Aloha Lokelani Ohana,
I am excited for this new school year and have high hopes for our students! Students return to school awake and eager on August 7, 2017. We are focusing on three concepts this year as a school: rigor, relevance and relationships.
Under RIGOR, we will be starting our honors program in grades 6, 7, 8 in science, English and math. We are starting a Spanish language program in the sixth grade and will expand it to each grade level each year. This is a preliminary step in becoming an International Baccallaureate Middle Years Programme school. We are expanding our learning opportunities in our elective program, our school garden, intramural sports program (REACH) and extracurricular clubs.
In the area of RELEVANCE, we are starting the AVID with two AVID electives in the eighth grade as well as a school wide initiative to have all students use Cornell notes and the binder organizational system. We will also be enlisting the AVID Word of the Week and AVID Goal Setting during our advisory, HOKU period. Lastly, we are dedicated to implementing project based learning and design thinking in each of our classrooms, so students see, analyze and apply what they are learning to real life projects which will prepare them for their career and college post secondary goals.
Our third "R," RELATIONSHIPS" is so important for our middle school and embodying the 16 characteristics of a middle school child. We are reinvigorating our six interdisciplinary teams and our advisory curriculum: Tribes. Our wellness committee is resurfacing this year and we are working with our district resource teachers to implement mindful and social emotional learning for our keiki.
We have a lot going on at Lokelani this year, and we hope that you will get involved with all these exciting initiatives. Please join our PTSA (parent, teacher, student, association), SCC (school community council) and attend our parent nights. Ask your children daily, what they learned each day and frame it in the three "R's: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships." Please join me on this exciting journey of learning and achievement. I look forward to an exciting and prosperous school year.
Take care,
françoise
