ESPECIALLY FOR PRIMARY! Last year the skate/ski blocks were reduced from one hour to 45 minutes. We especially need help tying laces and helping the younger students (K-3) get dressed, ready, and safely down to the ice rink or out to the field. More help = more time skating or skiing. Equipment Donations: We are always wearing out equipment and can use new (your old) skis, boots, and poles and hockey skates. Thank you so much for your help and support, Mrs. Bergt bergt_natasha@asdk12.org 742-5650
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