KAMILOIKI NEWS
December 2013
7788 Hawaii Kai Drive Honolulu, HI 96825 (808) 397-5800
In this issue:
Dear Parents,
How quickly time passes as the
first half of the school year comes to an
end. There is much to celebrate, as well
as much to reflect upon.
IB Programme—The children
are engaged in their second IB unit for
the year. IB units being implemented this
quarter are: Kindergarten--How the
World Works (senses), Grade 1--Sharing
the Planet (Plants), Grade 2-- How the
World Works (life cycles), Grade 3-Where We Are in Place and Time
(history of communities), Grade 4--Who
We Are (understanding culture and
humanity), and Grade 5--Who We Are
(human body systems). You might wish
to ask your child what he/she is learning
from these units.
MAST—IB/MAST Coordinator
Joanne Boyd is working with 35 students
from grades 4-5 on their science fair
projects. The school science fair will be
January 13, 2014, and five projects will
be selected to be displayed at the
Honolulu District Science Fair on
February 8. If you or anyone you know
would be interested in helping judge our
school science fair projects, please
contact her.
IB Learner Profile Attribute of
the Month—This month’s attribute is
“caring.” We want our youngsters to be
kind, respectful, and sensitive to the
feelings of others.
Change in Dismissal Time—
School ends at 2:15 on Wednesday,
December 18, and at 1:30 on Friday,
December 20. Please inform those who
pick-up your children.
Roadwork—Construction
fronting Kamiloiki School has begun.
Major roadwork will hopefully occur
during the winter break. Please drive
carefully as you enter the parking lot.
BoxTops
2
Holiday Parade
2
Library News
3
Book Fair Photo
3
Friends of Kamilo`iki
4
Parent Project
4
Counselor’s Corner
5
HI State Assessment
5
HPD K-9 Visit
5
SCC Update
5
Attendance Policy
6
Curriculum/Tech
7
IB Updates
8
NO SCHOOL Dates:
•
New Website--Explore our new website
at www.kamiloikielementary.org. During
the past month that we've been up, there
have been 11,476 page views!
(continued on page 2)
WINTER BREAK —
Monday,
December
23, 2013 through
Monday,
2014
•
January 6,
MARTIN LUTHER
KING DAY —
Monday, January 20,
2014
HECO CHALLENGE CFL
DECORATING POSTER
CONTEST WINNERS:
(left to right) PreK Logan,
Kindergartener Abigail, 1st
grader Kana`i, 2nd grader John,
3rd grader Ariana (not
pictured), 4th grader Mia and
5th grader Kaitlyn each won
for their grade level and took
home a Jamba Juice gift card
prize.
Dear Parents, (continued from page 1)
Language Arts and Math—We are in the
process of purchasing the statewide language arts
textbook, McGraw-Hill Wonders. The teachers will
receive training this year. The state is still deciding upon
the statewide math program. See the Curriculum/Tech
page in this issue, page 7.
Congratulations — Mrs. Nohara’s fifth grade
class earned the highest Achieve 3000 Read to Succeed
contest points for the Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex
area. They won a class pizza party to celebrate their
accomplishment.
Hawaii Kai Loves a Parade
A festive group of Kamiloiki students, parents, and staff
I wish to take a moment to acknowledge our
hardworking, dedicated teachers... and parents for your
support. May you have a special holiday season with
friends and loved ones. I look forward to seeing the
children back on January 7.
marched down Lunalilo Home Road in the Keiki Kalikimaka
Parade hosted by the Hawaii Kai Lions Club and Koko
Marina Center on Saturday, November 30, 2013. All
Kamiloiki families are welcome, so please join us next year!
Mahalo and take care,
Mrs. Susan Okano
Principal
BOXTOPS, LABELS, eSCRIP
As you do your holiday baking and cooking,
please save those Box Tops and Labels for
Kamiloiki. Together we make a difference!
If you shop at Safeway, remember that
effective November 1st, purchases made
with credit cards no longer earn eScrip
points for Kamiloiki. Instead, please pay for
your Safeway order with a debit card that
you have registered on eScrip.com or
check/cash, along with your Safeway
shopper card. This is a painless way to earn
money for our school, as Safeway
automatically gives us a portion of your
spending.
2
Library News
By Ms. Huffman, Librarian
Holiday Gift Ideas
According to the Association for Library Service
to Children (ALSC), the following are notable books
published in 2013. Consider giving one or more of
these to your favorite young reader this holiday
season! Please visit http://www.ala.org/alsc/
awardsgrants/notalists/ncb for more titles.
Younger Readers
Dogs on Duty. By Dorothy Hinshaw Patent. Walker.
Brave, loyal dogs are hard to resist, especially
those trained to serve on difficult military
missions. Easy-to-read with photos.
Let's Go for a Drive! By Mo Willems. Illus. by the
author. Hyperion. Good friends Elephant and
Piggie’s best plans in preparing to take a drive go
awry when they realize they have no car. (A 2013
Geisel Honor Book)
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. By
Eric Litwin. Illus. by James Dean. HarperCollins.
A blue mellow-eyed feline keeps losing his groovy
buttons. But does he cry? Goodness no! For after
all, it’s all good! (A 2013 Geisel Honor Book)
Middle Readers
A Black Hole Is Not a Hole. By Carolyn
Cinami DeCristofano. Illus. by Michael Carroll.
Charlesbridge. Using analogies within a child's
experience, this deceptively clear, engaging
introduction to black holes describes, explains,
excites, and sparks a sense of wonder.
Three Times Lucky. By Sheila Turnage. Dial/
Penguin. Rising sixth-grader Mo LoBeau leads
eccentric residents of Tupelo Landing, North
Carolina, on a rollicking journey of mystery and
adventure as she investigates a murder and
searches for her long-lost mother. (A 2013
Newbery Honor Book)
Wonder. By R. J. Palacio. Knopf. Born with facial
deformities, August chooses to attend "regular"
school for the first time. Told from many
perspectives, this is a powerful novel about
friendship and acceptance.
All Ages
Little Bird. By Germano Zullo. Illus. by Albertine.
Enchanted Lion. The expressive, simple illustrations
wordlessly show how a man’s kindness is repaid by a
grateful bird; a graphic depiction of “It’s the little
things that count.”
National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200
Poems with Photographs that Squeak, Soar, and
Roar! Ed. by J. Patrick Lewis. illus. National
Geographic. In a collection for all ages, Lewis pairs
poems by classic and modern poets with breathtaking
photos from the National Geographic archives that
capture the amazing diversity of the animal world.
Step Gently Out. By Helen Frost. Illus. by Rick
Lieder. Candlewick. Frost’s poem, paired with
Lieder’s luminous photographs, invite readers to
examine insects’ lives as they soar through the air or
somersault across a blade of grass.
The Year Comes Round : Haiku through the
Seasons. By Sid Farrar. Illus. by Ilse Plume. Albert
Whitman. A cycle of seasons is vividly described and
lushly illustrated in this collection of haiku.
Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. By Kate Coombs.
Illus. by Meilo So. Chronicle. Twenty-three poems
illustrated in loosely-flowing watercolors include
songs in praise of the ocean and the life within. A
memorable sea excursion.
Fourth graders and Student Council members joined Clifford in
publicizing Family Night at the Scholastic Book Fair, which
raised money for the fourth grade field trip to the Big Island.
3
Friends of Kamilo`iki
by Karen Bond, parent volunteer coordinator
If you haven’t done so already, please help
us get Kamiloiki Elementary School a
GREAT GreatSchools rating! Please
share your experience with Kamiloiki
Elementary School at
www.greatschools.org. Type in Kamiloiki
Elementary School in the search area and
select HI from the drop down menu. Scroll
down till you see our school, and then click
on the name. Then click on the Reviews tab
and rate! Your input helps future Kamiloiki
families to learn more about our school.
Mahalo for your time!
Aloha Friends!
As we close another
year, may we be joyful
for the blessings we
have. Our school community is blessed
because of the wonderful people and
families that make the experience of being
here so awesome! Mahalo to everyone for
your support of our students, teachers, and
staff throughout the year – we couldn’t do it
without you!
Now that we have some of the administrative
tasks done, we are continuing to plan the
rest of our school year. Our next event is
Cougar Cub Challenge! Our keen
committee of Maile Inskeep, Nadine
Shrivastava, Samantha Kaaua, and Jolie
Wanger are busy making plans for this
annual fun-filled, fundraiser on Friday,
February 28, 2013! Envelopes will go home
the end of January and will be collected
each Friday in class through the date of the
event. More information on this after the
New Year.
We have many more exciting times ahead
for our students and families with
opportunities for outreach and camaraderie.
Please come share your thoughts and ideas
and join our team at our next meeting on:
Thursday, January 16th
6 p.m. in the School Library
Mele Kalikimaka me ka
Hau‛oli Makahiki Hou!!!
The Parent Project Offered at
Kaiser High School
We will wrap up the year with Staff
Appreciation and our final fundraiser,
Outback® Steakhouse! The Outback®
tickets will be sold in May to be redeemed in
June. We will begin planning for Staff
Appreciation in March.
Thursdays, January 9—March 17
6 to 9 p.m. in School Library
• A great opportunity to attend this
nationally-recognized parenting series (ten
consecutive Thursdays) right in our
neighborhood!
• Improve current challenges with your 5th
grader from homework to chores.
• Only requires purchase of $27 workbook
to be paid at start of class.
• Registration is open, please email
Kaiser High School PCNC Denise Murai, at
[email protected]
Due to time constraints, we were unable to
hold our Barnes & Noble fundraiser last
weekend. We will revisit this fundraiser
when there can be more dedicated planning
for the event. A big mahalo to Jamie
Dulatre who brought this opportunity to our
attention and for her time in helping us get
connected with this fantastic and generous
company!
4
Counselor’s Corner
by Mrs. Kim Ushiroda
December’s IB Learner Profile Attribute is
Caring.
The Honolulu Police Department’s K-9 Unit and Solo
Bikes visited our school on Friday, December 13th
and did a presentation in the courtyard for our
students.
Teachers received a “Connect and Respect” lesson
plan on Lesson 5: “Friends Get Help for
Friends” this month.
Parents and students: Please donate any clean
(new or gently used) slippers, and girls or boys
clothes to the school’s health room in the office.
Students often need slippers when they fall apart
SCC Update
"Your School Community Council (SCC)
wants your input.
Please join us for a community meeting
and some refreshments on Tuesday,
January 7, 2014 at 6 pm. This is the
same day our children return to school
from the holiday break. It will probably
be a busy day, and we hope you won't
forget.
Mrs. Okano will review how our children
are doing and future plans. You will have
an opportunity to share your thoughts as
well.
We hope to see you for a brief, but
important community meeting on Tuesday,
January 7th.
Happy Holidays!
Judy
Judy Sobin
SCC Chairperson
or clothes when they get dirty. Mahalo!
Reminder:
Online Hawaii State Assessment
Round# 1
Grades 3, 4 & 5
Testing Window:
Monday through Friday,
January 27-31, 2014
February 3-7 & 10-12, 2014
Please schedule appointments and
vacations during school breaks.
Get a good night’s sleep.
Eat a healthy breakfast.
Come to school everyday & ON TIME.
Start the day with a POSITIVE attitude.
YOU CAN DO IT!
5
6
Information Technology Solutions
Curriculum/Tech
Corner
Terrie Kamo | Brianna Huffman | Eric Gomez
December
2013
Learning has been and is non stop… Perhaps that’s where the phrase“life long learning”came from. At
Kamilo`iki, although a lot of work, it’s exciting. We have all been inquirers, open-minded and risk takers
with your children. Here’s wishing that you enjoy the holiday season eating, singing and learning together.
Kamilo`iki at Your Fingertips
Singapore Again at the Top
http://www.kamiloikielementary.org/
Shanghai and Singapore scored at the top in the
just released 2012 PISA test.*
The successful
implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) should help US students make gains.
Hawaii is also in the process of selecting a math
program to support the rigor required of the CCSS.
Along with implementing CCSS, our teachers are
incorporating some of the Singapore Math strategies learned at their training last month. Using
math in real life at home will also help build their a
solid math foundation.
There’s lots of information on our new
website. In the future, we hope to have even
more along with photos. One feature we
hope you find handy are the quick tabs on
the top for the calendar, classes, library and
lunch menu. Clicking on the library tab, you’ll
find tons of resources in the library catalogue.
Scrolling
down, quick
links are also
listed
that
go straight
to IXL Math,
Achieve3000, ,Discovery Education, EnVision
Math, the DOE main site and more. Have fun!
Sign Up Now for
Text Message Updates
from Our School!
Thank you for updating your info for use with
our mass messaging system.
Having your
current contact info is especially important
when there is an emergency.
In order to receive text messages/alerts from
our system, you’ll need to use the phone you’d
like to get alerts on and:
1. Dial: 56360
2. Text: join
A number of parents have already joined. If
joined, you would have gotten a text on
Thursday, Dec.12. If you have any problems
subscribing now or receiving the texts, please
let the office know.
*http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-snapshotVolume-I-ENG.pdf
Reading Program Rolling Out
… Wonders by
McGraw Hill
After
an
extensive
evaluation of different
programs, Hawaii’s DOE selected Wonders as
the
state-wide
reading/language
arts
program.
The state target for complete
implementation is the year 2016-17.
Kamilo`iki teachers already have their teacher
kits and will be joining Kaiser Complex schools
in January-February for special training. After
the training, our teachers will selectively use
parts of this comprehensive program in the
spring to get comfortable, and to enhance
teaching and learning.
The Wonders program was built around the
Common Core State Standards and will help
students develop solid foundational skills. It is
very rigorous and has a huge digital
component which will be very engaging for
our students. We’re all looking forward to
learning more about this program.
Kamilo`iki Elementary …
IB Candidate School Info and Updates
Mrs. Joanne Boyd | Mrs. Terrie Kamo
December 2013
INQUIRY
When we look at inquiry, we think of it as a series of questions. Yet inquiry
allows us to more deeply understand something; to explore new ideas and
concepts; to understand why things are the way they are; to clarify ideas that are both our
own or others’; to conjure opinions, theories, and to speculate. It is a powerful educational
tool. Learning through inquiry promotes not only meaning and understanding, but
challenges students to engage in ideas of global significance.
How Parents Can Help
Websites
That Promote Inquiry
Use inquiry language:
How? Why? What? Explain……..
Kids.nationalgeographic.com/
Seriouslyamazing.si.org.edu/
Mathcats.com
Do you agree?
What is your opinion?
How can you figure that out?
Try not to give children the answer, but help them
find the answer.
“The world is but a school of
inquiry.” Michel de Montaigne
Restate comments as questions.
Talk with your children about what interests them.
Take time to wander and wonder with your children.
Transdisciplinary Theme Descriptor:
Where We Are in Place and Time
An inquiry into orientation in time and place; personal histories;
homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations
of human kind; the relationships between and interconnectedness
of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
Students are expected to demonstrate their growth as internationally-minded students by exhibiting
the learner profiles. Please take a moment to recognize their use of any of these attributes at home.
Inquirers
Thinkers
Communicators
Risk-Takers
Caring
Open-Minded
Principled
Balanced
Knowledgeable
Reflective