- Service High School
- Overview
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Welcome to Cougar Community Connection!
These are archived emails home to families and staff.
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Cougar Community Connection Sept. 17, 2023
Dear Parent(s)/Guardians,
Service will be teaching the Alaska Safe Children’s Act/ Personal Safety lessons between September 22nd, 2023, and March 29, 2024, during the Advisory period. Our teachers will present an age-appropriate lesson about personal body safety in a non-threatening way, along with the skills needed for self-protection. The focus of the lesson will be to empower students with the information and skills to protect themselves and seek help from the physical, psychological, and emotional harm that can occur from abusive situations and is part of the Anchorage School District’s plan to enact the Alaska Safe Children’s Act and will be handled in a sensitive, respectful manner.
ASD Prevention Tools:
Climate – Creating a safe and respectful learning environment, which is well-managed, supportive, and engaging with active participation.
Direct instruction – Using a variety of evidence-based curricula and programs to deliberately teach about risk factors and healthy relationship skills.
Infusion – Integrating social and emotional learning skills throughout the day and in all curriculum areas through modeling instructional practices that promote SEL skill practice and maximize learning.
At-home and community support – Developing awareness about available supports and resources outside of the school day.
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) developed curriculum is comprised of three separate age and developmentally-appropriate bands for grades 7/8, 9/10, and 11/12. Each grade band contains 5 modules and is designed to help prevent childhood sexual abuse and teen dating abuse.
The five modules for each grade are organized around the following topics:
Module 1: Defining Healthy Relationships
Module 2: Building Healthy Relationships
Module 3: Defining Unhealthy Relationships
Module 4: Warning Signs
Module 5: Help and Support
Module information and scripts can be viewed HERE. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fZtRoMEHIcmU4gDE7i3AeJ_8P6Kliz_I?usp=sharing
If you have any questions about the content of the program or if you wish to inquire about opting out, please contact the school office at 907-742-8100.
Thank you for partnering with us as we continue to provide learning opportunities to improve the safety and well-being of our students. -
Cougar Community Connection Sept. 5, 2023
Dear Parents and Families,
Just a reminder that we are having an Open House this week Thursday, September 7 from 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm
We start at 6:10 p.m. - 6:25 p.m. in the Gym for a brief introduction.
Our open house is designed as a chance for you to meet your student's teacher, learn more about the curriculum offered, class material, and class expectations. Any parents who wish to meet individually to discuss issues pertinent to their child, please contact the teacher directly, ideally by email, to schedule an appointment.
Attached is the Open House Class Visit Schedule:
P.1 6:30 - 6:40
P.2 6:45 - 6:55
P.3 7:00 - 7:10
P.4 7:15 - 7:25
P.5 7:30 - 7:40
P.6 7:45 - 7:55
We look forward to seeing you all!
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Cougar Community Connection Sept. 1, 2023
September 1, 2023
Service Parents and Families,
I am writing to inform you of a situation that occurred during school at Service High School today.
At approximately 1:00 p.m. this afternoon, during a school assembly, there was a physical altercation between two students. During the altercation one of the students briefly wielded a box cutter knife. The student who displayed the knife put it back in their backpack. Concerned students immediately reported the incident to school administrators, who quickly intervened and also requested the involvement of our School Resource Officers (SRO) of the Anchorage Police Department. APD investigated and took the student into custody.
Fortunately, no one was harmed during the incident.
Once again, we applaud those students who brought this matter to the attention of school staff immediately. Student safety and wellbeing are the highest priority at Service High School and our students continue to demonstrate strong leadership and commitment to our school community.
Please discuss this incident with your student at home and let me know if you have any further questions.
Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.
Imtiaz Azzam
Principal
Service High School
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Cougar Community Connection Aug. 31, 2023
August 31, 2023
Service Parents and Families,
I am writing to inform you of a situation that occurred during school at Service High School today.
At approximately 11:30 am this morning, school administration directed all students to “stay put” in their classrooms. This directive was precautionary in nature and was made in order to ensure safe and efficient passage for paramedics who had been called to the school to address the medical needs of a student.
The “stay put” order lasted less than five minutes and the students received the medical attention they needed. After the “stay put” order was lifted, the regular school day resumed without incident.
Student safety and wellness are the highest priority at Service High School, and we are all very proud of the students who cooperated with the “stay put” order immediately and followed the directions of Service teachers and staff.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Have a great afternoon.
Imtiaz Azzam
Principal
Service High School
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Cougar Community Connection July 28, 2023
Dear families and students,
Our goal this year is to continue strengthening and fostering school communication with parents, students, and staff. I believe connecting to one another and building positive relationships will further enhance student success and self-esteem.
It is my hope that the information disseminated will be timely and pertinent for meeting your planning and deadline needs. Please note that we are committed to continuing an open-door policy for all at Service. I encourage you to email or call me if you need assistance.
August and September are our busiest months of the year for assembly events, Homecoming Dance, Open House, Administring the Map Growth assessment in the area of Reading and Math for our 9th graders, and planning for College Workshops.
Below are events that are taking place this week and next week:
8/31: BMX Assembly -Stunt Masters performance. To promote a positive lifestyle, education, inclusiveness, and turning positive thoughts into purposeful action. It features BMX freestyle, skateboard, scooter, and or inline skate pros on portable ramps. It is all about Character building, physical science, health, safety, and success.
9/1- Homecoming Assembly
9/2. Homecoming Varsity Football Game 2 pm & Homecoming Dance 7 pm - 10 pm
9/7 - Open House - 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. You are invited and very encouraged to attend our Open House on Thursday, September 7 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. We will start in the large gym at 6:30 and I will release the parents at approximately 7:00 to visit classrooms. The format for this year will be a fixed visitation schedule, where parents follow their students' schedules on a ten-minute rotation. We will email you the actual bell schedule for the Open House soon.
Also, I would like to introduce our two new Administrators who have joined us this year at Service High:
Jen Palmisano: is our Freshman Academy Principal. She is a former Service and Seminar School graduate. Being at Service she " learned what it meant to be a student, community member, and a leader. " Before becoming the Freshman Academy Principal, she was a Seminar ELA and Soc. Studies teacher for about 20 years. She is proud to be a part of this community and values its commitment to student success.
One of her goals as an administrator at Service is to "establish positive relationships with students, staff, and the community."
Rick Stone said: "As a lifelong educator, I’m excited to join the Service Cougar family this year." He has been an administrator in the Anchorage School District for twenty-three years. 'As your new Activities Principal, I am passionate about education and have a strong desire to improve the educational experience for our students.'"
He commented by saying"This year, we have seen a large turnout for fall activities and can feel the school pride growing in the hallways. We encourage all students to get involved in an activity associated with Service High. We look forward to seeing our community, parents, and students in the bleachers and stands cheering on the green and gold."
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Cougar Community Connection July 26, 2023
July 26th, 2023
Our Service Vision and Goals: All Students Succeeding in College, Career, and Life.
Greetings Cougar Families, Students, and Staff,
Happy Summer!
I know many of you are still in full-time summer mode, but I wanted to reach out and welcome you to the 2023-2024 school year at Service High. We all look forward to a successful year as we continue to partner to inspire and support our students to be college, career, and life ready.
This first edition of the Cougar Community Connection contains information on school start time, registration, the new block bell schedule, activities, dress code, and much more.
Service High School believes in an education focused on excellence, integrity, and perseverance. We will continue to support our students in developing significant ownership of their learning. All of the Service Staff is dedicated to breaking down barriers that limit our students’ access to relevant and challenging learning opportunities.
One of our focus areas for this school year is attendance; students who attend school consistently are better prepared for college, careers, and life. Your support and advocacy for students to attend school daily is essential. Please review the link below that details Service High’s expectations for attendance.
The second area of focus for Service High this year is professional and appropriate dress. Parents, your support of the new Service High dress code is essential to help us prepare students for college, career, and life. Again, there is a link below that details dress expectations for all students.
Just a reminder that every Monday staff will be participating in professional learning communities. School buses will have later pick-up times on Mondays with details coming soon (please refer to the linked bell schedule below for start times).
We look forward to working together to provide a safe environment for all our students and to build relational capacity among all of us.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if we can be of assistance as you prepare for your student’s return to the 23-24 school year.
Key Information to Know (please use the links)
Registration
Registration, On-Site Registration, et cetera)
Note: Student IDs will be taken on Picture Day, Sept 8th.
Attendance
Dress Code
Block Schedule
23-24 Block Schedule (NOTE: On August 17th, the student will follow the Thursday block schedule)
Schedules will be live for all students and families to review through Parent/Student Connect on August 7. Schedules will not be available during registration week. Please note counselors will be working on schedules until the first day of school so this schedule may change before the first day of school. If you have a hole in your schedule or request a change you may email your counselor, found at https://servicehscounseling.weebly.com/. Students without a scheduled period will meet with their counselor during that period on the first day of school to review options.
Also, students/families are welcome to come to the building after 8/7 weekdays 7:30 - 2:00 to find their classrooms and locker.
If your 9th-grade student is new to Service High, be looking for information on Freshman Orientation, which is on 8/21.