Dear Parents/Guardians;
The first day of the reopening of school, with Grade 1 - Cohort A in attendance, went about as smoothly as I could have hoped for. The morning drop off started to trickle in at about 7:15 a.m. with the bulk of parents coming in from 7:30 a.m. onward. We arranged our schedule so we would bring students to their classrooms from 7:50 a.m. so timing for all this worked out well. The Grade 1 teachers were super on it again and brought down carts to help bring the students’ supplies up to their classrooms, as well as introducing themselves to them. Not unexpected, many of the students were quiet and looked nervous. This same behavior was still present during their first recess. It’s interesting to note that kids from two classrooms played in the field area near their classrooms, but after a few minutes, most of them walked back to the walkway saying it was too hot. In less than 10 minutes all of them were standing in the covered walkway. Apparently many of them didn’t play much outside while at home, but that was to be expected. They all had lunch in the cafe, and by then, most of them felt okay with being in school. You could see and hear them talking to each other and there was lots of smiling. After lunch, most forgot their lunch routine of throwing their plates away, going back into the cafe and walking out through the makai doors and waiting outside. Instead, they started walking out through the kitchen door and we had to stop to redirect them. Afternoon pick up also went well. School ended at 2:15 p.m. and most families did not drive up to the circle area until after 2:20 p.m. This is good because the students did not get down to the front of the cafe until a little after 2:20 p.m. so families didn’t have to wait very long. What helped a lot were those strips of paper with their child’s name on it. We had several adults down at the circle, so when we saw the names we could call out that child’s name and escort them to their car. The A+ program was also present at the school so we took students enrolled in that program to their leader. By 2:30 p.m. nearly all the students either went home or were in A+. Only a few non-Grade 1 students were left waiting to be picked up by their families. The take away from this first day is that parents did not panic and that they brought their child to school in the morning as they did on previous days – even though that day was 7 months ago. All the kids were a little nervous at first but adjusted and acted more normal as the day progressed. School ended on time and parents did not rush to school before school ended so there was little traffic holdup. Those strips of paper with their child’s name on it helped a great deal as we didn’t have to ask the driver for a name and they didn’t have to roll down their windows. All in all, it was a good start! The second day with Cohort B pretty much mirrored Monday. Students were quiet in the morning, tentative in playing during the first recess, and became more relaxed during lunchtime. I spoke to a few of them and they agreed that it was good seeing and talking to their friends in person. The afternoon pickup also went well with A+ getting their groups quickly and that there were not so many cars. The take away from day two was that some families needed those strips of paper, so if you do not have one, please ask for it. Write the name and grade of your child on it in big bold letters as this helps those by the circle driveway to see their names quickly. If possible, prop this strip upwards on the front window so we can read it easier. It is difficult to see the name when the strip is laying flat on the front dashboard. Right now, with only Grade 1 attending, we can guess some of the names of students, but later on when more students return to school, not being able to see the name or grade will make this task much more difficult. For families interested in early morning care, please know that the Nu‘uanu YMCA is running the program this year. Hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. daily. You can contact the YMCA directly for information. Please do not forget that on Wednesdays, unless school changes it for a special reason, we end school at 1:30 p.m. I realize that many of you might have forgotten this with all the changes going on. Mahalo, James Toyooka Comments are closed.
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AuthorJames Toyooka, Principal Archives
December 2020
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