VOLUME 29, ISSUE 1 August 2020

Parent Bulletin

`Principal: Blaine Takeguchi

Vice-Principal: Sherri- Lee Tallman

Counselors:

Tammy Sakamoto Gr.K – Gr.2

Shelby Isaacs Gr.3 – Gr.6

Student Services Coordinator (SSC):

Jennifer Sarpi

98-940 Moanalua Road, Aiea, HI 96701 | Phone Number: 305-9300 | Office Hours: 7:30 am - 4:00

August

17 M Kindergarten Orientat ion (Last Names starting A-L)

8:30 am- 9:30 am in the cafeteria 17 M Opening School Year (OSY) Packet/Textbook/ Chromebook Pick –Up 10;00 am Last Name A- E 10:30 am Last Name F-J 11:00 am Last Name K-Q 11:30 am Last Name R-Z 18 T Kindergarten Orientat ion (Last Names starting M-Z) 8:30 am- 9:30 am in the cafeteria 18 T Students dis tance learning begins 19 W Parents wi l l drop off completed OSY forms to the drop box located in the front off ice. 21 F NO SCHOOL- Statehood Day

Inside this Issue:

Principals Message

VP’s Message

PTA

Student Council

Library Corner

Miscellaneous

Breakfast /Lunch Menu

Notice of Non-Discrimination & Anti- Harassment Statement

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve or as new health guidance becomes available, PRE will continue to adjust our School-wide Learning and/or Return to School Plans located on our website.

Principal’s Message

Dear Pearl Ridge Elementary Families, Welcome to the opening of school year 20-21! We are excited to begin the new school year, amid all of the turmoil and craziness this pandemic has inflicted upon all of us. The impact of COVID-19 has drastically changed our plans and procedures set forth by the school for our students and staff. For the first four weeks of school beginning, August 17, we will be transitioning to full distance learning for all of our students. You will be receiving our distance learning plan via email detailing what to expect during the first four weeks. Please take the time to look it over and contact the school if you have any questions. We are all in this together and we will need your continued support, understanding and cooperation. Over the summer, one of our long-time SPED teachers, Corinne Shinn retired. She spent over twenty years in the DOE, with much of it spent at Pearl Ridge Elementary School. She was a dedicated educator who always put her students' needs first and was well-respected by her students, parents, and peers. We will definitely miss her. We also said goodbye to second-grade teacher, Porsche Sylvester, who moved to the mainland to be closer to her family. Mrs. Sylvester spent much of last year on maternity leave, but prior to that taught in Kindergarten, fourth-grade, and second-grade. We wish her the best. We also want to recognize the other staff members who have moved on from Pearl Ridge and will continue their journey elsewhere this upcoming school year:

• Counselor Rachele Kida will be the new Student Services Coordinator at Momilani Elementary School.

• Fifth-Grade teacher, Wendy Lum transferred to Red Hill Elementary, where she will be teaching fourth-grade.

• Fifth-Grade teacher, Lori Nakamura transferred to School to work as their newest Kindergarten teacher.

• SPED teacher, Michelle Matsumoto will be at Helemano Elementary School this year working and finishing up her degree in Special Education.

These educators left lasting impressions on our students, families, and staff. We thank them for their hard work and dedication over the years and sincerely wish them nothing but success and happiness at their new schools.

Principal’s Message continued

The opening of the school year also brings many fresh faces who will be joining our PRE family. They each bring varied experiences, boundless enthusiasm, and unique perspectives to the school. We are very excited to have them and know they will fit right in. Please welcome to the school:

• Tammy Sakato - Counselor K-2 • Riley Tagawa - 5th grade • Sarah Nagamine - 5th grade • Joseph Doike-Foreman - 2nd grade • Kristin Yamasaki - SPED • Kathryn Miyamoto - PreK

This year will be different and may take some time getting accustomed to all of the changes, but we will be with you every step of the way to support you and your child. As with everything that we do at PRE, we are constantly assessing, communicating, and reflecting upon our practices and procedures to ensure we are doing our best for your child. Thank you for continuing to help Pearl Ridge Elementary be a wonderful place for our students to learn and grow.

Sincerely, Mr. Takeguchi Principal

Vice-Principal’s Message

DearPREFamilies,Welcometothe2020-21schoolyear!Thisissurelyanunprecedentedtime.Thankyou,families,foryourcontinuousunderstandingandsupportaswenavigatethisuncharteredterritorytogether.Althoughtheschoolyearwilllookdifferent,PREiscommittedtopromotinganeducationalenvironmentthatengagesstudentsinmeaningfullearningopportunities.Yourpartnershipandsupportarekeyelementstohelpensureweareabletomaximizeeachstudent’ssocial,emotional,andacademicdevelopment.StartingtheweekofAugust17th,PREwillimplementafulldistancelearningmodel.OnMonday,August17th,parentsmaypick-uptheirchild’sopeningofschoolyearforms,textbooks,andaschool-issuedchromebook,ifneeded.PleaserefertothememosentviaemailonAug.12foryourdesignatedpick-uptime.Fortheremainderoftheweek(Aug.18-20),studentswillvirtuallyconnectwiththeirhomeroomteacherandclassmates.Thefirstdaysofschoolareverycrucialforsettingroutines.Pleasehelpyourchildadjusttothisdistancelearningmodelbykeepingtothescheduleprovidedbyhis/herteacher.Distancelearning(synchronous&asyncronous)instructionwillbeprovidedforallPREstudentsduringthenextthreeweeks(August24-September11).Pleasecontinuetovisitourwebsiteforupdates.We will continue to adjust our Return to School Plans as new health guidance becomes available.Thankyouforyourcontinuedsupport.Sincerely,Sherri-LeeTallman

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Aloha PRE Ohana,

Greetings, from Pearl Ridge Elementary School (PRE), Parent Teacher Association (PTA)!

We hope everyone discovered creative ways of edutainment for our children during this summer. We wish to welcome our new families to PRE and to the rest back to another fun and educational school year.

My name is Cecile Goo and I would like to take this time to introduce our entire PTA board members for this school year: PRE PTA President: Cecile Goo Vice President: Desiree Stabilio Secretary: Wanette Shirafuji Treasurer: Cynthia Arnold Members-At-Large: Shannon Cheng and Lauri Yamashita Principal: Mr. Blaine Takeguchi Vice Principal: Mrs. Tallman, Teacher Members: Mrs. Lindsey, Mrs. Shinn, Mrs. Denis, Mrs. Miyamoto, Ms. Takafuji, and Ms. Yamasaki. PCNC: Adriane Awaya Thank you PTA board members for dedicating your time and hard work for the love our children and our school.

Sign up to become a PRE PTA member, the form is available in the office and on the PRE website under PTA. Some of the benefit of becoming a member is discounted rate on PTA events and you will be supporting the school to fund programs and equipment that are not available through the regular PRE school budget. Without your support and help, this would not be possible. If you have any concerns or ideas for our PTA, please talk to one of our PTA board members or join the PTA and help us make a difference. You can also email us at: PREPTA96701@gmail.com

We have modified our events this year due to the covid-19. Our first event is Welcome Back Virtual Bingo Night in September. We have moved the Hustle for Health from November to March of next year. All other events will be determined thru the State and schools recommendations. We will keep you up to date for any changes.

Amazon Smile: Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. Amazon Smile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support Pearl Ridge Elementary PTA by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com. PRE FACE MASK FOR SALE! If you’re interested in pre-ordering PRE face masks, you can download the form on our website and turn in the form in the office.

A big thank you to our Principal Blaine Takeguchi, Vice Principal Sherri-Lee Tallman, our teachers, and staff for working so hard to get the classrooms and lessons ready for our students. This took a lot of ingenuity and heart in creating a safe-environment for our children and entire faculty.

Thank you all again for your support and look forward to meeting all of you.

Sincerely,

Cecile Goo, PRE PTA President

Student Council

Welcome back to an exciting school year! Although things will look different this year, we are still committed to being

community contributors to our PRE family! We would like to sincerely thank Mrs. Ferreira and Mrs. Omoto for

their tireless service and dedication to making Student Council so wonderful! We would like to thank the officers and representatives for all their hard work! We appreciate all of you! This year, Mrs. Ferreira and Mrs. Omoto have passed the Student Council baton to us and we can’t wait

to get started! Stay tuned for more information about upcoming elections and Spirit Days! Stay safe and see you

soon!

Thank you,

Mrs. Isaacs and Miss Sakato

Counselors

Library Corner

Welcome back to a new year! I hope you all enjoyed your summer and are staying safe! From the Library, I wanted to thank everyone who purchased books from our online fair in May! I hope those of you who were able to participate and visit the fair online were able to find books that your children would and still and enjoy reading. Due to the times that we are in, we are spending a lot of time at home, so this is a great time to read and enjoy books together! Our Book Fair sales in May totaled $1252.85. All proceeds will be used to purchase books for the library. Thank you everyone! We are planning to have our Fall Book Fair online in December as well. Please be on the lookout for the flyers and announcements. Let’s have an awesome year! Please continue to stay safe!

Hawaii Department of Education hawaiipublicschools.org ohanahelpdesk.org

The Ohana Help Desk is a statewide initiative by the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) to provide technology support to public school students and their parents as they transition to more opportunities for online and blended learning.

The Ohana Help Desk launches on August 4, 2020

� Self-Service, Phone, and Chat Support in Multiple Languages The Ohana Help Desk will provide technology support to public school students and families via a self-service portal, phone, and chat. Our team will be able to provide call-in support in several languages. We are currently working to provide support in the languages most commonly spoken in our family homes – English, Hawaiian, Ilokano, Tagalog, Chuukese, Marshallese.

� Hours of Operation Beginning August 4, 2020, HIDOE students and their parents will be able to access support via phone or chat when the help desk is open.

Monday – Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Sundays from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Ohana Help Desk will be closed on state holidays.

The Ohana Help Desk portal will have 24/7 self-service support and information when it launches on August 4, 2020.

� Available Support � Connectivity-related Issues (e.g., network and wifi connectivity)� Access Authentication and Security Issues (e.g., device security)� Device Support (e.g., devices, applications, software updates)� General IT Support (e.g., “how to I…?”)� Escalations (e.g., assist customers to connect with HIDOE schools or offices for HIDOE

specific support and troubleshooting)

Welcome to the Ohana Help Desk

Ohana Help DeskHow can we help you?

Ohana Help Desk 643-DESK

[643-3375]

ohanahelpdesk.org

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR

STATE OF HAWAI`I

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION P.O. BOX 2360

HONOLULU, HAWAI`I 96804

DR. CHRISTINA M. KISHIMOTO SUPERINTENDENT

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

August 4, 2020 Dear Parent(s)/Legal Guardian(s): During these uncertain and challenging times, the health and safety of all of our students remain a top priority. We care about your child and we know that there are numerous social pressures and misinformation about the devastating impact of tobacco and e-cigarette products. We want to work with you as parent(s)/legal guardian(s) to keep children away from these products. Please talk to your child about making healthy choices and about what the law states for their own protection. According to Act 206 (2018), Section 712-1258, Hawaii Revised Statutes, it is unlawful for any student under the age of 21 to purchase or possess any tobacco product or electronic smoking device (ESD). An ESD is defined as any electronic product that can be used to aerosolize and deliver nicotine or other substances to the person inhaling from the device, including but not limited to an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, or electronic pipe, and any cartridge or other component of the device or related product. In addition, any tobacco product or ESD found in a student’s possession is a violation of Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Chapter 19, shall be seized by school administration, and forfeited to law enforcement. This is pursuant of Act 206 (HB 1895, HD1, SD1, CD1), Part II, Section 8(5) effective July 1, 2018. Should you have further questions, talk to your school administration. At the state office, please contact, Ms. Sheli Suzuki, Educational Specialist, Student Support Section, at (808) 305-9787 or via email, at sheli.suzuki@k12.hi.us. Sincerely, Dr. Christina M. Kishimoto Superintendent CMK:ss Attachment

Miscellaneous

Thank you for your continued understanding and support during this transition. Please email pre_office@pridge.k12.hi.us or call 305-9300 if you have any questions or concerns.

PEARL RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

NOTICE & REQUEST FOR ACCOMMODATIONS

If you are an individual with a disability, please contact the following personnel to make arrangements for accessibility to school events at least 10 working days prior to the event. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate your request. Note that Pearl Ridge School will make every effort to accommodate requests even if made with less than 10 days notice.

For SCHOOL events, please contact:

Mr. Blaine Takeguchi, Principal (808) 305-9300

Mrs. Sherri-Lee Tallman, Vice Principal (808) 305-9300