HUSKY UPDATE

Happy March! As always, it was another fantastic month to be a Homestead Husky!

MARCH CLUBS:

Choir - Wednesday from 2:30 - 3:30 PM

SLC - Thursday from 2:30 - 3:30 PM

Fun Club - Wednesday from 2:30 - 3:15 PM **starts March 25, 2026**

NO SCHOOL DATES:

March 6

March 9th-13th

Hello Husky Families,

We are on the homestretch to the end of the school year! It was wonderful seeing so many families in the building for Parent Teacher Conference week. Your partnership in your student’s education is so important to their success, and we truly appreciate your support.

March is packed with exciting events! We have the great I-DID-A-READ beginning March 1st. On March 5th, the Lathrop Callroom Dancers will be performing for our students. Campbell Creek will be visiting for some hands on learning, and the Gruening Jazz Band will perform for our students on March 20th. This is just the beginning; there is so much more fun to come!

Please note that there will be no school for students on March 6th. This day will be used as a grading day for teachers.

All teachers will be sending home 3rd quarter report cards and special education progress reports on March 19th. Please be on the lookout for them in your student’s backpack.

In the next few months, we will be preparing for end of year testing. Watch for testing dates in our next newsletter and updates from your child’s classroom teacher. We want to ensure students are well rested and ready to do their best!

Finally, Spring Break will take place from March 9th–13th. We wish everyone a safe and memory filled Spring Break!

Thank you for your continued support of Homestead Elementary. Together, we make our school an amazing place to learn and grow!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Stone

Join the Homestead PTO on April 4, 2026, for the 1st annual Homestead Spring Bazaar! Doors open at 10:00 AM and close at 2:00 PM.

Sign up today HERE.

Save the date for the 2026 STEM Fair! We have some fantastic booths planned this year - you do not want to miss out!

I-DID-A-READ started this week. Packets were sent home last week and students are off reading to Nome! Students will receive a prize each time they reach a checkpoint and will be entered for the grand prize each time they reach Nome.

Students are encouraged to read to Nome as many times as possible!

Join us this week for Dr. Seuss Week at Homestead!

Monday - Wear your favorite date of stripes

Tuesday - Wear red or blue

Wednesday - Mismatched, inside out, or backwards clothes

Thursday - Silly sock day

SLC invites students to build a Leprechaun Trap!

• Set your trap at home
• Bring your trap to school for display by 3/20
• Traps will be voted on the week of 3/23-3/27
• One winner in each category (best constructed, most unique, most artistic)
• Winners will receive a fun prize!

Student Leadership Council has been busy!

Recently, SLC students split into committees to work on various projects. They created brochures highlighting Homestead, planned and ran our Coin War, our Bake Sale, and a lunch cart decorating contest! We had a visit from Alaska Cat and Dog Rescue and learned about animal rescue here in Alaska before handing off the dog/cat beds and blankets we made for them in December.

Many SLC leaders stepped up to rehearse and host the I-Did-A-Read assembly and our upcoming 3rd Quarter awards assembly.

After Spring Break, we will be running the Leprechaun Trap contest! Create a leprechaun trap and bring it into school the week after spring break. Students and staff will vote on their favorites and the winners will receive fun prizes!

We continue to collect donations and fundraise for our Weekend Bags program, and each week, a committee of 10-15 SLC students pack 100 food bags to be delivered to our local elementary schools for students who may need food over the weekend. If you would like to donate, we are always looking for the following items:

Mac n' Cheese

Top Ramen

Granola Bars

Canned Chicken or Tuna

Oatmeal packs

Fruit Cups

After Spring break, we will be planning and voting on March and April projects.

-SLC

SLC's Weekend Food Bag Program provides weekend bags for over 100 students in the Chugiak/Eagle River area. We are in need of the following items to keep the program up and running: Top Ramen, Mac n Cheese, canned tuna/chicken, granola bars, oatmeal and applesauce/fruit cups.

February has been filled with a symphony of sounds and movement in the music room. Our 3-5 graders have been refining their recorder and music reading skills in preparation for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s Link-Up Concert on April 14th. Look out world, we have already mastered B, A, G, C, D and playing one of our featured symphony collaborations.

It’s also been a fun month to explore Lunar New Year celebrations! From learning more about the Year of the Horse, to lion dancing, Bolang Gu drum making, ribbon dancing, fan dancing and so much more! Happy Lunar New Year!

Hello Families!

Thank you for all the support during our February Book Fair! I loved seeing families in the library looking and talking about books. We are planning on having a BOGO book sale in May; stay tuned!

Tips and Tricks for Reluctant Readers

The age old question, "How can I get my child to read?" There are several things parents can do to help motivate their reluctant reader towards a lifelong love of reading, but first it's important to figure out the cause. Maybe they haven't discovered a genre that interests them. Maybe they get restless and would rather play outside. Or maybe they are choosing books that are too difficult, and are losing confidence as a reader.

Effective Home Interventions

• Audiobooks and Technology: Use audiobooks to improve vocabulary and background knowledge while following along with the text.
• High-Interest/Low-Level Books: Use "hi/lo" books that have engaging content suitable for the reader's age but are written at a lower reading level.
• Systematic Instruction: Use a cumulative approach that builds from simple to complex skills.

• Modeling: Adults should read aloud to model proper fluency, phrasing, and expression.

• (https://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/educators/instruction/kids-cant-wait-strategies-to-support-struggling-readers/

https://readingeggs.com/articles/reluctant-readers/)

Reading also happens outside of a book. Have your child read directions in the car or read aloud the steps in a recipe that your family is making.

Mrs. VanLandingham

For the month of March, we will focus on the dangers of drug and alcohol use. Younger students will learn about ways to keep our bodies safe and healthy while avoiding choices that could lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Older kids will gain an understanding of how specific drugs and alcohol harm our bodies. We’ll practice refusal skills and work through problem solving scenarios.

Students will be treated to presentations from Kids Don’t Float during the week of March 16th.

Wishing you good health and great happiness,

Mrs. Quiroz

Homestead Physical Education has had a great month of February.

We learned about volleyball and both the Junior Native Olympics, as well as, the Winter Olympic Games that took place this month. As with all types of Olympic games, Coach Payne emphasized what good sportsmanship looks and feels like throughout the month.

Our afterschool JNYO club competed @ Gruening Middle School and had some notable results:

Ace Mack 1st in Seal Hop and Kneel Jump

Finney Otten 1st in Wrist Carry

David Duffy 2nd In One Foot Kick

Zuzu Kosin 4th in 2 Foot Kick

Timmy Rawlings 4th in Arm Pull

Many of these athletes will compete at the State JNYO Competition in Anchorage during the last weekend of February. Good Luck to all of them.

Being inspired by the amazing Ice Hockey finish of both USA teams at the Winter Olympics, we will finish the 3rd Quarter in PE class working on our floor hockey skills.

March brings the Iditarod Sled Dog race and here at Homestead PE we will spend the weeks after Spring Break competing in our own Homestead PE Iditarod sled dog race. Students will take turns in several roles on the sled dog team as their team navigate 8 legs of our race, trying to overcome the same obstacles the actual teams have to overcome, such as icy rivers, black out blizzards, tired dogs, pulling the supplies when exhausted, all while exploring the dynamics of working on a team to reach a goal.

Have a great break and get out and play with that snow until it's gone.

Congratulations to our Huskies who competed last weekend at the JNYO State Championship at UAA! We are so proud of our amazing students!

Congrats to Finney who finished in 6th place in the Wrist Carry and Ace who finished 1st place in the Kneel Jump!

Art Room:

This month, students are asking “Where do artists get their ideas?” In many cases, artists get their ideas by exploring different materials and trying new things. Sometimes things work as expected, sometimes they don’t. Either way, artists learn something new in the process. When your child makes or brings home something unexpected, talk about what they learned. Try asking things like:

• How did you make this artwork?

• What materials did you use?

• How did you get your ideas?

• What is something you learned while making this?

• What would you like to call it?

• What makes it special?

Art Show

Students Art Show

Youth Art Month (YAM)

Homestead artists and other ASD schools

Located at the Anchorage Museum

and the Chugiak/Eagle River Library

February 27th - April 4th

Anchorage Museum:

April 3rd will be free

from 6 pm-9 pm at night.

The artworks are on display;

-at the Anchorage Museum on 625 C Street, Anchorage, Alaska

-and at the Chugiak-Eagle River Library on 12001 Business Blvd. 176, Eagle River Town Center, Eagle River, Alaska

Following the art show, the artwork will be returned to the students at school.

Let’s give a big “Congratulations!” to Ellianna Feyen, Gideon Bloom, Abigail Johnston, John Lewellyan, and Juniper Gabrielson.

Thank you to all of my students for being creative, respectful, and responsible in the art classroom!

-Mrs. Upicksoun

Spring is just around the corner! With extra sunlight, warmer temperatures, and melting snow on the way, many of us are looking forward to the change in seasons. Unfortunately for some students spring also marks the beginning of airborne allergy season.

Common seasonal allergy symptoms include red, itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, headaches, and possible increase in asthma symptoms. If you or your child suffers from airborne/seasonal allergies now is the time to prepare.

Have all prescription and over the counter (OTC) allergy medications filled now, in preparation. Once the season is closer, if the medication needs days to start working, consider starting it in advance per the manufacturer's directions or as advised by your medical provider. Once the allergy season starts, please give your child his/her prescription or daily OTC allergy medication at home per your medical providers recommendations.

For ANY prescription medication to be given at school, you would need to have a long-term medication form completed and signed by your physician (and parent) and the medication brought by a parent to the nurse. If OTC medications are needed to be given during the school day, they can be given at school by the nurse through the end of the school year, with a parent completed medication form. OTC medication must also be delivered to the nurse by a parent, and the medication must be current (not expired), comply to age and FDA approved use, and be in the original container.

Please call me at 742-3555 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Nurse Joan

Parents, Guardians and Grandparents,

Spring Break is almost here which gives us hope for sunshine and breakup to come quickly. This winter has been filled with snow, ice and several windstorms which has caused us some school closures.

We are lucky in Alaska, that there is so many fun things for families to do. The Alaska Zoo is a great place to walk and enjoy nature along with the spectacular animals that reside there. The Anchorage Museum is full of hands-on explorations for children along with many types of art to look at. Our locale Eagle River Town Square with the playground and sledding hill is a place that is so fun for children and adults.

March 6th is an in-service day and the Fur Rondy will be ending on March 8th. On Friday March 6th you have an opportunity to go and view the Alaska State Snow Sculpture Competition. There are many events that you can go to from March 6th-8th. I am including the link for the 2026 Fur Rondy Guide:

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/bd6d5ffc48.html#page/1

We encourage students to have fun on Spring Break and encourage some reading. The Eagle River Library is a wonderful gem in our community, a great place for children to explore books. We are very fortunate at Homestead to have a beautiful engaging library and a wonderful librarian. The Eagle River Library is a great resource when school is closed.

Remember, being outdoors helps keep our minds clear and positive.

We will be so excited to greet the students when we all return from Spring Break.

Wishing you well,

Tina Victory

School Counselor

Curious about lunch today? Mrs. Dunk has something delicious planned—come find out and enjoy a tasty meal prepared just for you!

Homestead Families,

The Anchorage School District (ASD) 2026 School Climate & Connectedness Survey is now open for families. I invite you to share your feedback by completing the family survey by March 20.

Your feedback is important so we can continue to grow and improve as a school and better support our students, staff, and families. Our school goal is 80% complication; we are currently at 52%.

Please use the link below to access the Family Survey:

Surveys.panoramaed.com/aasb/asdfamily

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and for being a valued partner in supporting our school community.

Homestead Parents,

We currently have 16 participants for Box Tops for Education program. Thank you to all who have added their receipts on the Box Tops App. We have earned $238.70 to date. We'd love your support. Please consider using this referral code 17FZ5C6K as we earn bonus points for each person who joins and scans their receipt. The app is free and easy to use AND you earn money for products you already buy. The proceeds of this program will pay for field trips and other items for your student.

Thanks,

Janine Walters - your librarian's, Mrs. VanLandingham's Mom

Box Tops Coordinator for Homestead Elementary School

**HOMESTEAD DOES NOT USE LIFETOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY AND HAS USED LOCALLY OWNED FITZGERALD PHOTOGRAPHY FOR FIVE YEARS***

ASD has been made aware of recent media coverage and social media posts referencing Lifetouch in connection with newly released Epstein-related documents. To ensure schools have accurate information and are prepared to respond if families have questions, the District has prepared this Lifetouch Photography - Privacy Assurances and Guidance document. Principals are asked to share the information with school communities, including the links provided within the document, as appropriate, in response to any family questions or concerns.

As always, families may opt their student(s) out of school photography services. Schools may work with families who opt out of school photography services to update their Q ParentConnection profile photo.

If schools receive media inquiries, please direct them to the Communications Office at TeamASD@asdk12.org.

Message from Fitzgerald Photography:

We are members of the School Photography of America group and are dedicated to:

Aligning with Privacy Laws: Navigating the complexities of federal and state privacy regulations to ensure compliance.

Developing Industry Standards: Actively participating in the creation of the very security benchmarks that will define our industry moving forward.

A Culture of Accountability: Pledging to treat student directory-level information with the highest level of care and transparency.

Here is more detailed information: Student Data Privacy Resources | SPOA

Each spring, Alaskan students are provided an opportunity to show what they know. When students show what they know, teachers and parents can partner to promote student success. The State of Alaska Department of Education has partnered with NWEA to align and connect the English language arts (ELA) and mathematics tests with the MAP Growth benchmark assessments students take in fall and winter.

This balanced assessment system targets instruction to better support meeting students’ individual learning needs. In addition, students will take only one assessment per content area (ELA and math) and be provided two scores as follows:

1. Summative assessment result at grade-level

2. MAP Growth interim benchmark result, including growth from fall to spring

3. 
   

AK STAR, the Alaska System of Academic Readiness, is comprised of English language arts and mathematics and is administered to students in grades 3-9. The Alaska Science Assessment is administered to students in grades 5, 8 and 10. The purpose of a large-scale, summative assessment is to provide parents and schools an overall picture of a student’s progress in meeting the Alaska standards at grade level.

Parents can locate resources for AK STAR and the Alaska Science Assessment, including directions for Student Readiness (Practice Tests and Tutorials), student testing times and general assessment information on the ASD website at https://www.asdk12.org/akstar.

Parents can also help by ensuring their children are well rested, eat a nutritious breakfast, and are at school on time for the days of testing. Please avoid scheduling appointments on your child’s testing days.

The ASD AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessment testing window allows for school assessment scheduling flexibility. Students! Get ready to show what you know during our school’s AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessment testing dates: COMING SOON: Mrs. Stone will be sending an email to all parents with the testing dates for our 3rd–5th graders. We are finalizing the schedule and will share details soon.

2026 ASD AK STAR and Alaska Science Assessment Testing Window:

March 30-April 17

(Make-ups through May 1)

State of Alaska Window: March 30-May 1