Hawai’i Academy of Arts & Science
Public Charter School
September 2015
Volume 2
The Start of Another Great School Year
Welcome Back to our Fabulous HAAS Community!
The 2015-2016 School Year has kicked of in Great Style! Already, the community-wide meetings,
parent nights, dances, and activities are seeing higher attendance than anyone here remembers.
What a gift to be a part of such an involved, creative community! We’re looking forward to this
momentum continuing throughout the school year.
Inside this issue
Girl’s Volleyball ........................... 2
Cross Country.............................. 2
Hui La’au goes to HawaiiCon! ..... 3
High School Yearbook ................. 4
Welcome Back HAAS Families—A note from our
Principal, Steve Hirakami
Main Campus ‘Advisory’ ............. 4
Welcome back HAAS families. The 2015-2016 school year had a great
start in all of the programs, and we are sincerely hoping for a normal
school year. As you may remember, last school year opened with Hurricane Iselle on the second day of school. That event was soon followed by
months of threatening lava flows. This year three consecutive storm systems in the month of August threatened the area, and everyone at HAAS
said: "Oh no, not again." When they all passed leaving us with only heavy
rain fall, we were relieved and happy.
Introducing our New Dean .......... 6
You will be receiving the test results from last spring's Smarter Balanced
testing. Tests results may at first look disappointing but consider the facts:
last year was the first testing year of the Smarter Balance assessment which tested to Common Core
standards. There are 22 States that have switched to this National standardized test and Hawaii
ranks in the top middle. Last year’s results act as the baseline for the school, so we should be seeing
better results in this year's testing since students quickly adapt to what the tests expect of them.
We would like to thank all the parent volunteers who have signed up for our various student activities throughout the year. We encourage all parents to get involved with their child's education.
Volunteer forms are available at the main office or online on our website www.haaspcs.org.
Thank you all for choosing HAAS as your child's school. We will do our best to educate, enrich, and
inspire them to reach their fullest potential.
Aloha, Steve
Discovery Heights ....................... 5
Seaview Community School ........ 5
Special points of interest
Fall Intersession Oppoprtunity .... 2
Hui La’au NEON Dance……………….3
The Spelling Bee is Back! ............. 4
Remember: No School for Fall Break
10/2-10/9. See page 2 for a fun
opportunity during this time off!
Girls Volleyball
Girl’s Volleyball is off to a great start so far
this Season. The JV and Varsity Teams travel
together all over the island to compete in the
league. Special thanks go to Coaches Eric
Cockcroft and Jeannine Baker who pull long
hours to get their teams to the matches and
home safely.
Our HAASOME supporters!
It’s worth the sacrifice, however, as student
athletes get to experience something unique
that goes beyond the classroom. “I really
appreciate the power of the team”, says
Coach Baker. “These girls are amazing, and
we are proud of them for committing to, and
choosing active lives and connectivity.”
Come on out and support the team at our
upcoming Home Games @ the Pahoa Gym:
Saturday 9/26: HAAS v Laupahoehoe
Saturday 10/3: HAAS v Parker School
Support the team by grinding down on ‘Ono
concessions made by our very own parent
volunteers!
“I really appreciate the power of The Team. These girls are amazing, and we are
proud of them for committing to, and choosing active lives and connectivity”
~Jeannine Baker, Girls Volleyball Coach
Fall Break Opportunity!
Cross Country
Not sure what to do over Fall break?
Pahoa Cross Country continues to be a competitive force on the Big island! Though it
is a Pahoa team, it is led by HAAS’ very own Patrick Baker. A Big shout-out goes to
Justin Young who has been coming out consistently to run with the group and has
earned “Honorary Assistant Coach” status.
Kumu Hua Ganir and Chris Poteat are
offering a very exciting opportunity
for students to learn how to dance
Hula and Capoeira. Students can
learn a lot about their bodies, local
culture, and the oral traditions that
go along with these unique styles of
movement.
The Oral Traditions Camp
Reports from the trails are that everyone on the team is getting in better shape, and
are pushing their limits to fulfill their personal greatness. Coach Baker says “We are
getting faster and faster - reaching our personal goals and surpassing them.”
This message is consistent from the Cross Country Leadership. Mr. Young notes that
“It takes a lot of dedication and motivation to get out there and run every day. We’ve
seen great improvement so far this season in each and every runner. Their hard work
is starting to pay off.”
will meet at the HAAS Main Campus
Pavilion:
10/6, 10/7, 10/8, 10/9
9:00am—12:00 Noon
Contact Gail Clarke at
[email protected]
For More Information
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This attitude and accomplishment is clear from the newly evolved team motto: “Miles
of Trials and Trials of Miles...and we smile at every mile”
“The only secret to running is hard work, perseverance and a positive attitude” sounds like we could all learn a lot from the Cross Country Runners in our life.
The championship race will be held at Kamehameha School on October 24th
2:30pm. We would love to have the community come out to support our
HAAS runners.
“Miles of Trials & Trials of Miles...and we Smile at EVERY Mile”
~Justin Young & The Team
Hui LA’AU Arts Academy
Hui La’au NEON Dance!
Goes to...
The Middle School students at hui
La’au are putting on their first dance
of the year! The theme is NEON!
Come dressed to impress in the
brightest clothes you’ve got.
The Dance is happening October
1st—the day before Fall Break.
It will be held at the Main Campus
pavilion from 6pm—9pm and is open
to all 6th-8th grade students—
HawaiiCon!
On September 10, 24 members of Hui La’au’s
Arts Academy went to the opening day of HawaiiCon at the Hapuna Prince
Hotel. HawaiiCon is a four day convention that showcases the following industries: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Comics, Anime, and Gaming. The generous
folks at HawaiiCon donated tickets for our students and chaperones, so students were able to attend the event at no cost!
Students attended workshops conducted by professional actors, writers,
artists, game designers, and scientists. They also had time to check out art
vendors, the gaming room (including video games,) and meet stars from
some of their favorite shows, including Once Upon a Time. Miss Erin ordered
pizzas, and her mom was kind enough to bring them down to the hotel for us.
including our InDigital ‘Ohana.
Admission is $5
There will be delicious concessions
offered:
Professionally-Made Teri Burgers are
the centerpiece of the yummy stuff
available. Bring a couple extra dollars
and get dinner for yourself when you
drop your Middle School student off.
This is a fundraising dance and all
proceeds are going to the Hui La’au
Yearbook effort. If they meet their
goal it means that every Hui La’au
student will get a yearbook FREE OF
Once we returned, students wrote reflections about how their perspectives
on careers in the arts changed as a result of attending HawaiiCon. Several
students were inspired by the voice actors, TV writers, and costume and prop
designers. Others were inspired by the jewelry makers and the fantasy games
and a couple of students specifically view video game design as something
they could see themselves doing in the future.
CHARGE at the end of the school
year—surely a worthy cause.
Big Thanks to our new Teaching
Assistant Ms. Marina and the 16
student leaders who stepped up to
take on the planning of this very cool
event!
Each student came away with new perspectives on the many possible career
paths for artists in the modern work place, and each student had their own
“favorite part.” The one thing we all agreed on is to fundraise this year so we
can stay at HawaiiCon longer next year!
A Special Mahalo to Kumu Lisa Wells for organizing this opportunity for our
students. We Love what you bring Aunty Lisa!
We’ll see you under the black lights...
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The Spelling Bee is Back!
That’s right, the Scripps National
Spelling Bee is coming back to HAAS
after last year’s successful turnout!
The Spelling Bee is open to all
students 4th-8th grade.
Teachers have already received
materials, spelling lists and resources
to support our S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R
spellers!
Winners from each grade level will
get to compete at the School-Wide
Spelling Bee which will be held on
Tuesday December 1st at the Ohana
Learning Center (OLC) Pavilion.
HAAS 9th-12th Yearbook Class is off to an Amazing Year
HAAS 9-12 yearbook class is excited for
the upcoming year. We have decided to
expand the book this year to include 74
full color pages as well as two free custom pages. You can create your custom
pages after purchasing the book. The
cost of the yearbook with be $30. Families who purchase the book in September
will receive a 15% discount, and if they
purchase the book in October there is a
10% discount. You can order your yearbook by going to treering.com and entering our school code: 1013487889194470
Do you have a special senior who you
would like to congratulate for their accomplishments? If so, you should consider purchasing a senior ad. You can
design the ad yourself or provide what
you want to say and the pictures and we
will create it for you. For more information, email us at [email protected].
Yearbook class is also accepting photos
to be placed in our HYB16 section. Submit you photos on Instagram by tagging
them #HYB16.
Located at 15-1837 Paradise Drive
Anyone able to attend is invited to
come on down and support our
spellers in this time-honored academic tradition.
If you have any questions about how
you can support your 4th-8th grade
speller contact your child’s teacher,
or Mr. McLean for more details.
[email protected]
808-965-3730
Stay tuned for more updates, and
2014-15 High School Yearbook
HAAS Main Campus Students Introduce
‘Advisory’
This year, the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science main campus (grades 9-12)
introduced an advisory program. Students attend classes every day from 8:00
-8:30 to learn skills such as organization, note taking, leadership, and test
prep. In addition, students are learning about community building and have
some time for study skills as well.
Many of the components of the
advisory come from the AVID program, which is a program geared
towards college and career readiness. For more information about
AVID, see their website at
Alaka’I is the Hawaiian value of ‘Leadership’
www.avid.org.
Each month, we are selecting a value to help guide the lessons learned that
month. In August, we focused on Community. In September, our focus is on
Alaka’i (being a leader), so our activities focused on what it means to be a
leader.
We are excited about this change and hope it helps make a successful school
year!
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For More information about AVID, see their website at
www.avid.org
Discovery Heights
Recently, Dave Carvalho, from
University of Hawaii - Hilo, came
and taught the Third and Sixth
Grade Students at Discovery
Heights about earthquakes, how
they happen and how to stay
safe!! He taught us to drop,
get under a table or desk,
stay indoors and hold on
during an earthquake. He
also promoted the 'Great
Hawai`i Shakeout' scheduled for Oct. 15, 2015 at 10:15 am.
More information can be found at www.Shakeout.org
Big Mahalo to our Discovery Heights teachers; Aunty Rhea,
Aunty Susan, Aunty Celeste, and Aunty Laura, and to Uncle Dave, for
bringing this opportunity for our kids to learn how to stay safe!
‘The Great Hawai’i Shakeout’ is scheduled for October 15th at 10:15 am. More
information can be found at www.Shakeout.org.
Seaview Community School
For those of you who don’t know, HAAS
provides some unique and wonderful
opportunities for the students of Lower
Puna. One of these is Seaview Community School (SCS), a HAAS Ohana Program, located at SPACE. SCS offers an
alternative to the traditional classroom
setting providing hands-on curriculum
support for families and students.
Along with the academics, SCS
offers on-site weekly classes such
as Circus Arts, Music, Hawaiian,
Ukulele, Art, Japanese Culture &
Writing, and Hands-On
Science.
The students are supported there
and at home by their wonderful
parents & by their teachers: Terry
Walker and Kristen O’Guin.
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Last week, the students in the Grades 36 Art Class examined the works of Pablo
Picasso. Picasso Faces was the delightful
result of their Picasso project.
Introducing our New Dean—Matt Kauffmann
Matt Kauffmann joins the HAAS family this year as Dean of Students. With a
passion for education and youth outreach, Matt originally started his pursuit
in education through fine arts.
Over the years, opportunities and circumstances brought him to the Big Island to work in what he says is “one of the coolest charter schools in the
country.” As a former charter school student, Matt understands the unique
dynamics that make alternative education successful.
Matt gives much credit to the teachers “that are committed to finding unique
and creative methods to making learning fun, engaging, and meaningful...
HAAS teachers get it and are just as stoked teaching as the students are learning.
It is a really inspiring environment to work in and I'm really happy to be part
of the HAAS team!” When Matt is not in the office, he digs family time at the
beach, all things bike-related, creative cooking, and spilling paint on canvas.
E Komo Mai Matt! We love the energy you bring!
Enrollment at HAAS is OPEN until October 15th.
We are accepting new 5th, 6th, & 10th-12th Grade students.
Let your ‘Ohana know so they can become part of ours!
Come in to the Main office on campus for more details &
enrollment paperwork!