Harborview Express

I know many of you are aware that on Friday JPD received information of some threatining notes that were found in the community. The notes made some reference to hurting children. At this time it is our understanding that these threats were left in the community and did not name a specific school. We all learned some of the details about what was going on at the end of the day. When we learn of these things we immediately respond by assessing the threat and insuring that our building is secure. At Harborview our expectation is that all doors into the school are locked and clear to close. During the day our front doors are the only way visitors enter our school and they must call the office and be buzzed in. We do all we can to insure the safety of our students and we review our procedures often. We would like to thank our families for supporting our safety efforts. If you every have any questions your are welcome to call 523-1850 to get more information.

We are always happy to have help on our playground during recess times. If you are interested in coming in to help by being outside with kids supporting sportsmanship and fair play, we would love to hear from you! Please complete this form and we will get in touch with you. Thanks for you support.

Each day this week all students in grades 3-5 will be taking the AKStar assessment. Most of the testing will be in the mornings. This is the assessment the State of Alaska uses to gather information on how schools in Alaska are doing based on grade level standards. It is aligned to the Alaska State Standards. This assessment does not affect your child's grades in the classroom. At Harborview we use many forms of assessment throughout the year to guide our day to day instruction.

We do want our kids to do their best on these assessments to show what they know so we can have accurate information to guide school improvement. Please encourage your child to do their best. We give the assessment to all students grades 3-5 so if your student struggles remind them that we just want to see what they know, sometimes that might mean they make their best guess and go on. The same goes for all students, there may be things on the assesment that they are not sure about, it is okay to "go with your gut" and make a guess but not to give up. Always try. As teachers we are not allowed to even look at the screens while kids are testing. We know the assessment is aligned with state standards but it is hard when we are not allowed to help. So again, this does not affect your child's grades in class, it is a measure of our school and guides how we might need to improve. The state website is a great place to get more information and you can always call Mrs. Harvey at 523-1850 if you have any testing quesitons.

Here are some ways you can help your student do their best:

-Be on time every day! Students can't join a class once testing has started and we then have to make that testing up during other learning times.

-Get a good nights sleep every night this week (and every week) :)

-Eat a healthy breakfast each morning (avoid sugary choices if possible)

-Encourage your kiddo to do their best.

-Ask them how it went and how they feel each night. Testing by nature is just stressful and talking about it can really help lighten that stress.

Please note: State regulations require that we remove all cell phones and smart watches (anything that can send or receive information) from the testing environment. We will collect devices in the morning and return them to students at the end of the day. All devices will be kept in a secure location. Regulations state they are not allowed in the room, even if they are turned off. Thanks for helping us follow this procedure.

I can't even believe we are heading into April! It is very important that your kids are with us every day. When an elementary student misses school they miss out on the teacher's direct instruction and modeling. They miss out on having their teacher their to support them as they practice new skills. They miss out on feeling like a part of their class. If getting to school is a struggle please reach out to Ms. Jem our school counselor. Ms. Jem is AMAZING and she is always eager to help families.

Being on time to school is also very important because we start each day with community circle which is a key part of being a Responsive Classroom School. We begin each day meeting together as a whole class to greet each other. We share about ourselves so we can build strong connections to our classmates and to build empathy. We do fun activities to start the day off right and we wrap up our meeting with a morning message to let us know what the day has in store. It is a great routine we have and when your child is late they miss out on that time to connect with their class. Again, if getting here on time is a struggle please reach out to see how we might be able to help.

Thanks to the generosity of our PTA all of our students get to explore our beautiful surroundings with Discovery Southeast guides every year. Now you can keep that exploring and learning going over the summer as well! Please check out these summer learning opportunities and I would suggest you sign up quickly as I am sure these camps fill up quickly.

Outdoor Explorers Camps

Office/Attendance Phone Number 907-523-1850

Building Hours 7:30-3:30

Harborview Student Hours 8:00-2:30

TCLL Student Hours 8:30-3:00