December 29, 2013

Here's an update on our construction project.  Everything is progressing as planned.  We're in the process of selecting furniture for our administration building.  How exciting!

http://hkesfollowourprogress.blogspot.com/2013/12/december-29-2013.html

Updates - December 21

Students and teachers started their winter break yesterday, but here are a few reminders:

a) It's not too late to nominate someone for the Volunteer or Staff of the Quarter!  Go to www.halekula.k12.hi.us and click on the link on the home page.  The winner of the random drawing will get a $50 Outback Steakhouse gift card.  Thank you, PTO, for your generosity!

b)  If you haven't noticed, our school has been featured in several articles through the Department of Education and the Hawaii Army Weekly.  Here's a link which curates articles or other releases about Hale Kula.  http://www.scoop.it/t/hale-kula-elementary-school-where-eagles-soar

c)  The latest post on the blog about our construction grant has been posted at http://hkesfollowourprogress.blogspot.com/2013/12/december-20-2013.html  During the break, there will be lots of infrastructure work for the new electrical system.

Hope everyone has a wonderful winter break!  I'll be catching up on things that I didn't get to during the quarter.  Hopefully, I'll have some fun time, too!

Enjoy!  Be safe!

Mele Kalikimaka!  Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Jan Iwase, Principal

12/21 - 1/10

Enjoy your holiday from school. Have fun, stay healthy, ring in the new year and relax. See you Jan. 8, 2014 for another great school year. If you are moving over the holidays, we wish you safe travels and best of luck in your new school.

Code can continue on your home computer

The students LOVED coding on code.org and they might like to do more over the winter break.  Coding fosters critical thinking, perseverance, problem solving and confidence.  All students in grades 3-5 have individual student accounts that enable them to log in, code, and save their progress.  Parents of younger children can create accounts for their children.  If students complete all the coding games/tutorials, they can win an iTunes gift card or download a free game.  Students can log in at http://code.org 

Book Fair Fiesta

The Book Fair Fiesta will be the first two weeks in February.  Start brainstorming your family's pinata for our family contest!  Information will be sent home in early January or check the library website for more information.  halekulalibrary.weebly.com

Federal Impact Aid Survey

Please return the Federal Impact Aid Survey that was sent home in November.  Please fill out completely, sign and date.  Then return to your child's teacher or office.

Bus Payment

The office is collecting payments for the next quarter which begins after the break.  Cost remains the same:  $72.00 round trip, $36.00 one-way, $12.50 per sheet of 10 coupons.  Cash or checks made out to:  Department of Education are accepted for passes. Bring in your student's bus pass so it can be punched.   Cash only for coupons.  Office is open during the break.

Moving??

Transferring to another duty station? Or moving into another school district? Please contact the office so that we may have a release packet ready on your child's last day.  We ask for 2 weeks notice so we can gather this info and teachers have time to do a report card.

December Parent Bulletin is on our school website or you can click this link to see it. http://www.halekula.k12.hi.us/pages/Hale_Kula_Elementary_School/Parents/Parent_News/Parent_Bulletin

Lego: Travel Adventure

Bishop Museum, runs until Jan. 5 9am – 5pm closed Tuesdays. $8.95 – 19.95. Children are invited to create vehicles capable of flying, driving, and floating or all three.  Bishopmuseum.org

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Sat. Dec. 21 – Sun Dec. 22 Honolulu Gift Fair  - Made for Hawaii - at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall Admission is FREE. 9am – 5pm

Mon. Jan. 6        NO SCHOOL

Tues. Jan. 7        NO SCHOOL – prepare your backpack and lunch box

Wed. Jan. 8        First day of school in 2014 – Welcome Back

Thurs. Jan. 9       Chaperone Training in P14 at 8:00 am

Fri. Jan. 10         Boxtops 4 Education pick up from classroom – You can turn them in anytime, remember to put your childs name on the baggie. We also collect Campbells labels for education

End of the Quarter - Nominate Someone

Do you know someone at Hale Kula who is making a difference for you or your children?  Please nominate him/her for the Volunteer or Staff of the Quarter Award.  The winner of a random drawing will win a $50 gift card.  Just click on the following links to nominate someone.

http://hoorayforvolunteers.blogspot.com/ or http://hoorayforhalekulastaff.blogspot.com/

We have great people at Hale Kula -- volunteers and staff -- and we know that those who are nominated are truly deserving.  Hope to get lots of nominations by the end of the quarter this week!

The Hour of Code - December 13, 2013

We had a GREAT event today to celebrate The Hour of Code and our $10,000 gift from code.org.  We will be purchasing Chromebooks and tablets with these funds.

Very rarely will we see the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Superintendent at a school event at the same time, but today, Hale Kula hosted all three of them!  Governor Abercrombie, Lieutenant Governor Tsutsui, Superintendent Matayoshi, and 20 other lawmakers, education leaders, and members from our military community all learned to code from our students.  It was a wonderful event which had a powerful impact on our guests.

Here's a short slideshow of the event.  http://www.slideshare.net/jiwase/the-hour-of-code

12/13 - 12/20

Seeking Muffins

We have the Super Eagle ceremony on December 18 at 8:15am. For this ceremony, PTO is providing muffins for approximately 250 people. If you are willing and able to bake at least a dozen muffins for this event, please email Jennifer Carlin at mariongirl@hotmail.com or call/text 334-345-0193. We are asking that the muffins do not contain nuts to avoid allergies. They can be dropped off at P14 on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning before 8am.
            We certainly appreciate your help because events like these would not be successful without volunteers like you!

Congratulations

Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) sponsored a contest "We are the Face of Computing."  Mrs. Cumming's Media Club was selected from over 600 entries in this international contest!  The poster created by Connor and Lacey from E3, 3rd grade, will be CSTA's featured poster on their website!  Congratulations to Mrs. Cummings & her Media Club students 

http://www.csta.acm.org/Advocacy_Outreach/sub/CSEdWeek.html

Medical Alert

In the last few weeks, Hale Kula Elementary School has had 5 confirmed cases of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease which is a viral illness characterized by sores inside the mouth and on palms and fingers and soles of the feet.  Children often have a mild fever, sore throat, and rash on hands and/or feet.  There is no specific treatment.  Infected children should stay home from school if they have a fever, diarrhea, or do not feel well.  The best prevention is to promote proper hand washing especially after using the restroom and before eating.

 

Periodically, we also have incidents of head lice/pediculosis/'ukus'.  The first symptoms are persistent itching at the back of the head or around the ears.  Individuals are contagious as long as lice or nits (eggs) are found on the person or their clothing.  Special medicated shampoos and hair rinses are used to kill the lice and their nits. Lice survive only 1 or 2 days away from the scalp.  Clothing, bedding, and cloth toys can be disinfected by machine washing in hot water and detergent and by machine drying with the hot air cycle.  Hale Kula does inspect the entire classroom if there is reason to suspect 'ukus' may be present.

We have copies of the Department of Health fact sheets on both Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease and Pediculosis (head lice) in our Health Room if you wish a copy. 

Bus Payment

The office is collecting payments for the next quarter which begins after the break.  Cost remains the same:  $72.00 round trip, $36.00 one-way, $12.50 per sheet of 10 coupons.  Cash or checks made out to:  Department of Education are accepted for passes. Bring in your student's bus pass so it can be punched.   Cash only for coupons.  Office is open during the break.

Moving??

Transferring to another duty station? Or moving into another school district? Please contact the office so that we may have a release packet ready on your child's last day.  We ask for 2 weeks notice so we can gather this info and teachers have time to do a report card.

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Fri. Dec. 13         Wear your Hour of Code T shirts today

                      Hour of Code presentation of check by officials in the cafeteria 9:30am

                      Boxtops 4 Education pick up from classroom

                      School Store open in P14 and also items from Holiday Shoppe for sale

      

                      A Touch of Christmas from the Salvation Army at Kroc Center Hawaii 5:30 – 8:30pm FREE. A night of family entertainment and fun. Families can make their own gingerbread house or decorate a gingerbread man. Games and prizes and more

Sat. Dec. 14        Orchestra of the Hawaiian Islands -  Holiday Pops concert. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, Children are free. 6pm show at Calvary by the Sea Church at 5339 Kalanianaole Highwy. www.americanmusicfestivals.com or call 808-315-0885

Sun. Dec. 15        Kokua for the Philippines – live benefit concert and telethon featuring local musicians. Hilton Hawaiian Village – Great Lawn 12 noon – 5pm. Get your tickets now  honolulunboxoffice.com or 808-558-8547

Mon. Dec. 16       Last week of school for the year. Let’s make it a good one.

Tues. Dec. 17       Jamba Juice buy 8oz smoothies for $2.25. & Book Swap for kids books after school

Wed. Dec. 18       Super Eagle Assembly in the cafeteria 8:15 – 9:00

                      PTO Meeting in P14 from 11:30 – 1:00. Everyone Welcome

                      CYS Services Quarterly Parent Advisory Committee Meeting from 12:00 – 1:00pm Great opportunity for parents to meet with CYS Services Coordinator and administrators. Schofield School Age Center Building 1280 on 1885 Lyman Road 655-6476

Thurs. Dec. 19      School starts at 7:55 every day – get tardy slip if not in your class then

Fri. Dec. 20        Last day of school for the first semester

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Enjoy your holiday from school. Have fun, stay healthy, ring in the new year and relax

Media Release for "The Hour of Code"

Attached is the media release for "The Hour of Code" event this Friday to celebrate our winning $10,000, the only public school in Hawaii to receive this grant! The Governor and Superintendent as well as other education and military leaders will be joining us. Students will be teaching our leaders how to code. I'm looking forward to a wonderful event! Thank to you Michelle Colte for coordinating our school's participation in "The Hour of Code." Right now, over 4.6 million students from 167 countries will be participating.

http://www.hawaiiarmyweekly.com/2013/12/06/hale-kula-elementary-to-mark-hour-of-code/

12/6 - 12/13

Holiday Shoppe - Thank you parents for allowing your children to shop this week We will be opening the Holiday Shoppe on Monday for parents to shop from 8am – 9am, if you would like. Please stop by to help support Hale Kula with some holiday shopping.

Our Hale Kula robotics team, Cyborg Eagles, will be competing in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) State Championships this Saturday, December 7 at the Neal Blaisdell Center.  Everyone is invited to attend.  The robot matches begin at 11:30; however, there will be lots more to see in the exhibition hall with the Jr. FLL Expo and the FTC Challenge.  At 12:00, you can cheer for the team!

1. Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, friends, classmates, teachers, principals, and the general public are invited to experience three (3) FIRST programs on Dec. 7.  The event opens to the public at 9:30 a.m.  Admission is FREE. 

Hawai'i Jr FLL EXPO - 9:30 - 11 am - Exhibition Hall 

FLL State Championship - 11:30 am - 4 pm - Exhibition Hall

FTC Challenge - 10 am - 4:30 pm Pikake Suite/Exhibition Hall 

2. Parking at the Neal Blaisdell Center is $6. 

3. Entry for the public is from the exhibition hall main glass doors located on the concourse between the arena and exhibition hall. 

4. FLL State Championship schedule for the public is as follows:

11:30            Opening Ceremony

12:00–2:30       Robot Matches

2:30-3:00             Project Showcase

3:15                 Team recognition

3:45                 Awards Ceremony

1 million computer programming jobs go unfilled in the US each year.  

Only 400,000 students graduate with computer programming degrees.  Only 10% of US schools teach coding. 

Code.org and Computer Science Education Week are trying to change these statistics and connect our children with jobs in this lucrative industry.  The Hour of Code, December 9-13, introduces K-12 students to simple programming. Throughout the week, students will be "leveling up" in fun computer coding activities in their classrooms, the library and technology center.  Try it at home too!  

Visit the library website http://goo.gl/dcSZCw to watch videos, find iPad coding apps for children and click the links to complete the tutorials. 

Bus payment:

The office is collecting payments for the next quarter which begins after the break.  Cost remains the same:  $72.00 round trip, $36.00 one-way, $12.50 per sheet of 10 coupons.  Cash or checks made out to:  Department of Education are accepted for passes. Bring in your student's bus pass so it can be punched.   Cash only for coupons.  Office is open during the break.

If you will be transferring to another duty station or moving into another school district please contact the office so that we may have a release packet ready on your child's last day.  We ask for 2 weeks notice so we can gather this info and teachers have time to do a report card.

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Fri. Dec. 6          Kindergarten gingerbread house decorating in the cafeteria 1pm – 2pm

                      Last chance for students to visit the Holiday Shoppe and wrap your presents.

                      Wahiawa Christmas Parade down Calif. Ave at 6:30 pm

Sat. Dec. 7         Hale Kula robotics team, Cyborg Eagles, will be competing in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) State Championships

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All week (9 - 13) classes will experience ‘Hour of Code’ as they create computer programming

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Mon. Dec. 9        Library Books are due for the year

Tues. Dec. 10      Greeters Club Holiday Party

Wed. Dec. 11        Jingle Bell Run – bring $1.00 to donate and wear running shoes

                     8:15 AM – 8:35 AM              Pre-School/Kindergarten

                                    8:40 AM – 9:00 AM               1^st Grade

                                    9:05 AM – 9:25 AM               2^nd Grade

                                    9:30 AM – 9:50 AM               3^rd Grade

                                    9:55 AM – 10:15 AM             4^th Grade

                                    10:20 AM – 10:40 AM          5^th Grade

             

                      PTO Meeting in P14 from 11:30 – 1:00 – Everyone welcome

Thurs. Dec. 12      Chaperone Training at 8:00am in P14

Fri. Dec. 13         Wear your Hour of Code T shirts today (they will be delivered to your class earlier in the week)

                      Hour of Code presentation of check by officials in the cafeteria 9:30am

                      Boxtops 4 Education pick up from classroom

                      School Store open in P14 and also items from Holiday Shoppe for sale