Winter Time

If you read last week’s letter, you may remember that I said the school was providing hard copies of the weekly letter only last Thursday so that all parents would be able to read the information about our assessment system and be better prepared for the December 5-6 conferences.

However, I realize that not all of our families can access the website easily (e.g., no computers in the home). The school website should be the primary means of communicating with all our families, as it is for the middle school and high school. We’re trying to prepare you for Edline, which you will have to access in order to check on your child’s academic progress and any other school-related information in the middle and high school. Since our communication with you each Thursday is important, we will a few print for those of you who don’t have website access copies of each Thursday letter and other schoolwide information flyers. Beginning today, copies will be left on the coffee table in the Wilcox reception area (elementary school’s main office). We’ll continue this procedure through the next semester. I do hope this accommodation will help. We are not printing the individual class pages which often include updated photos.

We are so grateful to the `Ohana for treating the faculty and staff to an incredible breakfast buffet last Friday. From 6:30am, all of Wilcox smelled of pancakes and waffles, made fresh and hot that morning! Tables were decorated with balloons and baskets of roses. Check our website for recent photos of this celebration. Many thanks to our parents Nathan Gudoy, Paul Czubryt, Kim Soares, Susan Donlon, Karen Kawamura, Peter Hochman, Sarah Muraoka, Wendy D’Innocenti, Teri Young, Judy Dang, Sara Clarke, and Heidi Kubo. What a team!

Kindergarten through Grade 5 and the faculty will participate in the Walk for Diabetes. The route will take students through the entire MPI campus. Monies raised will go to the American Diabetes Association. Schools participating in these types of events usually receive a percentage from sponsors, but we decided that our monies should go to a needy school. So a New Orleans school devastated by the hurricanes will be receiving our donation. Every MPI student will receive a pedometer — and be on the road to better health.

Our last schoolwide assembly for the calendar year is December 14, 8:15am. The Sixth Graders and Fifth Graders have been working on a special peace project, which they’ll share, at the assembly.

We’re excited about our first Christmas program on our new campus on December 15. The program will begin at 7:00pm, not 6:30pm as originally scheduled, due to the number of sports events on campus. We’ll have two large tents and chairs set up on our courtyard lawn. We’ll need a few parents to help us set up the folding chairs. If you can help, please let the Ms. Jacobson or Mrs. Schultz know (441-3800). Our music teacher, Ms. Koshi, has details about the program on the website. We’ll provide a few copies of this information on our coffee table. Please read the information so that you know what your child should be wearing, what time to be in school, etc. Pray for clear weather.

Our last day of school is next Friday, December 16. We will be having a special gathering, preschool through fifth grade, in Wilcox Dining Room at 11:00am, which has always been a tradition in the elementary school. We’ll share the Christmas Story and sing carols together.
You’re welcome to join us. Friday is a regular school day with afterschool program.

Many thanks to Iris Ching and the Fifth Graders for decorating the Dining Room with such clever-looking snowpeople.

I plan to write a letter for next Thursday, so look for it on the website. We will be sending home copies of your child’s performance continua, curriculum summaries from the specialists, and conference summaries after December 16.

I’m hoping to get my Christmas tree up and decorated this weekend – after the Manoa Christmas Parade in which our preschoolers are joyful participants!

For our children,

Edna L. Hussey
Principal

Posted on December 8, 2005 1:35 PM | Permalink