Monday message 10.12.2020

Aloha to the good people in the learning community of Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School, and hope your ohana enjoyed the annual Fall Break.

We look forward to welcoming all our learners back to campus on Monday, October 12, to start the second quarter of the 2020-2021 school year as long as the active COVID cases on Kaua’i remain ten or fewer.

The happy news comes due to the efforts of many contributors to make a dream a reality. Mahalo to Jon for sharing all his talents to build outdoor spaces and sinks to keep everyone physically distanced. We wish to acknowledge the efforts of Jennifer and Giselle in the office in assisting with the setup, planning, and scheduling for everyone in keeping the school moving forward, especially with the bus. Our staff has worked diligently under some challenging circumstances to provide a quality education for our keiki while keeping everyone safe and moving in a positive direction. We also recognize how difficult this first quarter has been for you and your families and appreciate your patience and adaptability. As the aviation writer Benet Wilson once penned: “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We saw a need that needed to be filled, and we stepped in to help.” Mahalo everyone!

Here are some highlights about return to campus:

School Day Hours

• Monday through Thursday: 8:45 AM to 2:45 PM
• Friday: 8:45 AM to 12:30 PM (Friday afternoons are for staff meetings and professional learning opportunities for our talented staff who are lifelong learners.)

Morning Drop-off (earliest drop-off is 8:15 AM)

• Grades K-7: Please drop off on Main Campus for health check.
• Grades K-4: Please report to your outdoor classroom.
• Grades 5-6: Please report to the gym.
• Bus learners: Dropped off at Upper Campus by the gym for health check. These learners will then report to the gym until school starts.

Afternoon Pickup (starts at 2:45 PM Monday-Thursday, 12:30 PM Friday)

• Learners should always be picked up with the youngest sibling, please.
• K-2: Main Campus.
• Grades 3-4 and all bus learners: Upper Campus by the gymnasium.
• Grades 5-6: Lower Campus outside the cafeteria.

Mahalo in advance for driving with ALOHA! As with any school, these lines can sometimes get lengthy, but the health and safety of our keiki is a priority.

As we head toward rainy season on campus, a friendly reminder to please make sure your keiki is prepared. We highly suggest a raincoat, appropriate footwear (boots work well), and an umbrella, especially for learners getting picked up or dropped off at main campus due to limited rain cover. For visibility reasons, we will not be constructing rain cover at the front of the Main Campus, so an umbrella might be helpful.

Please do return the borrowed electronic devices to school on Monday, October 12, as we will be using them on campus that day. As we have essentially created double groupings within each class, the importance of having these devices back that day cannot be understated.

As mentioned previously, it has taken the efforts of many, many people to enable us to welcome our learners back to campus. Let’s all continue to do our best to keep our island and campus open by being respectful and safe. Please do sign and return the Letter of Acknowledgement about the revised School Opening Plan. Most importantly, we must all continue to follow the best safety protocols, procedures, and expectations to keep Kaua’i and Alaka’i O Kaua’i Charter School open.

Mahalo,

DJ Adams
School Director