The Rapids Report
JULY 19th, 2024
Dear STrEaM Families, parents and guardians,
Here is our first Rapids Report newsletter of the school year! We are very excited to be back in the office, planning and preparing for 2024-2025.
If you missed it, here is my first letter to families, sent earlier this week: https://rapidsreport.blogspot.com/2024/07/back-in-office-letter-7-18-24.html
Looking forward to a great school year!
Principal Mokelke
Some key information in this Rapids Report:
We are moving our start time up to 8:30 AM to accommodate our parents with elementary students. See more below
We will be PHONE FREE this school year! Read further for more information
We begin the year with our traditional Welcome Week on August 15th and 16th- with ALL our students. We are not staggering the start of grade levels like regular ASD schools
STrEaM goes Phone-Free for 2024-25!
The STrEaM APC board approved a new personal device policy for the 24-25 school year.
We will require personal devices (phones), if brought to school, to be secured in backpacks, and not on a students’ person during the school day. Students may access their devices before and after school. We’ve ordered secure phone pouches from a company called Yondr. Check out this video on schools going phone-free and using Yondr pouches:
Growing number of schools across U.S. require students to lock away phones
Visit our Phone-Free FAQ (LINK) and resources page for more: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pXdYnzLz9Nc9JGIGNscU3P4kk_ZmpiH_/view?usp=sharing
START TIME CHANGES
For the 24-25 school year, we will be moving our start and end times up by 30 minutes so that we do not start at the same time as elementary. This would be an undue hardship on our families with elementary students.
24-25 START/END TIMES:
M/T/TH/F: 8:30 AM TO 3:30 PM
WEDNESDAYS: 8:30 AM TO 12:30 PM
New staff!
Assistant Principal: Mrs. Smith
Ms. Hayden is now an assistant principal at Dimond! We will miss her, but we are excited for her next step in her leadership journey. We’ve selected our own Mrs. Emily Smith to move into the assistant principal role. Mrs. Smith brings a high level of organization, deep understanding of instruction and curriculum, experience with our program and tremendous energy to the position. Welcome Mrs. Smith!!
6th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies: Ms. Emeny emeny_mackenzie@asdk12.org
Ms. Emeny is an outdoor enthusiast who comes to us from Spring Hill Elementary.
7th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies: Mr. Dickerson dickerson_michael@asdk12.org
Mr. Dickerson comes to us from Baxter. He is multi-talented, bringing a wide range of skills and interests to our program, including music, the arts, Spanish and a love of the natural world.
8th Grade Language Arts/Social Studies: Ms. Himot himot_sadie@asdk12.org
Ms. Himot loves skiing, climbing and rafting (sense a theme here?). She is coming to us from Muldoon Elementary.
Secretary: Mrs. McCalvy mccalvy_jessica@asdk12.org
Mrs. McCalvy is a STrEaM parent with extensive experience in office management and the medical field. We are excited and fortunate to have her join our team!
RETURNING STUDENTS
If your 6th or 7th grader will not be returning to STrEaM for the 24-25 school year, PLEASE let us know. We track this closely for enrollment, seats, gender balance, scheduling, staffing, the lottery and waitlist.
To make it easy for you, you may also complete this short survey: https://forms.gle/zmrTUSawRZaVAhiQ9
We invite you to SAVE THE DATE to attend OPEN HOUSE the afternoon of Friday, August 9! We will orient new and returning students/families to grading practices, Q and Canvas, and strategies for success to prepare for the new school year a week before it officially begins! Students and families will also have the opportunity to meet teachers and walk through classrooms.
Online Registration
Registration for next school year is still open! ASD requires all returning students (from any ASD school) to complete online registration every year. Log into ParentConnection and follow the link on the top left corner.
Anchorage STrEaM Academy requires four school-specific permission forms to be completed annually: FY25 Walking Permission, FY25 Personal Device, FY25 Science Lab Safety, for 7th & 8th only- FY25 FABLAB Safety and the Optional Carpool Connection Sign-up
School Supplies
Bring these supplies to school on the first friday. We are teaching expectations and setting up binders.
1 ea 2” 3 ring binder
1 ea 5 part three-ring binder dividers
1 two pocket folder (with holes)
Binder pouch with two pens and two pencils and a spare eraser.
Health Updates
If you will be seeing your pediatrician over the summer and would like to complete paperwork, see links below:
Parents you can complete your own over-the-counter form here and send it to be by email:
https://eform.pandadoc.com/?eform=3092f50b-98c5-4e93-a7f3-1dbf0b69319f
Please feel free to email or call me with any questions. zimpelman_bethany@asdk12.org
Wishing you well
~Nurse Bethany
Battle of the Books
Calling all readers! We invite you to join the STrEaM Battle of the Books (BOB) team this year. We will have two groups, a 6th grade group and a 7th/8th grade (Middle School) group. Click this link to view the book lists for each group. Practice will be held during lunch beginning in October, but you can get ahead start by reading some of the books now. The STrEaM library has one copy of each title for both lists, you can also use the public library system, check them out electronically, or even audio book!
Sincerely, your BOB coaches, Mr. Bahner and Mrs. Lojewski
Quyana!
Thank you for your continued support.
Call, email or stop by if you have any questions or needs!
Adam Mokelke, Principal mokelke_adam@asdk12.org
Emily Smith, Assistant Principal smith_emily@asdk12.org
Sylvia Biondich, Administrative Asst. biondich_sylvia@asdk12.org
Jessica McCalvy, Secretary mccalvy_jessica@asdk12.org
Bethany Zimpelman, Itinerant Nurse zimpleman_bethany@asdk12.org
Chris Krejca, Special Education krejca_christine@asdk12.org
