Jan 15th – Jan 19th, 2024
**Important for this Coming Week**
Field Trips & Events: Please keep an eye out for info sent home:
2nd grade will be going to the Challenger Center on Friday, Jan 19th.
3rd grade will be going ice fishing at Sport’s Lake on Wednesday, Feb 7th.
Fish & Game will be coming to 3rd grade class on Wednesday, Jan 17th for fish dissection.
High School Charter: Interested in a Charter High School option? Please join us as we work on pursuing a charter high school! Bring questions, comments and concerns. Monday, January 15th, 6pm at ABCS.
PTC Meeting: The next PTC meeting is Tuesday, Jan 16th, at 3:00. Childcare will be provided.
Yearbook Cover Contest: All students are invited to submit 1 piece of their art to be considered for the cover of the yearbook. All entries must be submitted on an 8 1/2” X 11” sheet of paper with 1 inch of space around edges (no text, just color) and vertical orientation. All entries must include our full school name and the school year (2022-2023). Only 1 entry per student, the student may trade their entry with a previous one they entered but it must be traded before the due date. NO parent help, student only work on all submissions! Entries are due by March 3, 2023. Winner will receive a free yearbook!
Yearbook Pictures: If you have volunteered or participated in any school function and have pictures of our students, please send them to akartchner@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Please send a description with any photos you submit. See attached instructions for submitting photos: How To Share Photos
ABCS Lottery Applications: Currently ABCS is accepting lottery applications for any new students interested attending ABCS in the 2024-2025 school year. We will be accepting applications from now until March 7th, 2024. The lottery will be held March 21, 2024.
Pizza Lunch: Pizza orders are taken on Tuesday and pizza is delivered on Wednesday. Punchcards are $22.50 for 10 pieces, or $2.25 per piece. Each family is under the same “punchcard” account – we do not track individual students. Cash or checks (of any amount) may be submitted to the office at any time and it will be applied to your student’s account. Please make checks payable to “ABCS Junior High.”
Corndogs: Students will be fundraising for their Washington, DC trip for 2025 by selling corndogs every Tuesday. Corndogs will be sold for $2 per corndog. You will need to send in cash each week if your child would like to purchase corndogs because there are no punch cards for this.
Ice Cream: Students can purchase ice cream on Fridays after they eat their lunch. Items range from $.50 to $1.50. This is a fundraiser and all proceeds go towards the 5th grade class.
Good News Club: All K-6th grade students are invited to join CEF for games, stories, songs, prizes and snacks!!! The meetings are free and will be bi-weekly on Tuesdays, from 3:00 – 4:15, in Mr. Drury’s room. A permission slip is needed. Good News Club will resume Jan. 23rd, 2024.
ABCS Spirit Wear: We do have additional spirit wear available at the office for purchase. There is a limited supply: a variety of t-shirts in all sizes and a limited variety of hoodies available. Please contact the office if you are interested in picking up some spirit wear!!
Academic Policy Committee (APC): The next APC meeting is Monday, Feb 12th, at 5:30.
ABCS Facebook: Be sure to follow us on Facebook for updates! (ABCS FB Page) We are also on Instagram: @auroraborealischarterschool
**Weekly Reminders**
Absences & Tardies: It is KPBSD Policy for us to track tardies and absences for our students. If your child is going to be absent or late, please contact Ms. Kartchner either by calling the office or sending an e-mail to akartchner@kpbsd.k12.ak.us
Pre-Arranged & Extended Absences: If you know your child is going absent from school for 3 or more days, we have pre-arranged absence forms in the office. These will need to be approved by our Principal. They will need to be completed and returned to the office a minimum of a few days prior to your child’s absence. Extended Absences are for absences that are 10 days or more and must be approved by the Academic Policy Committee (APC.) These need to be submitted for approval prior to the next APC meeting.
Winter IS Here!! All students need to be dressed for the weather. Unless the temperature drops below -10 degrees, the kids will be going outside for recess. Please make sure your child has appropriate outdoor gear and footwear for recess. Boots are not allowed as indoor footwear. Please make sure your child also has indoor shoes.
Volunteers: If you plan to volunteer this year, please make sure you apply at least 2 weeks ahead of when you want to volunteer. The application is on the main KPBSD site page – (Volunteer Link).
ABCS Spirit Wear: Students are allowed to wear their spirit gear to school on Fridays. Spirit gear includes ABCS t-shirts and any ABCS sports gear tops they have. Please make sure their pants or skirts are still following ABCS uniform guidelines. They are allowed to wear their ABCS sweatshirts at any time.
Uniform Clothes Closet: Our uniform clothing closet has gently used uniform clothes that are available for anyone to use. You can always drop off items for the uniform closet anytime between 8am – 3pm, Monday thru Friday.
Dress Code Reminders: The tops that students wear should not have any embellishments unless it is a school logo. ABCS hoodies may be worn over a school uniform shirt but no other sweatshirts are allowed as uniform clothing. For pants and shorts (which are to be near knee length) they are to be “docker” style, this means no outside pockets, jogger style pants, or stretch fabric pants. For skirts, skorts, jumpers, or dresses they are to be modest knee length. For shoes, they can be dress or casual including tennis shoes, but no heels higher than one inch allowed, no crocs, and they should not distract from student learning. Please make sure your 6th, 7th & 8th grade students have PE clothing, they will need plain white t-shirts and plain navy shorts of modest length or sweats. In our ABCS handbook it states that visible tattoos, body piercing other than ears, or unnatural hair colors are not permitted. If a student’s clothing is in violation of our uniform regulations, we will send out a standard Dress Code Infraction email.
Drop Off/Pick Up: Our school day begins at 8:00am and ends at 2:45pm. Doors open for student drop off at 7:45am and students are released at 2:45pm.
Please remember when you drop off your child in the morning to enter the school parking lot by coming in from the Key Bank side. Student drop off will be at the front entrance doors and student’s will be released for pick up at the doors closest to Key Bank.
Sick Policy: Here is a summary of the school district’s policy on when a child should not be sent to school due to sickness. It is what was used before COVID and what we will be adhering to for this school year…
Children should not be sent to school if they have had any of the following symptoms within the past 24 hours:
- They have vomited or diarrhea
- They have a frequent, persistent cough
- They have had a fever of 100º or greater, chills, shaking with chills, muscle pain,
- They are taking the first 24 hours of antibiotic treatment
- They have an undiagnosed, new and/or untreated rash or skin condition
These conditions do not allow your child to participate in the educational environment of the classroom and are usually contagious to the other children and staff. In addition, if you feel your child needs an over-the-counter cold, flu, or pain reliever in the morning due to illness, please do not send him/her to school. In most cases, students who have received such medication are not able to remain in the classroom once the medication has worn off.
Thank you for partnering with us to help provide the most healthful environment possible for your child and for all of us in our school.