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THOUGHTS FROM THE PRINCIPAL
What a terrific first week of school! We would like to thank everyone for supporting us. Throughout the week from the Meet the Teachers Potluck event to Aloha Friday, parents were ready to lend a hand wherever needed.
During the first week of school we spend a great deal of time building community in the individual classrooms and across the grade levels. Educational experts agree that creating a positive school or classroom environment is one of the key mechanisms to improve learning. As part of this process, KPS students in every class participate in age appropriate team building activities that help them learn to better understand and respect each member of our community. They also help create classroom guidelines and learning community expectations.
One theory of group formation is that all groups go through four distinct stages - forming, storming, norming and performing. KPS teachers use a variety of group and team building activities in order to move quickly to the performing stage. We use activities from our own experience and from both TRIBES and from Responsive Classroom
Both programs mentioned are approaches to teaching that emphasize social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school community. The goal is to enable optimal student learning. Both programs are based on the premise that children learn best when they have both academic and social-emotional skills.
- The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
- How children learn is as important as what they learn: Process and content go hand in hand.
- The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
- To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
- Knowing the children we teach-individually, culturally, and developmentally-is as important as knowing the content we teach.
- Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to children's education.
- How the adults at school work together is as important as their individual competence: Lasting change begins with the adult community.
- Students achieve because they: feel:included and appreciated by peers and teachers are respected for their different abilities, cultures, gender, interests and dreams; are actively involved in their own learning; and they have positive expectations from others that they will succeed.
The overall purpose of our community building effort is to assure the healthy development of every child so that each one has the knowledge, skills and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing world.
It has been wonderful to walk around campus and watch the team building taking place. I have seen the teachers facilitate everything from telephone games to actually physically planting seeds that respresented caring, compassion and other positive characteristics. I was so impressed with the level of student engagement and how responsive and open the students seem to be. At times, I couldn't help but feel that these children will be far better equipped than I ever was for a lifetime of working positively with others both on the personal and professional level!
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SPECIAL THANKS TO......
- Scott Nemeroff and Joseph Fiorilli for donating air conditioning units for Grade 1/2 and Grade 5/6
- Ian Sanson for installing the air conditioning units in two of our classroom
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Don Moomaw for rebuilding the walkway up the PreKK ramp
- Michael Maroney for organizing and heading up the workday. Also for remaining remarkably calm no matter what he uncovers.
- Shawn Smith and his crew for sprucing up the front of the school!
- Doran Smith for arranging to have a piano donated to the school
- Rachele Bryan and Annie Sadler for helping to set up the back to school potluck
- The many parents and students who volunteered on our campus work day
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 FUNDRAISING MEETING
Thursday, August 27th from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Back Yurt
Please join us for this informative meeting facilitated by Lyle Robinson, our Board President and Denise Dion-Scoyni, Marketing. We will be outlining fund-raising plans for the school year and developing committees for specific events. RSVP to denise@kauaipacific.org if you can attend.
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COMMUNITY WORK DAY
Saturday, August 29th from 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon
Thank you to all the parents and students who volunteered to help spruce up the campus on August 15th. Many projects were completed and the campus looks terrific. However, we still have a few lingering tasks that can only be done when students are not on campus such as repairing the siding on the yurts, rebuilding some of the yurt awnings and painting some of the wood that we have replaced. The jobs will be much easier if we have extra support. As the old saying goes, "Many hands make light work." Please contact Michael Maroney if you an help out on Saturday, August 29th from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
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 CURRICULUM MEETINGS, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD
Come learn more about what your child will be learning this year in school. This year we are trying something new which we hope will be more convenient for parents. Two classes will have their meetings right after drop off and the other two classes will have their meetings right before dismissal. We considered all sibling pairings when designing the schedule so that parents with two children in different classes can attend both meetings. We will also have optional information sessions about our Digital Storytelling Grant led by our technology coordinator, Robin Avina right before/after the class sessions. Should you be unable to attend the meetings, teachers will have information packets available after the meetings are held for you!
Schedule
8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.(Back Math Yurt - optional)
Digital Storytelling Overview
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Grades PKK Curriculum Meeting(students will be doing activities with Laura in the front yurt!)
Grades 3/4 Curriculum Meeting (students will be doing activities with Christine in the Grade 5/6 room)
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Grades 1/2 Curriculum Meeting (students will be in their art elective)
Grades 5/6 Curriculum Meeting (students will be in their PE elective)
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. (Back Math Yurt - optional)
Digital Storytelling Overview
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GATES AND SUCH
Some parents have requested that we open the side gate between the music yurt and the main building during drop off and pick up. We had decided to keep it closed this year for security reasons. During the busyness of the morning and afternoon pickups, the gates are often left unlocked and we have had many stray dogs and people wander on campus. Additionally with the younger students on campus this year, we wanted to doubly ensure that the campus was secure and that no children had a chance to wander into the parking lot.
However, we recognize the bottleneck that occurs with more people trying to come through the prekindergarten and kindergarten gate. We will do our best to remember to unlock the lower gate from 8:00 - 8:15 a.m. and from 2:40 - 3:00 each day. Should you encounter it locked, please be patient and kindly let us know so we can remember to unlock it. You can also enter the school on the left side of the main building near the Grade 3/4 classroom which doesn't have nearly the bottleneck. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to balance convenience and safety. |
 ELECTIVE PROGRAM
The fall electives will start the first week of September and run through the end of November. The classes are held every Wednesday from 12:45 - 1:45. Sign up sheets were sent home the first day of school. Classes will include:
Drama - Jennifer Downs (closed)
Handwork - Angie Ell
Hula - Kumu Mauli Ola
Advanced Music Workshop - Kirk Smart
Gardening - Laura Check
Digital Media - Paul Clark & Joel Guy
About 10 students still need to turn in their forms! Please do so this week by Friday.
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PE UNIFORMS/FIELD TRIPS
Please remember that students should wear black athletic type shorts and PE shirts to school on PE days. If your child has outgrown his/her PE shorts and they are still in good condition, you might consider donating the shorts back to the school for us to pass down to the younger children. (Thank you to Tora Smart for this idea!)
Students should also wear socks and athletic shoes for P.E. for safety purposes.The ground can get slick so please make sure the shoes have adequate traction. Skateboarding or Ked type shoes should not be worn.
The PE schedule is as follows:
Mondays and Wednesdays - Grades PREK - 2
Tuesdays and Thursdays - Grades 3-6
It would also be appreciated if students wear their KPS shirts on all school field trips so that we can easily identify students and to help the rest of Kaua'i learn more about our phenomenal school. |
 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
KPS is looking for ONE OR TWO kind-hearted souls with "green hearts" who can help us coordinate the Hi5 program which will include checking the Hi-5 area regularly and working with the class teachers to organize the weekly Hi-5 trips to the recycling center at Common Ground.
Contact Chris Skabo (chris@kauaipacific.org) or Lisa Mireles (lisa@kauaipacific.org) if you are interested in helping out with either of the two projects this year.
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WASTE FREE LUNCHES
It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 3,350 pounds of lunch waste for a school our size. One of the KPS core values is inspiring our children to be exemplary stewards of sustainability. In the back to school packet sent to you over the summer, we included information on waste free lunches. A waste free lunch means that there is no waste when the students are done with their lunch. Sending in reusable silverware and napkins is a great start. Putting all food in reusable containers is another terrific step. My favorite resource is WASTE FREE LUNCHES.org
You can also type in Eco Friendly lunches or Waste Free Lunches into your favorite search engine. I went to Amazon.com and typed in eco-friendly lunch boxes and several options popped up! Take a moment to click your way into making a small change that will make a big difference in helping the environment!
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 PARTIES AND TREATS ON CAMPUS
Just a reminder that our school policy in this area reads as follows:
Celebrations are an exciting part of school life. It is usually a time to honor someone or something. On these or other special occasions, please send simple, healthy delights, which all children will be able to enjoy. Please be extra sensitive to students who are vegan, sugar-free and/or wheat free. It breaks our hearts watching a child struggle when a parent brings non-healthy snacks that cannot be enjoyed by all. PLEASE HELP US IN THIS AREA - WE ENCOURAGE NON-FOOD TREATS AND/OR ORGANIC WHEAT FREE AND SUGAR FREE SNACKS. Also, kindly discuss all plans ahead of time (24 hours notice) with the classroom teacher. The teachers spend a great deal of time planning their instruction and appreciate notice so that they can modify plans. Sometimes, there are also other dietary restrictions that you need to be aware of!
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TEACHER WISH LIST
Please check the boards outside your child's classroom to see if the teacher has posted a wish list. Although we have a generous budget for classroom supplies, each year there are a few extra special items that would be nice to have in the classroom. Some of these are things you might already have at home. We are happy to give you a donation letter for tax purposes should you decide to donate something. One item our new music teacher would like are some new keyboards. Several keyboards were generously donated by Miriam Clarke a few years ago but the humidity has gotten to them and we need five new keyboards to teach the children how to play. If you are interested in donating one or more, please contact Sam Alfiler at sam@kauaipacific.org.
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 IMPORTANT DATES
Wednesday, August 26th
Grades 5/6 Totally Electric Field Trip
Depart School at 7:45 a.m.
Thursday, August 27th
Fundraising Meeting
2:00 p.m. at KPS
Saturday, August 28th
Work Day Part 2! The Fun Continues....
Thursday, September 3rd
Curriculum Meetings
8:30 a.m. - Grades PK and Grades 3/4
1:30 p.m. - Grades 1/2 and Grades 5/6
Monday, September 7th
Labor Day Holiday - No School
Monday, September 14th - Friday, September 18th
Reading and Writing Assessments
Tuesday, September 29th
School Picture Day!
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