Nenana City School District - Home of the Lynx

Greetings Families and Friends, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I'm writing with a brief update as we approach the final two weeks of Semester 1. Our teaching, support, and administrative staff are extremely proud of the effort students, parents, and LC staff have made to meet and exceed the challenges placed upon us by the COVID-19 constraints. It has not been easy, but students have shown perseverance and a true sense of appreciation for their education. For this you too should be proud! Students will be completing MAP Growth testing over the next two weeks. We look at student growth since the September testing as a measuring stick for the effectiveness of instruction and student learning. This information will help inform our practice second semester. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out at any time. Thank you for your continued support and patience as we navigate these challenging times together. It really does take a community of positive-minded individuals to stay the course and support each other as we push forward. With Respect, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office)

Just a reminder for parents, based on the Nenana City School District calendar, school will be in session for two days this week, Monday, November 23, and Tuesday, November 24. The school will be closed for the remainder of the week. We hope that your family enjoys the extended Thanksgiving weekend.

Check Out the November Literacy Cafe Flyer!

Greetings Friends and Families, A reminder, there will not be classes on Friday, November 11th. Teaching staff and administration will be engaging in an in-service throughout the day. Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and upcoming holiday season! Kind regards, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office)

Students of the Month for October 2020 - Congratulations to Sophia Stone and Abigail Landrum!

Virtual Literacy Cafe is now available for October, check it out here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jULXoI1O7fABJ--xokXUmDiAeJfsFXI9/view

Dear Parents/Guardians, Although unconventional, students and teachers have worked together to navigate the first quarter of classes at Nenana City School. Looking ahead, it is important to take time to process the experience together. To that end, we are planning to hold Parent/Teacher Conferences at the end of the month. Teachers are collaborating this week to discuss the structure of these conferences. We envision some level of student involvement and will communicate further with details as they become final. The conferences will be held virtually, either via Zoom or over the phone. Andy Corbin has created conference schedules for parents/guardians of students in grades K-8. She will be including schedules in the grade reports that will be mailed out this week. You may contact either Ms. Corbin or your students' teacher if changes are needed. Teachers of students in grades 9-12 will be communicating with students assigned to their Homeroom to schedule conferences. Please begin discussing your availability with your student to assist in this scheduling process. Below are the days and times that conferences will be held. Thursday 10/29 2pm - 5pm Friday 10/30 8am - 2:05pm (LUNCH noon - 12:45pm) Kind regards, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office)

Greetings Parents, Students, Guardians, and Community Members, This message details operating procedures moving forward for Quarter two (Q2), as well as a look at the weeks following Winter break. There will be Q & A sessions on Friday, 10/16 to clarify any questions and address any concerns. Please join the Zoom meeting at the designated times if you wish to participate. Friday 3:30pm K - 8 parents/students. Friday 4:30pm. 9-12 parents/students Zoom meeting Link: https://zoom.us/j/93512578335 Nenana City School will continue with virtual delivery for the weeks ahead. This approach is a function of elevated case rates in Fairbanks, Denali Borough, and potentially the immediate Nenana community. Ongoing collaboration with local and state healthcare professionals suggests there are a number of uncertainties surrounding community spread. With case rates well into the High operational zone, there may very well be asymptomatic, undetected cases present within the localized Nenana and/or school community. The implications of this reality cannot be underestimated. Screen Shot 2020-10-14 at 5.09.53 PM.png source: https://coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com/ There is a strong desire to pilot in-person attendance for local K-12 students on Fridays, along with that of NSLC students. Doing so safely will be dependent on a decrease in the general upward trend in positive cases in the region, AND confirmation from public health professionals that there are no active COVID cases in the immediate Nenana community. If/when the above-mentioned precursors are met, students may be invited to attend school in-person on select Fridays during Q2. This decision will be assessed weekly and communication to families will follow. High School students residing at the NSLC are likely to see opportunities for in-person schooling before other populations of students in Nenana. Having undergone quarantine upon arrival, engaged in active symptom screening, and refrained from any recent exposure to the outside community - students at the LC are symptom free and assumed to be virus free. These variables, in combination with the strictly controlled living and learning environments of the NSLC and NCS suggest students residing at the NSLC can operate safely in proximity to staff, regardless of COVID-19 case rates in Fairbanks and/or the local community. Again, this is dependent on strict adherence to safety protocols by both students and staff when in district buildings and public spaces, as well as when in proximity to one another. Both NSLC and NCS staff are routinely reminded of this and actively engage in these practices on a daily basis in the school building and Living Center. Local families who wish to pursue student-residence at the NSLC are encouraged to contact Joe Digrande, Director. This option is available for 9th-12th grade students only at this time. After a two-week quarantine, local students residing at the NSLC will be permitted to participate in all activities available to LC students. Examples include; open gym, pre-season basketball, peer tutoring, structured evening study environment, regular food service, weekend activities, communal cooking, gaming, walks and talks. Screen Shot 2020-10-14 at 6.18.56 PM.png source: https://coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com/ DATA SHOWING CURRENT AND PROJECTED UPWARD TREND Tentative Friday Schedule for Q2 10/23 Virtual 10/30 8am-11am Virtual Instruction, 11:40am - 2pm Conferences (more info coming soon) 11/6 in-person 11/13 In-Service, No School 11/20 in-person 11/25. Holiday, No School 12/11 in-person 12/18. in-person 12/25 Holiday, No School SEMESTER TWO Delivery will be virtual for K-12 students during the first two weeks of semester two. Staff traveling out of state will be expected to work remotely from Jan. 4 - Jan. 15. NSLC students traveling home for the winter break will quarantine for 14 days upon their return. In person schooling for these students will begin on Jan.18. In an effort to provide local Nenana students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to also attend school in-person beginning Jan.18, local families will be provided the opportunity for their student(s) to reside at the NSLC beginning Jan.4. Students will be required to quarantine for 14 days prior to attending school in-person. They will also be expected to adhere to all program operating procedures and health and safety protocols at the NSLC. This quarantine period will ensure that all student residents at the NSLC (local and otherwise) are symptom and virus free. We feel strongly that the combination of quarantine, removal from potential road-system exposures, and the controlled living and learning environments of the NSLC and NCS will enable students and staff to operate safely, regardless of COVID-19 case rates in Fairbanks and/or the local community. As mentioned above, local families who wish to pursue this option prior to winter break are encouraged to contact Joe Digrande at the NSLC. Grades K-8 can be expected to remain operating virtually to begin semester two, with the potential for 1-2 in-person days. Again, the reality of in-person schooling will be dependent on a decrease in the recent upward trend in positive cases in the region, AND confirmation from public health professionals that there are no active COVID cases in the immediate Nenana community. Ultimately, the downward trend needs to result in case rates that enter into the medium risk zone (<10) in order to ensure student and staff safety. Sincerely, David R. Huntington Principal, Nenana City School dhuntington@nenanalynx.org 907-832-5464 (NCS office)

September 2020 Students of the Month Kayla Irwin Jace McBride

Check out the October 2020 Literacy Cafe Flyer (Virtual)

October 2nd, 2020 Greetings, I sincerely hope this letter finds you and your family well. As part of our literacy initiative, Nenana City School is engaging in quarterly book distributions. The plan is for the district to provide reading material to your student(s) to encourage reading at home. We hope to provide your student(s) with one book per school quarter. Due to COVID-19 mitigation measures, we were unable to go ahead with a planned quarterly book distribution in the building via your child’s classroom teachers. Instead, teachers asked their students about what kind of book they might like to receive and tried to order those books or similar ones if they were unavailable. While we can assure you that we did our best to deliver the specific book your student asked for, we also recognize that, sometimes, a story simply isn’t what you thought it was going to be. If your student starts reading this selection and it’s not for them, don’t feel bad! Trade it with a friend, share it with a family member, or simply bring it back to the school and exchange it for a different one. The book distribution is a part of a wider effort on behalf of Nenana City School to foster literacy in our students. We will also be inviting students and their families to monthly Literacy Cafes. Please keep an eye out for an invitation to these Cafes. In a low risk scenario, we plan on feeding you and your family a dinner, providing engaging activities for your child, giving you some time to decompress and ask questions with other adults and professionals, and provide you a book with instructions on specific reading strategies to use at home. In high risk scenarios, we will be delivering materials to you and your readers, and posting informative videos on specific reading activities you can do with your students, including with the books we’re distributing to you now! We also have a Literacy Council that we encourage you to join. The Council meets once a month, talks about literacy goals and programming, and helps guide decisions and processes in the school regarding literacy. We’d love to have your voice in the meeting! If you have questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to reach out to me. My email and phone number can be found at the bottom of the letter. I sincerely look forward to seeing your child in the building as soon as possible. Have a great early winter season, and please encourage your student to check out the included book(s)! Local students can find their quarterly book in the filing cabinet located at the elementary entrance to the school. Each book should have a slip of paper with the student's name on it tucked in the front of the book, along with our distribution letter. If you or your student cannot swing by to pick up their book, please contact Stephen Calkin to arrange for it to be mailed. Best Wishes, Stephen Calkin Social Studies Teacher/Literacy Grant Director scalkin@nenanalynx.org 503-395-7184

The first monthly Literacy Cafe can be viewed at this link: https://bit.ly/2SabClH

With the upward trend of COVID-19 case rate numbers, it is unlikely that we will be able to return to in-person instruction in the coming weeks. To that end, and in effort to sustain the continuity with which we are operating currently, Nenana City School will operate virtually throughout the remainder of Quarter 1 (Oct. 16). According to the State of Alaska DHHS COVID-19 page, here are the numbers and alert levels today. This information is updated by noon daily. https://coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com/ Last updated September 17, 2020, 1:30 PM AKDT Fairbanks is HIGH Cases (last 14 days): 226 Cases (avg. last 14 days): 16.14 Case Rate (avg. last 14 days: 16.83 The Nenana City School is currently operating at the High-Risk protocol.

Nenana City School will continue to operate under high-risk virtual learning protocols for the week of 9/14/2020. According to the State of Alaska DHHS COVID-19 page, Fairbanks numbers reflect high-risk alert levels. Visit the State of Alaska COVID-19 website for more information: https://coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com/ Fairbanks is HIGH Cases (last 14 days): 207 Cases (avg. last 14 days): 14.79 Case Rate (avg. last 14 days: 15.42

Literacy Cafe Flyer - https://tinyurl.com/yxud7eb5

Fairbanks COVID-19 case rate has risen to above 10 this weekend, putting NCS into the High Risk operational zone. This means school will be operating in accordance with our virtual delivery protocols for the week of 8.31.20. Classes will follow the same bell schedule as that of our in-person delivery protocol (see images attached). Teachers will be reaching out to students with scheduled Zoom invites and virtual instruction.

Here is the last page of the Covid-19 Containment Flowchart as well to go with the previous Live Feed posting! See attached.

NCS invites parents to participate in this Friday's Zoom Mtg which will provide information regarding In-Person Start next Monday. Here are the Zoom links: K-6th 1pm Join Zoom Meeting - https://zoom.us/j/93512578335 7-12th 2pm Join Zoom Meeting - https://zoom.us/j/93512578335 Please see attached forms as well, they contain important information for parents if you are unable to attend the Zoom mtg.

Please see the attached image.

Friday, August 14, 2020 UPDATE Greetings Parents/Guardians and Community Members, Teaching staff and administrators have been busy this week finalizing the academic schedule, details surrounding our program operations and participating in virtual training to support our work with students. As we wrap up this week and look ahead to next, I write to provide an update on details surrounding the startup of school. We are looking forward to the official opening of school, via distance education on August 24th. Beginning Monday, 8/17, Nenana School administration will begin making calls to all local families to discuss scheduling. As the week of 8/17 unfolds, parents and students can expect to receive further updates and ultimately communication from teachers. We will post all general announcements on the school website and school Facebook page. One significant update as we look beyond the week of August 24th is regarding the proposed in-person start date. Previous communications identified this date as Sept. 2nd. Please note this has changed, and we plan to begin in-person instruction (risk-level dependent) on Monday, August 31st. Thank you for your attention to this detail. Again, be on the lookout for more specifics next week. Preliminary plans are to send out invites for an information session Friday afternoon, 8/21, so please try to carve out time to join us if possible. Thank you and please do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns. kind regards, Dave Huntington