We have a wonderful opportunity for your student!
Our 21st Century Afterschool Program has opened enrollment for Kindergarten-5th Grade. The program is 4 days a week Monday-Thursday from 2:30pm-5:00pm. Any staff member can refer a student for the program. We have included the application below.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Kimberly Machkovich
21st CCLC Site Coordinator
Ptarmigan Elementary School
machkovich_kimberly@asdk12.org
(907)742-0444
Join the Student Council and Ptarmigan Parent Club for Moana 2 Movie Night on March 6th at 5:30 pm! You can vote for the movie and pre-order pizza here!
The Student Council and Ptarmigan Parent Club will also be hosting a Glow Night on March 25th at 5:30 pm. We invite you to join us for fun, music and dancing! Wear your brightest colors and join in the fun! We will be selling glow sticks as a student council fundraiser, bring cash and get your glow on!
We would also like to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Kuuk Water for donating 1000oz of slime supplies including the water that was used to make our slime for February's Family Night.
Hello Ptarmigan Families and Friends,
Spring Break is on its way, we are hitting the downward slope towards the finishing line of the 2024-2025 school year. Hopefully more sunshine and warmer weather is headed our way.
I want to share several friendly reminders to help keep our students healthy and in class to learn as much as possible and finish out the school year strong.
Immunizations/Vaccines
Please make sure vaccinations are up to date or exemption letters are complete and turned in. Religious exemption letters are required every new school year and must be notarized. If one was turned in the beginning of this year, you will be asked to provide a new one in August 2025. Medical exemption letters are required only once and must be signed by a provider with notarization. This is especially important for our 5th graders who will be attending middle school next year. They will not be allowed to enter middle school until their vaccinations/exemption letters are completed. We have several students in all grades who need vaccines updated. This is important topic to consider with the reemergence of the pertussis virus, which DTaP boosters help to prevent, and the reemergence of the measles virus, which MMR boosters help to prevent. Did you know that 1 dose of the MMR vaccine can be up to 93% effective in preventing measles in a child? A second booster of the MMR vaccine is considered fully immunized and has shown to be 97% effective in preventing measles. If your child has had chickenpox prior and doesn’t need a chicken pox (varicella) vaccination, please reach out to your pediatrician for a letter verifying they do not require a booster.
Please use some of the time in the coming Spring Break to schedule any annual visits and vaccinations with your pediatrician or health care provider. If your child is needing vaccinations and you are unable to get to your pediatrician or do not have a local health provider, please reach out for resources. Fairweather Clinic on Muldoon is open 7 days a week from 9am to 5pm, their contact number is (907) 764-3142. It is free and no appointment is necessary. Please let me know if you need VacTrack records to coordinate with your provider/clinic or check the status of your child’s immunizations.
Sleep
A common excuse to see the nurse at school is a general complaint of not feeling well. Often, it is because they didn’t get a good or restful sleep due to getting up early or going to bed late. It is difficult for children to focus and participate in class when they are tired. Studies show that school age children require 9 to 12 hours of sleep every day and only 40% receive the required amount. Poor sleep not only affects brain activity but can also decrease the body’s immune response to illness and injuries. It can impact mental health and increase poor or difficult behaviors. Here are some tips and tricks to help your child get a restful night sleep:
An early, non-negotiable bedtime during the Sunday through Thursday. If they are getting up at 6:30am to be at day care or to get ready for school, they should be in bed at least by 8:30pm.
To promote health sleep hygiene to help the brain winddown for the night start a one-hour tech free relaxing activity before bedtime. If this is difficult start slow and do a 30min tech free time and increase it every week. This could be reading with siblings or parents or to self, listening to music, coloring/sketching, writing their own story and sharing with the family or siblings
Remove electronics and similar distractions from bedrooms
Encourage kids to do homework and similar activities at a table rather than their bed (Save the bed for sleeping, helps the brain to process “it is time to sleep” mentality)
Be a good example and make it a family effort for increased health and happiness by getting a good restful sleep, if work schedule allows.
Hopefully, this information is helpful and informative. Anytime you have questions or need resources be it for food, clothing, vision, medical-I am here to help! If I don’t know I will ask until I find it.
Thank you for helping us keep our students in class and ready to learn
Warmest Regards,
Cassandra Espinoza BSN-RN PMH-BC
Ptarmigan School Nurse
Phone: 907-742-0417
Fax: 907-742-0425
Ptarmigan Families,
Our school is participating in an IditaRead Challenge. An IditaRead is a project that encourages students to read. Goals are set up according to student needs. An Iditarod Trail map is used to chart readers’ progress – reading from checkpoint-to-checkpoint Anchorage to Nome. Checkpoints are reached by meeting the goal of reading. Younger students can accumulate miles by having an adult read to them.
Stop 1 – 50 miles
Stop 2 – 125 miles
Stop 3 – 260 miles
Stop 4 – 330 miles
Stop 5 – 500 miles
Stop 6 – 630 miles
Stop 7 - 750 miles
Stop 8- 850 miles
Stop 9 – 950 miles
Stop 10 – 1049 miles
This month we will be learning about the Alaska’s own Iditarod Race which begins the first weekend of March. Beginning on March 3rd, students will be coming home with a reading log. All you need to do to begin is keep track of the minutes you read every day. You will accumulate minutes, equal to miles on the Iditarod route. An adult will need to witness your reading time on the reading log. The final day to move pups is Monday, March 31st.
Happy Reading! There will be special prizes at the end. :)
On a separate note, Best Beginnings is partnering with the Anchorage Wolverines to support readers. Throughout March, students who complete a Wolverines Reading Log and bring it to a game will receive free admission. The Wolverines are also collecting book donations at each game which will be placed in Little Free Libraries across Anchorage. Reading logs will be sent home this week but we have also included a copy below. This would be a really fun activity for families to do with their kiddos over break. Since we are participating in the Iditaread right now and students are tracking minutes, I thought how awesome it would be for kids to also be able to go see a hockey game for free!
Have a great Spring Break!
Mrs. Giammalva and Mrs. Gaither
Teacher-Librarians
May the ‘luck of the Irish’ be with you this month! All classes will be exploring Celtic music, and I hope you can take a moment to share any memories you have of folk music from your elementary school days.
Primary Grades:
We will continue learning circle games and songs. Our first graders are making great strides with their rhythm skills, while kindergarteners are becoming more confident with their singing voices and learning to work together to create music.
Second Grade:
This month, second graders will dive into Celtic music and explore the unique instruments used in this genre. We’ll also be pulling out the big drums as we practice drumming techniques and play along to Celtic songs and rhymes.
Third Grade:
Third graders will begin learning the notes of the treble clef and will start studying composers. They had so much fun with folk dancing last month that we will be tackling more complex dances this month. Many of the dances will feature a Celtic flair, fitting perfectly with the focus for March.
Fourth/Fifth Grades:
Our journey through The Orchestra Rocks curriculum continues. The students are learning about composers, playing the recorder, and discovering the musical elements that make each song memorable. We’ll also focus on identifying all the instruments in the orchestra. As a reminder, we will be looking for chaperones for our field trip on the 25th. If you can come along and help out, we’d love to have you!
A Final Note:
Remember to dance, sing, and play along with your children at home. Engaging with music outside of the classroom is a wonderful way to nurture their love for it.
In Harmony,
Mrs. Benton
Classroom Music Specialist
