Denali Montessori School

Dear Families,

It is time for me to say “thank you” for the support, encouragement, and help that you have given me during my first year at Denali. This is such a fabulous community to be part of and the time and attention that you have extended to me has been appreciated. We have such wonderful students and an extraordinary staff–it just couldn’t be any better! When coupled with a committed and dedicated MAC and PTA group, good things happen.  It has been fun to work with everyone this year as we have enjoyed our many events. It just makes me smile as I constantly remember that parents can and DO make a difference in the quality of education that we can offer to our students.  At Denali Montessori we are lucky as we have the BEST parents and guardians, students, and staff!

Even though we are in our final week of school, it is chock full of activities so I encourage you to check the box, on this page, listing upcoming events so that you are sure that you have not missed any information as we will be very busy during these final days.  Finally, I hope that you will have a fun-filled summer and I look forward to seeing you at the end-of-the-year ice cream social.

Brooke Hull

May 21……….Talent Show- 2pm

May 21……….6th Grade Recognition
6:30pm

May 22……….4th Quarter Ends
Last Day of School
Ice Cream Social
3:30-4:30pm

Summer programs for children are more popular today than ever.  In the United States, more than nine million children participated in summer programs last year.  Here are some different summer options to consider:  Summer school, day camps, overnight camps, etc.  Match the program with your child’s interest.  Start close to home and get qualifications.
Finally, remember the power of peer pressure.  If your child is unsure whether he or she is interested in camp, try to find a friend or two to go along.

Thank you to IBEW, DAIRY QUEEN and GOLDEN CORRAL for their contributions on “MATH NIGHT”. It was a very successful evening and enjoyed by several of our Denial families. Thank you!

With lots of volunteer help and the backing of the PTA, community school classes  are thriving at Denali!  This semester, we are currently offering Spanish, chess,  jigsaw puzzles, arts & crafts, reading, and computers before school, and Spanish,  Chinese, board games, dance, yoga, reading, digital video, Poke’mon and  computer after school.  We would like to expand our class offerings.  Do you  have a skill or passion you would like to share?  These classes are about  our children experiencing and learning new things.  Perhaps a language, craft,  art form, exercise, music class, …  We have had requests for “mad scientist” and  drama classes.  Interested?  The semester runs from August until Christmas  break.  We can also have part-of-the-semester classes.  Morning (8:00 or 8:15 –  8:45 am) or afternoon (3:45 – 4:30 pm), every day, twice a week, once a week,  whatever works for you.  Instructors* are paid as subcontractors and their  children get a discount on classes.   We’re planning for the Fall, so please  contact Linda Klinkhart gek@gci.net or Scott Irwin icdenali-scott@yahoo.com for  more information.
*Instructors must get a background check before the first class meeting, and will be reimbursed.

Is your child  missing any items of clothing?  Our lost and found bin is overflowing with jackets, winter hats, boots, shoes, lunch boxes, etc.  Any left over items will be donated to a charity on the last day of school.
Important Medication Notice
If your child has any medications in the nurses’ office it will need to be picked by an adult before 4:30 on Thursday, May 22.  The Anchorage School District requires us to discard and medications that are left in the building.  We are not allowed to give medications to the students to take home.

Nurse Pattie

Congratulations - to members of our Denial community who were honored at the School/Business Partnership STAR Awards luncheon on May 12th.  Daly Mutiny was nominated as a STAR student for his service as a peer mediator and Jasmin Wilson was nominated as a STAR educator for her efforts as our peer mediation program coordinator.  Check out the Denali website to learn more about their STAR nominations and contributions to our school.  Denali’s own star parent, Dora Wilson, NECA/IBEW, serves as a business member on the School Business Partnerships Board of Directors.  Make sure and give Dora a big Thank You at the end of school ice cream social for NECA/IBEW’s sponsorship of that event, as well as for their support for peer mediation, community schools scholarships and tee-shirts!

Here is an opportunity for parents to support Denali School.  A capital budget recently passed the legislature which includes $38,000 for new computer equipment for our school.  Over the next two weeks, the Governor will decide which projects in the capital budget will be vetoed and which will be funded.   I encourage all parents who support this grant to write to the Governor and Karen Rehfeld, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to let them know how important this project is to the community and especially our children’s education. 

The contact information for the Governor and Director Rehfeld are listed below.  If you choose to write letters of support, please use the project title listed below so there is no confusion over which project you are advocating for.  Please also send a copy of any correspondence to Senator Johnny Ellis and Representative Les Gara who helped promote this project.  Thank you for your continued support of our school.

Brooke Hull

Project Information:
Title: Denali Elementary School Computers Purchase
Amount:  $38,000
Page and Line:  page 106, line 14

Governor Sarah Palin
Attn:  Mike Tibbles, Chief of Staff
PO Box 110001
Juneau, AK 99811-0001
Phone: (907) 465-3500
Fax:  (907) 465-3532
Sarah.Palin@alaska.gov

Karen Rehfeld, Director
Office of Management and Budget
PO Box 110020
Juneau, AK 99811-0020
Phone:  (907) 465-4660
Fax:  (907) 465-3640
Karen.Rehfeld@alaska.gov

Alaska State Legislature
Senator Johnny Ellis
Representative Les Gara
Official Business
716 W. 4th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501

Come join in the fun!

Tuesday, April 29th

6:30-8:00 pm.

Denali’s Multipurpose Room

Students with an accompanying adult are invited to come and learn new math games.  You will leave that night with math directions and materials so that you can play these games at home over the summer.

 We hope to see you here on Tuesday, the 29th of April!

Dear Families,

Whew! Our week of testing ended on Friday and everyone is glad. It was wonderful to see how hard the students worked to demonstrate their knowledge and their academic growth. Thank you for your help in making sure that your child/ren arrived at school last week prepared to take the SBAs. Now, I am excited to see the results that will arrive sometime in May.

Speaking about being excited-this is Science Fair week and we have projects arriving.  It is always fun to see the varied projects that illustrate how much thought, effort, and time the boys and girls have put into creating interesting and informative displays. Please be sure to stop by and see what they created.

We are so lucky here at Denali - once again our excellent staff has decided to offer an opportunity for our community. On Tuesday, April 29th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm we are offering a Family Math Night. This fun-filled, engaging evening will provide our students and their parents/guardians a chance to come and learn new math games that can be played at home. We hope that you will consider joining us. Please look for more information to follow in the next weeks.

Enjoy the warming weather and the lengthening light.

Brooke Hull, Principal

April 7-11………..Science Fair

April 11…………..Spring  Pictures

April 11-13………State Science Fair
April 18…………..Peace Conference

April 29…………..Math Night
6:30 -8:00pm
May 22……………4th Quarter Ends
Last Day of School

Spring is in the air and that means time for Spring cleaning. I am looking for donations of long pants and shirts in any size for our nurses’ office. Thank you.

Camp for Alaskan Youth with Asthma
The American Lung Association is sponsoring camps in Alaska for youth ages 7-17 with asthma. These are excellent opportunities for Alaskan youth with asthma to learn asthma self-management skills and to gain confidence in those skills while being active outdoors. Partial scholarships and statewide round-trip transportation provided for both camps.

Champ Camp
Youth Ages 7-12
July 27-August 1, 2008
Camp Carlquist, Chugiak

Limitless Adventures
Youth ages 13-17
June 8-June 14, 2008
Eagle River Valley, Juneau

For more information and to download registration materials see web site www.aklung.org or call Camp Coordinator Michelle Ferreira at 907-644-6417.
Nurse Pattie

Picture Day is tomorrow!! These are the pictures that just show up in a few weeks and you can decide whether or not to keep and pay for them. Please feel free to leave any unwanted photos in the PTA box in the workroom. If you keep the photos, please remember to send in payment. Denali PTA makes a commission on paid sales, which we then use for school programs and events.

PTA will require three new officers for the 2008-2009 school year. The current board is busily preparing for a smooth transition and hopes to spend most of May working closely with new board members. In order to do that, we need to have three officer candidates at our May 6 meeting. We also have many more specific openings, planning events and such. If you would like more information about what is entailed, or would like to jump in a volunteer, please call Jessica Horwatt at 441-8196.

HUGE thanks go to Jackie Morrissey and Linda Klinkhart for taking on the job of coordinating our Spring Book Fair! Denali PTA earned just over $2000 from book sales, but more importantly, a total of nearly $1500 in books were added to class libraries via family donations and product earnings from Scholastic. Incredible!

PTA also provided snacks for our testing kids last week, again thanks to parent volunteers. Thank you Jackie Morrissey, Jim Lee and Jessica Horwatt for making Costco runs. Thanks to all the parents who stayed in the morning to deliver snacks to classrooms. And, special thanks to Carla Williams for coming in early all four days to prepare snacks!!

Thanks to Julie Pierce for coordinating our annual cookie dough sale. Denali PTA made about $1,800 profit. Thanks also to those who helped sort the products for pickup: Scott Irwin, Linda Klinkhart, Jessica Horwatt, Julie Pierce and her first assistant, Adler!

Many thanks to Kim Robuck for remaining our Life Touch point of contact and handling all coordination for Fall and Spring school pictures and for completing our yearbook!

Several months ago (I apologize for the delay!) students at Denali worked with climbing ropes and the traverse climbing wall in physical education. They worked towards such objectives as strength building, cooperation, encouragement, lifting and controlling body weight, balance, and the realization of personal limits as well as an understanding that skill development takes time.

What follows is a list of students who made it in to the “Top of the World Club”. These students successfully climbed to the top of the gym rope. - Shawn Horning, P.E Teacher

Rope w/ Balls (1st-3rd Grade)
Cameron K, Anissa M., Carson W., Mitchell G., Shilo C., Piper S., Madison H., Jen J., Vazul T., Griffin L., Shalia C., Evan K., David S., Alyzia H., Kobe H., Hunter S., Brandy L., Nina P., Michael J., Elizabeth J., Grace I., Brandi S., Rashawne W., Sid M.

Rope w/ Balls (4th-6th Grade)
Ryan M., Esha N., Elias A., Waylon S., Warren S., Anayansi S-G., Daly M., Bethany R., Gabrielle L., Philip B., Erin G., Keenan J., Grace R., Jpurney P., Alexis S., Junior P., Jessica D., Adler C., Damaiya W., Taylor L., Malia L., Hailey L., Sunshine E., Aaron B.

Rope - Smooth (1st-3rd Grade)
Jared E., Kendall W., Brian B., Fiona F., Maggie Y., Margeaux B., Lucas M., Kuulei P., Mickey M.

Rope - Smooth (4th-6th Grade)
Chance R., Keely J., Jenny S., Thomas O’H., Katherine M., Jonathan M., Jocelyn B., Erik E.

Dear Families,

Last week we were very fortunate to have two Montessori experts from Montessori Opportunities, Inc. come to Denali and work with our staff. Peter and Rosann Larrow were able to visit each classroom and meet with the teachers to provide guidance on ways to strengthen our best Montessori practices. Thank you to the MAC committee and all our community members who helped fundraise for this training. We will be continuing our association with the Larrows for the balance of the year and we will have Peter Larrow returning in the fall. At that time we will provide for additional staff training, begin a credit class for staff, and arrange for Peter to meet and work with our parent community. Please look for more information about these upcoming, exciting events as they unfold.

Speaking about exciting events, we are pleased to be able to meet with you on Wednesday and Thursday for parent-teacher conferences. If you are not sure about when your scheduled meeting time with your child’s teacher is, please contact the teacher to find out. We are looking forward to sharing with you your child’s progress and to answer your questions.

Kindergarten and third grade parents will be given a placement form to fill out and return to school.

Finally, remember that the Alaska Standards-Based Assessments (SBAs) will be given to grades 3-6 students next week. It is imperative that all students arrive at school rested and ready for testing. Eating a nutritious breakfast is important. Please have your chid to school on time and avoid scheduling appointments on April 1st, 2nd and 3rd (and on April 4th for grade four students).  Thank you for making sure that your children will be here on time and ready to take the SBA tests.

Enjoy the warming weather.

Brooke Hull
Principal