Welcome Back!

During the two weeks of spring break when the office staff was working, Mrs. Schultz occasionally commented, “Gosh, I miss the children! It’s too quiet in here!” And I readily admit that it was wonderful to see the children return to school, albeit a little out of sorts, the happy result of a fun vacation or readjusting to back-to-school routines. Most of the children eagerly sought out their friends, exchanging stories about spring-break adventures. Judging from the level of conversation among friends in the dining room at lunchtime, I’d say your children are happy to be back. (And I’m sure you’re happier than they are!)

The two-week hiatus gave the maintenance crew time to work on unfinished facility projects. Floors in every classroom, including the dining room, were stripped, waxed, and buffed to a mirror-like shine. Just beautiful! A few preschool doors were replaced with permanent doors. However, the incessant rains did do some minor damage to Scudder Dining Hall on the middle and high school campus. This past Friday when the rains hammered the entire state, the Civil Defense strongly advised that all working staff evacuate the school. We were expecting the overflow from Manoa stream to flood the streets, so we left without hesitation. I’m pleased (and relieved!) to report that the preschool and elementary school held up very well, except for completely saturated grassy areas. The sunshine and trade winds should help to soak up the moisture.

We now have three security gates installed—at the fire lane entrance along the multiage 3-4 classrooms, by the main entrance to Wilcox, and between the restrooms and Wilcox dining room. These gates are part of the original school plan but had not been completed for the opening of the school back in August. The painters were just applying a coat of forest green to a set of gates yesterday afternoon. The fire lane gate will be partially opened to allow maintenance crews to drive in with equipment. However, after 8:15am, the end of the preschool drop-off period, anyone coming onto the preschool/elementary campus must enter through the Wilcox office. The gates will be locked after 8:15am for security purposes. Anyone from inside the gates will be able to exit the campus through the gates. After 6:00pm, all gates will be locked.

One more project is still underway — a new sandbox for the preschoolers. The design will allow for the preschoolers to move between two sandbox areas to transport sand, which they often like to do.

The entire school, from preschool through fifth grade, was treated to a production of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by the A.D. Players from Texas. Two very talented performers enacted the roles of the four children, the Witch, Aslan, and other famous characters, using masks. With the aid of sound effects and music, these individuals were able to effectively convey the drama and adventure of Lewis’ most famous work. There was a brief Q & A session after the performance, and it seemed that most children were fascinated by the production elements, e.g., how sounds were made, what the masks were made of, how long it took to rehearse, etc. The children were an excellent audience.

Next week, the multiage 3-4 classes will be away March 12-13 for their annual excursion to the Big Island. This year’s focus of their two-year social studies/science curriculum is on the historical, political, and cultural aspects of Hawaii.

This Saturday will be the final kindergarten assessment for 2006-2007 admission to MPI, 8:00-11:30am. Looks like we will have every space filled from preschool to fifth grade and a waitpool at each grade level. Ella Browning, the associate director of admission, and our faculty assessment teams have been working very hard with all applicants.

We are grateful to have mostly sunny days. But do heed the beach warnings regarding bacteria levels.

For our children,

Edna L. Hussey
Principal

Posted on April 6, 2006 10:14 AM | Permalink