Pentwater Public Schools

Thank you to Crissy from Big Rapids Crossroads for sharing the photo she was able to get on Monday, 9/28/2020, during the JH and varsity girls volleyball game!

September 28, 2020 Dear family and friends, I would like all of you to know that the school board and administration does and has heard the concerns of many families, students and staff regarding the difficulties of the current Blended/Hybrid learning platform. As I still believe that this was the safest way to open the school with so many unknowns in opening schools during a pandemic, it is also important to hear from our educational community that there were many educational, emotional and social concerns that could not be addressed adequately in the blended/hybrid format. It is also important to know that there is NO perfect way to run school during this pandemic that is going to work for everyone but we are trying to meet the needs of as many students as we can. Below is the data information from the Learning Environment Survey that was released Friday afternoon to gather opinions on whether or not people felt that the current Blended/Hybrid learning format was supported and whether or not there would be any support to move toward All student meeting 4 days face-to-face with a full remote option for those who did not feel comfortable with the all face to face option. See data information below: The first question asked if families were in support of the current Blended/Hybrid model, whether people felt that it was working; working but could be better; or, not working at all. There were 162 respondents and 54/162 felt it is not working at all. 77/162 felt it was working but could be better and 31/162 felt that it was working well. The second question asked how much support there was for keeping the current Blended/Hybrid model or trying something completely different. 84/162 respondents would like to try something completely different while 78/16 were in favor of keeping what we have and try to make it better. The third question asked the amount of support there would be if Pentwater chose to move to have ALL students meet four (4) days face-to-face and one (1) day where everyone is full remote. 131/162 are in favor of this move while 31/162 are not. The final question of the survey asked families how they would choose to have their students participate, either in the ALL four (4) days face-to-face and one (1) day full remote option or have their student(s) participate in the all full-remote option. 144/162 families stated that they would have their students participate in the ALL four (4) days face-to-face and one (1) all remote day, while 18/162 stated that they would have their students participate in the full remote option. With the knowledge of the above information, the district will be moving toward an ALL student, four (4) days face-to-face and one day full remote learning format beginning Monday, October 5, 2020. We will continue with our current schedule with students meeting face-to-face on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with Wednesday being a full remote day for all students. On Wednesdays, teachers will make contact with students who are on the everyday full remote schedule, being available for questions for all students, as well as using this time to plan, upload video supports and information into Google Classroom. We will also use Wednesday as a cleaning & disinfecting day while having the building student free for at least 24 hours. If your students are not currently participating in the full-remote learning option and with this new change you would like them to be full-remote, please email Mrs. Lisa Wagner at lwagner@pentwater.k12.mi.us to make this request. The same is true if your student(s) are currently full remote and you would like them to return to the all four (4) days face-to-face option, please email Mrs. Wagner. With this being said it is important to remember to self-check your students every morning before sending them to school, if they are not feeling well, please keep them home! We will not be changing the times that the school doors open, currently 7:45 am. Please do not drop your students off early as they will have nowhere to go and we want to eliminate the potential of gathering and not following safe distancing protocols. Elementary students will still be entering from their exterior classroom doors. I want to thank all of you for taking the time to respond to the survey and I also want to thank all of you for your continued patience and support as we continue to work through these times together as a Village, Community and Family! Respectfully, Dr. Scott Karaptian

September 25, 2020 Dear Family and Friends, As we finish our third week of school in the Hybrid Learning platform, I think that we can all agree that there have been many challenges. When this plan was approved by the Board of Education in August, the COVID-19 cases were still pretty hot in our area and even though it has gone down quite a bit, this pandemic still exists and we need to continue to monitor cases and the safety and well-being of students, staff and community. With this being said, the original goal was to re-evaluate the current Return to School Plan at the end of the first marking period on November 6, 2020, to determine whether we continue with this plan, return to full day face-to-face instruction or go to a 100% remote format. On August 20, 2020, the Governor issued an order that all schools must submit an Extended Covid Learning Plan (ECOL) that requires all school boards to evaluate a school's Return to School Plan every 30 days. Pentwater Public Schools ECOL plan was submitted after our September 21, 2020, school board meeting and will be evaluated within the next 30 days to determine our Plan’s instructional delivery moving forward. To help guide our decisions, we would like to gather information from all of you by having you complete this very short survey (https://forms.gle/oUePhQBkVWVi3b3v9). The information gathered in this survey is very important and we ask everyone to please fill out and submit this survey to have your opinions and thoughts heard to help determine Pentwater’s instructional delivery method. The time is of the essence and we ask everyone to have the survey completed by Tuesday, September 29, 2020. We do hear and respect everyone’s opinions and concerns and we thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work together to figure out how education can be done as safely as possible in Pentwater, while in a pandemic situation. Respectfully, Dr. Scott Karaptian

The sky's the limit with who we are able to welcome into our classrooms now that we are becoming so savvy with Google Meet! On Friday, September 25th, 2020, the HS Band welcomed Dr. Jordan VanHemert to speak about the transition from Swing to Bebop in Jazz back in the mid-twentieth century and how social movements and Jim Crow Laws propelled the genre forward. Dr. VanHemert is a professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Hope College and joined us from Holland, MI. Students in-person and remotely were able to connect with him simultaneously as a result of our use of the Google Meet platform. As we continue the balancing act of supporting in-person and remote learners, and our inability to play our instruments safely indoors, the HS Band will have several opportunities to meet with music professionals in the field as we discuss how music relates to social movements throughout our global history. Thank you, Dr. VanHemert!

Any 7th - 12th grade student can find this workshop useful, sign up today, if interested.

The Pentwater Equestrian Team featuring Alexis Settler is currently in 4th place at the District 9 Competition! They have one more meet on Saturday!

Pentwater Public Schools is looking for a full-time custodian. If you are interested or know of anyone that would be interested, please contact the school office. Thank you!

Thank you so much to Michele Anscombe at the Painted Frog Art Gallery in Pentwater for the generous donation of art supplies!

On Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020, several members of the 6th Grade Band came together for our first Virtual Full Band rehearsal! Every Wednesday, 6th graders are invited to join our virtual rehearsal and make music with their classmates remotely. The creativity and positivity of our students, staff, and community is so evident in moments like these. Go falcons! For more information regarding what's happening in music/band, please check out Ms. H's teacher page through the school website (https://www.pentwaterschools.net/teacher_pages#/teachers/27534/bio), ask students about their Google Classroom, and/or contact Ms. H directly

Please see the attached flyer for the first PTCO meeting for 2020/2021!

Good Evening Pentwater Family, please check out the link below for a video update from Dr. Karaptian. https://youtu.be/Sj5JvKojkkw

Here are a few area locations where students can access free wifi for remote learning if needed, thank you to these organizations for allowing our families to use your services: Pentwater Centenary United Methodist Church May access from car on Hancock St UN: Centenary PW: Umc82Pent Pentwater Public Library UN: PW: PentwaterLibrary Up North Market May access from car in parking lot UN: Guest PW: None

Pentwater Public Schools needs you! EDUSfaff is an educational staffing company that specializes in training and providing quality substitute teachers (or guest teachers), substitute paraprofessionals, and other employee types for Pentwater Public Schools. Founded in 2010, EDUStaff has quickly become known in our educational community for providing outstanding customer service to their partnering districts, external employees and guest teachers! Log on to www.EDUStaff.org to apply or you may contact customer support at 877-974-6338.

Pentwater Public Schools thanks Cosmic Candy Co. for the wonderful fall inspired Pumpkin Spice Latte popcorn that they shared with all of our staff; we live in an awesome community!

Good afternoon, Please review the attached letter from Dr. Karaptian with an update on the 9/17/2020 soft lockdown at Pentwater Public Schools. Thank you!

Dear Family and Friends, As you may have heard, the State has continued on with the summer meal program that allows all students to receive free meals (breakfast and lunch) to include students in a remote setting, at least until the end of the 2020 year. With the above being said, if you would like your Blended/Hybrid/Remote student(s) to have breakfast and lunch provided for them, please note these distribution times: Group A students may pick up their meals at the end of the day on Tuesdays (2:45 p.m.) from the cafeteria before they leave for the day; Group B students may pick up their meals on Fridays at the end of the day, also at 2:45 p.m.. If your student(s) is participating in the Full-remote platform, they may pick up all of their meals for the week on Monday mornings from 8:00-10:30 a.m. at the back (north) side of the school building. Parents of younger students (or any student for that matter), who might be a bit small to carry several days worth of meals on their own, regardless of what group they are in, you may also pick up meals on Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m. in the back (north) side of the building. We also want to remind everyone that our Return To School tab in our website and in our Pentwater App is now active with all of the necessary information, ranging from materials from the Health Department to How to Access Google Classroom and so much more. Please go to the Pentwater website at www.pentwaterschools.net and click on the Menu pull down screen, once you do this look for the yellow Return To School button at the top right hand side of the screen. Thank you very much for your understanding and continued cooperation as we figure this whole new world together. Respectfully, Dr. Scott Karaptian

Support local food banks & receive delicious, locally grown fruit from Oceana County!

Band masks are being made! On Saturday, September 12th, 2020, Ms. H and several volunteers at Sew Let's Be Quilty in downtown Pentwater started the first batch of practice masks for our band students. We will have masks and bell covers for rehearsals and then another set for concerts - this makes it safe for us to play our instruments inside! We're so fortunate to have such an awesome community. Thank you Amy Shotwell for opening up your shop to us and helping our students make music this year!

All Star Driver Education is, once again, offering classes beginning in September for both Segment I and Segment II. The link to register and to see dates/times and pricing can be found at https://allstardrivereducation.netdrivered.com/main/location/PentwaterHighSchool (either click on the link or copy paste in your browser) Thank you!

A friendly reminder that the U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA) announced it has agreed to extend the federal waiver for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). This extension allows any and ALL children to receive meals from schools and community sites operating SFSP and SSO at no cost, whether learning remotely or face-to-face. We encourage all families to complete and submit a Free & Reduced Meal Application, this helps cover state reimbursements for the meals. The application can be downloaded from our website, completed and turned or you may apply online through our website. Please note that the tentative daily food menus have been added to our website. Our head cook and staff, Paul Skupien and Michelle Parnell, are excited to bring these delicious menus to your students. Being able to have a healthy nutritious meal is incredibly important and we are thankful for the work that Chartwells is doing for our students.