Pentwater Public Schools

Please review the attached flyer, for your information!

Good Afternoon and Happy New Year Everyone! First I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year and I hope that you were able to have a restful, safe and healthy winter break! I want to remind everyone that tomorrow we are returning to school in a full remote environment for this next week only, this applies for all students grades K-12. Students in grades 7-12 will continue to be in the block schedule that we were in prior to break and all of the remote learning expectations apply to all students. Students in grades K-6 will follow the schedule that your teachers have provided you. I encourage all students and parents to refer to your students teachers Google Classrooms for further information for the schedules, lessons and expectations for the week. I also want to remind all of you that the reason that we are returning to a full-remote learning environment this week is to provide a period of time that we can all safely distance to allow all of our students (K-12) to safely return face-to-face on Monday, January 11, 2021. So during this week if you have traveled or met with members of your family outside of your household or with friends, I encourage you to use this time to safely distance yourselves from others to allow everyone to return to school safe and healthy. Also remember that if your child is not feeling well, even if they have simple cold symptoms, please keep them home until they are symptom free for at least 24 hours. Just remember to contact the front office to let Mrs. Hugo know that your child will not be in school that day. When we return face-to-face on Monday, January 11th, we will be returning with all students (K-12) back in the building and students in grades 7-12 will return to the 7 period day schedule and not to the block schedule. If you wish to have your child remain in the remote learning format, please call or email the front office and your child's teacher to keep them informed of this decision. Again, Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing all of you back in the building on Monday January 11, 2021! Sincerely, Dr. Scott Karaptian

In preparation for this holiday season, twelve students from 2nd and 3rd grade worked diligently on their reading skills so we could create and share our "Gift of Reading" video. The video has been shared with 7 assisted living and extended care facilities in the Hart, Pentwater and Ludington communities. It is our hope that this video of the children reading will bring joy and happiness to the residents at those facilities, during these challenging times.

December 18, 2020 I am sending you this notification to inform you that today the Governor announced that 9-12 grade students may return to the classroom as of 12/21/2020. We will obviously be on our winter break at this time, but when we return to school after the holiday break on January 4, 2021 we will still be returning to a full K-12 remote learning platform for the period of one (1) week. However on January 11, 2021 we will resume K-12 face-to-face instruction. For those students who wish to stay full-remote, please notify Mrs. Hugo either by email shugo@pentwater.k12.mi.us or call at 231-869-4100. With the above said, it is still very important that I strongly encourage everyone to put the safe practices and protocols to use during the entire holiday break. The health department agreed that this 10 day period could weed out 99% of symptomatic infections, but only if we follow these safe practices! I want to remind all of you that Dr. Morse of the DHD#10 encourages the following: If you have ANY symptoms of COVID-19 (see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html) get tested ASAP and DO NOT return to school. You can find testing locations, including sites that are free and don’t require a doctor’s order at www.mi.gov/coronavirustest or by calling 211 Do not travel or gather with others outside of your immediate family If you still decide to travel or spent time with others, consider getting tested 5-7 days after you return from travel or the gathering (for travel recommendations, see under “consider testing” at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html) If you have not yet gotten your flu shot, please do so ASAP, and make sure you and your loved ones are up to date on vaccines that prevent other illnesses such as whooping cough or pneumonia. Lastly if your child is not feeling well, even if it is a slight sniffle or runny nose, please keep them home until they have been 24 hours without any symptoms. We would like for everyone that is returning to Face-to-Face instruction on Monday, January 11, 2021 to be safe and healthy! By working together and following all of these protocols this will allow all of us to return to a safe learning environment for everyone! On behalf of The Pentwater Public Schools Board of Education, Administration and staff, we thank you for all of your continued support and we wish all a safe and happy Holiday Season! Be safe and well! Dr. Scott Karaptian

Pentwater Public Schools' food service will be distributing student meals during the holiday break on the following dates/times: Monday, 12/21: 8am-10:30am Monday, 12/28: 8am-10:30am Monday, 1/4: 8am-10:30am Please come to the back (north) kitchen entrance and a food service worker will bring the meals to you Have a wonderful holiday season!

We wish to thank our community for their continued support of our students and staff here at Pentwater Public Schools! We were gifted yummy gifts from the Methodist Church from the Oldewick Post Gift Shoppe of Pentwater. An anonymous community member also gifted each staff member with delicious flavored coffees from the Oldewick Post and parent, Mary Ann Bush, brought in these beautiful red roses "Just Because". Thank you and have a blessed holiday season from your friends at Pentwater Public Schools!

December 14, 2020 Dear Families and Friends, I am sending you this notification to inform you that when we return to school after the holiday break on January 4, 2021 we will be returning to a full K-12 remote learning platform for the period of one (1) week. Returning in full-remote will allow our students, families and staff a 10 day period to quarantine following the holiday season before returning to the classroom. With the above said, it is very important and I strongly encourage that everyone put the safe practices and protocols to use during the entire holiday break. The health department agreed that this 10 day period could weed out 99% of symptomatic infections. Dr. Morse of the DHD#10 encourages the following: If you have ANY symptoms of COVID-19 (see https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html) get tested ASAP and DO NOT return to school. You can find testing locations, including sites that are free and don’t require a doctor’s order at www.mi.gov/coronavirustest or by calling 211 Do not travel or gather with others outside of your immediate family If you still decide to travel or spent time with others, consider getting tested 5-7 days after you return from travel or the gathering (for travel recommendations, see under “consider testing” at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html) If you have not yet gotten your flu shot, please do so ASAP, and make sure you and your loved ones are up to date on vaccines that prevent other illnesses such as whooping cough or pneumonia. Lastly if your child is not feeling well, even if it is a slight sniffle or runny nose, please keep them home until they have been 24 hours without any symptoms. We would like for everyone that is returning to Face-to-Face instruction on Monday, January 11, 2021 to be safe and healthy! By working together and following all of these protocols this will allow all of us to return to a safe learning environment for everyone! On behalf of The Pentwater Public Schools Board of Education, Administration and staff, we thank you for all of your continued support and we wish all a safe and happy Holiday Season! Be safe and well! Dr. Scott Karaptian

Please join us from the comfort of your home (or place of work!) On Thursday, 12/17/2020, at 10am for a Facebook Live Winter Concert presented by our very own JH Band! Looking forward to seeing you there! 🎄

We are celebrating Holiday Spirit Week during the week of 12/14 - 12/18!

Congratulations to all of the newly inducted members of the PHS National Honor Society! A Virtual Ceremony was held Wednesday at 7:00 pm.

Due to the restrictions put in place by the MDHHS and out of an abundance of caution, we will be postponing our annual Holiday Craft Fair for the Pentwater Bands that was scheduled for Saturday, December 5th, 2020. We are in the midst of rescheduling for the summer of 2021. Be on the lookout for more info in the coming months! Stay safe and happy holidays! 🎄

Dear Friends and Families, Pentwater Public Schools, Spectrum Health and District #10 Health Department want to applaud you for your continual diligence in practicing safety protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19. in our school and community. We are encouraged by the responsible way parents are notifying schools when symptoms and/or possible exposures occur. Thank you! Despite this good work, the number of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have increased dramatically in the past two weeks in our area and across the state. Most often, these cases are due to social interactions when people were closer than six feet and masks were not worn. We are very concerned this trend will continue and the impact it will have on the care the hospitals are able to provide to us locally. Hospitals are already seeing alarming capacity complications and staffing difficulties at our hospitals. We can all do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. We implore you to follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks when in public and wash your hands often. This is a critical time for our entire community. With the holidays coming up, we are asking everyone to do these four things to reduce the spread of the virus: Wear a mask in public spaces, stay at least six feet away from others, wash your hands frequently and notify school as soon as your child develops symptoms or is known to have been exposed to the virus. With the Thanksgiving Holiday just a few days away, we encourage you to follow the CDC and health departments guidelines so that we can continue to keep our doors open to face to face teaching and learning. Please see the attached document from the Spectrum Hospital and DHD #10 . Thank you and be well! Dr. Scott Karaptian

On Tuesday, November 17th, 2020 our 5th Grade music class participated in a virtual ukulele workshop with musician Lil' Rev through the Ludington Area Center for the Arts! We had the opportunity to listen to and play along with many classic bluegrass and folk songs. Thank you LACA for this awesome opportunity! 🎶

Get your flu shot - especially this year!

Please review the letter from Dr. Karaptian giving an update on the 9th-12th grade full remote learning plan for Pentwater Public Schools, dated 11/16/2020. This learning plan goes into effect on Wednesday, 11/19, thru Tuesday, 12/8. Please call if you have any questions!

Please read the attached letter that was shared with all families on 11-15-2020. We will update families as quickly as possible as decisions are being made for the district, we thank you for your cooperation.

If you are having issues connecting your school issued Chromebook to your home WiFi network, please check out my teacher page to watch a quick video showing you two settings that need to be enabled. Thanks, Mr. Steve.

We invite you to view the Veteran's Day program video that students and staff of Pentwater Public Schools created to honor our men and women who are currently or have served our country in the cause for freedom! The link is provided below, please thank a veteran today, we hope to be able to celebrate in person in 2021! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S9VkPVk7mks1kqNAOq1LsogtdcpLb3fO/view?usp=sharing

The Varsity Girls and Boys Basketball teams are doing a fundraiser together to raise money for this season! We will get $4, $6, $8 per item purchased depending on the total community and school quantity purchased. Please take a few moments and SHOP till you DROP. Please ship your order to your house and enjoy some quality items:) Christmas presents, Falcon Gear, or Friday gear for you and your family. Please share the link with anyone who you think may want to order. Here is the link to the shop: https://fancloth.shop/XSTQT Spread the word and post it on social media! As Always, thank you for supporting our sports programs! Go Falcons! Coach Wojtas and Coach Gorton

Please see the attached flyer to register for Toys for Tots with information on dates/times for sign-ups!