The Wolf Pack Press
December 1, 2025
Principal Note
As we enter December, I want to thank you for your continued partnership and support. Although this month is filled with celebrations and seasonal activities, it remains an important and busy stretch of learning for our students. We are focused on finishing the first semester strong, maintaining routines, and ensuring students continue to grow academically and socially.
During December, our students will participate in mid-year benchmarking for both MAP and mClass. These assessments help us measure progress, adjust instruction, and better support each child’s individual learning needs. Your encouragement and help in ensuring consistent attendance, a good night’s rest, and on-time arrival each day make a tremendous difference.
We are also excited to celebrate students who have shown strong attendance habits this quarter. On December 17th, we will host our Quarter 2 Attendance Celebration for all students who have maintained 90% attendance or higher. We look forward to recognizing their commitment to being present, engaged learners!
Thank you for helping us keep students focused, energized, and excited about learning as we wrap up the semester. We are proud of the hard work our students have shown so far and look forward to a successful finish.
PAWS Expectations apply on the bus, too!
We would like to remind everyone that our Northwood PAWS expectations—Positive Attitude, Act Safely, Work Responsibly, and Show Respect—apply not only in the classroom and hallways, but also on the school bus. Lately, we have seen an increase in students eating on the bus and leaving trash behind. This creates safety concerns and does not reflect the responsibility we work hard to build in our students each day.
Please take a moment to talk with your child about making safe and responsible choices while riding the bus. Keeping food put away, cleaning up after themselves, and following driver directions help ensure a clean, safe, and respectful bus environment for everyone.
Thank you for partnering with us to reinforce these important habits!
Spenard Rec - Starting December 1st!
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to share that Spenard Recreation Center has received approval to escort youth with
emergency care cards filled out safely from Northwood Elementary School to the recreation center
each afternoon for Spenard Community Recreation Center’s After School Activities.
To ensure your child’s safety, we will be following strict procedures during pickup and while walking
as a group across the street.
How It Works
SRC staff will meet approved students at a designated location within Northwood Elementary.
Only children with completed registration, waivers, and emergency contact forms will be
allowed to join the walking group.
Students will walk together using a consistent route, led and supervised by trained SRC staff.
Staff-to-child ratios will be maintained to ensure everyone is accounted for and safe.
Safety Measures
Daily roster and head counts before leaving the school, during the walk, and upon arrival at SRC.
Wristbands or identifiers will be used to clearly mark children in the group.
Staff carry emergency contact information and a first aid kit.
Weather protocols and emergency steps are in place.
What You Need to Do
Please ensure your child has an emergency care card filled out before they begin walking with us.
Children without completed paperwork cannot be brought to SRC for safety reasons. Emergency
Care Card information can be found at our website:
https://www.muni.org/Departments/parks/Pages/AfterSchoolActivities.aspx
If you have any questions or need additional information, feel free to contact us at:
Phone: 907-343-4160
Email: brenden.powers@anchorageak.gov
Thank you for trusting us with your child’s safety and after-school experience!
Warmly,
Brenden Powers
Indoor Recreation Supervisor
MAP Testing
MAP Growth is the ASD and State of Alaska required benchmark/interim reading and mathematics assessment for students in grades 3-9. Grades 10-12 students identified as needing Tier II and Tier III reading and mathematics support also take MAP Growth as part of the Anchorage School District's MTSS framework.
Alaska's Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has partnered with NWEA to implement a creative approach to a balanced statewide assessment that connects fall and winter MAP Growth benchmark/interim assessments and the Alaska spring AK STAR summative assessment. AK STAR eliminates the spring benchmark/interim assessment window for grades 3-9 by combining the summative and benchmark assessment into one test that produces a spring benchmark score, which includes a growth measure. More information is available at the State of Alaska AK STAR website, education.alaska.gov/assessments/akstar.
MAP Growth is an online, adaptive assessment that provides each student a personalized testing experience with data that speaks to their individual progress and growth in mathematics and reading.
The MAP Growth reading and mathematics benchmark will be administered in person during the fall and winter benchmark windows. The spring benchmark will be embedded in the AK STAR summative assessment as outlined above.
Fall Benchmark 1: September 3 - September 12 (make-ups through September 19)
Winter Benchmark 2: December 1 - December 12 (make-ups through December 18)
Spring Benchmark 3: embedded in AK STAR administered during the summative assessment window: March 30 - April17 (make-ups through May 1)
MAP Growth assessment only: Grades 10-12 identified as needing Tier II and III support
MAP Growth practice tests and tutorials allow students and families the opportunity to become familiar with the types of questions and tools available on the actual MAP Grow assessments such as the highlighter and calculator. An overview of these resources with links to the practice tests are compiled on the MAP Growth Practice Tests Quick Sheet.
Volunteers Needed
Volunteer Application - Click Here
NOTE: IF YOU ARE USING A PHONE, YOU MUST BE IN LANDSCAPE VIEW TO SEE ALL THE TEXT ON SCREEN 4 (FUNCTIONS).
This form will be needed if you are applying to be a driver: https://apps.asdk12.org/forms/uploads/Volunteer_Driver_Form.pdf