Some of you may be receiving this newsletter for the very first time! That most likely means you're a new KPBSD Migrant Ed Family! Welcome! We've wrapped up another enrollment season, and currently have nearly 625 students enrolled in the Migrant Ed Program. Students are served by four Migrant Ed Specialists (see contact info below) and are served mostly by geographic region. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions! We're happy to connect with you!

Also! Wishing everyone a safe, happy holiday season! We're in the process of wrapping up programming for Semester 1, and are already looking forward to Semester 2!

What an amazing learning opportunity Close Up offers to students. We are so pleased that we were able to take a group of 14 Juniors and Seniors to Washington DC, where we learned about government, history and culture. A highlight was meeting with Senator Dan Sullivan, and Representative Don Young. Here's what one student had to say about the experience:

My name is Clavdia Kulikov. I have been fortunate enough to experience Washington DC and Close Up twice now. Each time I've attended I always make new friends and learn new opportunities to expand my knowledge. After high school, I still don't know what I'll be doing but after DC I know there are so many opportunities I can do. Still, to this day, I keep in touch with a few of the students from 5 years ago on my first close up trip. I also still keep in touch with the people I met just a few weeks ago on my second close up trip. I've always loved meeting new people and trying new things but Washington DC is something I could have never imagined. I absolutely love it and all the people there.

Check out the link below to an article published by KPBSD's Communication Director, Pegge Erkeneff

Sometimes school is a struggle - we've all been there! If you feel your child is in need of additional academic support, please feel free to contact your Local Area Migrant Specialist. (Listed below). Here's a bit of what we can help with:

• Advocate for, and help connect with local school tutors.
• Migrant Teacher tutors. We contract with a few excellent teachers throughout the District to help with in-person tutoring.
• Zoom tutoring. We have several educators who excel in online tutoring.

Please don't hesitate to contact us and have a conversation with us about academic support! We love helping to find solutions!

There are so many opportunities for High School students that are accessible virtually now. Although we may prefer in-person activities, sometimes the virtual world gives us more access. High School Families, please check your emails regularly for opportunities that we forward to you.

For example, next semester there is an AVTEC Introduction to Nautical Skills via Zoom twice a week. The class gives you great information, but what is really neat, is that students who complete this course are eligible for funds for room and board in the future at AVTEC. Migrant Ed can reimburse you for the cost of this course, so please let us know if you're interested. Link is below.

Our Homer-Area Wilderness Explorers program has been meeting each week for outdoor fun - learning about the natural world through hands-on learning challenges. The first session focused on "Local Harvests" and we toured nearby farms, made pies, sketched bogs, and determined the health of local salmon streams. Session two, "Find Your Way," focused on honing our navigation and route-selection skills, along with exploring different winter travel options - snowshoeing, skiing, and skating - and lots of practice at being a safe adventure partner. We've had over 40 participants each week between two different sites (West Homer and McNeil) and we are looking forward to session three that will begin in late January. Would you like your Homer-Area child in grades K-6 to get involved? Contact Damara at 235-4640 to sign up!

We sent out an interest survey this week to help us figure out what programs students may be interested in at the Challenger Learning Center for January/February after school sesssions. Please take a moment to complete the short survey and let us know what your student is interested in! Please click HERE for the survey. And, be on the lookout (via email) for information on after school programming in January.

Migrant Ed has basic school supplies on hand. If you have a moment to talk to your child about what school supplies they might need to start out Semester 2, please do! Once you have your list of needed supplies, please feel free to email your local area Migrant Ed Specialist (contact info below). We'll do our best to get school supplies to you.

Yes! We're already thinking about 2022! We're in the process of planning fun family swim/activity 'nights.' These will include family swim time, literacy/math activities, and light dinners. Please keep an eye on your email in-box for information on these events. We'll send information out in January.

Damara Burnett - Homer Area Elementary Specialist

dburnett@kpbsd.org

Joey Kraszeski - Secondary Specialist

jkraszeski@kpbsd.org

Laura Murphy - Head of Bay Specialist

lmurphy2@kpbsd.org

Betsy Vanek - Central/Eastern Peninsula Specialist

bvanek@kpbsd.org

Website: https://www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us/departments.aspx?id=144
Location: 148 North Binkley Street, Soldotna, AK, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KPBSDMigrantEd