Denali Montessori School

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.

Many thanks to members of the Denali family who donated money to help our community schools Spanish teacher, Martha Amaya, get through her recent surgery. She is on the mend and recently returned to work. Denali raised $458 to defray some of her medical costs. Your generosity, along with her hospital’s decision to write off the base cost of the surgery itself, is greatly appreciated by Martha. She writes, “Thanks…there are never enough words to express it. For All You Do… bless everyone for all your help: Thanks so much. Martha”

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

April  1-3, 8……State Assigned Testing Dates

May  22………..Classes end.  End of fourth quarter.

School is dismissed at 3:30pm.  A final bell rings at 3:45pm and all children should be off the playground and on their way home !

On Thursday, March 20, three special guests came to a celebration at Denali Campfire.  This celebration was “Incredible  Kid Day”.  The three guests were: the principal of Denali, Brooke Hull; the mayor of Anchorage, Mark Begich; and the Superintendent of the Anchorage School District, Carol Comeau.  They were there to tell us about “Incredible Kid Day”.  Mrs. Hull, Mayor Begich and Ms. Comeau each wrote a letter to the kids, which they read out loud.  Each letter talked about how amazing we are as kids, even though adults don’t tell us as much as they should.  It was a great celebration that all the kids enjoyed.

Because we do not have an attendance line, please send a note with your child to the teacher the following day.

This week’s ASSETS Newsletter is entitled “Feeling Safe To Move Forward.” The importance of this topic can’t be stressed enough - for children to learn, they must feel safe first. Some studies have shown that student achievement and academic performance increases by 10-20% once this basic need for safety has been addressed. In th school setting, this is often referred to as the school or classroom “climate.” For our Anchorage weather conditions, we might turn on the news or look at a website. Here at the Anchorage School District, we conduct a Climate and Connectedness Student Survey each year to measure the climate of our schools. Most students at Denali consistently report that they feel safe in their classrooms and in their school. Our School Safety rating was 4.15 out of a maximum of 5.o - compared with 3.82 for other elementary schools and 3.62 district-wide. Please take a moment to review this week’s “Ideas For Parents” and think about ways you can help to make your child feel safe at home, in their neighborhood and in our school.

Janice Banta, School Counselor

Click here to download Ideas For Parents, Asset #10: Safety

This is the last week to finish up science fair projects! Students need to make sure that they have projects in by Wednesday, March 7th!

Click here to download Week 6 Newsletter.

It is now week 5 in preparation for the Denali Science Fair. How is your project progressing? Check out the latest newsletter to see what to do next.

Week 5 Newsletter

The Week 4 Science Fair Newsletter is now posted. Check the right hand column, directly above the search bar.

Dear Families,

When growing up in Fairbanks, my best friend was a competitive junior dog musher who eventually ended up extending her winning streak into the adult division. For over eight years, I worked with Carol to help her exercise her 37 dogs to prepare them for the dog races. Every night we either mushed or we snow machined fifty miles of trails to keep them open for our use. And, naturally, we watered and fed the dogs while making sure that the dog yard was clean. It was fun and I learned a lot about setting goals and working towards tough challenges. So last week was especially enjoyable for me when I was able to watch the Fur Rondy World Championship Sled Dog Race that sped by our school on Friday. Yes, we did have a bit of trouble parking but it was worth it to see how much fun the boys and girls had watching the two-legged and four-legged athletes. It made me smile as I realized that some of my best memories were being played back for our students-it was great!

Speaking of great-our Literacy Night was a huge success! We had almost 175 students and parents attend the event and some of the comments from our survey included compliments for all the hard work, planning, and effort that went to ensuring that things would go smoothly. I guess the best comment was a hope that this was our ‘first annual literacy night’-which is food for future thought. Many thanks need to be given: Irene Bortnick, Paula Davis, Keith Harjehausen, Mardena Williams, Diane Harps, Melissa Mathis, Kate Michaels, Sonya Davis, Peter Ljubicich, Gretchen Nelson, Ann McLain, Bev Grogan, Becky Harrison-Drake, Dawnmarie Riley, the PTA (who paid for the food), the MAC committee who provided school tours, and innumerable students who came and helped during the event all deserve kudos. Teamwork at its best-that is what Denali excels at doing. Again, thank you to all who participated and made this a super evening of learning.

With spring break quickly approaching, please have a safe and restful ‘vacation’ and I will have more information for you about Standard Based Assessments (SBA’s) in our next newsletter.

Brooke Hull, Denali Principal

Do you know a remarkable educator in Anchorage? Encourage them to continue making a difference. Nominate a BP Teacher of Excellence today. The BP Teachers of Excellence program recognizes Alaska educators for their efforts in bringing out the best in their students and their schools. Anyone may nominate a teacher for their exceptional commitment to education. Submit your nomination online by March 7, 2008 at alaska.bp.com/alaska/Bpteachers.

March 1……………Idita-Read
10:00 a.m.

March 4…………..PTA/MAC Meeting
Potluck - 6:00 p.m.
Meeting 6:30-7:30 p.m.

March 7…………….End of third quarter
NO SCHOOL

March 10-14……..Spring Break

March 26 +27……Parent Conference Days

March 28………….In-Service Day
NO SCHOOL

Because we do not have an attendance line, please send a note with your child to the teacher the day following an absence.