Principal's Weekly Letter

April 11th, 2025

I’d like to give a big SHOUT OUT to the 3rd and 4th grade choir.  We had 34 students who were able to make it on Sunday and they sang beautifully.  Thank you to our teachers (Ms. Bradshaw/Ms. Reynolds) and choir directors (Mrs. Kaio/Mrs. Kahalewai)  for preparing them so well.  Thank you also to Ms. Omura for providing some refreshments after church.  

 This week at ELS

This week buzzed with activity across all grades! Our youngest learners in PS enjoyed an exciting trip to the FIRE station. We also had some family visits from future kindergarteners. Kindergarteners shifted their focus from long "a" to long "i" sounds, while first grade diligently reviewed their Language Arts skills. Second graders demonstrated their financial prowess, tallying cents and dollars like future accountants. Third grade artists created stunning butterfly artwork and continued their Language Arts center work. Fourth grade students reflected on the significance of Palm Sunday in their religion class. Fifth grade buckled down for test preparation and review. Sixth grade earned points towards their next mall trip and explored the relationships between fractions, decimals, and percentages. Finally, our eighth graders dove headfirst into a comprehensive Geometry unit, tackling surface area and volume calculations for prisms, cylinders, cones, and cubes, and seventh graders mastered exponent rules and patterns.

MYBLLeif Sjostrand (Mrs. Sjostrand’s husband) runs the Maui Youth Basketball League.  He asked me to share this with school families interested in getting students involved.  Take a look!  Sign up end soon.  Sorry for the late notice.  http://Bit.ly/cmybl

Chapel Offerings

Our Chapel offerings for the 4th quarter will again go to Branch Lutheran School.  We have supported their mission and ministry for several years.  This year our money will go to their “Food Fund”.  They provide meals every day to over 1300 children!  All donations from Emmanuel Lutheran will buy large quantities of rice and beans as well as snacks to students and orphans in Port-au-Prince.  The total collected to date is $63.60.  I would love 

VBS (repeat from last week)

Emmanuel Lutheran Church is looking for volunteers to guide kids on the ultimate Alaskan adventure where northern lights glow over majestic mountains, racing rivers, and glistening glaciers. As kids trek through the tundra, they’ll explore how easy it is to lose sight of what’s true in our world today.  Pointing them toward Jesus, True North VBS (July 7th - July 11th) shows them that he is a faithful friend we can always trust. He’s our True North!

Click the link below to fill out one form per volunteer no later than 4/20/2025 (Easter Sunday) so that we can determine how many kids we can have join us. The more volunteers we have, the more kids we can lead to Jesus, their True North.

VBS Volunteer Form

Golf Tournament 

There are numerous ways to help with our 1st Annual Golf Tournament.  Please consider helping this event be a success!

1. Sponsorship - Please check out the flyer and share with others.  We have secured a few sponsors thus far but we would love for that number to grow to at least 20!  

2. Players - Find a partner and sign up for a team.  The Sponsorship flyer also has the sign up for players.

3. Note:  Please include Player Handicap.  This will be a part of the scoring but is not on the sign up sheet.

4. Donations - Golf Tournaments like this are dependent on donations for prizes and other perks for the players.  Attached is a donation form.  Please consider donating and sharing this form with local businesses who might be interested in supporting our event.  If you would like any physical copies to distribute please stop by the school office and we would be happy to print some for you!

Staff Update

I am pleased to inform you that Mrs. Amy McCoy will be teaching 3rd grade next year.  Mrs. McCoy has been working with preschool students this year and is excited to return to the classroom full time next year.  Below is a short bio.  We look forward to having Mrs. McCoy on staff as a full time teacher next year.  

Amy McCoy

Mrs. McCoy has been serving in the preschool this school year and will be embarking on her second year at ELS in 2025-2026. She has served 12 years as an educator, with previous positions spanning multiple disciplines, including music teaching, classroom teaching (3rd grade), and administration. She earned her bachelor's degree with a focus on music education from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, and her Master of Education degree from Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA. Prior to moving to Hawaii, she has worked as an educator in several states, including Michigan, Massachusetts, California, and Virginia. With a strong passion for Christian education, Mrs. McCoy is excited to continue as a part of the ELS ohana in a new role, helping students grow both spiritually and academically!

More Bios on new staff to come next week!

CALENDAR ITEMS

April 12th - No Basketball games scheduled

• Congratulations on a great OT win last week!

April 18th - 21st - Easter Break (No School Friday and Monday)

May 2nd - May Day

May 5th - No School

May 16th - Fine Arts Night at ELS!

• This is a new event in lieu of a school play at the MACC.  All classes will display artwork completed throughout the year.  We will have a Paina Night Potluck.  All choirs (PS, Keiki (K-2), 3-4, 5-8) will perform in the chapel.  Beginning Band and Concert Band will perform as well as 3-4 Ukulele players.  Please put this night on your calendar and join us in helping to showcase all of our students.  

May 23rd - 3rd Annual Middle School Social

• This is a fun evening for the 6th-8th grade students at Emmanuel.  There will be games, food, and music.  Cost is $15 to help cover the food and prizes.  

May 26th - No School - Memorial Day

May 29th - 8th Grade Graduation

May 30th - Last Day of School

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Mr. Rempfer