Nenana City School District - Home of the Lynx

NCS Parent Reminder - This is a short two day week for students. Thanksgiving break is November 24-26, 2021. The school will be closed on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend!

The universal masking protocol at Nenana City School is initiated for a 14 day period following a COVID-positive case in the school or immediate school community. We have surpassed the 14 day mark since the last COVID-positive case in our school community. As of October 29, 2021, the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in children 5-11 years of age. Please consult public health officials for information on availability. COVID-19 infections have tapered off greatly in Nenana and we are therefore going to lift the masking requirement for students and staff beginning on November 15th. Those who are uncomfortable are free to continue masking if desired. We are asking that the general public mask upon entering school facilities during the school day and/or for extracurricular events.

NCS 11-11-21 Dear Parent/Guardian, I trust this message finds you well and that many of you are able to reconnect with your student soon over the holidays. As you begin planning for this, I want to communicate attendance expectations and implications of early student travel. First and foremost, your willingness to honor the contact days outlined in the Academic Calendar demonstrate your commitment to, and respect for, the quality education being provided at Nenana City School. The last day of school prior to Thanksgiving is Tuesday, November 23. The last day for school prior to winter break is Friday, December 17. We are hopeful that families will refrain from removing students from school prior to these dates, as we simply cannot replicate the impact of in-person instruction. School Board policy states that all absences are considered unexcused until proven otherwise. Parents/guardians MUST notify the school in advance for absences to be excused. Excused absences include; Personal Illness - may require a doctor's confirmation, Quarantine of the Home - requires confirmation from an approved health official, Death of a Relative, Observance of a Religious Holiday, Professional Medical or Legal appointment, Other - as deemed appropriate by the school Principal. Each five days of unlawful absences constitutes a violation of Alaska state law (A.S. 14.30.020). Students will be withdrawn following ten days of unexcused absences. Hybrid (Zoom) instruction is reserved for medical-related situations only, such as COVID-related quarantines/isolations and/or extended medical travel. If you elect to remove your student prematurely beyond this scope, they will be responsible for communicating with teachers well in advance. It is encouraged that students ask their teachers for assignments prior to any upcoming absence. Students are responsible for completing any work missed while absent. Again, this process begins with notification of the school prior to the absence. Thank you all for your trust and support in our educational program. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns. Please also remember that school will be closed tomorrow as we host the Ice Cream Classic Basketball Tournament. Kind regards, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office) District Website: www.nenanalynx.org

Nenana Parents & Fans, Catch the Games at the Ice Cream Classic Middle School Basketball Tournament this weekend, or watch LIVE Streaming of the games online, check out the link on the school website. The first game is scheduled for 9:00am Friday morning between Minto and Tri-Valley. Gate fees are $2 for students, and $5 for adults. Attached is a copy of the game schedule!

Reminder for Parents - NO SCHOOL this Friday as Nenana will be hosting the Ice Cream Classic Middle School Basketball Tournament.

Greetings Parents/Guardians, It has been wonderful to see many of you attending recent Volleyball and Jr. High basketball games. Although the home schedule has been somewhat abbreviated, it is so great to see folks back in the gym, enjoying each other and the competition that sports bring us. We are also very proud of our students participating in Music. It was unfortunate that a COVID uptick prevented us from being able to have guests in the building for their recent performance. The students were excellent, many thanks to students and Mr. Mudge for the entertainment. Please be reminded that all of our home events are being live streamed and archived. They can be accessed on our school website at THIS link. This is the time of year that we begin to reflect on all that we are thankful for. It goes without saying one of those is our ability to continue to work with students in person here at the school. Although some students continue to have interruptions due to COVID-related quarantines and/or isolations, our population remains safe and students have demonstrated a high level of resilience. November is also a time in the school year when students begin to "hit the wall". Classes become exceedingly difficult, many students are missing family more than ever, and visions of holiday breaks become more tangible. On Tuesday, October 26 we assembled as a K-12 community to celebrate our time together thus far and to recommit to each other and our core values as we head down the home stretch. Recently, NCSD has enrolled with STOPit, a technology platform that empowers students with an easy app to safely and anonymously report anything of concern to school administration - from cyberbullying to threats of violence or self-harm. Please see the full details in the News section of our website HERE. Best wishes to you all! Respectfully, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office) District Website: www.nenanalynx.org

MS Basketball Games at the Great Pumpkin Tournament in Glennallen today and tomorrow can be viewed on the Copper River School District's Facebook page.

Since we had to cancel tonight's Music Concert, we are streaming an in house concert for parents today at 1 pm. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOxAFe9uFfY

This is a busy week at Nenana City School. Tuesday is our first home volleyball game vs Tri-Valley (also Senior night), the Fall K-12 Music Concert takes place on Wednesday night at 6:30pm, School Picture Day takes place on Thursday morning, and Trunk or Treat is happening on Friday from 4-5 pm in the school parking lot. See attached flyers for concert and trunk or treat. If you plan to attend the activities in the school building please help us keep our kids and community safe by wearing a mask. Thank you!

Reminder for parents - School Picture Day is coming up next week on Thursday, October 28th. Order forms have been mailed out, and you can order ONLINE! just follow the directions on the order form. A copy of the order form is also attached to this posting.

MS Basketball players will be heading to Su-Valley tonight for a tournament that begins tomorrow. If you are interested in watching via LIVE streaming. The Susitna Valley MS Basketball Tournament will be livestreamed on NFHS Network. A Subscription is required. https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/schools/susitna-valley-jrsr-high-school-talkeetna-ak Attached is a copy of the game schedule.

Interested in watching the Lady Lynx volleyball game vs Glennallen tonight at 6:30pm and also tournament games this weekend? Here is the streaming link for tonight's volleyball matches. https://youtu.be/tFNSch4QWks Here are the links for this weekend's Copper River Classic!! Friday https://youtu.be/vNKE_oMOGYY Saturday https://youtu.be/Mpz5hCZoYeg Friday's game schedule and championship bracket are attached.

Attention Parents: Middle School basketball games scheduled for this weekend with Glennallen have been cancelled.

The School Board would like to say thank you to Principal Huntington and Principal Rozell for their great leadership within Nenana City School District! Please join us in #ThankAPrincipal

Reminder for parents, NO school this Friday, October 8th. It is a Teacher Inservice Day, and the school will be closed.

School Picture Day is on the calendar for October 28th! You can order ONLINE, or send your order to the school office. An order form is attached to this posting (:

NCS Friday Update 10-1-21 Greetings Lynx Friends and Families, I hope this message finds you well as we turn another page on the calendar. It is also my hope that many of you were able to connect with our teaching and/or student support staff during parent/teacher conferences. Our priority was to establish open lines of communication and an update on student progress. Please do not hesitate to reach out at any time with questions, concerns, or if you seek information regarding your student. Looking ahead, October will be an extremely busy month. Quarter one ends on Friday, October 15. Plans continue to develop for Enrichment Week during the week of October 18. In the coming weeks, students will be provided an overview of the schedule for the week, workshop offerings, and workshop signups. Soccer, Volleyball and Cross Country teams are in competition over the weekend. Next weekend, Nenana will be hosting a Volleyball tournament with games Thursday through Saturday. There are no classes on Friday, October 8. Drivers Education is being offered 10/8-10/9. With participation being limited, students who've been selected for this first round of training have been informed of their participation and have been provided details. Beginning Monday, October 4 there will be after school tutoring available M/W from 3:30-4:30pm and T/Th from 2:30 - 3:30pm. This opportunity is available for middle and high school students. Students should report to the Student Resource Center (aka Library) promptly following release from class if they wish to participate. Students are expected to come prepared to work or they may be asked not to return. As always, we appreciate your support and trust in our program. I can assure you that we are doing all we can to meet the needs of students. Kind regards, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office) District Website: www.nenanalynx.org

Early Release at 2:00 pm this Thursday and Friday, September 30th & October 1st for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Dear Parents/Guardians, Below is the agenda for conferences coming up September 30th and October 1st. Thurs, 9/30 2pm-4:30pm Friday, 10/1 2pm-3:30pm Mrs. Andy Corbin has pre-scheduled conferences for students in grades K-8, schedules are included in this mailing. These can be phone conversations, Zoom meetings or in-person, please let your student’s teacher know what you choose to do. If you have conflicts with the schedule, please contact the teacher directly, or call Andy Corbin. Meeting lengths will be predetermined to ensure equity in length for each family that confirms their intentions to attend. Similarly, if local parents of students in grades 9-12 wish to schedule meetings in-person, please contact Andy Corbin and/or teachers of your student. The default will be teachers reaching out to parents/guardians of students in their Xblock classes to discuss student progress, goals and to address any questions. Teachers will either reach out via phone during the window for conferences, or be in contact with parents to schedule Zoom meetings in advance. Again, if you wish to meet either in person or virtually with a teacher, please do not hesitate to reach out to Mrs. Corbin or teachers directly. We strongly encourage students to participate in these conferences, regardless of format. (this information was also mailed to parents last week)

Dear Nenana Community, Nenana City School staff are in the planning phase of an enrichment week, which will be offered to students in October. During the week of October 18, in addition to core instruction, we hope to provide a series of enrichment workshops to students at the secondary level, and embed enrichment activities throughout the week in the elementary grades. Enrichment workshops and activities will have a focus on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math), Alaska Native Arts and Culture, and Career and Technical Education. In addition, secondary teachers may offer workshops with a focus on Life Skills, Consumer Science, Literacy, Music, etc. Northern Industrial Technology (NIT) is partnering with the school to offer workshops such as Drivers Education, Intro to Marine and Outboard Engines, ATV/Snowmachine maintenance, Microsoft Office Systems, and Virtual Reality Welding. Also on site will be Fairbanks trade unions and military recruiters. We are seeking Community Members to lead workshops in any of the following areas or other areas of enrichment. Workshop leaders will be compensated $25/hr; Beading, fish cleaning and canning, skinwork, music and dance, language and storytelling, indigenous food preparation, jewelry, dog mushing, business/finance skills, arts/crafts (school/tribe will have grant money available to support purchases of materials for workshops). Workshops will run for 70 minutes on M/W/F. There will be three consecutive workshop sessions as follows: 11:35 - 12:45am 12:50 - 2:00pm 2:05 - 3:15pm Workshops will run for 85 minutes on T/Th. There will be two consecutive workshop sessions as follows: 11:35 - 1:00pm 1:05pm - 2:30pm If you are interested in leading a workshop, please contact Nenana City School Transition Coordinator, Teena Calkin (tcalkin@nenanalynx.org) or school Principal, David Huntington.

NCS Friday Update 9-10-21 Greetings Lynx Community, The completion of this week marks the midpoint of the 1st quarter. Student/Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Sept.30-Oct.1, which will provide an excellent opportunity for parents/guardians to connect with teachers to debrief on student progress to date. Please stay tuned for more information as the dates draw closer. Over the last 7-10 days, school staff and students managed to overcome the first encounter with a COVID-positive school community member and the subsequent close-contact exposures. The result was a handful of teacher and student quarantines. Under public health guidelines, students do NOT need to quarantine as close contacts when exposed to a positive patient, so long as the individual was masked. Moving forward, beginning Wednesday 9/15, the choice to mask will be that of individual students/families. As always, masks are encouraged if experiencing any Covid-related symptoms. On site screening is also available by appointment. Face masks won't be expected of students involved in extracurricular activities unless required by the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA). However, staff and all spectators must wear a mask during extracurricular indoor activities. -- David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office) District Website: www.nenanalynx.org