The Scoop

Dear Chugach Families,

I am glad we’re moving on from one of the coldest March’s on record and am looking forward to the warmth that comes with April. This is also “Broadway” season here at Chugach, and we’re kicking it off withe the Middles Temples and Tombs presentation this Friday. The opener for them will be our fabulous African Drummers. Later into 4th quarter our Uppers will be performing Frozen, Madagascar, and Matilda - all three of these performances are sure to be show stoppers.

Even though our afternoons are getting above freezing, our mornings are still pretty cool, so please make sure your child has hats, gloves, snow gear and a jacket. I will be keeping students and families posted on when we can expect to start wearing some lighter gear when we go outside.

I hope everyone has a great April, and please stop by and say hello if you have the chance.

Joel

Wednesday, April 1 - MAP testing (5th Grade Science), Dungeons & Dragons (Upper, 3pm-4pm, Music Room)

Friday, April 3 - MAP Testing Make-Ups, Middles Temples & Tombs performance + African Drummers (1:30pm - 2:30pm, Gym)

Monday, April 6th through Friday, April 10th - NO PARKING at the EOC Municipal Building

Monday, April 6 - MAP Testing Make-Ups, CEC Board Meeting (8:30am-9:30am, Conference Room),

Tuesday, April 7 - MAP Testing (MATH, Grades 3-6), Dungeons & Dragons (Middle, 3:00pm, Music Room)

Wednesday, April 8 - Dungeons & Dragons (Upper, 3pm-4pm, Music Room)

Thursday, April 9 - Staff Meeting (3:05pm, Library)

Friday, April 10 - MAP Testing Make-Ups, EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @11:15am), Chicken Club Meeting (11:15am-11:45am, Angie's Room), Talent Show Tryouts (12:00pm, Music Room), ASD Lottery Notifications to Parents (starting @ 5pm)

Monday, April 13 - Kindy RAIN Day, MAP Testing Make-Ups, School Tour (9am-10am), Track & Field practice (3pm-4pm)

Tuesday, April 14 - Dungeons & Dragons (Middle, 3:00pm, Music Room)

Wednesday, April 15 - Dungeons & Dragons (Upper, 3pm-4pm, Music Room), Track & Field practice (3pm-4pm), Community Assembly Meeting, 6:00pm-7:30pm, Library)

Thursday, April 16 - !!!MINI-COURSE DAY!!!

Monday, April 20 - Kindy MUD Day, Track & Field practice (3pm-4pm)

Tuesday, April 21 - Dungeons & Dragons (Middle, 3:00pm, Music Room)

Wednesday, April 22 - mClass Testing (Grades K-3), Primary Walking Field Trip - The SINGING ZOOLOGIST (10:30am-12:30am), Dungeons & Dragons (Upper, 3pm-4pm, Music Room), Track Meet @ Central Middle School (4:30pm-7:30pm)

Thursday, April 23 -Staff Meeting (3:05pm, Library), Chugach Talent Show (5:30pm-7:30pm, Gym)

Friday, April 24 - Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast Bar (7:50am-8:30am, MPR), Upper Field Trip to DANCE WEST (9:45am-11:30am, West High), EARLY RELEASE DAY (Dismissal @ 11:15am)

Monday, April 27 - Track Meet @ Central Middle School or Hanshew (4:30pm-7:30pm)

Tuesday, April 28 - Dungeons & Dragons (Middle, 3:00pm, Music Room)

Wednesday, April 29 - Dungeons & Dragons (Upper, 3pm-4pm, Music Room), Track Party (3pm-4pm), Community Assembly Meeting (6:00pm-7:30pm, Library)

Thursday, April 30 - Angie's Family Group Musical - Matilda Jr. (SHOWTIMES: 10:30am & 6:00pm)

The ASD Online Lottery for the 2026-2027 school year will run this week and parents of incoming students will be notified of results starting on Friday, April 10th at 5pm. If you are notified that your NEW incoming child has a spot at Chugach Optional, you must ACCEPT the spot within two school days. Even if you are already a Chugach Family, failure to ACCEPT the spot for your NEW student in that time frame will be considered as declining the spot and the spot will be offered to the next student on the waitlist. This is an automated process and the front office staff is not able to make changes if you miss the deadline.

We will be starting our practices Monday, April 13. They will be held each Monday and Wednesday from 3:00 – 4:00, unless we have a track meet that is scheduled for that day (see schedule below). PLEASE be prompt in picking your track athlete up from practice. If your child is interested in participating please sign the attached form and return it to Polly. I am looking forward to having a fun season with learning about all the different aspects of track: short distance, long distance, relays, long jump, and softball throw!

We have 2 regular meets scheduled this year: Wednesday April 22, and Monday April 27. We will have a celebration of track season on April 29.

April 13 Practice 3-4

April 15 Practice 3-4

April 20 Practice 3-4

April 22 Track Meet at Central Middle School

April 27 Track Meet at Hanshew or Central Middle School

April 29 Track Party

• April 15: Community Assembly Meeting, 6-7:30 p.m., Library (Topics include 2026-27 Budget Presentation, CEC Board Nominations, and ASD Budget Updates)
• April 29: Community Assembly meeting, 6-7;30 p.m., Library (Charter Assessment Presentation)
• May 13: Community Assembly Meeting, 6-7:30 p.m., Library (Topics include 2026-27 Budget Approval, CEC Board Approval, Charter Assessment Follow Up)

Mini-Courses are right around the corner on Thursday, April 16th! We have an exciting list of courses but we still need your help! Thank you to all who have volunteered your time and passion to lead a course. We still need lots of assistants! All courses benefit from an extra adult helper and our field trip classes need drivers. Let Anne Severin (Henry, Gloria's family group) or Hannah Brewster (Sylvie, Erika's family group) know how you can help or send an email to chugachoptionalminicourses@gmail.com Help us make this an unforgettable day of learning for our community.

Join us for a fun evening of performances that showcases all the amazing talent in our community!

How is it April already?!?! While the sun is getting warmer and higher, I am realizing that our year is wrapping up. I celebrate that so far we have had over 12,000 books being checked out from our library this year. Unfortunately quite a few have not been returned…yet. Thank you for supporting your child in finding and returning library books. On my Clever page, there is a video on how to look in the library catalog for checked out books. There are bonuses for using the online catalog: *being able to see the cover of the book, *saving paper and trees, and *supporting our students being in-charge library users. If your student is unsure of their ASD username and password, I can help!

ASD Clever Guide

Last day of library book check-out

There comes a time each year that we need to say it is the last day to check out books. This year it is Friday, May 1st. All library books are due by May 8th.While this doesn’t feel very ‘love of library’ for me, I do need two weeks to find all of the books that have not been returned…yet. If a student needs to finish a book and is unable to return the book by May 8th, I will absolutely work with each student to make a family plan.

Missing a library book?

If a library book is missing and/or needs to be replaced, please use the following guide to help you: Missing a library book plan If, for whatever reason, you are unable to replace a book, please connect with me and we will make a plan. I feel very strongly about the following quote:

“schools … can make it easy and unrisky for children to take books home … by worrying less about losing books to children and more about losing children to illiteracy.” Richard L. Allington

Someone recently asked me what it is like to be a librarian. My response: best job in the world. I have the privilege of connecting students through books and through witnessing their growth up and down our hallway…such joy!

Please connect if there is any way I can support!

Many thanks!

Amy

Wow! Our community never ceases to amaze me… families supporting Art Night and Kindy Bread sales, amazing art created by family groups, students and community members, yummy baked goods and delicious root beer floats, groovy dance moves, cans collected for our neighbor food pantry… I am proud of our local community support as well as our global community support. Through Art Night and Kindy Bread sales, we raised $7918.66 and brought dozens of canned goods to New Hope Community Pantry. Amazing!

Thank you to everyone’s support to make this community event a success!

What’s the next step?

During the next few weeks, during library time, students will be looking at the list of needs from Mauni and discussing what they would like to support and what they want to do with the funds. An update will be sent in the next Scoop.

Online Registration for students returning to Chugach Optional for the 2026-2027 school year opens on Thursday, April 23th. If you know that your student(s) will be returning to Chugach next year, please go into your ParentConnect Account starting on April 23th and complete the online registration process in the Quick Links section.

The number of teachers a school is allotted is highly connected to enrollment/registration numbers, so the sooner we have everyone registered the more secure our teacher number remains.

For more information about registering your student(s) for next year, please check out the ASD website (https://www.asdk12.org/register) or give us a call in the front office. A more detailed "How to" guide for Online registration will be sent out to families on April 23th.

Join us at the Alaska Zoo on May 8th at 1:00 PM sharp for a roaring good time supporting Chugach Optional Elementary.

Be on time so we can enter together—no late lions! 🦁 After that, families are free to explore at their own pace.

🎟️ Grab tickets on BetterWorld:
Early Release Zoo Fundraiser @ the Alaska Zoo | BetterWorld

Don’t miss this un-bear-ably fun afternoon! 🐻

NOTE: Monday, April 6th through Friday, April 10th - NO PARKING at the EOC Municipal Building

Friends - please help our community to ensure a safe and efficient parking lot for arrival and dismissal.

We know parking is limited but please refrain from parking in any of the "RESERVED" parking spots, the fire lane or the loading dock area.

Also, please do not park in the handicapped parking spaces unless you are permitted to do so. We need to have these spots accessible to those who need them. We would also appreciate it if you could park in such a way as to not block others from getting out of their parking spots or that blocks the flow of traffic.