Pentwater Public Schools

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.

Picture day is next week! Pictures will take place in the small gym/cafeteria. Group A - Tuesday, 9/15/2020 Group B - Friday, 9/18/2020 100% Remote - Please choose either 9/15 or 9/18 for your picture day and be at the school between the hours of 10:30am and 1pm. You will need to enter the school through the back entrance by the library/small gym! The online link for ordering is https://prepay.geskusphoto.com/?A=4679 (copy and paste in browser)

Dear Families and Friends, We have some great news, earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it has agreed to extend the federal waiver for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO). The waiver was set to expire, and this extension goes through the end of 2020 or until federal funds run out. Specifically, this extension will allow 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 still encourage all families to fill out and submit Free & Reduced meal applications, this helps cover state reimbursements for the meals. I ask that you complete the following survey (https://forms.gle/87Yk3L4uT8hTHfeH9) regarding your students and meals that you would be participating or needing. Students participating in the Blended/Hybrid method may also pick up meals for their remote learning days, prior to leaving for the day (either Tuesday for Group A and Friday for Group B). Also students participating in the full remote method may pick up a weeks worth of meals. Chartwells will be getting us more information soon, but we will first need to get accurate counts. Thank you for helping us get an accurate count of necessary meals daily and weekly! Respectfully, Dr. Scott Karaptian