March 5, 2021

In this issue...

• Meet our Counselors: Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Yonting
• Read Across Haleʻiwa Week by Ms. Santos
• Student Showcase: G1 Writing Club
• Literacy Corner: Haleʻiwa Book Bag Pilot Program
• Read Aloud: Try a Little Kindness read by Ms. Yonting
• Join our Haleʻiwa Book Club
• Nurse Connie: Smile Health
• Hawai’i Keiki Dental Sealant Program, March 30 & 31
• Choose Love: Positive Affirmation Songs

Hale`iwa is very fortunate to have two very talented counselors -- Mrs. Nami-Anne Dolan and Ms. Nicole Yonting. Together, they are a dynamic duo who go beyond their counseling "jobs" to help our students. You might see them working at our "Grab and Go" lunch distribution or at our A+ after school program. They also have their own "Counselors Care" website and do online SEL (social-emotional learning) lessons for all grade levels each week. Most importantly, they find time to counsel our students on a variety of topics in a myriad of ways. Since our counselors always work hard to get to know our students, we thought it would be nice for everyone to get to know a little more about our counselors.

Why did you decide to become a school counselor?

I have always been a good listener and my high school friends came to me for help with their problems. I considered becoming a librarian since I loved books and reading. Then, I read an article in the newspaper saying that there was going to a shortage of school counselors in the next five years. Since my psychology degree matched what I needed to get into the program for a Masters of Education in Counseling & Guidance, I decided to become a school counselor. Thirty years later, I am still doing the job I love for the past 30 years at Haleiwa Elementary.

If you had a million dollars, what would you do?

If I had a million dollars, I would invest the money so I could make more money to spend on the following things:

• Payoff my debts
• Pay for my children’s college education and cars
• Travel
• Renovate my 60 year old house
• Buy new computers/chromebooks for Haleiwa Elementary
• 
  

What are 3 things that you would like all Hale`iwa students to know about you?

• Mother of triplets (Quinn, Ariana & Kira)
• My second favorite animal is the Koala.
• My favorite genre to read is Science Fiction & to watch is Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

What is something exciting in your life that you are looking forward to?

When it is safe, I would like to travel – on a cruise ship – maybe the Mediterrean, Israel, Japan, Australia, or Alaska.

Why did you decide to become a school counselor?

I decided to become a school counselor because I love to conversate with children. As the saying goes, "Children say the darndest things" is absolutely true. One of the main reasons I love coming to school everyday is because children will share surprising, unexpected, funny, and clever things, which I enjoy listening to. As young students, their brains are open to learning anything new and my goal is to help build strong resilent growth mindsets in our Hale'iwa students. Overall, I want to be to part of their learning experiences by guiding the development of their social emotional well-being.

If you had a million dollars, what would you do?

If I had a million dollars I would first buy a home for my family, pay off any debt, put some money on the side for my children's college funds, and buy Nintendo switches for all classrooms with the "Just Dance" game, so students can get daily fun movement =)

What are 3 things that you would like all Hale`iwa students to know about you?

Three things I would like Hale'iwa students to know about me is:

1. I try to do my best everyday.

2. I am a very good listener.

3. I am always here to help with anything.

What is something exciting in your life that you are looking forward to?

Something small and exciting in my life that I am looking forward to is enjoying a staycation at the Disney Aulani with my family for my daughter's birthday. It will be my first time ever staying there and I am very excited to see Disney characters.

This week, our students and staff members celebrated our Read Across Haleʻiwa Week by dressing up each day. Monday, we wore our crazy socks or had crazy hair. Tuesday was twin day. Students dressed similar to a classmate, sibling, teacher, or staff member. On Wednesday, our students dressed as a favorite non-fiction character from a book. On Thursday, we dressed as our favorite fiction character. Friday is our Haleʻiwa spirit week and everyone wore purple. It was a fun filled week, as you can tell from the pictures.

We want our Haleʻiwa students to read everyday- it is the way! Each morning, we emailed our students a video of a staff member reading a special book. We hope all of our students heard our awesome staff members read already, but if not- please check your email again for the links.

What are some of your favorite books to read as a family?

This week, check out student work from Lincoln Barit, Cali Farren, and Lennon Teo. They wrote a paragraph answering "Who has the best job in the world and why?" Their paragraph had to include three supporting details that were interesting and different from each other.

Reading for fun is the best! This week, we started our Haleʻiwa Book Bags pilot program with two of our classes- Ms. Lee's second grade and Ms. Felz's third grade class. Our students received five books in a bag and will keep it for a week and a half.

Students will read the books at home (some with family members) and are required to complete an attached worksheet. We hope to expand this program to other students later.

Click on the video below to listen to Ms.Yonting read Try a Little Kindness by Henry Cole.

Smiling is a very important expression of human emotions. Smiling signals friendliness and positive interaction. Happier people, with increased sense of wellbeing, tend to also be healthier. A healthy and confident smile is something that everyone should have. Oral health does not only mean the absence of disease like cavities, but oral “wellness.” Oral wellness means healthy gums, teeth, tongue, and the ability to speak, chew, enjoy food, and smile. Oral wellness affect confidence, and enjoyment. Children with oral pain result in poor school performance. Dental decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood. In all ages, there is lack of access to oral health care.

More and more evidence in science shows a strong relationship between oral health and overall physical health for all ages. Most oral disease are preventable or at least controllable. The Hawaii Keiki program Dental Sealant Program brings a board certified dentist to our school to examine kids’ oral health. The program also assists those who need referral to a local dentist for further care. Please click on the link below to find out more about the dental sealant program coming to our school soon.

For Grade 2 & 3 Students

Let’s improve oral health in Hawai’i youth through a school-based dental sealant program. Sealants reduce rates of cavities.

Permission forms were sent home February 11 & 12 with your child. Please fill out the form and return to school by March 25. Distant learners can pick up form in the office or they can get the PDF. Contact the office if you have any questions or need help signing up.

This week, our counselors share a fun positive affirmation song you can sing along to!

Email: haleiwaschool@haleiwa.k12.hi.us
Website: haleiwaelementary.com
Location: 66-505 Hale`iwa Road
Phone: 808-637-8237