Chuck E. Cheese Fundraiser Tonight!

The Susitna PTA is holding a fundraiser night at Chuck E. Cheese Pizza on Northern Lights Blvd. this evening from 3-9pm.  Tell them when you arrive that you're there for Susitna Elementary and our school gets a portion of the proceeds from the sales.

Even if you're not a Sustina PTA member, it's still a great way to help out all the teachers in the school.  The PTA has set a goal with their fundraising this year to help provide a new multimedia projector for every Susitna classroom (this is a projector that teachers can connect their computer to just like in the computer lab).

So, come on out and enjoy some pizza and games (and salad from the salad bar, of course), visit with other Susitna parents and help Susitna PTA support your child's classroom.

Hope to see you there!

Oct 23-28 is Red Ribbon Week- Stay Drug Free!

Thursday, October 23 through Tuesday, October 28 is Red Ribbon Week at Susitna- a week dedicated to reminding kids to make healthy choices and say "NO!" to drugs.

To help celebrate Red Ribbon Week at Susitna, students can show their support in the following ways:

Thursday, Oct. 23: "Put a Lid on Drugs"- wear your favorite hat in school today

Friday, Oct. 24: "Team Up Against Drugs"- wear your favorite sport's team jersey

Monday, Oct. 27: "Turn Your Back on Drugs"- wear your clothes backwards

Tuesday, Oct. 28: "Sock it to Drugs Day"- wear crazy socks and hair (remember, it's also Tube Sock Tuesday!)

Let's all help Susitna School and its families stay drug free!

It's the Great Pumpkin! Or Lots of Them, Really!

Still looking for the perfect pumpkin?  Susitna Optional 4th and 5th graders will be selling pumpkins before and after school each day beginning on Wednesday, October 22 until they're gone.  Come on by and find that perfect pumpkin and help raise money for Susitna Optional at the same time.  But hurry!  This beauties won't last long!

Susitna PTA Family Night

Come join us this Thursday, October 23rd from 6pm to 8pm for Susitna PTA Family Night at Royal Roller Rink (6411 Debarr Road).

All are welcome, whether PTA members or not!  Cost is only $5 which includes the skate rental. Bring the whole family and relive the roller disco days of your youth with lots of family fun, games & prizes!

Hope to see you there!

SOPG Parent Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 1

Please plan to join us for the first Susitna Optional Parent Group meeting of the year on Wednesday, October 1.  We'll meet in Sarah Burmeister's room (next to Ingrid's room) from 6:30-8:00pm.  Children are welcome!

The strength of the program lies with you and your involvement, so please come meet your SOPG Board and other parents in the program as we make plans for Optional Program activities for the year.

Hope to see you all there!

Susitna Principal Candidate Open House!

Come meet the candidates who are under consideration for the position of principal at Susitna!

All members of our school community are invited to an Open House on Tuesday, April 22nd from 5-7pm at the ASD Education Center at 5530 East Northern Lights Blvd (formerly the Boniface Center mall).

Candidates who are under consideration at our school (as well as candidates from other schools with principal openings), will be available to answer questions and talk with those in attendance.

It is important to remember that the characteristic identification process (what the Principal Selection Committee will do) and the Open House provide INPUT into the selection process.  Superintendent Comeau will make the final decision based on all sources of information.

Please tell other Susitna parents about this important opportunity to be involved in the process of selecting our new Susitna principal!

Upcoming Events Need Your Help!

As you may have seen in this week's Susitna Optional Parent Group Newsletter, there are some wonderful events coming up at Susitna, which means some great opportunities to get involved and help make them the best events they can be!

Intensives - April 7-11: Intensives at Susitna Optional are a one week focused study led by the teachers and parents of Susitna Optional students. Students select the intensive study that most interests them (as space allows). The intensive study time is half day, alternating between morning and afternoon, during the week of Intensives. Do you have a special skill you would like to share with a small group of children? The teachers are looking for folks that would be willing to lead a small group during Intensives. Please contact your child’s teacher for more information.

Susitna Optional Sock Hop Dinner/Dance - April 18 from 7-9pm: Bring the whole family and come out for a cheap dinner of hamburgers/cheeseburgers and hot dogs with chips, drink and a cookie and stay to work off the dinner by dancing to music from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Costume's encouraged! For more information, check out the Sock Hop Dinner/Dance flyer. Help is needed with set up/decorating, and clean up. If you can help in any way, please email Dale Brainerd. Hope you can make it!

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences March 25-27

The school year is really flying by and we're now into the 4th quarter of school which means that conferences are coming up next week. Be sure to come learn about your child's progress and be a partner in your child's education! If you haven't gotten a conference time nailed down yet, please contact your child's teacher as soon as possible.

While you're at the school for conferences, why not stop by the library and check out the book fair? What better way to reward a child for good effort at school than with a new book?

Hope to see you there!

Optional Program Lottery Applications Due March 21

Attention Future Susitna Optional Parents:

ASD Optional Lottery Applications are due Friday, March 21 and can be turned in to the Susitna Elementary School office.  Click here to download the Optional Lottery Application in PDF form.  For more information, contact the school office at 742-1400.

New SOPG Website is Live!

At long last, the new Susitna Optional Parent Group website is up and running!  Thanks to former SOPG parent Brett Woern for his past SOPG "webmastery" and his help in taking the new site live.

Please be sure to check out the calendar page for Susitna school events, as well as Susitna Optional events.

Feedback on how to make the site more useful is always welcome.  To send comments, click on the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of any page in the website.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the SOPG Announcements Page

This blog is for announcements about SOPG and the Susitna Optional Program.