The Scoop

Dear Chugach Families,

It is hard to believe that we are moving into March next week, and with that, we’ll be moving into the fourth quarter of the school year. I want to thank all of you who have continued to advocate to the State on behalf of education funding for our schools. Please continue to do so, as the more voices, letters, and emails they hear and receive, the more likely there will be money added to the base student allocation. I would also like to thank our parent volunteers who have been giving school tours to prospective new families, as well as the parent volunteers who joined me last weekend at Begich Middle School for the Schools of Choice fair. The more we can spread the good word about our wonderful school, the better.

I hope all of you are looking forward to a great fourth quarter, and make sure to say hello when I see you around the building.

Joel

Monday, March 2 - Badminton Jamboree (3:00pm-5:00pm, Alaska Native Cultural Charter School)

Wednesday, March 4 - Kindy Bread Sale (2:50pm-3:10pm, Learning Hallway); Badminton Jamboree (3:00pm-5:00pm, Alaska Native Cultural Charter School)

Thursday, March 5 - Art Night (6:30pm - 8:30pm); End of 3rd Quarter

Friday, March 6th - INSERVICE DAY [[no school for students!]]

Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 13 - SPRING BREAK [[no school]]

Monday. March 16 - Start of 4th Quarter

Thursday, March 19 - Alumni Night (6:00pm-7:30pm, Library)

Friday, March 20 - Middles: Temples and Tombs Performance (1:30m-2:30pm, Gym)

Monday, March 23 - Chugach African Drummers performance at ASD Ed Center (1:00pm-2:00pm)

Friday, March 27 - Parent Coordinator Meeting (8:00am in Seed Lab), Early Release Day (dismissal @11:15am), Early Release Tubing at Arctic Valley (1:00pm-3:00pm)

Monday, March 30th - School Tour (9am-10am)

Tuesday, March 31 - Online Lottery closed for applications @ 5:00pm

PLEASE NOTE: If you a current Chugach family and have an incoming kindergarten sibling for the 2026-2027 school year, you must still apply to the school lottery to ensure their spot at Chugach Optional. Please be sure to note the sibling connection in your application.

See below for the schedule of remaining Chugach Optional School Tours for prospective families.

The Kindy Bread Sale is happening Wednesday, March 4th! Rolls will be $1.00 each and donations are welcome. Kindergartners will be in different locations throughout our hallway for the sale, which will not begin until 2:45pm. All proceeds will go to our sister school 'Mauni' in Malawi.

The 2026 Chugach Optional School Art Night is scheduled to take place on

Thursday, March 5th from 6:30-8:30 PM.

Art Night is a fundraiser for our sister school, Mauni in Malawi, Africa.

This year our event will include:

· An auction of items created by our talented community

· A school dance

· Art stations

· Root beer float concession and bake sale

· Collection of food items for New Hope, the food kitchen located across the street from Chugach

Part of this event is an auction of items created by our students, parents and staff.

Items for the auction should be submitted in the office by the end of day on March 3rd. Please don’t forget to fill out a donation form with your submission (these are in the office too).

Sign up to volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4CABAD2DABFD0-62332046-artnight

If you have questions, please contact Beth at: artnight2025@yahoo.com

We are celebrating 22 years of supporting our sister school in Malawi. In September 2004, after Chugach’s nurse, Madelyn, volunteered in Mauni and shared her experience, Chugach students chose to support the students of Mauni. Since then, our community has raised funds to support Mauni from building latrines to purchasing pencils and soccer balls to school uniforms and desks to supporting Mauni through natural disasters. These funds are raised through our Art Night and our Kindy Bread Sale.

Thoughts from a former Chugach student…

Chugach has supported Mauni students through the small things like creating a piece of art for Art Night, buying a piece of Kindy Bread or a book during our used book sale. Just those three events have gotten Mauni students so much help. We have added classrooms for the school, bathrooms so girls could start going to school, and we’ve paid for older students to go to secondary school. When I think of our choice to support Mauni students and teachers, I feel that we are changing lives. I feel that not only are we affecting lives in Malawi, we are affecting our own lives. When helping others, we are helping to make the world a better place.

For more in depth history, please read Mauni/Chugach History

For pictures and more information, please visit our Mauni website (also found on our Chugach website):.www.chugachsisterschool.org

For more information about Malawi Children’s Village, please visit their website.

http://malawichildrensvillage.org/

Think of March Madness with a book twist!

In February students nominated their favorite novels and favorite picture books. The top 64 choices of each are put in a ‘radomizer’ to sort them into brackets. I am thankful that I used a ‘randomizer’ to seed the brackets. It takes the pressure off of me when the students have to vote between two of their favorite titles! We begin voting next week and will continue after Spring Break. It has been a fantastic venue for book conversations within our community.

Two favorite comments from Chugach March Book Madness from past years:

From a third grader commenting about a picture book “This is one of my favorites from my childhood.”

A fourth grader saying, “Dog Man is a classic!”

A big thank you to Anne, Henry’s mom, for creating our CMBM brackets and Hannah, Sylvie’s mom, for supporting Anne!

Got library books?

Thank you for keeping an eye out for library books at home behind the couch, under the bed, mixed in on your book shelves or in your car. We have many books checked out with quite a few that are overdue. One of the side effects of having students check out books independently is having students walk out without checking books out properly. We all make mistakes, but there have been lots of books returned that are not checked out to students. I am working with students on my end. If you could keep an eye out for library books on your end, it would be much appreciated!

Wondering what library books your student has checked out? Please go to our Chugach Optional website and click on ‘Student’. When you log into Clever and click on ‘Amy @ Chugach Optional’, you have access to our library catalog. There are video directions as well.

Please contact me if I can support in any way!

Hello Chugach Adventurers!

The time has come for our Dungeons and Dragons club to start back up again! Dungeons and Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game(TTRPG) that involves the use of imagination, critical thinking, and social skills. The club is available to Middle and Upper group students. Leadership opportunities will be available for 6th graders throughout the club; more details to come. We will begin the week we return from spring break, and details regarding the schedule will be included in the permission slips, which will be handed out in the first week of March. All needed materials will be provided.

Volunteers needed! If you have any experience with DnD and would like to volunteer, please reach out to Andy for more information.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Andy( hemry_andrew@asdk12.org ).

We have had many students out over the past few weeks with flu and cold symptoms. Thank you for keeping students home when they are sick!

When to Keep Your Child Home from School

• Temperature of 100.4 F

• Vomiting more than 2 times in 24 hours

• A constant runny nose and/or a cough that is frequent and wet

• Experiencing nausea or is too tired and uncomfortable to function at school

For a more detailed list on When to Keep Your Child Home, please click HERE

Keep us informed

Please get in touch with Nurse Maya if your child has a new medical/health condition that the school should be aware of, starts a new daily medication or has an injury that affects their ability to participate in recess and/or gym class. Having up to date health information on our students helps us support student needs and ensure their safety during the school day.

During this month’s Counseling lessons, students will learn how to show the ability to recognize when the energy they are experiencing is becoming too much to control; identify different chemicals in the brain that affect their emotions; and how the weather can contribute to changes in mood and focus.

All students will learn the following skills: Reflection to know then they are becoming dysregulated; identify the changes in their emotions; and methods to channel their excess energy.

Primary students will learn: How to add to their self-management ‘toolbox’, how to verbalize their needs, and applications of these skills in real-life scenarios.

Middle students will learn: how to deal with changes and use ‘I feel…’ statements.

Upper students: the counselor will be supporting teachers in social emotional learning lessons and classroom activities as needed.

Along with the above, selected students from each teaching level will participate in a small group for additional lessons developing and practicing social skills such as showing care for and how to relate to others in line with our monthly focus.

By practicing self-regulations students will develop skills that will help them stay grounded to their here and now; develop a better understanding of how influences both inside and outside their bodies can affect them; and how to redirect their growing energy productively.

Upper students and families are invited to Alumni Night, Thursday, March 19, 6:00pm-7:30pm (Chugach Library) . Former Chugach students who have recently made the transition to middle school will join us to answer questions and share their middle school experience. There will be time for general questions about middle school and also breakout sessions with alumni from individual schools. Light refreshments provided. Join us for an informative evening!

Parents, please contact Amy Mick @ amybmick@gmail.com if you have a middle school Chugach alum who is interested in participating. Thank you!

We have started a project where kids have been assigned to groups to study a decade from 1900-2010. Each group has been looking for conflicts and collaborations to advise a panel on how we can avoid the mistakes of the past and create a better future. As part of this study, we have partnered with Pioneer Home. Their director had asked residents to sign up for one of the decades they would like to talk about. They prepared pictures, relics, or memories they have from that decade to share with our students. Our family groups interviewed the residents about their decade and now have a live source of information to incorporate into their research. After the interviews the kids got to share in an ice-cream social with the residents. The buzz around Pioneer Home was palpable. They have asked us to come back and continue our partnership in future themes.

After 2 weeks of training, we had our competition of the Junior Native Youth Olympics on February 21. There were a lot of 1st through 6th grade students who participated in the events from Eagle River and Anchorage! Wow!! They came to compete in various events like the stick pull, 2 foot high kick, scissors broad jump and others. The games focus on healthy competition and encourage the athletes to help each other as they perform to the best of their ability. Chugach had fifty-five students participate in the Games! Congratulations to the following athletes as they did an exceptional job representing our school!

At our First/Second grade level in the Seal Hop, Kneel Jump and Eskimo Stick Pull:

Sophia Anderson, Beatrix Feighery, Soren Dronenburg, Sage Stoll, Kace Bonetta, Kaden Barthlomew, Nolan James, Hatcher Young, Eliza Wolff, Rachel Saari, Moriah Thistle, Bodhi Myers, Freya Willoughby, Oliver Ward-Massey, Arlo Davis, Ila May Becke, Dashi Jaime. Moosh Anspach and Loretta Grebe

At our Third/Fourth Grade level in the Two Foot high kick, Wrist Carry and the Arm Pull:

Penny Kastens, Thomas Rigg, Lucas Furin, Owen Lester, Vada Schurig, Sloan Blauer, Alexander Jaime, Quentin List, Sawyer List, Jasper Aronson, Sammy Acevado, and Hazel King

At our Fifth/Sixth grade level in Scissor Broad Jump, Alaskan High Kick, Eskimo Stick Pull and One Foot High Kick:

Serena Dronenburg, Silvia Demarest, Charlotte Ward-Massey, Phoebe Saari, August Shroyer, Ethan Shroyer, Neiva Hammer, Neri Omalley-Boario, Noah Safine, Max Anderson, Otto Anderson, Holden Selhay, Uri Schulgasser, Ezra Rigg, Lucas Gaudet, Lyla Grebe and Robin Beesley

Extra special recognition goes to:

Hatcher Young – Silver medal in Seal Hop and Bronze medal in Kneel Jump

Freya Willoughby – Gold medal in Seal Hop

Sophia Anderson - Gold medal in Kneel Jump

Sage Stoll – Silver medal in Kneel Jump and Gold medal in Eskimo Stick Pull

Bodhi Myers – Silver medal in Kneel Jump

Moosh Anspach – Silver medal in Eskimo Stick Pull

Lucas Furin - Gold medal in Two Foot High Kick and Silver medal in Arm Pull

Sawyer List - Silver medal in Two Foot High Kick

Silvia Demarest - Gold medal in Eskimo Stick Pull

Lucas Gaudet – Silver medal in Eskimo Stick Pull

Serena Dronenburg – Silver medal in Scissor Broad Jump

Max Anderson – Bronze medal in Scissor Broad Jump

Neri Omalley-Boario – Silver medal in Scissor Broad Jump

August Shroyer – Gold medal in Scissor Broad Jump

Uri Schulgasser - Bronze medal in the Alaskan High Kick and Silver medal in One Foot High Kick

Robin Beesley - Gold Medal in the Alaskan High Kick, Bronze medal in Scissor Broad Jump and One Foot High Kick

I enjoyed coaching all these athletes in their events! I am so proud of them in how they competed, helped others, and encouraged all!

Wow!! Thank you for your support of the American Heart Association and our Kids Heart Challenge jump rope event!

We had 149 students participate and with your help, they raised over $12, 000.00! Also, with having over 60% of our school register we surpassed Joel’s challenge of 50% and earned $500.00 for our PE program! The students will help me decide how to spend our money!

We have made a life-saving difference for people in our own community and across the Nation!

Special Recognition go to our two Top Earners this year: Nate Allen who raised $1363.85 and Calvin Stein who raised $1155.44!! Amazing!

I am so impressed with all who raised money, whatever the amount! They helped others and jumped rope for almost an hour, being physically active as well as generating monetary support.

I love the generosity of our Chugach Community! Thank you so much!

As both a Chugach parent and a firefighter/paramedic with the Anchorage Fire Department, I want to speak to you very directly about keeping our school’s fire lanes clear.

In my nearly 15 years of service, I have responded to serious, life-threatening emergencies. When crews are dispatched, we are not always coming for something minor — we could be coming because someone’s health or life may truly be at risk. In those moments, seconds matter.

Chugach has had to call emergency services in the past, including for serious medical situations. Thankfully, the fire lane was clear when responders arrived. That access allowed us to do our job immediately — without delay.

A vehicle parked in a fire lane — even “just for a minute” — can block an ambulance or fire apparatus from getting close to the building. That delay could mean the difference in how quickly someone receives oxygen, lifesaving medication, or advanced care.

Municipal code requires that fire lanes remain clear at all times, and vehicles parked there may be subject to citation or towing. But beyond the law, this is about protecting our children, our staff, and one another.

As a Chugach parent since 2012, I totally understand that dismissal and daytime visits can be busy and parking can feel tight. But please — do not park in the fire lane. Please don’t let convenience risk someone else’s emergency.

Thank you for helping keep Chugach safe.

— John Saari
Chugach Parent
AFD Firefighter/Paramedic

This is a special day when Chugach parents and family members can share their passions, interests and skills with our scholars. Classes can be full day or half day, at school or off site! They can be limited by age group or class size, and can be inside or outside.

Past offerings included : bike mechanics, painting, chess, fly fishing, cooking, world languages and culture, photography, yoga, slime making, basketball, dancing, animal rescue, D&D and many more.

We will need 40 Mini Courses and many volunteers to lead and to support! Pair up with a friend, offer to help another parent, or be a driver. If you need ideas or help with the curriculum, we are here!

If you are ready to be part of the fun, please fill out this form by Friday, March 20.

If you have questions and need a little more information before you can commit, reach out to Hannah Brewster (Sylvie in Erika’s Family Group) and Anne Severin (Henry in Gloria’s Family Group) at school or via email at chugachoptionalminicourses@gmail.com

Email: chugachoffice@asdk12.org
Website: www.asdk12.org/chugachoptional
Location: 1205 E St, Anchorage, AK, USA
Phone: 907-742-3730