Elementary Campus Updates

We’ve decided to go completely online!
So I hope our parents will remember to check the school website every Thursday, either midpac.edu or p5.midpac.edu, for the Thursday letters and classroom information.

This past Saturday, I experienced another one of those golden moments that reaffirm the wisdom of our decision to become MPI’s elementary school. Nearly 40 elementary and middle school chorus members charmed over 50 MPI alumni at the Legacy luncheon with an entertaining repertoire of songs. The touching finale was when the children walked out into the audience and held hands with the kupuna alumni, while young and old proudly sang the MPI alma mater. Anyone there couldn’t help but feel the emotional surge as voices merged into one, clear resounding voice. Truly chicken skin.

I left last night’s `Ohana (preschool & elementary parent group) meeting feeling proud and honored to work with such dedicated parents. Although they have graciously accepted their leadership roles on various committees, they must still rely on your support to get the jobs done. The `Ohana’s main goal is to support the children, faculty and staff, which they do by organizing many special activities throughout the year. Next upcoming event is Spooktivity, October 29. When I left last night, three parents of preschoolers were still at work planning a December event. That’s dedication. How grateful we are to our parent leaders and to all of you who support our efforts.

Associate Director of Admission Ella Browning is asking for parent volunteers to assist with the schoolwide Open House for admissions on October 29. Four preschool/elementary tours are being offered to the public: 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am, and 12:30pm. We need parents to help the student docents and share your experiences as an MPI parent. If you’re interested, please call Ella at 441-3757.

The faculty and I continue our discussions on students’ progress portfolios. Our intent is to help students view their work on portfolios as a learning strategy and for the faculty to use the portfolio as a resource for improving curriculum and instruction. It’s uncommon for a school’s faculty to actually be on the “same page” when it comes to assessment practices. So it’s pretty amazing that the elementary (and preschool) teachers can be as focused as they are on the assessment of student learning. Your children have already begun to make thoughtful choices for their progress portfolios and are learning how to reflect on their learning processes. We’ll be bringing samples of student work to our faculty meetings to discuss what we’re finding about how the children view their learning.

Our efforts in raising funds for the survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf area are going well. We will continue to have a bake sale on Thursday and Friday (thanks to the parents of Grade 5 (Black) and Multiage 3-4 (Byrne, Andersen, Fukumoto, and Lorenzana). After all the fundraising is completed, we’ll report the elementary school’s total contributions. Parents, if you want your children to purchase snacks, we suggest a few dollars ($2-$3), which will go a long way.

Parents, we’re happy some of you have made fast friends and enjoy your conversations after dropping off your children. However, we have begun admissions tours to small groups of interested parents, and we need all the available parking for them. They begin arriving about 8:20am, and Ella Browning starts the tours at 8:30am.
Thanks for your cooperation.

For our children,

Edna L. Hussey
Principal

P.S.: I completed my book, When We were Orphans, on Monday evening. The last 3-4 chapters were especially intriguing. An interesting look at memories and what we bring to the fore when we recall people and events.

Posted on October 13, 2005 12:09 PM | Permalink