16 Dec

Extra Change of Clothing for Your Keiki

Now that we are in the heart of mud season here at Mount Kahili, please be sure to put an extra change of clothes in your child’s backpack so they are able to change if they get muddy or wet.

We are also happily receiving clothing donations of all sizes/genders for children who do not have extra clothes! Extra shoes/slippers are also welcomed and kept as loaners in the shoe rack right outside the main office.

16 Dec

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree in our front office is to show our appreciation for all the hard work and time our facilitators at Alaka’i O Kaua’i invest with our keiki. In the main office, you will find a Giving Tree with paper ornaments that include teacher’s name and what they may be needing or hoping for in their classrooms. Pick up your ornament today, and please be sure to return it attached to your wrapped gift, to the large wrapped box located by the Giving Tree in main office by no later than Dec. 20th. Please join us in saying thank you to our awesome facilitators!

16 Dec

School Photos

Our Photo Retake Day has been rescheduled to Thursday, January 17th. If your child was absent on the previous photo day, or you would like a picture retake, please put this date on your calendar. Order forms will be available at the front desk once we return from Winter Break.

16 Dec

Volunteer Requirements

At Alaka’i O Kaua’i, we love and appreciate all of our volunteers!  If you haven’t already done so, please get a volunteer application and fingerprinting/background check packet if you intend to continue (or begin) volunteering with us in the school. We ask that everyone please complete these packets as soon as possible! We will also be holding a training for all volunteers in the beginning of January, when we get back from winter break. Anyone who has not completed a volunteer application/packet by January 11th will need to wait until it’s complete to continue volunteering. Thank you for your support and cooperation!

16 Dec

Reminders Regarding Arrival and Dismissal

Please note that school begins at 8:15 a.m. Please drop your child off by 8:10 a.m. so they make it to class on time. This is very important for the flow of our classroom schedules and their morning meetings.

Similarly, we want to remind you also that dismissal is at 2:25 p.m. Please do not sign your child out early unless absolutely necessary. We also discourage parents arriving early to pick their children and lingering in the corridor outside the classrooms before 2:20 p.m. — this is disruptive to the classes and distracting for our students.

In the interest of safety, please notify your child’s teacher or the office If your child is going home with someone other than the regular parent or carpool driver.  

Please make sure that the valet sign with your child’s name and teacher is located in the upper right-hand corner of your vehicle so that we can easily read it to help facilitate the valet line. If your sign is missing or damaged and you would like a more durable laminated sign, just let us know. We will be happy to give you a new one!

Lastly, please DO NOT park in the front circle, especially during drop-off or pick-up — it creates blockages for the flow of traffic. Parking is to the side of the school building, up by the gym (the less muddy option), or down the hill in the lower parking lot.

16 Dec

Seeking a Few Winter Break Volunteers

Hanging out on Kauai for winter break? Looking for a way to support your school? We are looking for just a few volunteers to help paint and reorganize a certain space in our school (what will become the new teachers lounge!) If you happen to have paint brushes, paint pans or rollers we can borrow, or just some willing helping hands, we would greatly appreciate your support! This project will take place the first week of January. Contact Claire if you can offer a few hours of help January 2-4th.

We are also looking for several donated items for our new teachers’ lounge:

  • One comfy chair
  • One coffee table or a couple of small end tables
  • Shelving
08 Dec

Upcoming Events

(Please see the school calendar for more information)

Friday, Dec. 14, 12:30-1:40 p.m.: PBL Presentation of Learning (POL) – All Grades

Dec. 24-Jan. 8: Winter Break (no school)

Jan. 10, 2:45 p.m.: Ohana Network Meeting in the Library

Jan. 21: No School – Martin Luther King Day

Jan. 31: End of First Semester

Feb. 11: Reports cards sent home

08 Dec

Lights on Rice Parade

Alaka’i O Kaua’i participated in the Lights on Rice Parade on Friday, Dec. 7. We had a great turnout of families and staff draped in lights and wearing holiday apparel, with decorated scooters, strollers, and wagons, and the peace bus made an appearance, too, adorned with lights! It was great to see our school represented in this special annual event! Thank you to all who joined us. A great night was had by all!

 

Project Based Learning
08 Dec

School Garden

Our K-7th learners have been hard at work in the school garden this week in preparation for the Presentation of Learning on Dec. 14. Mr. Jon, our wonderful facilities manager, rototilled the soil, added amendments, and created rows so the ground was ready for our learners to plant seeds and plants. In the months to come, we will be harvesting various types of peppers, onions, lettuce, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, and herbs.

Linda Krystek, the Interim Director, took Miss Katie’s and Miss Amy’s classes on  walking field trips of our beautiful grounds, where learners discovered tangerines, oranges, bananas, guavas, grapefruit, ginger root, taro, and macadamia nuts growing at Mount Kahili Park. Each learner left with at least one sample of the produce growing here on the property!

08 Dec

Library Book Drive

We are actively working to expand our school and classroom libraries. We welcome new or gently used children’s books, ranging in level from kindergarten to middle school, of varying topics and genres. We are especially in need of chapter books. Just drop them in the designated box in the library!

08 Dec

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree in our front office is to show our appreciation for all the hard work and time our facilitators at Alaka’i O Kaua’i invest with our keiki. In the main office, you will find a Giving Tree with paper ornaments that include teacher’s name and what they may be needing or hoping for in their classrooms. Pick up your ornament today, and please be sure to return it attached to your wrapped gift, to the large wrapped box located by the Giving Tree in main office by no later than Dec. 20th. Please join us in saying thank you to our awesome facilitators!

08 Dec

School Photos

School photos went home yesterday with our learners. If you ordered photos and did not receive your child’s packet, please let us know.

Our Photo Retake Day has been rescheduled to January 17th (It is no longer on 12/12). If your child was absent on the previous photo day, or you would like a picture retake, please put this date on your calendar. Order forms will be available at the front desk once we return from Winter Break.

08 Dec

Writers’ Workshop

Writer’s Workshop is the framework for writing instruction and practice that is used in our Alaka’i O Kaua’i K-7th classrooms. The curriculum that will be utilized is the Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing, where learners write frequently, for extended periods of time, and on topics of their own choosing. Using a workshop model format, which tailors and adapts instruction to specific learners and classrooms, writing instruction at Alaka’i O Kaua’i will include the following components:

  • Direct instruction/mini-lesson
  • Independent writing
  • Individual facilitator/learner conferences (during independent writing)
  • Shared writing experiences, particularly in the primary grades
  • Partner and small group work
  • Sharing

Trade books and mentor texts are often used during the Writers’ Workshop to model effective writing techniques, encourage learners to read as writers, and provide background knowledge. Facilitators will access prior knowledge through a connection, articulate and model the teaching point, engage the learners in the opportunity to practice, provide an opportunity for writers to share their work with each other, confer individually or in small groups, and differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners including subgroups.

08 Dec

Volunteer Requirements

At Alaka’i O Kaua’i, we love and appreciate all of our volunteers!  If you haven’t already done so, please get a volunteer application and fingerprinting/background check packet if you intend to continue (or begin) volunteering with us in the school. We ask that everyone please complete these packets as soon as possible! We will also be holding a training for all volunteers in the beginning of January, when we get back from winter break. Anyone who has not completed a volunteer application/packet by January 11th will need to wait until it’s complete to continue volunteering. Thank you for your support and cooperation!

08 Dec

Seeking a Few Winter Break Volunteers

Hanging out on Kauai for winter break? Looking for a way to support your school? We are looking for just a few volunteers to help paint and reorganize a certain space in our school (what will become the new teachers lounge!) If you happen to have paint brushes, paint pans or rollers we can borrow, or just some willing helping hands, we would greatly appreciate your support! This project will take place the first week of January. Contact Claire if you can offer a few hours of help January 2-4th.

We are also looking for several donated items for our new teachers’ lounge:

  • One comfy chair
  • One coffee table or a couple of small end tables
  • Shelving
02 Dec

Upcoming Events

(Please see the school calendar for more information)

Dec. 4: Coffee and Conversation, 8:15 a.m. in the library

Dec. 5:  Alaka’i Ohana Network, 2:45 p.m. in the library

Dec. 7: Lights on Rice Parade, 5:30 p.m. at Kukui Grove

Friday, Dec. 14, 12:30-1:40 p.m.: PBL Presentation of Learning (POL) – All Grades

Dec. 24-Jan. 8: Winter Break (no school)

Jan. 21: No School – Martin Luther King Day

Jan. 31: End of First Semester

02 Dec

Lights Lights LIGHTS! — Info on the Lights on Rice Parade

We hope that all our ohana can participate with us in the Lights on Rice Parade this Friday! This week we are collecting donations of Christmas lights, glow sticks, Santa hats and candy canes. Please bring donations to the main office.

At the parade, please wear your purple school shirts and lots of LIGHTS! School shirts for adults and children are still available for purchase in the school office.

On Friday, we will meet at 5:45 p.m. at Vindihna Stadium. The parade will line up at 6:15 p.m., and the parade begins at 6:30 p.m. If you have trouble finding us, there will be an info booth on the ballpark side of the stadium and they can help direct you.

Carpooling is recommended to either Vindinhna Stadium, or you can take the shuttle from Kukui Grove and “hoof it” to the stadium to line up.

This year we will not have a float, which is all the more reason to make sure we have a large group of walkers, wearing their school logo shirts, representing our awesome school!

Please RSVP to Claire or Gabby if your family will be participating in this event so we have a rough headcount of how many will be with us.

If you have any further questions about the Lights on Rice Parade please contact Gabby Sasil at sasil@live.com or Claire at claire.woolger@alakaiokauai.org.

For more information, click here.

02 Dec

Reminders Regarding Arrival and Dismissal

Please note that school begins at 8:15 a.m. Please drop your child off by 8:10 a.m. so they make it to class on time. This is very important for the flow of our classroom schedules and their morning meetings.

Similarly, we want to remind you also that dismissal is at 2:25 p.m. Please do not sign your child out early unless absolutely necessary. We also discourage parents arriving early to pick their children and lingering in the corridor outside the classrooms before 2:20 p.m. — this is disruptive to the classes and distracting for our students.

In the interest of safety, please notify your child’s teacher or the office If your child is going home with someone other than the regular parent or carpool driver.  

Please make sure that the valet sign with your child’s name and teacher is located in the upper right-hand corner of your vehicle so that we can easily read it to help facilitate the valet line. If your sign is missing or damaged and you would like a more durable laminated sign, just let us know. We will be happy to give you a new one!

Lastly, please DO NOT park in the front circle, especially during drop-off or pick-up — it creates blockages for the flow of traffic. Parking is to the side of the school building, up by the gym (the less muddy option), or down the hill in the lower parking lot.

02 Dec

Take a Seat at the Buddy Bench

Our learners love hanging out together at our school’s buddy bench. A buddy bench is a simple idea to eliminate loneliness and foster friendship on the playground. Alaka’i O Kaua’i wants to spread the message of inclusion and kindness! Girl Scout Troop 823 helped make this possible, and we thank them for this generous gift!

Click here to read The Garden Island’s article!

02 Dec

Walmart Foundation Grant

Alaka’i recently got a shipment of new iPads and Chromebooks for our keiki, thanks to a Walmart Foundation Grant of $32,500. We are so thankful for this generous gift, which has allowed us to purchase some much-needed technology for our school.

02 Dec

Top Ten Benefits of a Flexible Seating Classroom

Walk into any classroom at Alaka’i O Kaua’i, and you notice something is different. You won’t find learners seated in traditional rows of desks during instruction. Flexible seating helps create a more active, engaged, enthusiastic, and relaxed room of students! This article lists the top ten benefits for incorporating flexible seating into our classrooms.

02 Dec

Seeking a Few Winter Break Volunteers

Hanging out on Kauai for winter break? Looking for a way to support your school? We are looking for just a few volunteers to help paint and reorganize a certain space in our school (what will become the new teachers lounge!) If you happen to have paint brushes, paint pans or rollers we can borrow, or just some willing helping hands, we would greatly appreciate your support! This project will take place the first week of January. Contact Claire if you can offer a few hours of help January 2-4th.

We are also looking for several donated items for our new teachers’ lounge:

  • One comfy chair
  • One coffee table or a couple of small end tables
  • Shelving
02 Dec

iLEAD Students Prepare for Launch to Space Station

A team of iLEAD students is preparing to send a science experiment aboard the SpaceX-16 Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled to launch on December 4.

The project is part of a partnership between iLEAD and DreamUp, the leading provider of space-based educational opportunities. The students’ experiment, which will be on the ISS for approximately four weeks, tests whether black coffee kills a type of bacteria found in everyday plaque on teeth in microgravity in the same way it does on Earth. This launch opportunity is made possible via DreamUp’s partnership with NanoRacks and its Space Act Agreement with NASA.

Click here to read more!

And click here to watch the livestream of the rocket launch on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m. EST!

25 Nov

Upcoming Events

(Please see the school calendar for more information)

Nov 26, 2:45 p.m.: Alaka’i Ohana Network (Parent support organization)

Friday, Dec. 14, 12:30-1:40 p.m.: PBL Presentation of Learning (POL) – All Grades

Dec. 24-Jan. 8: Winter Break (no school)

Jan. 21: No School – Martin Luther King Day

Jan. 31: End of First Semester

25 Nov

Lights on Rice Parade

Alaka’i O Kaua’i will be participating in the Lights on Rice Parade on Friday, December 7th! Please join us for this fun event! We would love to have as many of our families possible walking with us to help spread the word about our school to our island community. We are looking for some donations to make our “float,” as well as decorate all our participants. If you are able to donate any of the following items, we will be so grateful:

  • Christmas lights of all kinds! Lots of lights are needed, including battery-powered Christmas light necklaces
  • Santa hats, elf hats, reindeer antlers, etc.
  • Santa suit
  • Cuties or Halos (mandarins) to hand out
  • Christmas tinsel garlands and garlands of all kinds
25 Nov

Alaka’i Ohana Network

We are very excited that our Ohana Network (our own version of a PTA) is up and running! We’ve had two productive meetings so far, and will hold our third on Monday, Nov. 26th, at 2:45 p.m., just after dismissal, in the library. We would love to have you join us!

17 Nov

Welcoming Our New Director

We are pleased to announce that our new director, Frederick Birkett, will be joining us this week. Mr. Birkett comes to us with many years of experience as a charter school leader.

Mr. Birkett spent 15 years as a charter school principal in Massachusetts, New York City, and Hawaii. In addition, he has a Master’s Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Fred spent eight years as a Captain in the United States Air Force and is author of two books, The Military Parent’s Guide to Public, Private, and Charter Schools; and Charter Schools: A Parent’s Complete Guide to Public, Private, and Charter Schools.

“I am excited about the opportunity to bring my educational background, as well as my experience as a charter school leader, to help support teachers, students, and families at Alaka`i O Kaua`i Charter School,” he said.

We are so fortunate to have him join the Alaka’i O Kaua’i Ohana!

17 Nov

Lessons from the Character Lab

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education.” At Alaka’i O Kaua’i, our goal is to make this vision a reality. Overwhelming scientific evidence now shows that character strengths like self-control, curiosity, and gratitude are critically important to social and emotional well-being, physical health, and achievement.

We incorporate the strengths, skills, and mindsets from Character Lab, an organization founded by Angela Duckworth, the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. These traits, which include optimism, curiosity, purpose, grit, growth mindset, self control, gratitude, and social intelligence, are broken down into strengths of mind, strengths of heart, and strengths of will:

In the same month that we celebrate Thanksgiving, our school has chosen to focus on Gratitude.

Why does gratitude matter?

When you feel gratitude, you feel a sense of abundance. When you express gratitude — especially when it’s heartfelt — you strengthen your relationships with others. Grateful people are happier and more fulfilled. And gratitude leads you to be nicer to other people — more cooperative, patient, and trusting.

How do I encourage gratitude at home?

Model it. Talk about the good things that happen to you: “I love this gorgeous spring day!” Reframe difficulties by highlighting positive aspects: “Work has been stressful lately, but I’m grateful that my boss trusts me with important responsibilities.”

Celebrate it. Acknowledge when someone demonstrates gratitude: “It makes me feel really great when you thank me for what I am doing.” Display thank-you notes you’ve received where others can see them. Post Three Good Things on social media.

Enable it. Keep stationary handy for writing thank-you notes. At dinner, make it a habit to begin by sharing one good thing that happened that day. Establish a birthday ritual to write notes of appreciation.

09 Nov

The Importance of Learning Outside

I love to see learning “al fresco,” as I call it, at Alaka’i O Kaua’i. This week, during my “rounds,” I observed a class doing a writers’ workshop outside under the big tree by the playground, another class solving word problems during math with writing outside under the awnings, and several other classes composting, preparing the soil, and planting new seedlings outside on our beautiful grounds. They even covered the new plants with netting to protect them from the ravenous chickens!

Why is learning outside so important? An article entitled The Benefits of Learning Outside the Classroom states that direct experience outdoors is more motivating and has more impact and credibility.

The results from learning outside the classroom can be instantaneous as well as active and, therefore, impact behavior as well as tap into the learning styles of the more kinesthetic learner.

Through skilled teaching, interpretation or facilitation, learning outside the classroom can readily become a stimulating source of fascination, personal growth and can lead to breakthroughs in learning.

Active learning readily develops the learning skills of inquiry, experiment, feedback, reflection, review, communication, problem solving, an enterprising attitude and cooperative learning.

Quality learning experiences in “real” situations have the capacity to raise achievement across a range of subjects and to develop better personal and social skills. When these experiences are well planned, safely managed, and personalized to meet the needs of every child, they can:

  • Improve academic achievement
  • Provide a bridge to higher order learning
  • Develop skills and independence in a widening range of environments
  • Make learning more engaging and relevant to young people
  • Develop active citizens and stewards of the environment
  • Nurture creativity
  • Provide opportunities for informal learning through play
  • Reduce behavior problems and improve attendance
  • Stimulate, inspire and improve motivation
  • Develop the ability to deal with uncertainty
  • Provide challenge and the opportunity to take acceptable levels of risk
  • Improve young people’s attitudes
09 Nov

Literacy Instruction at Alaka’i O Kaua’i

Dr. Seuss sums up the magic of reading in the following quote: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Learning to read for a variety of purposes is essential to success in school and to learning in general. As an elementary student, your child may be asked to read for pleasure, or they may be asked to read to learn new information. In both cases, solid reading skills are necessary for success.

At Alaka’i O Kaua’i, reading instruction is accomplished through student participation in Daily 5, which is a reader’s workshop format that fosters literacy independence in the elementary grades. Daily 5 is not a curriculum or basal program. It is a research-based instructional model for reading that marries explicit instruction in reading strategies with opportunities for students to practice each reading strategy, not only independently, but with peers, in small groups, and with a teacher. Daily 5 engages every student in meaningful literacy tasks that are proven to have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement. These tasks also foster children who love to read and write! Just walk into a classroom engaged in Daily 5 on any given morning and listen to the chorus of children who eagerly ask, “Teacher, can I read to you today?”

Students receive explicit whole group reading instruction through a daily teacher read-aloud of poetry, fiction, or non-fiction text. During this time, the teacher models best practices in reading to the students. These strategies and practices are chosen from the Literacy CAFE Menu. CAFE stands for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Expanding Vocabulary.

Students are then given independent practice time to read and write, while the facilitator provides focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students. The students are engaged in 5 different activities, which build their stamina as readers and writers.

These activities comprise Read to Self, Read with a Buddy, Listen to Reading, Work on Words, and Work on Writing. During the Read to Self block, students are building stamina as readers, choosing and reading books at their “just right” reading level. While participating in Read to Someone, they are practicing and sharing reading strategies, working on fluency and expression, and checking for understanding.

In Listen to Reading, students hear examples of good literature and fluent reading. They expand their listening and reading vocabularies, thus becoming better readers and writers. While they Work on Writing, students continue the work they have been doing during writer’s workshop, producing a piece of writing based on a strategy or genre being taught during mini-lessons. Lastly, Work on Words allows students to practice spelling patterns, memorize high-frequency words, and add to their knowledge and curiosity of unique and interesting vocabulary.

During reading conferences with individuals and groups, the facilitator gains valuable information about each child’s strengths and greatest needs as a reader, which helps her to better guide instruction. Conferring with students is a powerful tool for finding out what students are thinking as well as finding out what reading strategies they are employing.

Daily 5 is much more than a reading curriculum or management system, it is a structure that will enable students to develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working with peers that will lead not only to a lifetime of independent literacy, but more importantly, a love of reading and writing!

09 Nov

MAP NWEA Computer Adaptive Testing

Our learners were able to begin MAP testing last week, which will provide valuable information about the skills and concepts they have already mastered and what they are ready to learn next.

Alaka’i O Kaua’i partners with MAP NWEA to assess their learners three times a year. MAP, which is an acronym for Measures of Academic Progress, is used by more than 9 million students in the US and in 140 countries worldwide. MAP is a computer-adaptive test. If your child answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If they answer incorrectly, the next one is easier. This type of assessment challenges top performers without overwhelming students whose skills are below grade level.

MAP generates comprehensive student progress reports that predict projected proficiency on state tests, give a nationally normed percentile rank and projected growth target, as well as detailed information about the child’s strengths and areas of growth. These reports will be shared with parents upon completion of testing at the school. For more information about MAP, please read 12 Questions Parents Ask About the MAP Growth Assessment.

09 Nov

Heads-Up from the Health Office!

It’s uku (lice) season, and we wanted to share some information from the Hawaii DOE about prevention, identification, and treatment.

The school health practice for ukus will include:

  • Inspection by the school health aide of a student who may have ukus;
  • Notification of the parent/guardian that the student has ukus;
  • ​After the parent is notified, the student will return to class where they will remain until the end of the school day, unless the parent opts to take their child home to begin treatment;
  • Provision of information on home treatment to the parent/guardian.

Some tips on managing ukus:

  • ​Check your child’s hair at least once a week, and if ukus or nits (eggs) are found, treat promptly. You may call your child’s physician for possible treatment solutions, some of which may be covered by insurance;
  • Educate yourself and your child about ukus and how to treat them if they are found — these are the best prevention measures;
  • Consider keeping your child’s hair slicked back or tied up to reduce risk of acquiring them.
09 Nov

Multicultural Thanksgiving Feast

We will hold our first annual Multicultural Feast on Friday, Nov. 16, at noon. All families are welcome to join us for the festivities. This tradition will be a wonderful way to kick off the Thanksgiving week and allows us to build community and share foods that represent our unique family backgrounds.

Sign up here to volunteer or to bring a main dish, drinks, dessert, or side dish.

Please bring a food dish item that serving at least 6-8 people that best represents the culture in your family to share with our Alaka’i O Kaua’i community! We will set up a feast in each classroom and take our food outside to eat weather permitting. Feel free to represent your family by wearing cultural clothing, Alaka’i O Kaua’i spirit wear, or you can even bring an apron and step in to help serve food!

03 Nov

Halloween Fun at Alaka’i

We had such a fun Halloween at Alaka’i O Kaua’i. The 5th-grade learners put the finishing touches on the Halloween-O-Grams and personally delivered 171 treats to students and staff. Our costume parade started with Miss Casey’s class, and picked up each subsequent class until the whole school was circling the school. It was wonderful seeing so many of our parents and families coming out for our inaugural parade!

The parade then marched up the hill to the field for Trunk or Treating in the shadow of Mt. Kahili! Parents and other volunteers, many in costume, decorated their trunks and passed out treats to our learners. We are so grateful to everyone for making our first Halloween at Alaka’i O Kaua’i such a special day!

03 Nov

What is Morning Meeting?

Every morning, our learners gather together for Morning Meeting. It’s an engaging way to start each day, build a strong sense of community, and set children up for success socially and academically. Each morning, students and teachers gather together in a circle for 20-30 minutes and interact with one another during four purposeful components:

  1. Greeting: Students and teachers greet one another by name and practice offering hospitality.
  2. Sharing: Students share information about important events in their lives. Listeners often offer empathetic comments or ask clarifying questions.
  3. Group Activity: Everyone participates in a brief, lively activity that fosters group cohesion and helps students practice social and academic skills (for example, reciting a poem, dancing, singing, or playing a game that reinforces social or academic skills).
  4. Morning Message: Students read and interact with a short message written by their teacher. The message is crafted to help students focus on the work they’ll do in school that day.
03 Nov

Alaka’i Ohana Network

We are gearing up to start our parent organization, which we are calling the Alaka’i OHANA NETWORK.

All parents or family members who are interested in joining are welcome! The purpose of this very important organization is to create community support for our school — organize events, plan classroom activities, fundraise for the school, etc.

Meetings will be held at the school on the second Thursday of each month. Meetings will also be held virtually through ZOOM, so that anyone who cannot physically join us is able to attend online. Our first meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 8th at 2:45 p.m. To join the meeting online with Zoom, click here. If you have questions about connecting virtually to the meeting, email claire.woolger@alakaiokauai.org.

03 Nov

Multicultural Thanksgiving Feast

We will hold our first annual Multicultural Feast on Friday, Nov. 16, at noon. All families are welcome to join us for the festivities. This tradition will be a wonderful way to kick off the Thanksgiving week and allows us to build community and share foods that represent our unique family backgrounds.

Please bring a food dish item that best represents the culture in your family to share with our Alaka’i O Kaua’i community! Feel free to represent your family by wearing cultural clothing, Alaka’i O Kaua’i spirit wear, or you can even bring an apron and step in to help serve food!

The signup sheet for volunteers and potluck food contributions will be sent out via Sign-up Genius this week!

03 Nov

Ways to Get Involved

Interested in being a “Class Parent”? We would love to have you! Anyone interested in helping support a specific class, please contact the facilitator.

Class Parents are there to support by volunteering in the classroom, organizing special activities, helping coordinate field trips or class parties — whatever the facilitator and class needs! A huge MAHALO to those who have already jumped in to help. We really appreciate you!

04 Sep

September 2018 Newsletter

Dear friends and supporters,

This is a time of many firsts for Alaka‘i O Kaua‘i.  The first day of school for students has been the big one so many have been waiting for. Over the years there were times it looked like it might never happen; we are used to setbacks and have gotten even more resilient over time.  So when Hurricane Lane approached the islands and forced everyone to stop what they were doing to prepare, our teachers and staff also took it in stride. Luckily, Lane appeared to spare us, until the lingering stormy weather dumped torrential rain and flooded the road to school on the morning of our first day!  Our students’ and families’ safety is our number one concern and the reason we had to cancel school at the last minute.

First Day of School: 1st & 2nd Grades Combined Classroom

We were reassured to know that this is a rare occurrence, and only the second time Knudsen Trust had to close the road due to flooding like this. The following day, Wednesday, August 29th, can go down in history for us as our school’s opening day.  For many, it was their first chance to meet their child’s facilitator (teacher) and see the classrooms.

 

The first week was a huge success and already parents and learners are raving about Alaka‘i.  Check out what they are saying:

“We love the school, faculty, staff and families!”

“…I saw the biggest change in my children’s behavior when I picked them up from school yesterday.  They were kind to each other!!!!!…I asked them what’s different about this school than (name withheld) School? They said, “EVERYTHING! We share everything.”…He was so encouraged. My son has always hated school he dreads and complains complains complains! He was so excited to get up and go to school this morning!…”

“My fifth grader went on and on during our ride home about how much he loves his class. Then I found him later looking forlorn. He wishes he was back at school!”

We hope these wonderful feelings of excitement, pride, success, fortitude and inspiration continue to fill our hearts and halls long into the future!

If you have had similarly good experiences with Alaka‘i, please visit our Facebook page to give a rating and review; this will help encourage others to inquire and apply. We currently have a few seats available in all grade levels and hope to fill them fast.

 

Preparing for Learners

August was a busy time for prepping. Our school building has been reawakened as classrooms were cleaned, painted, decorated and furnished. The campus was also part of the preparations as weeds were trimmed and the playground equipment repaired.

Since parents were eager to help ready the school, our first Aloha Day was organized on August 17th. Driving up to the campus you could hear the sounds of hammering, landscaping, and the buzz of many volunteers working up a sweat in the summer heat.  Special thanks to the teachers, parents, children and community members who spent their Saturday helping our school!

Some of the many volunteers at our Aloha Day

 

Supporting Our Facilitators

Most of the island was busy preparing for a hurricane the week of August 20th, but our facilitators were immersed in their professional development, learning the iLEAD way of project based learning, social emotional learning and creating individual learning plans for every learner.  Linda Krystek came from the iLEAD Schools Development in California to lead this week-long boot camp.

Linda Krystek leads our facilitators at professional development

 

Enrollment Update    

There are currently a few seats available in all grades. Do you know anyone whose children might respond well to our unique learning environment? Share your knowledge about Alaka‘i with all your friends and family as well as on your social media! Our campus is open to visitors for anyone curious about enrolling their children. Applications are still being accepted at the school office and through our online enrollment portal:

ilead.schoolmint.net.

Once grades are full, applicants will be placed on a waitlist and will gain an invitation to enroll as soon as a space becomes available.

Board Updates

Our August board meeting was held on August 15th.  Some things to note are…

 

School Logo: The board approved the school logo which features our pueo mascot. School shirts were also approved to be printed. The shirts display our school colors, purple and green.  They will be available at our Back To School Night, Wednesday, September 5th. All learners will receive 1 t-shirt. Additional shirts will be available for purchase. Youth sizes are $10 and Adult sizes are $20.

 

Before and After School Care: The board discussed the implementation of before and after school care/programs. The need was acknowledged and became available from our first day.  A survey went out to determine who and how many learners plan to attend an after school program. We have seats for 65 learners in the program for after school care and 15 seats in the before school program.  Early drop-off for before school care is 7:00 a.m. Rates for before school care are $10 per week ($35 prepaid for the month on the first day of care) for the first child, $7.50 weekly for the second child ($25 prepaid for the month).  Hours for after school care are 2:25pm to 5:30pm M-Th, 1:40pm to 5:30pm on Fridays. rates for after school care are $40 per week for the first child or $150 prepaid for the month on the first day of care. Rates for additional children are $30 per week or $100 per month prepaid on the first day of care.  Late pick-up after 5:30pm is $5 per 15 minutes. Three late pick-ups may result in dismissal.

If you are interested in before and/or after school care, please stop by the office, call 635-5110 or email info@alakaiokauai.org

 

Our governing board meetings are every third Wednesday, held at the school from 5-7 pm. They are open to the public. If you would like to review the agenda and minutes of the meetings, you can find them on our website. The next meeting will be September 19th.

 

Money Matters

Some of our fundraising efforts paid off last month when we received a check from the Visitor Industry Charity Walk for $5,000.00. Even though our efforts at this year’s charity walk on Saturday, May 12, were challenged by our focus on opening the school and limited volunteers, we are so pleased and grateful for this donation! We are even more inspired for next year’s walk! This year’s Charity Walk money will be used for outdoor play equipment.

 

Donor Acknowledgement

During the month of August we received generous donations from the following:

Hawaii Hotel Visitor Industry Foundation

Rick Eckert

Sarah Salamey

 

Not all donations come as money!…

H Hawaii Media donated a 30 second commercial played on their radio stations twice a day.

Island Comfort Air Conditioning sent a work crew to help with landscaping and removal of old playground equipment.

The United States Coast Guard sent a crew on their day off to help clean and prepare the school facility.

 

Save The Dates

Wednesday, Sept. 5: Back to School Night

There will be 3 sessions for presentations and discussions: 5:30-6:00, 6:00-6:30 and 6:30-7:00. You can join in any session, that way if you have more than one kiddo you don’t have to worry about cloning yourself. We’re also cognizant of afternoon traffic.

 

Saturday, Sept. 29: Alaka’i O Kaua’i Grand Opening Celebration

This will be a HUGE event and we will need a lot of help in the following areas: Opening Ceremonies, Entertainment, Food/Beverage (did someone mention luau?), Children’s Activities, Set up and Clean up.

If you’d like to lend a hand, please send a message to Claire at info@alakaiokauai.org and indicate event and job that interests you. Mahalo in advance for your support!

 

Amazon Smile

We are an approved NonProfit on Amazon Smile!  From now on, make smile.amazon.com your Amazon shopping page so that a percent of all your purchases gets donated to Alaka’i O Kaua’i. Here’s how:

 

08 Aug

August 2018 Newsletter

Mission: Possible!

August 2018 UPDATE

Dear friends and supporters of Alaka`i,

Our mission to open a tuition-free project-based school is nearly accomplished!! In just a couple of weeks our classrooms and campus will be filled with the joyful sound of our learners’ voices as they experience a new and engaging way of education. The larger mission will continue as we shift away from start-up mode. And the new focus, as our director, Denise Trentham, puts it is to “Make sure these kiddos are crying on Friday because there is no school to come to on the weekends!”

Here is an update on what’s been transpiring this summer…

On June 28th, Alaka`i had its final pre-assurances reviewed by the Hawaii State Charter School Commission. There were quite a few very important milestones we needed to accomplish, and with a team effort, all pre-assurances were met. Thereby, the school was granted unanimous approval to proceed with opening this August.

Enrollment Update    

Our goal of 165 learners was met by our June 28th commission deadline!  However, as we approach opening day, spaces are becoming available as families change plans, move or for whatever reason decide to withdraw. Therefore, applications are still needed and accepted through our online enrollment portal:

ilead.schoolmint.net.

A few spaces are still currently available and some grades are full. Applicants are being placed on a waitlist and will gain an invitation to enroll as soon as a space becomes available. It is important that we keep growing our waitlist, so please encourage your friends and family to apply!

Facility Update     

Repairs of the facilities are coming to completion.  The roof is finished, the bathrooms are renovated, and all classrooms have been clean and sanitized.  The gymnasium, however, was found to have more extensive needs than originally thought, and repairs will continue indefinitely.

In July we were able to acquire the contents of a few schools that were closing both here on Kaua`i and in California.  A 400 square foot container arrived on Monday, July 23rd, and the next day – our “Moving In Day”- had a great turn out with about 40 adults and 15 keiki there to help unload the “School In A Box”.

Board Updates

It is with great gratitude that we announce our torch-bearing Board Chair, DrB, has stepped down from her post into a general director’s seat where she will continue to serve officially for one more year.  You can read about her rich history of service to education in The Garden Island Newspaper here:

Talk Story with DrB

Governing board treasurer, Rick Eckert, will take her place as Chairperson. His past experience as chair of both corporate and volunteer community organizations makes him a perfect candidate. Mahalo, Rick!

New to the governing board in July is Jolleen Abreu.  Jolleen was born and raised on Oahu and moved to Kauai in 2003. She is married to local fire captain, Kalani Abreu and they have two children together.  Jolleen has an extensive background in property, resort & office management and specializes in early childhood education as a teacher & director. She currently operates an early preschool for 2 – 4 year olds and works as her church’s children’s ministry director. We are happy to have her kind of experience and enthusiasm on our team!  

Our governing Board meetings are every third Wednesday, held at the school from 5-7 pm. They are open to the public.  If you would like to review the agenda and minutes of the meetings, you can find them on our website.

At the July board meeting, Denise Trentham was officially offered employment.  Her role as School Director has the authority to hire our staff, and she is eager to get her team activated! Teachers have already been selected and some are already showing up to help.

Important Notice For Submitting Enrollment Documents

Beginning July 30th, our school office is open from 7:30am to 3:30pm Monday through Friday. If you have not already done so, you will need to submit your enrollment documents before August 28th.

These documents include:


-Birth Certificate or Passport

-Proof of Residency

-Student Health Record and TB Clearance

-Optional Learner Support Fee of $50

Log In to your online schoolmint account to review your enrollment checklist and forms if you are not sure what you need to submit. Call our office at (808) 635-5110 if you have questions or need assistance.

FAQ’s

Here are some of our most frequently asked questions:

1) When does school begin?

School begins Tuesday, August 28th

2) What are the school hours of operation?

Monday – Thursday 8:15-2:25 pm

Friday 8:15-1:40 pm

3) Is there before or after school care?

The simple answer – We’re working on it Ideally we intend to offer both options. A survey will be coming soon to find out how many people are needing this service.

5) Will there be a uniform or a school t-shirt? When will we get these?

No, there is no uniform. Yes, we will have t-shirts for all our learners by the beginning of school, which are optional. The cost for these is included in the learner support fee.

6) Is there a school lunch program?

No, there is no school lunch program being offered this year.

7) What do I do if I can’t access my SchoolMint account, forgot my password, or am not receiving emails from the school?

Call Office Manager Claire at 635-5110 for any of these issues. It is easy to reset account passwords if this is the problem. If you are not receiving emails sent through SchoolMint there are two things you can do:

1) Log into your SchoolMint account. Go to “Parent/Guardian Info” and click the grey pencil button to edit. Under “Contact Preference” be sure to select the option to receive both Emails and Texts.

You MUST opt to receive emails, not only texts, as all our school communications will be via the SchoolMint server.

2) The other thing you can do to be sure you receive our emails is to search your “Junk Mail” inbox for SchoolMint. Make sure to mark those emails as “Not Junk”.

8) Is there a school supplies list?

Yes, school supply lists are being sent to everyone and will also be posted on our website.

School Bus/Transportation Update:

Efforts were made to contract a bus for our east side families, but unfortunately, there were not enough learners to fill a bus at an affordable rate.  So for our first year, carpooling will help make the commute possible and less burdensome for many. Please work together and reach out to those who may need commute assistance.

Money Matters

On July 20th we received 60% of our annual budget from the state of Hawai`i!  Each fiscal year the Hawaii State Legislature sets aside a certain amount of funds for Charter Schools. Then that total is equally divided among all learners enrolled in charter schools.  This year we will receive $7,359.28 per pupil from the state. Our school’s budget has already been created and approved as part of our pre-opening assurances. This is little more than half of the per pupil amount given to DOE schools, so you can see why our need for private funding is very important.

Donor Acknowledgement

Some of our early donors we would like to thank this month are:

Kelsey Kirwan, owner of Elements Salon in Kalaheo, who generously volunteered along with her staff to hold a benefit, Haircut for A Cause, on Saturday, June 9th. At the same time, Kelsey organized an online auction via her Instagram account, @BeautyCallKauai. 100% of both benefits were donated to our school; Mahalo Nui Loa!

Many more donations were received from the following:

Steven Martin-Oldfield of Kauai Pacific Realty

Grove Farm, Inc.

Jonathan McRoberts

Peter and Linda Baldwin & Family

Gayle & Bart Naylor

Rick Eckert

Raymond & Sarah Salamey

Darcie Yukimura

Victor Lawson – Garden Island Auto Sales

Agnieszka Pinowska

Jolleen Abreu

Matson Shipping gave an in-kind donation that covered the cost of oceanic transport of our School-In-A-Box container!

Another thank you goes to the Princeville Public Library who donated children’s books to our school!  Board member Nicola Sherrill organized a fun way to get our learners involved by inviting them to choose the books they want to see at their school.

Amazon Smile

We are an approved NonProfit on Amazon Smile!  From now on, make smile.amazon.com your Amazon shopping page so that a percent of all your purchases gets donated to Alaka’i O Kaua’i. Here’s how:

 

01 Aug

Frequently Asked Questions

A lot of great things are happening to get our school ready to open!! Last week our container of school furniture arrived and was unloaded thanks to the many parent & keiki volunteers that came out to help us. MAHALO for your support!

This week our office is officially open. Everyone is welcome to bring their documents in and take a look at the school, which is still being set up by school staff and volunteers. The office is now open Monday-Friday from 7:30-3:30pm.

As the beginning of the school year approaches there are many questions coming in from parents. Thank you for your patience as we address your questions and concerns. Here are some of our most frequently asked questions:

1) When does school begin?

School begins Tuesday, August 28th

2) What are the school hours of operation?

Monday – Thursday 8:15-2:25 pm

Friday 8:15-1:40 pm

3) Is there before or after school care?

The simple answer – We’re working on it!! Ideally we intend to offer both options. A survey will be coming soon to find out how many people are needing this service.

4) When and where do I bring my child’s registration documents?

You may bring your documents in to our office any time that it’s open, Mon-Fri 7:30-3:30pm, before the start of school August 28th. *This includes: Birth certificate, proof of residency, TB screening, medical record, and the $50 learner support fee.

5) Will there be a uniform or a t-shirt? When will we get these?

No, there is no uniform. Yes, we will have t-shirts for all our learners by the beginning of school, which are optional. The cost for these is included in the learner support fee.

6) Is there a school lunch program?

No, there is no school lunch program being offered this year.

7) What do I do if I can’t access my SchoolMint account, forgot my password, or am not receiving emails from the school?

Call Office Manager Claire at 635-5110 for any of these issues. It is easy to reset account passwords if this is the problem. If you are not receiving emails sent through SchoolMint there are two things you can do:

       1) Log into your SchoolMint account. Go to “Parent/Guardian Info” and click the grey pencil button to edit. Under “Contact Preference” be sure to select the option to receive both Emails and Texts. You MUST opt to receive emails, not only texts, as all our school communications will be via the SchoolMint server.

       2) The other thing you can do to be sure you receive our emails is to search your “Junk Mail” inbox for SchoolMint. Make sure to mark those emails as “Not Junk”.

8) Is there a school supplies list?

Yes, school supply lists were attached in an email sent out. They are also posted HERE.

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to call Office Manager Claire at 635-5110

26 Jul

School-in-a-box Unloading Day!

Aloha, Alaka’i O Kaua’i Founding Families!
 
What a great few days we’ve had!
 
We received our first allocation of funding from the state on Friday!
 
Our shipping container full of School-In-A-Box will be ready to unload Tuesday, July 24th. The fun will start at 9am and go until about 1:00pm or whenever we are finished or can’t lift one more box!! We’d love to have you join in the fun! We need strong people with dollies or carts to help unload; a crew to help assemble furniture with electric drills for screwing the legs back on the tables; a crew to help clean the furniture with dust rags, sponges and buckets; and other jobs that will be become apparent once we get started.
 
Keiki are welcome, but we can’t use the playground equipment yet, so we’ll set up a space for them to play and need some parents to provide supervision. If you are going to bring your little ones, we’d appreciate it if you brought some toys or activities for them. We have them—but they are buried in the back of the container!!
 
We’ll have a potluck lunch so if you’d like to join in please bring a dish to share. We’ll have plenty of water at the campus.
 
We are located at Kahili Mountain Park. The road to the school is off Kaumualii Highway in Koloa just west of the Tree Tunnel road. You’ll see the white Alaka’i school banner and the Kahili Mountain Park sign. Take that gravel road and in 1 mile you’ll find us! Plan on parking on the circular driveway in the front of the school.
 
So we can plan accordingly, we’d sure appreciate your RSVP, letting us know how many folks will be coming and whether you’d like to help unload, unpack, assemble furniture, supervise keiki, etc.
 
If you can’t come help us, be sure to send your good energy our way!
 
Mahalo!
 
Denise (Mrs. T)
26 Jul

Final Approval to Open!

Aloha, Alaka’i O Kaua’i Families,
We are so happy and proud to inform you that on Thursday, June 28th, our school officially completed all of our pre-opening assurances and was given the final approval to open this August by the Hawai`i State Charter School Commission! The Commission acted on a unanimous decision of the Commission’s Application Committee to do so.  The Commission action was approved unanimously as well. In making the motion, Commissioner Mitch D’Olier who also acts as Chair of the Applications Committee, expressed his gratitude regarding the hard work done in preparation for this opening year.  Akaka`i O Kaua`i Board Chair, Rick Eckert and Executive Director Denise Trentham fielded additional questions regarding the school facility’s preparedness, satisfying a few remaining concerns of the Applications Committee as well as conveying the school’s appreciation for the Committee’s support.  Also noted was the effort made by Knudsen Trust, owner of the school facility and iLEAD Schools, Akaka`i O Kaua`i’s services provider.
We would like to thank all of you, our founding families and learners, for your faith in us as a start-up school. We can all rest assured that Alaka`i will be ready to serve and provide the best education that research shows works!
We would also like to thank iLEAD Schools Development for their efforts to get the facilities requirements met and their overall well-wishes and support.  Jon Horwitz and the Knudsen Trustees have also gone beyond our expectations to prepare the property for our school. A huge mahalo also to our school director, Denise Trentham, who has proved her worth a million times over! And of course, the stalwart Alaka`i governing board and team members, thank you!!
On the road to opening day, we will plan open house events during the month of July and will notify you again of those dates, as well as the days our office will be open for receiving your enrollment documents (birth certificate, health record, etc).
Share the good news!
Your friends at Alaka’i O Kaua’i