Principal`s Message - Noelani Elementary School

NOELANI SCHOOL PARENT BULLETIN
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February 14, 2013
Artist:
Aaron Au
Principal’s Message
Dear Parents and Friends,
Thank you to all of the parents and family members for supporting our annual JOG-a-thon. This PTA
fundraising event is a fun way to educate students about the importance of health and fitness for
school-aged children while raising monies to support Noelani’s physical education program. Last week
Friday was a great day – all of the students and faculty had fun running in the sun! A special thank you
to Mrs. Kau (Rayna & Charissa’s mom) and Mrs. Lum (our PE teacher) for spearheading the event!
On Wednesday, February 20, our 4th grade students will depart for their annual Big Island Trip. The
Big Island trip is the culminating activity to the fourth graders’ study of Hawaiian History. During the
three-day trip, the students will experience the history and wonder about the early life of the Hawaiians. Their visit will include the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Lyman Museum, Pu’uhonua O Honaunau (the City of Refuge) and Imiloa Astronomy Center. Please visit Mrs. Brummel’s (A5), Mr. Fukushima’s (A6), and/or Mr. Lam’s (A12) website to follow their travels and adventures.
March 1 is the deadline for submitting Geographic Exceptions (GE). If you have moved and are not
currently living in our geographic area, it is important that you submit a GE by the deadline in order to
participate in the lottery and possibly have your child remain at Noelani. If you submit a GE after the
deadline, you will be placed last on the waitlist.
Our 5th grade students are also anxiously awaiting their annual North Shore over-night excursion to
Kualoa Ranch & District Park and the Turtle Bay resort. It is a fun field trip for students learning about
different environmental issues and career opportunities. The students depart on Thursday, March 14
and return on Friday, March 15.
Finally, I would like to remind you that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety of our students at all times. We humbly ask all of the adults to adhere to the following school procedures:
•
Visitor procedures: During school hours, all parents/visitors should report to the office to signin and receive a Visitor pass/badge before proceeding to any classroom.
•
ID tags/badge: All employees, adults and visitors should wear and be easily identified by the
use a School ID badge.
•
Before school supervision: There is no formal supervision of students before school. Students
should wait in the cafeteria or at areas designated by teachers until the bell rings.
•
After school supervision: For students not enrolled in an after school program, parents should
make arrangements for students to wait at designated areas for pick-up. All students should be
picked up within a reasonable time. Students should not be loitering around school or playing
on the playground equipment without parent supervision.
•
Report strangers/strange behaviors: Please inform your children that they should report any
suspicious people or behaviors to an adult immediately. Do not approach them.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation. Your child’s safety and welfare is of utmost
importance to us.
Sincerely,
Rochelle Mahoe, Ph.D.
Principal
2013 School Quality Survey (SQS) for Parents
All grade 4 and 5 parents should have received a School Quality Survey earlier this month (via their
child). Please take the time to complete the survey and mail it to the DOE using the enclosed envelope.
The information collected is used to provide the school (and state) with feedback as to how we are doing as a school. Thank you in advance for your participation. The surveys must be postmarked by
February 28.
GEOGRAPHIC EXCEPTIONS
Current returning students on GE’s, do not need to renew their GE for 2013-2014. Incoming students and
presently enrolled students who have moved out of the Noelani School district, but wish to remain at Noelani, must apply for the Geographic Exception.
Noelani students who are applying to another public school and those who are applying for middle school
can submit their forms to our school office.
Incoming Kindergartners and new students to the DOE must submit their forms to their home school.
We will accept application forms from Jan. 1 thru March 1, 2013.
Siblings of students presently enrolled at Noelani on a Geographic Exception must submit their GE forms
by March 1st to be considered Priority 2. Any forms after March 1st will be placed on a Priority 4 list.
Application forms are available at any public school. Submit the completed application with a selfaddressed stamped envelope. Multiple applications to various schools are suggested in the event the
school enrollment may be filled to capacity. The chance lottery at Noelani will be during the first week in
April.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Registration begins in February for all kindergartners. If you know of anyone living in our district who has a child
who will be 5 years old by Dec. 31, 2013, please notify them of the registration period. To register, you will need
to bring in these documents: Form 14 (health card) with a current TB test, birth certificate, and 2 current utility
bills to verify your address. You may call our school office at 988-1858 for more information or visit our school
website at www.noelani.k12.hi.us
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FROM THE PTA: Noelani Jogathon
Thank you Noelani Ohana for making Jogathon 2013 a success! This event would not have been possible
without the following hard-working volunteers that did everything from soliciting donations for prizes to
cheering on our student athletes as they took a step towards a healthier lifestyle.
Christine Anzai
Valerica Dinu
Bertram Jung
Katina Marx
Daita Serghi
Fay Atebara
Misuk Do
Boochun Jung
Doug McCulloch
Doran Smith
Lisa Au
Phil Doerr
Eva Jung
Kaleen Miyasato
Kimberly Soares
Bob Benham
Brian Dote
Cara Kakuda
Darci Murakawa
Linda Suzuki
Maricel Blackwell
John Dye
Ray Kakuda
Bert Nakamura
Cheryl Takabayashi
Amanda Blodgett
Joyce Eshima
Aren Kaneshiro
Lee Ann Oishi
Kimi Takazawa
Jackie Breeden
Jennifer Farm Theros
Wendy Kawabata
Shigemi Okada
Ty Tengan
Patrick Breeden
Chris Folan
Ehito Kimura
Lon Okimoto
Jaimie Tom
Virginie Ching
Kimberly Funasaki
Ross Kinsler
Ivy Terakawa
Mike Toyama
Ray Chiu
Lisa Furuta
Ed Korybski
Sara Oshiro
Remy Toyama
Robin Chock
Ken Goodman
Bert Nakamura
Anna Pang
Norris Uehara
Lydia Cox
Jayson Harper
Sherilyn Kimura
Jin Park
Lorrie Unruh
Travis Cox
Todd Hedges
Richard Langford
Barbra Pleadwell
Sandra Valla
Hildre Crookes
Harry Hui
Dongmei Li
Christine Quemuel
Kathleen Vickers
Yumiko Ishida
Yong Li
Maribela Ruano
Jane Wang
Chenoa Diehm-
Celine Israel
Jose Israel
Desiree Loperfido
Inessa Love
Hiroko Sakurai
Sylvia Wang
Jean Zheng
Morris
Neculai Dinu
Jose Israel
Nicolle Israel
Inessa Love
Jelena Maricic
Lola Salimova
Lisa Sapp
Jean Zheng
Herrera
We’d like to recognize our dedicated committee chairs – Kimi Takazawa, Lisa Furuta, Sandra Valla, Shigemi
Okada, Inessa Love, and Maurice Matsuzaki – and thank them for their generous donation of time, energy,
and creativity in heading up the bulletin board, warm-up raffle, incentive prize, and logistics committees. We
would also like to give a sincere thanks to Jenni Matheson for being the guest speaker at our kick-off ceremony.
Special thanks to the Noelani PTA Board, faculty, administration, cafeteria, and custodial staff for your support, participation, and patience!! We’d also like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to those
who willingly filled in where help was needed whom may not be listed here.
Due to everyone’s hard work in collecting sponsorship donations, the funds raised this year went to retaining Mrs. Lum’s excellent physical education services; purchasing an automatic ice machine, which
supports school events year-round, and replacement physical education items.
Mahalo,
Michelle Kau, Jogathon 2013 Chair
LOST AND FOUND
Please check the lost and found area in the cafeteria for your child’s belongings. At the end of each quarter, we will be donating the items to a non-profit agency.
Book of the Month
Mossy by Jan Brett
Life at Lilypad Pond for Mossy the turtle seems perfect. Everyday brought a surprise as a garden of curlicue moss, spring wild?lowers, and wild strawberries begin to grow on Mossy’s back. She even meets another turtle, Scoot, the handsomest turtle she’d ever seen. Then Dr. Carolina spots Mossy and decides that Mossy would make an extraordinary exhibit at the museum as a garden-­‐growing turtle. Soon Dr. Carolina’s niece, Tory, notices that Mossy is no longer happy. They have an idea to keep the amazing wonder of Mossy on exhibit and still return her home to Scoot and misty, moisty Lilypad Pond.
Calendar of Events
FEB. MARCH
11-14
15
18
20-22
22
Gr. 3 HSA Testing
Gr. PK Au’s Garden Restaurant
Gr. 4 & 5 HTY Play
President’s Day Holiday - no school
Gr. 4 Big Island Trip
JPO Bowling
6
7
13
14-15
15
18-22
25
26
29
Gr. 2 Roosevelt High
Gr. 1 UH Magoon Labs
Gr. 2 Kewalo Tide Pools
Gr. 5 Turtle Bay
3rd Quarter ends
Spring Break
HSTA & UPW DLWOP - no school
Prince Kuhio Holiday - no school
Good Friday Holiday - no school
APRIL
4
5
8-12
13
15-19
22-26
22
23
23-25
26
30
Gr. 1 UH Magoon Labs
Report cards distribution
Gr. 5 HSA Testing
Beautification Day 8-11am
Gr. 4 HSA Testing
Gr. 3 HSA Testing
Gr. 4 (A6) Ka Papa Lo’i O Kanewai
Gr. 4 (A5 & A12) Ka Papa Lo’i O Kanewai
Gr. 2 Terra Nova Testing
JPO Field Day
Gr. 1 UH Magoon Labs
MAY
3
17
21
23
24
May Fair
Gr. 3-5 Ice Palace
Gr. 5 Banquet
Awards Assembly - 8:30am
Gr. 5 Graduation - 8:45am
Last day for students - full day