2-14-25 Greetings Lynx Families, This week we had parent-teacher conferences, which meant early release days to try and fit in a student contact day as well as time to connect with parents and guardians about their students. This model, which we have adopted for quite some time, is strenuous on our staff and short-changes parent contact time with teachers. Looking ahead to next year, it is likely that we will adopt a model of using a teacher work day to conduct parent-teacher conferences. If you would like to provide input on the idea, please contact me or the front office sooner rather than later, or provide public input at the March board meeting. After two fairly disruptive weeks, next week will finally see us return to a "normal" schedule. Staff are excited to have students back in the classroom for full days once more. Basketball teams will be playing today and tomorrow in Minto, and next weekend versus Glennallen and Tok. Students will have 3 weeks before spring break, which is the end of the quarter. If you have a secondary student, please contact teachers to ensure they are in a good position to end the quarter strong. I'd like to take a moment and recognize our Lynx basketball teams. Boys and girls both played with a lot of tenacity, with many strong plays through their games. Girls went on through the weekend to win the tournament. Way to go girls! I'd also like to take a moment and recognize our maintenance and especially custodial staff for their efforts in helping us host the tournament. NIT requires a lot from our support staff, and they pulled long hours with a building full of visitors to keep your city school clean and prepared for students on Monday. If you know one of our custodians, please extend a warm thanks to them! Thank you, and happy Valentine's Day! -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/ - Do No Harm - Accelerate Learning and Growth -
5 days ago, Andy Corbin
2-5-25 Greetings Lynx Families, This week has been a short one at NCS. Despite this, students have been busy learning. 5th and 6th graders prepared for and presented a debate surrounding the ethical consumption of chocolate. 3rd and 4th graders have been practicing understanding text structure, while kindergarteners have been team reading about the adventures of Kit. Secondary students in Mr. Matus' class have been learning about the role and responsibilities of the President of the United States. This weekend is NIT. Boys and Girls teams play Thursday evening. Please consult the brackets on our social media accounts, or visit our website for more details. The games should be accessible to live stream through these avenues as well. We will be honoring local elder Ernie Evan with a moment of silence before the finals. Please join us in supporting our Lynx student athletes and honoring one of their super fans. Don't forget to sport Lynx spirit gear if you can! Next week NCS will be hosting parent teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday from 2:00-4:30pm. Please consult with Andy at the front office, or your student's teacher to schedule a time. I'd like to take a moment to recognize the crew responsible for putting on NIT. There are a lot of hands that come on deck to make a tournament successful. Everyone from the Activities Director to classroom teachers to coaches all play a big role in putting on a successful tournament. Please join me in thanking our staff this weekend as we celebrate our students. Thank you. -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/ - Do No Harm - Accelerate Learning and Growth -
14 days ago, Andy Corbin
NCS Parent Reminder - This Tuesday & Wednesday, February 4th & 5th are early release days, students will be released at 2:00pm each day. Also please remember that the school will be closed this Thursday & Friday, February 6th & 7th due to the Nenana Invitational Basketball Tournament. **Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up quick on February 13th &14th. Preschool through 8th grade pre-scheduled conference times are being mailed to parents today. If you have a high school student, please call the main office to set up your conferences.
16 days ago, Andy Corbin
Friday 1/31/25 Greetings Lynx Families, This week elementary students celebrated the 100th day of school. Elementary staff prepared a day full of events and activities around the number. Elementary students also assembled for our first elementary assembly. At this assembly a handful of elementary students campaigned for student council positions in front of their peers. Students will vote on Monday in class so that we can ensure a free and fair election. Our playground is still slicker than snot with little precipitation forecasted, so we are likely going to continue with indoor recess for now. Boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Lumen Christi on Thursday and Friday. If your lynx is on the team, please encourage them to take advantage of teacher office hours and advisory to ensure they put the "student" in "student athlete" and stay eligible to play! Next week is a busy one at NCS. Monday and Tuesday NCS will host Dave Nagel. Dave works with us through a federal grant, and will observe our school staff and students to provide input and feedback on how we are doing things. He will also discuss what are called "learner dispositions" with staff and the community on Monday. I'd like to encourage lynx families to attend this meeting and provide input on the mindsets you would like NCS to foster in your students. If you are interested, please swing by the library Monday evening at 5:30pm. Of course, we are also hosting the NIT starting Thursday the 6th. We will have early release days all week so staff can prepare for NIT and parent teacher conferences. Please reach out to Andy at the front office at your earliest convenience if you'd like to schedule your parent-teacher conference. You might also connect with your student's teacher. Conferences will be on the 13th and 14th from 2:00pm to 4:30pm. This week we had 21 secondary students who completed their First Aid training with Lauren Stone. One middle schooler in particular did a phenomenal job with chest compressions. If you know a student who participated, please join me in congratulating them on a job well done! I'd also like to take a moment and recognize our amazing maintenance staff: Tyler, Caleb, Conrad, Lavender, and Chris. This team has been working overtime trying to stay on top of the ice and melting snow, freezing rain, extreme temperature swings, and all the insanity that these weather events bring. Most of the boilers that heat NCS are older than most of the staff. Parts are so hard to come by that we have to source them from eBay or trade favors with suppliers in town. Despite this, these guys are able to keep the building warm, mostly. Thank you maintenance crew! We look forward to seeing your lynx for another wonderful week on Monday, February 3rd. Thank you. -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/
17 days ago, Andy Corbin
Greetings Lynx Families, (from last Friday, January 24, 2025) This week Nenana City School hosted Dr. Pamela Kasnter from Monday through Thursday. Dr. Kastner is known throughout the State as a literacy expert. Dr. Kasnter is working closely with much of our elementary staff on a regular basis to improve literacy instruction and student outcomes. She was also able to work with secondary staff during her visit, and we learned new ways of teaching vocabulary. We also hosted Linnea Mcafoose, the school's contracted speech pathologist, who was able to work with students and staff in person. Next week high school basketball teams will be traveling Thursday and Friday to the Lumen Christi tournament. Elementary students will be celebrating 100s Day on Friday, January 31st. We will start with a K-6 assembly, part of which will be dedicated to students campaigning for elementary Student Council positions. 2nd grade students have already begun advocating for classroom changes by petitioning adults for a class goldfish. Looking ahead to the following week, the school will have early release days on February 3rd-5th, and no school on the 6th and 7th. I'd like to take a moment and recognize our dozen or so Lynx who have pursued their driver's license or permits through the after school program. Students are taking time out of their busy schedules to participate in a driver's education course and travel to our esteemed colleagues at the DMV to complete this adolescent rite of passage. I would also like to recognize Pam Samash for all her hard work and determination in supporting our students through the driver's education class. Many students come to us with no birth certificates or other records from vital statistics that are prerequisites to obtaining a license. Pam works with students to shepherd them through the process so they are successful. Thank you Pam! Have a wonderful weekend. We look forward to seeing your students again on Monday the 27th. Thank you. -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/ - Do No Harm - Accelerate Learning and Growth -
21 days ago, Andy Corbin
Greetings Lynx Families, This week in Nenana City School students and staff have been busy getting back into the full swing of school. The warm weather melted a lot of snow on the playground, causing some devastating snow fort destruction that some elementary students are still recovering from. The good news is that Lynx are resilient, and our students are diligently rebuilding. Just about all of our LC students have returned to us, and are finding their footing for the spring semester. Students have been hard at work learning and growing in the halls of the building. While lower elementary students were learning to count by 10s, upper elementary students were learning ways to summarize text. High school students have been working on beading projects, building replica log structures, testing welds on steel pipe, and figuring out the patterns to squares and square roots of imaginary numbers. Looking ahead to next week, secondary students will be subject to the first ineligibility report of the semester. Please ensure your secondary student has connected with teachers and they are on track for a successful quarter. Basketball players will be traveling to Glennallen and Tok next weekend. Originally, we had planned on the 24th of January being an in-service. We will make up our October weather closure during this day, so there will be school on January 24th. 15 students will be participating in driver's education next weekend. If your student is one of these 15, please remind them to show up bright and early Saturday morning. Looking a little further out to February, we will have 3 early release days the week of the NIT tournament, the 3rd-5th. We will have no school on February 6th or 7th. Parent-teacher conferences will be held February 13th and 14th, between 2pm and 4:30pm, which will also be early release days. I'd like to take a moment and recognize our students who completed their Emergency Trauma Technician course and passed the ETT test last December, becoming bona fide ETTs. We had 9 students achieve this milestone. Congrats Lynx! I'd also like to take a moment and recognize staff member Jarett Tucker. Mr. J has done an excellent job developing the preschool program. Preschoolers are often up and moving in his class, learning through play. Mr. J has also done a great job introducing early literacy skills, and has worked with experts both on and off staff to relentlessly develop his professional acumen. The data bears out that he is doing a fantastic job, and we look forward to continued student and staff growth thanks to him! Thank you Mr. J! We look forward to another week of learning and growth with your students. Thank you. -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/ - Do No Harm - Accelerate Learning and Growth -
about 1 month ago, Andy Corbin
Greetings Lynx Families, Welcome to the New Year. Many of our students came back to us both eager to return and sad to leave their winter break routines. Nenana City School has adopted a few changes in our first week back. One change for many students is our enforcement of our existing cell phone policy. After careful consideration of the evidence regarding student behaviors and disciplinary referrals, NCS staff have collectively determined that any benefits of cell phone use in the classroom is outweighed by the negative impacts on student learning. Please be aware that we are asking all K-12 students to keep their cell phones out of classrooms, or voluntarily hand over phones to their teacher for the duration of class. Please call NCS or me directly if you'd like additional details. Another change I have pursued is a 10 minute extension of the 7-12 lunch hour, which now takes place from 11:30am to 12:25pm. School lunch is served between 11:30 and 12:00, consistent with the teacher's duty free lunch. I have asked staff to make themselves available to students for academic help on Wednesday-Friday between 12 and 12:25pm. If your student needs homework help, please encourage them to use this opportunity to connect with teachers. Please join me in welcoming Jerry Babcock to the Lynx team as our Dean of Students. He will also fill the Activities Director role. As the Dean of Students, Jerry will help enforce the student handbook K-12. He will be a presence in the hallways, common areas, lunch room and playground, and in classrooms upon teacher request. As part of this role, I have asked Jerry to address our Student Handbook, which has not been rewritten as specified in board policy for over a decade. This process is to include teachers, students, parents, community members, elders, and board members as well as administrators. If you are interested in being a part of that process, please reach out to the school or Jerry directly. Looking ahead to next week, both boys and girls basketball teams will be gone late in the week for the Tri-Valley tournament. If you are local, please consider making the drive down to support our Lynx. I want to take a moment and recognize our students. 20 of our 7th-12th grade students ended quarter 2 with straight As, and another 37 students ended the quarter with a 3.0 GPA or better. Additionally, close to 50% of our K-6 students are at or above grade level in their literacy skills, about double the amount of students in August. There are many more indicators showing significant and noteworthy growth in our NCS students, and I am lucky enough to see many students putting their best effort into learning on a daily basis. I am proud of every student who walks through our doors willing to learn and grow. I would also like to take a moment and recognize Andy Corbin for all the work she does for the students and staff at NCS. Don't let anyone fool you, Andy is the beating heart of the building, and has been for quite some time. Having worked with her much closely over the last few months, it amazes me the level of competency and grace she has to ensure that NCS functions. The next time you are in the building or give us a call, please extend a warm thank you to Andy Corbin. Thank you. -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/ - Do No Harm - Accelerate Learning and Growth -
about 1 month ago, Andy Corbin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 19, 2024 Alaskan Teacher Emily Snyder Recognized Nationally with Milken Educator Award Juneau, AK - In a surprise award ceremony on Thursday, December 19, 2024, in Nenana, Alaskan teacher Emily Snyder was recognized with the Milken Educator Award and a check for $25,000. Snyder is now part of a community of over 3,000 Milken Award recipients over the program’s nearly 40-year history. “The Milken Educator Awards inspire educators, students and entire communities to “Celebrate, Elevate and Activate” the K-12 teaching profession and encourage young, capable people to pursue teaching as a career. More than $75 million in individual financial prizes and more than $145 million have been invested in the Milken Educator Award national network overall.” (Milken Family Foundation) Snyder is a first and second grade teacher at Nenana City School, where she exemplifies her calling through an unceasing commitment to her student’s learning. Practicing data driven instruction and creating lesson plans aimed at capturing the excitement of learning in her students, Emily leads the way with the Alaska Reads Act’s mission of every student proficiently reading by the third grade. Going far beyond her commitment, she has become an integral part of her community, serving on her school’s Instructional Education Team and coordinating a Literacy Café for students and parents. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Special Education, and her Master of Education in Literacy. “Everything Emily Snyder does in her classroom helps students reach their fullest potential,” said Dr. Joshua Barnett, CEO of the National Institute of Excellence in Teaching. “At a young age, students are taking charge of their learning, developing problem-solving skills, and shaping their place in today’s world. Outside of the classroom, Emily demonstrates outstanding leadership in her school and the Nenana community. We look forward to her contributions to the Milken Educator Network, where she will have the opportunity to elevate her impact and broaden her sphere of excellence. Congratulations!” “Emily Snyder and teachers like her are examples of what we as educators strive to be,” said Commissioner Deena Bishop. “I applaud her commitment to reading education through proven methods of instruction and dedication that extends far beyond school hours. Congratulations on earning this prestigious Milken award, and thank you for your meaningful impact on Alaska's kids!” ### The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development provides information, resources, and leadership to support over 130,000 students in 505 public schools across the state of Alaska. The mission of the department is to ensure an “Excellent Education for Every Student Every Day.”
2 months ago, Andy Corbin
Dear NCS Parents, Just a reminder that this Friday, December 20, 2024 will be an early release day for students. Students will be released at 2:00pm. If you have any questions, please call the main school office.
2 months ago, Andy Corbin
Dear NCS Parents, The GEARS Afterschool Program will be surveying students in 4th-8th grades on Thursday December 19th at the end of the school day. Please contact Program Director Teena Calkin if you have any concerns, questions or would like your student to opt-out. This survey is to determine if the AmeriCorps STEM coach positions here in Nenana are increasing the interest in STEM activities. This is NOT to collect data on the student themselves, only on their interest in STEM based on their participation in STEM activities.
2 months ago, Andy Corbin
Dear Parent/Guardian, Hello Lynx & Cyberlynx Parents - There are some important changes for parents to know. ALL students, new to the program or not, need to have a new application on file as we revamped that to make it better related to our combined program offerings. This hopefully is a one and done application that serves as permission for our Lynx Leaders field trips, walking field trips around the school for GEARS ASP and the like. For extended trips - parents will receive advance notice. Additionally - ALL parents/guardians will need to sign out their students every day unless students are walking or being transported by designated staff or parents have made other arrangements for communicating with staff that they are present outside and waiting for their student. Those permissions need to be on file please for grant compliance. Parents - please feel free to come watch or be an active participant in the afterschool program. We appreciate prior knowledge, but it is not required or necessary. We always welcome our parents. There are some noticeable differences this year in that we have hired a number of our high school students as helpers. They have received training, but as always are consistently being coached. The rules for our student employees are the same as our adults and the expectation is that they continue to grow in the role of an afterschool professional, just like our adults. If you ever have a concern about an employee, you are encouraged to reach out to Program Director Teena Calkin at 907-830-8202. We have a student/parent/employee handbook that is available and follows our school handbook closely. If you would like a copy, please ask for one as we would like to save as many of our trees as possible. A copy will be available through our school website and the GEARS ASP tab. GEARS ASP will be open this week and next ONLY ON MONDAY & TUESDAY. We will be closed Wednesday through Friday of this week to allow our staff to attend the Alaska Afterschool Network Conference in Fairbanks where two of our students will be featured on a student panel and staff will receive some incredible training. And next week is Thanksgiving and we want to give our staff the opportunity to be home on Wednesday in preparation for Thanksgiving day. Thank you as always for your understanding and support. Regular programming will return the Week of December 2nd through the 6th and continue to the early release on December 20th. We will NOT operate during the winter break. Please feel free to call or text the afterschool phone at 907-687-8466 with questions or concerns, this is a shared GEARS ASP phone and someone will answer you M-F usually between the hours of 10AM and 7PM. You may also come in person or email directly to tcalkin@nenanalynx.org GEARS ASP Director. All the best and many thanks for your support - Teena Calkin, 21st CCLC Program & Site Director Nenana City School 907-687-8466
3 months ago, Andy Corbin
Dear NCS Parents, we are in the process of pulling student data for the Fall Oasis Report required by the State of Alaska Department of Education. One section of the data, regarding student computer devices and access to internet services at home, requires parent input. Please take a few moments to complete this online survey. There are three questions for parents to answer. All responses will be sent automatically to the school for data collection. Here is the link for the parent survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqf9G7gsYb92w0XEMY9_Ok0UGKcUOGOdhuaSCAo0uJRRj0KA/viewform If you have questions, please call Andy Corbin in the main office. Thank you for your support in this process.
4 months ago, Andy Corbin
Dig Pink Lady Lynx Volleyball Tournament is this weekend. Games start this Friday morning at 9:00am, and continue into Saturday. Come out an support our Lady Lynx! Copies of game times, and brackets are attached to this posting.
4 months ago, Andy Corbin
Friday Pool Play
Varsity Bracket
JV Bracket
Dear NCS Parents, In partnership with the Nenana Native Association and the City of Nenana, the Nenana City School District is working toward the construction of a new playground to replace the current playground on 2nd and B streets, also known as the "school playground" or "Nenana Community Playground." NCSD and its partners would like to hear from the community on playground features and design. Please note that the City also plans to renovate the ball courts adjacent to the playground on the same block.The District has included a question regarding the ball court project as well in an attempt to avoid death by survey. This is an initial public input step. We anticipate seeking additional public input as the project progresses. You can find the survey here: https://forms.gle/qL18qdSCLnNDx6kC6 You can learn more about the types of playground equipment here: https://www.playandpark.com/play-and-save You can learn more about playground safety and design here. Ana Basi -- Stephen Calkin Grants and Curriculum Director Nenana City Public School (907) 832-5464 https://www.nenanalynx.org/ NCS Staff strive to offer students hope and build equity through experiences, community, and connections that foster independence and positive student outcomes.
5 months ago, Andy Corbin
Just a parent reminder that school picture day is this Friday, September 27th starting at 8:30am. Attached is a copy of the picture order form. The order form was also mailed to parents last week. You can order online, or send your order form into your student's teacher or the school office.
5 months ago, Andy Corbin
School Picture Flyer
Dear Nenana Parents, Parent Teachers Conferences are coming up fast! They are scheduled for Tuesday, October 1st and Wednesday, October 2nd. On both days, students will be released early at 2:00pm. Parent Teacher Conferences will be held from 2:00 - 5:00pm. K-8 parents will receive pre- scheduled conference times in the mail by the end of the week. High school parents can call the office to set up conference times with teachers of their choosing. Please remember that there will be THREE STRAIGHT DAYS OF EARLY RELEASE the week of parent teacher conferences: Monday, September 30th, Tuesday, October 1st and Wednesday, October 2nd. A Parent Teacher Flyer is attached to this posting. If you have questions, please call the school office.
5 months ago, Andy Corbin
PT Conference Flyer 9-19-24
Greetings Lynx Families, This message is to inform parents/guardians of a student voice survey that will be administered to students in grades 3-12 sometime between September 30th and October 4th. Per Board policy, the school is required to inform parents at least two weeks prior to administering any survey to students, while also providing the opportunity to opt out. This survey is designed to be administered to all students in grades/years 3-12 in order to measure the 8 Conditions That Make a Difference in their school. The 8 Conditions help educators ensure that the work they are already doing fosters an environment characterized by positive relationships, engaged learning, and a sense of purpose. We intend to use survey results to better understand our progress towards the Board's mission of providing a trauma-engaged learning environment for your children. School administrators intend to include discussion of results at future Board meetings. As always, we'd love to discuss this or any of the school's efforts with you. Please feel free to swing by the school or give us a call. If you would like to request that your student opt out of this survey, please communicate with Mrs. Andy Corbin prior to September 30th. Thank you, John Riddle - Principal NCS Stephen Calkin - Assistant Principal, NCS
5 months ago, Andy Corbin
Get ready for a fun-filled Karaoke Night! Whether you love to sing or just want to enjoy the music, come out and join us for a night of laughter and entertainment and some refreshments! CALL (585) 808-2834 WITH ANY QUESTIONS!
5 months ago, Olivia Layfield
Karaoke
Hello Parents, This survey is your opportunity to share your opinions and interests regarding the ACE grant and the programs it supports. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us better serve our students, so please take a moment to fill it out. Here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LXLS8W7 You can also find the survey link on the school website LIVE Feed section. Thank you for your time and input! Olivia Layfield, Ace Grant Administrator
6 months ago, Andy Corbin
Dear Parent/Guardian: Alaska recently passed Erin’s Law and Bree’s Law as part of the Alaska Safe Children’s Act. Erin’s Law requires the teaching of sexual abuse and sexual assault awareness and prevention for grades K-12 and Bree’s Law requires the teaching of dating violence and abuse awareness and prevention for students in grades 7-12. This letter is to let you know that your child’s class will be receiving age-appropriate lessons on child sexual abuse and assault prevention education as required under the state’s Alaska Safe Children’s Act. You can find more information about the Alaska Safe Children’s Act here (https://education.alaska.gov/schoolhealth/safechildact). In addition, if your child is in grades 7-12 they will also be receiving age-appropriate information on dating violence and abuse prevention. These are the only topics covered. Other topics, specifically around human reproduction, are not covered or discussed. The curriculum and materials used have been approved by the State of Alaska, with input from the Safety and Wellness Committee comprised of parents, community, school board members, and school staff members and meets the requirements of the Alaska Safe Children’s Act. They will be taught by healthcare professionals from Railbelt Mental Health and Addictions. If you do NOT want your child to receive the instruction under the Alaska Safe Children’s Act, please submit in writing your request to the school principal requesting that your child be excused from these lessons. If you have any questions, please call 907-832-5464 and ask for John Riddle. Sincerely, John Riddle Nenana City School Principal jriddle@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464
6 months ago, Andy Corbin