Denali Montessori School

Please return your student’s Rally Permission Form ASAP.  You can print out a new form – scroll down (or request a hard copy to be sent home with your student) if your student misplaced the original.

This very fun event is held at the AT&T Center in South Anchorage.  It includes peer mediators from all over the district.  We’re hoping a significant portion of Denali’s 105 mediators can attend!

Although the Peer Mediator Rally isn’t until next week (Friday, April 29^th), our sponsors need to arrange for buses now.  We need our student and adult numbers finalized before they can assign us our bus or buses.

Thanks!  Call or email Janice with any questions or if you are able to volunteer as a chaperone or to help students create Denali peace pins to exchange with mediators from other schools.  Thanks again!

742-5073

banta_janice@asdk12.org

Download the permission form here.

Denali Peer Mediation Training – November 3th, 4th and 5th.  We are very excited to start our mediation training during the first week of November.  We have 47 candidates this year – the most ever!  These include 6 third graders being trained – the first time in many years that primary students will be part of the training.  Lots of thanks to the family members who have signed up to help wiath training.  We will thank you ALL formally at our mediator assembly.  Special thanks to Ariel’s mom, Katherine Hunt and friend, Gail Loken, who will join in the training of our mediators all three days (for the 4th year in a row!).

One request, please.  We still need people to walk students to and from Central Lutheran Church for training.  If you can give 20 minutes to support the new peer mediators Wednesday, Thursday or Friday next week (9:10 at Denali or 3:00 at Central) please let Ms. Banta know.  (742-5073 or banta_janice@asdk12.org)

www.threadalaska.org has some parenting classes coming up. Thread is the new name for the longstanding parent-friendly agency, Child Care Connection.

Parent Talks are:

September 7 Fun with food
October 5 Growing through Generations
November 9 Surviving the Holidays
December 7 New Parents

All the Parent Talks are from 6-7 at the Success By 6 building,  3350 Commercial Drive (in Mountain View).
The meetings are free and provide a group setting for parents to share ideas and ask questions about the joys and challenges of parenting.

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Alaska Youth & Family Network provides parenting classes called Parenting with Love and Logic.  It is a 7 week course, $70 for the course.  Sept 8th course is full, however new classes begin monthly running 2 hours each class.  Call 770-4979.  Childcare is available for a small feel   Check out their website for detailed info and other support groups for teens/children/parents.  www.ayfn.org

Families of sixth graders need to mark their calendars for Wednesday, March 24th, which will be the last day that lottery schools will accept lottery applications. These forms must be turned in before the close of the school day. Please note that each school has a different end time, so check with their front office to confirm the actual deadline. Better yet, turn your form in this week, Monday, or Tuesday.

Next Wednesday is also the last day Denali will be accepting applications for the 2010 March lottery. All applications must be in to the Denali office by 3:30 pm on March 24. Any applications received later than 3:30 will be entered in the August lottery for a spot on the waiting list. So spread the word about our wonderful school to your neighbors, friends and family.

Bring in your stuff,
Snap, Snap,
In a shoebox,
Snap, Snap,
Bring in your stuff!
Bring in your stuff!
Bring in your stuff!

Denali Student Govt. is organizing a gift drive for the holidays. Small (they need to fit in a shoebox) new or gently used items only, please. Nothing edible and no electronics. Thanks!

• A child’s gift box might include: small toys, stuffed animals, clothes and personal items. Remember, they all must fit in a shoebox.

• An adult’s gift box might include: clothes, tools, jewelry, card games, string, and personal items. Remember, they all must fit in a shoebox.

• Then wrap your shoebox, label it child (age of child) or adult, male or female. (Put your label on the outside, please.)

FINALLY . . . bring your finished shoeboxes to Room 123 before 12/15 and Denali Student Govt. will deliver the gifts to Bean’s Café and Salvation Army Cares for Kids.

A Denali family would very much like some help for their first grade daughter with rides home from Denali after Community Classes are done at 4:30.  The family lives on the east side of town on Baxter between N. Lights and Tudor and would be willing to help with morning rides in exchange for the afternoon help.  Please contact Janice Banta at 742-5073 or by email to banta_janice@asdk12.org and she will get you in touch with this carpool family.

In response to this need, we will also put up a ride board in the front hall where you can post ride requests for different sections of town.  Stay tuned!

The day to wear red for Red Ribbon Week has been rescheduled to Tuesday, October 27th.

Denali receives $1,250 in grant money from Safe and Drug Free Schools to develop prevention programs for our youth.  We invite (and are required to have) parent and student input for decisions regarding how this money is spent.  Typically, SDFS monies are used to support our peer mediation program.  Please join Ms. Banta in her room on Thursday, October 8th from 12:00-1:00 to learn more about this program and share your thoughts.  If you have questions or comments, please contact Janice Banta at 742-5073 or banta_janice@asdk12.org.

Recently, I nominated two Steller students for the Spirit of Youth award for their work in a practicum that has taken place here at Denali this semester. The efforts these girls have made on behalf of our students and their teachers have been truly exceptional, so I wanted to share the Spirit of Youth write-up with you.

Cai Doran and her good friend, Kari Pedersen, both freshmen at Steller Secondary School, signed up to do an internship at Denali Montessori Elementary School for the second semester of the 2008-2009 school year. Both had excelled as participants in their school’s seminar program as 8th graders and wanted to assist Denali’s new implementation of seminar practice for primary and intermediate students.

From the start, Cai and Kari have exhibited exceptional interest in this project and have demonstrated a high level of responsibility as the partnership developed. Cai and her work partner, Kari, have co-facilitated seminar instruction for two primary and three intermediate classes at Denali Elementary. The teachers for these classrooms, all highly experienced Montessori teachers, have described these girls as incredibly poised and confident, helpful and enthusiastic. One of the teachers enthused that he would “hire these girls in a second” if the opportunity presented itself. It’s likely that he forgot that these girls are only 9th graders, which is easy to do since they are exceptionally mature, self-directed and highly motivated. Kari and Cai have committed many hours to this project, reliably coming to Denali three times a week to support these classrooms as they institute seminar learning with their students.

While Kari and Cai have been big supports to the teachers at our school, the true beneficiaries of this program are Denali’s 6-12 year old students, who are now able to be involved in seminar. They truly look up to the Steller students and we couldn’t ask for better role models for these younger students. During the introduction of the concept of seminar, Kari and Cai helped the students understand the seminar process and together they came up with the term “listen learning.” This process not only helps Denali students better learn and contribute to their understanding of great literature, it also helps to make the classroom a more peaceful place, as students learn to wait before sharing information and to truly listen to the ideas of their peers. This ability to listen and share is a wonderful gift that Kari and Cai have provided to our students, along with their very presence at our school. These girls serve as ideal examples of the abilities of young people to shine and to serve others by giving generously of their time and talents.

Thanks Cai and Kari! Denali truly appreciates your work at our school.

Janice Banta, Denali School Counselor

I was fortunate to have the opportunity last month to take part in a course along with educational staff from all over the district. The topic, Grief In Schools, is a difficult one, but the information shared was extremely pertinent to our work with students, staff and families.

Many excellent resources were shared related to different types of grief experienced by children (and adults) in schools: death of a family member or staff person, serious illness of a loved one, death of a pet, divorce or relocation, deployment, etc.

I will be developing a resource book, which will be available to staff and families, as an easy reference tool should your family face one of these circumstances. It will include bibliographies, organized developmentally, as well as handouts from wonderful organizations that support families in times of need, such as the Hospice Association and the Dougy Center.

If you would benefit from any of these materials, please let me know.

Janice Banta, Denali School Counselor

High Tech Parenting Meeting
Internet Safety Presentation by Glen Klinkhart
Thursday, February 26, 2009, 6:30-8:00

At registration time, parents expressed significant interest in having an opportunity to meet with other parents to explore topics related to High Tech Parenting: Which, if any, video games are okay for my child? How much time should I allow them to play? Do I let them use the Internet, and if I do, how can I monitor their activities on the information highway? How do I handle play dates if my family’s rules are different than my child’s friends’ rules?

There are no clear cut, right or wrong answers to these questions, but most families struggle with these issues. We hope to hold monthly meetings on these topics through the remainder of the school year, and will begin with the topic of Internet Safety this month. We are so fortunate to have a local expert on Internet Safety in our midst. Denali parent, Glen Klinkhart has worked with APD and in private business on issues of Internet Safety and presents for many organizations. He has graciously offered to present to Denali’s parents on 2/26/09 from 6:30-8:00.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend. We will meet in the counselor’s office or the Multipurpose Room, depending on the numbers anticipated. When you RSVP, please indicate whether you will need childcare, as the presentation is designed for adult participants only.

Thank you! Janice Banta, 742-5073, banta_janice@asdk12.org

Denali has been selected to participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the National Report Card. This assessment will be administered to a random sample of our students on January 26. For more information click here.

Many thanks to members of the Denali family who donated money to help our community schools Spanish teacher, Martha Amaya, get through her recent surgery. She is on the mend and recently returned to work. Denali raised $458 to defray some of her medical costs. Your generosity, along with her hospital’s decision to write off the base cost of the surgery itself, is greatly appreciated by Martha. She writes, “Thanks…there are never enough words to express it. For All You Do… bless everyone for all your help: Thanks so much. Martha”

The RESPECT assembly will be held on Thursday, February 21st at 9:15. It will include Mediation Recognition, a Girls’ Circle Presentation, and presentations to go with our No Name-Calling lessons. The drill team from Dimond  has been asked to participate as well.

Welcome to 2008!  I told students this week that when I was their age, I couldn’t have imagined what 2008 would be like – it seemed so far away.  I said it would be as if they were imagining life in 2048.  They answered, “We’d be really old.”  Oh well, it’s all a matter of perspective I guess.

Please look for the Assets Newsletter in this section of Paw Prints entitled “Community Values Youth.”  We are now moving into a new series of Assets related to empowerment.  As we let children know how much we value them, both as individuals and as a community, we are laying a foundation for their success.

Here at Denali, we have many programs available to help with this process of building strong foundations for youth.  A number of groups for our young people will start this month.  If you are the parent or guardian of a third grade girl, watch for Girls’ Circle permission slips coming home soon.  This is a research-based proven program that helps to build resiliency for youth.  I feel so fortunate to have these opportunities to work with your boys and girls.  Have a Happy New Year!

Janice Banta, Denali School Counselor