School news and events for the week of {date}

The dust is settling after our first two weeks of the 2019-2020 school year, and we are off to a wonderful start! It is great to see learners happy to come back to Alaka`i O Kaua`i Charter School for a second year, and new learners make us their school of choice. As I greeted learners and parents starting off the school day over the past two weeks, I saw nothing but joyous faces excited about coming to school to learn. 

In addition to the joyous faces of our learners, I see happy faces on our school facilitators and staff as they greet learners on a daily basis. Overall, I am happy and excited to be the leader of a school that everyone enjoys being a part of. This fact will lead to a high level of learner engagement, as well as a high-quality learning environment in each classroom. 

Next week we will be opening  a new chapter in our school, as our learners will begin to be exposed to our new arts curriculum consisting of art, Hawaiian culture, Spanish, and a music program where learners will sing, and learn to play instruments, such as the ukulele. On Wednesday, August 28th, a ukulele maker will spend time with 20 of our 5th grade learners who will be taught to design, make, and build their own personal ukulele from scratch from a teacher/professor from the Big Island, who has been doing this for years at the University of Hawaii Laboratory School (which I was the school leader of 10 years ago). 

This will be an exciting year for all of us, and I am happy for those of you who have chosen to send your children to Alaka`i O Kaua`i Charter School. We are going to have a great year! Thank you (Mahalo)!

Frederick A. Birkett, Ed.M
School Director