Aloha Lions Ohana,
Time flies when you are having fun! This quarter is nearly 1/2 way done yet it feels like it started yesterday. We wanted to thank everyone for joining us at our Parent Teacher Conferences this week. We would like to encourage you all to give the office your email address if you have not done so so you can read all these messages vs. listening to me speak. I have a LOT of things for you today so please pardon the length of this message.
- Tomorrow there is no school due to Veterans Day. Thank a vet and GO NAVY!
- We have a number of fundraisers going on and or in process. I wanted to tell you all again the WHY for these. First, every dime we fundraise goes back to the students in some way, such as planners, reduced or free field trips, reduced bus costs (the PTA pays for 1/2 of every bus), reduced school uniform costs, and many more things. It also goes to improve the students' lives at school. With this money we have purchased water coolers for the cafeteria that we will be installing in the next weeks, outdoor speaker systems for our stage area (getting installed soon), and other improvements to the facilities that cannot be covered by regular school funds. To summarize the current/upcoming fundraisers we have:
- Samurai Brand Fundraiser pickup is next Friday, Nov. 18, from 2:00-5:00
- Papa John's (similar to the Panda Express system) is Tuesday, November 22nd. Flyers will go out soon. We figure no one likes cooking before Thanksgiving, so may as well order pizza and let some of that money help the school.
- McFundraiser, just like last year, we are selling the McFundraiser coupon books for stocking stuffers! A detailed flyer will come out soon.
- School Store. Today you should have received a parent envelope today. Schoolstore.com is a neat program that you can use to do your holiday and daily shopping online with major stores like Walmart, Best Buy, Walgreens etc, online and we earn a small percentage of your purchase. So similar to the Panda Express fundraiser you don't pay anything you wouldn't already pay, yet the school is helped at the same time! Please consider signing up, and the more you and your family purchase, your kids can earn prizes!
- Breakfast with Santa is BACK! December 10th we will host our annual event with Santa! Not only will our keiki be able to tell Santa what gifts they want, but they can also get pictures too! A flyer with the sign-up will go out soon. Tickets for breakfast are staying the same, $3 per person, even if food costs have gone up. We will also have a number of outside organizations providing entertainment and information!
- We are looking for a donation of a refrigerator for our staff breakroom. We are hoping to catch someone who is upgrading over the holidays to something new and is willing to give our staff their old unit. It doesn't need to look good, but please make sure it still works. I will be happy to pick it up from your house!
- We are looking to hire a few people who are willing to work with some of our disabled students. No prior education experience is needed, but you must be able to lift and/or carry a child and be willing to help with personal physical needs.
- School safety is a priority. As you all have noticed, we have construction happening on campus and will continue to have it happening for some time. Currently, we have our new water fountain/bottle filler stations being installed downstairs. On December 3/4th we will be having our classroom air conditioners being installed with the electrical upgrade happening over the winter break. The library roof will be replaced sometime later this year (we hope), and other major and minor construction projects will be happening throughout the year. Please talk to your children about staying away from work areas, especially when there are no adults around. So far the kids have been great about this, but we just would like you to remind them as well.
- As part of the school safety issue, please remind your students that on IRA days they should be wearing shoes, not slippers as while running it is much easier to trip in slippers than in shoes.
I think that is all I have. Sorry for the LONG message today, I will try to keep you all updated frequently over the next few weeks as things occur. We keep on improving our school, together, because, We are the Lions. We are the Future!
Aloha,
Mr. Larkin
Respectfully,
Daniel Larkin, US Navy (Retired)
Principal
Kalihi Waena Elementary
Home of the MIGHTY LIONS!
W: 808-832-3210
C: 808-366-0140
Primary email: [email protected]
Secondary email: [email protected]
School address: 1240 Gulick Ave. Honolulu, HI 96819