Please see the following message from Sheryl Turner regarding the Iron Dog 2026 coming through Nenana:
Saturday morning from 8 a.m. til Noon, the Iron Dog teams will be in Nenana at a Community Breakfast.
Here is more information on tomorrow's Community Breakfast: The menu is bacon, Jimmy Dean Sausage, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, juice coffee , tea, and hot chocolate. Students are free. Adults $10 suggested donation. Money is going to the Community for Fire Department, Library, etc.
Iron Dog racers will be at the breakfast from 8:00 a.m. until 10 or 11. Racers are anticipated leave Nenana before Noon. However Students are encouraged to come to the breakfast, talk to the racers, and learn about Iron Dog Racing. If you have any questions, please call me at 907-888-3777 or my husband Rick at 907-799-5224.. I hope we will see you all tomorrow for the Iron Dog Community Breakfast at the Community Center.
I have great news! You have another opportunity to take the ASVAB on March 3rd at 9:00 A.M.
This is a wonderful chance to take the test for the first time and learn more about your strengths and potential career pathways. If you have taken the ASVAB before, this is also a great opportunity to improve your score. Even if you are not planning to join the military, the ASVAB is a valuable career exploration tool that highlights areas where you may excel.
Please reach out to Ms. Olivia if you have any questions or if you would like to sign up. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity!
It sounds like we should be dug out enough to open school tomorrow. The forecast is calling for another 12”+ Sunday through Tuesday. We have one “free” vacation day scheduled for April 6th, and may need to sacrifice it for round two. If we need more than one snow day, we will need to extend the school year.
Families who are not dug out enough to send their Lynx to school, please call Jaime at the front office and excuse your student.
Thanks.
Stephen Calkin
Welcome to snowpocalypse 2026. If you have an in-person parent teacher conference scheduled, please connect with your students teacher as soon as possible on whether you are willing and able to conduct the conference via phone or zoom. If you’d like an in-person conference, please verify that your child’s teacher(s) are at school. I am giving teachers the option to conduct conferences remotely due to our winter conditions.
If they are not at school and you’d like to reschedule for an in-person conference, please contact your students teacher or the front office.
Thanks. Happy shoveling.
Stephen Calkin
No School Wednesday, February 18th - Parent/Teacher conferences from 11am-6pm!
My name is Stephen Calkin. I have served at Nenana City School District for close to 11 years
now, first as a classroom teacher at Nenana City School, then as a principal. Effective July 1, I will be the Superintendent of the District. While I hope to meet many of you in this capacity, I write to you today not to greet you, but to assure you that our District intends to continue to operate our
CyberLynx program in Wasilla for the foreseeable future. Our Board is very proud of CyberLynx, as our team of contact teachers and support staff routinely strive for excellence in service to you and
your children.
We recognize that the current climate in the State of Alaska, and the Mat-Su area in
particular, may feel unsteady for our families who have chosen to homeschool with us.
Understandably so. We are honored to continue our service to you and your family, and to partner
with appropriate organizations in pursuit of this service, even in the face of whatever uncertainty may come our way.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to direct them towards your contact
teacher. You may also reach out to our CyberLynx Principal, Brian Rozell. You can contact Brian at
brozell@nenanalynx.org, or call your local CyberLynx office. We are eager to connect with you on this or any other concern you may have regarding our program.
I look forward to working on behalf of you and your Cyber Lynx.
In Partnership,
Stephen Calkin
Greetings Lynx Families,
The third quarter of school is in full swing here in NCS. Basketball season is also in full swing! Elementary students continue to learn about all sorts of new things, including traditional Yup'ik units of measurement and their use at fish camp. Secondary students are learning everything from different forms of energy to how to effectively present. If you have a student athlete, including skiers and middle school wrestlers, please connect with them and their teachers to make sure they are staying sports-eligible.
This week is NIT weekend. Come on by the school and support you Lynx! Our new principal for next year, Chad Martin, will be on site Friday and Saturday. Wednesday is 100s Day, where elementary students will be celebrating the 100th day of school. We will be hosting parent-teacher conferences on February 18th.
I'd like to take a moment and recognize high school senior Aram Peterson. Aram has been helping elementary students with Yup'ik pronunciations during their cultural math lessons. I'd also like to recognize Tamika Waska, who has been helping us with morning announcements for over a month now. I'd also like to recognize our elementary Lynx Leaders, who have been working hard to spread the word on good deeds their peers do on a daily basis.
One quick reminder: If you have not yet given your secondary student permission to leave campus and would like them to take advantage of open campus, please make sure you fill out our form. Call the front office or visit our website for more details.
Thank you.
Stephen Calkin
Principal
Nenana City Public School
School Spirit week this week for NIT!
Alaska has passed Erin’s Law and Bree’s Law as part of the Alaska Safe Children’s Act.
Erin’s Law requires that all K–12 students receive lessons on sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention.
Bree’s Law requires that students in grades 7–12 also receive age-appropriate lessons on dating violence and abuse awareness and prevention.
Your child’s class (grades 7–12) will soon participate in these important lessons. These lessons are designed to be age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and focused on building safety skills, including:
Recognizing safe vs. unsafe situations
Identifying trusted adults and knowing how to seek help
Understanding healthy friendships, boundaries, and respect in relationships
Recognizing the signs of unhealthy or abusive relationships and how to access resources for help
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has developed eLearning modules that meet the requirements of the Alaska Safe Children’s Act. These modules have been approved by the Nenana City School District School Board. They reflect best practices in child safety education and align with state standards.
If you do not want your child to participate, you must submit a written request to the school principal asking that your child be excused from these lessons.
If you have any questions, or if you would like to review the DEED eLearning modules and lesson materials in advance, please call (907-832-5464) and ask to speak with your child’s teacher or the school designee.
Thank you for supporting this effort to keep all of our students safe and informed.
Sincerely,
Stephen Calkin
Nenana City School
NCS Parent reminder that there is NO SCHOOL next Monday, January 19, 2026 . The school will be closed for students and staff. Enjoy your long weekend.
January 8, 2026,
Dear Parents and Guardians of Nenana City School District Students who are currently enrolled in a High School Health Class,
The Alaskan Health Education Curriculum and Alaskan Science Standards include sexual health education, and growth and development in the human reproductive system. Our school is teaching sexual health in the 3rd and 4th Quarter, which includes age-appropriate lessons based on resources approved by the Nenana City School District Board of Education in our Health and Health Sciences pathway curriculum. In addition, guest speakers in the classroom may include licensed professionals through collaboration with the Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions, Alaska Behavioral Health Association. These guests will speak to specific topics of their expertise, and be gender and age appropriate, to facilitate open dialog and an opportunity to address real-time questions from the young men and women in our Nenana learning community. The sexual health education lessons are designed to assist students to:
Understand themselves better, including anatomy and physiology
Understand the changes the students will be going through as they mature (physical, emotional, and psychological changes)
Understand the connections between choice, infectious diseases, and protective practices
Develop the ability to make informed choices for whole person wellness
Develop a deep understanding of identity, consent, and their role in intimacy
Sexual health lessons provide adolescent students with medically accurate information and communication skills to help them make decisions that can keep them healthy and safe. Our shared goal is to delay sexual activity in school-age youth. We know that our students and their families have a range of beliefs, cultures and customs. Those family values are core, essential guidelines for your child’s life. As a parent/guardian, you have the right to keep your child out of some lessons about birth control and methods of HIV/STD prevention. If you have any questions about which lessons you may opt-out for your child, please speak with the principal, or the health teacher. If you would like your child to be excused from birth control and HIV/STD prevention lessons, write a letter or email to your child’s principal, Stephen Calkin. The letter should state that:
• Your child should not be in the classroom during lessons about birth control and methods of HIV/STD prevention; and
• You will provide instruction on prevention to your child in your home.
The sexual health lesson materials, and other information, are available in the science and health classroom, for parents to look at and discuss with administrators, and/or Carrie Given, as desired. Reference information is provided at the end of this letter for these materials, including short descriptions, if you are unable to visit the classroom.
As in all areas, parents and guardians are a child’s first and most influential teachers. We share a common goal: we want students of all ages to be healthy in all aspects of their lives. Parents are encouraged to talk with their child (children) about their values regarding human sexuality, and contact our administration with any questions or concerns you might have.
Kindest Regards,
Carrie Given
Science and Health Teacher
Nenana City School District
cgiven@nenanalynx.org
Greetings Lynx Families,
Today we're wrapping up the first semester of the 2025-2026 school year. There is a lot to look back on and celebrate, a lot to learn from, and a lot to look forward to. One major highlight is our winter benchmark assessment results. For the first time in living memory, 50% or more of all Nenana City School students participating in the assessment have met or exceeded national growth rates in every area tested. The number of students achieving at or above the expected benchmark has also increased across the board. Additionally, our beginning of year mCLASS data, which measures basic literacy skills, was slightly below the Alaska average. Our winter data is significantly above the Alaska average, with a 12% increase in students at or above benchmark compared to the State's 3% average. In other words, NCS students were 4 times more likely to improve their basic literacy skills than the average Alaskan student. These results reflect all of the significant work NCS staff and students have been putting into learning and growing every day in our school.
Secondary NCS students have also been working towards certifications. 6 NCS welders have been able to pass in-house 1G "bend" tests, and so far we have 3 welders who have made it up to the 3G test. We anticipate certifying welders during the spring semester. We also have 13 students earning their ETT certifications. Elementary students put on a holiday play last week, and secondary musicians put on a concert earlier this week. Lynx wrestlers did a great job at regionals, placing 4th and 5th in their divisions.
Looking ahead to the second semester, NCS will be making a few changes. It has come to my attention that we have been out of compliance with board policy regarding open campus. If you have a 7th-12th grade student, please fill out the digital permission form or come see us for a physical form if you want your student to participate in an open campus. We will be closing campus for all students who do not have this form. Additionally, we want to better ensure the safety of elementary students at the end of the day with a more orderly release procedure. If you have K-4th grade students, please fill out a release form that tells us who will pick up your child, or give us permission to release them without adult supervision.
Lastly, I want to inform you that we hosted three great candidates for the principal position on Monday. We anticipate recommending a candidate for hire in January's board meeting. I will make an announcement once the Board has met on the subject.
From all the staff at Nenana City School, thank you for all you do to partner with us in your child's education. We wish you a happy holiday break, and look forward to seeing you and your children in the building on Tuesday, January 6th.
Thank you.
Stephen Calkin
Principal
Nenana City Public School
(907) 832-5464
https://www.nenanalynx.org/
- Do No Harm - Accelerate Learning and Growth -
Dear Lynx Families,
As many of you know, Nenana City School has historically had bus services that elementary students have used to get to and from school. A few years ago, the District eliminated these services in order to reduce costs. One of the unintended consequences of this decision has been a lack of a structured, safe dismissal from school, especially for lower elementary students. One of the most important mottos we have at the School is “Do No Harm.” It is my professional opinion that our current practice of releasing students, particularly Kindergarten through 4th grade students, without coordination with you could result in significant harm to your child. To avoid this, I want to ensure that we are dismissing K-4 students directly to a parent, guardian, older sibling, other school staff, or have your written permission to send them home.
After discussing this matter with school staff, we believe that we have developed a system that can work for students, staff, and families. Beginning January 6th, we intend to line students up at the end of the day, with students attending after school lining up in the “ramp” hallway leading to the library, students who are being picked up from school line up by the copier room directly across from the north entrance to the building, and students walking home lining up by the cafeteria doors. Students who are attending after school program will be released from elementary to an after school staff member. Children who have your permission to go home directly will be checked for cold weather or seasonal gear, and then sent on their way. All other children will wait for a parent/guardian, older sibling, or a designated adult to pick them up. Please come into the building to pick up your child(ren). This system ensures that we are doing our part to keep your child safe.
Attached you will find a form. Please fill this out at your earliest convenience. If you are receiving this message digitally, you may also fill out a digital version of the form here: https://bit.ly/4s9Hjvh
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have. You may also want to connect with your child(ren)’s classroom teacher for additional details and information. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Stephen Calkin
Nenana City School Principal
Dear Lynx Families,
As many of you know, Nenana City School has practiced an “open campus” lunch policy for secondary students for close to 40 years. In my 10 years in the District, I have understood the rules to be that 9th-12th grade students had open campus privileges. Except for Covid, this was our standard practice every year, regardless of the school’s schedule. Recent events have led me to review our policies, procedures, and handbook. Board Policy 5112.5 establishes an open campus for all “middle and high school students.” The policy also requires that students taking advantage of this policy have a permission slip filed on record with the school.
In my inquiry on the matter, I have found that NCS has been out of compliance with this requirement for over 20 years. It is my intention that Nenana better align with its board’s policies. To this end, enclosed you should find a permission slip for your secondary student to participate in open campus. Beginning January 6th, 2026 students who are found off campus without your permission will be considered truant, in accordance with BP 5112.5. If you would like your student to participate in open campus, please fill out the attached form and return it to the front office. If you are receiving this message digitally, you may fill out this digital form: https://bit.ly/4aGfpk0
Additionally, I found that the policy was established in 1997, and last reviewed in 2007. Much of the world has changed since then, including here in Nenana. It is my professional opinion that the Board ought to review this policy as soon as possible, and consider whether the policy as it reads is reflective and supportive of the mission, vision, and values set forth by the Board. If you have a strong opinion on whether or not 7th grade through 12th grade students should be allowed the rights to off campus lunch, please reach out to me, the Superintendent, or a school board member at your earliest convenience.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Stephen Calkin
Nenana City School Principal