I'iwi Room

Check this section weekly for the most important and up to date news. 

                                                                     Weekly Update 5/24/13  

I can't believe we just finished our last full week of school! 

• I'm very proud of all the third graders who tried their best on the SAT test this week. It proved for long mornings, but they stuck with it. Scores on the test will likely be mailed to you some time toward the end of summer. 
• "Annie" turned out to be a fantastic musical. The students were so well spoken on stage and sung their hearts out. 
• We had great fun at Field Day. A special thank you to Lauren's dad and Lilo and Josie's mom for helping us out. The students had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to competing next year.
• Please be sure to turn in your item for our Math Facts Sundae Party by Wednesday. 
• Check out your house to see if you have any Hualalai Academy library books lying around. They seem to pop up in the strangest spots.
• Don't forget to sign up for the last day of school potluck. The sign up sheet is on the classroom door. If you do forget to sign up, it's okay to bring something anyway on Friday at 11:00 to share with the Hualalai 'ohana. I look forward to celebrating with all of you.

                                                                     Weekly Update 5/17/13  

Wow! The time is really flying by now. There are only nine more days of school left. We have a lot of fun things coming up.

• Beginning Monday, the third grade students will be taking the SAT test from 8:00 to approximately 10:00. Please be sure your child eats a good breakfast, gets plenty of sleep and understands that the test is just a way to show some things they do and do not know. I sent home a letter today in the third grade homework folders. Be sure to take a look. During the testing time, the second grade students will be spending the morning with Ms. Hernandez and Ms. Flower. 
• Our "Annie" show is next Wednesday. We hold a dress rehearsal at 1:00 for the other students in our school. Please be sure your child brings their costume with them that day. For the evening performance, students are to meet in costume in the lower school quad at 5:45. At that time parents may go and take their seats for the show at 6:00.
• Field Day is on Thursday at 1:00. Students are to dress in their team colors (does not need to be a Hualalai shirt) and be ready to participate in some fun games and races. This is a fun time had by all. Please join us if you'd like, but we might put you to work. (See teams on pdf below)
• Math Facts Sundae Party will be on our final Wednesday of school. Be on the lookout for more information soon.
• Beach Day is on the final Thursday. We will be riding the school bus to Kua Bay to spend the day together at the beach. We'd love to have as many parents join us as possible. Feel free to leave to go home straight from the beach that day.
• Last Day of School potluck is a great final gathering of the Hualalai Ohana. Be on the lookout for a sign up sheet on the door to bring something good to eat.

                                                                  Weekly Update 5/10/13  

First of all, thank you to all who showed me appreciation this week for Teacher Appreciation Week. I appreciated the gifts and cards. It really meant a lot. Thank you also to all who were able to carpool and attend our field trip. The students had a lot of fun, and it was possible because of you.

As we begin to finish up our school year, we will be spending this next week doing a lot of review and reflection. We'll take a look at our different reading strategies we've learned, review math lessons and take a look at our favorite writing pieces. 

In just two weeks the third graders will be taking the SAT test from 8:00-9:30. During this time all second graders will be joining Ms. H and Ms. Flower in their classes. It is important that the children eat a good breakfast, get plenty of sleep and are on time to school to ensure the best possible situation for testing. If you have any questions, please let me know.

I hope you are all getting your "Annie" costumes together. Here again is the information from Mrs. Boyum.

13 ORPHANS: Rag-a-muffin tattered and torn look

                                                                  Weekly Update 5/3/13  

What an exciting week we had! The students celebrated May Day by playing ancient Hawaiian games, making leis and petroglyphs, and hearing about ancient Hawaiian legends. To top it all off, they ate a delicious plate lunch with everything from laulau to haupia. The students also had the opportunity to view the middle and high school EOL before anyone else had. They got to see some great presentations from our Hualalai 'ohana. I even heard a few from our class talk about projects they'd like to do in middle school. Mrs. Johnson has been reading a version of Treasure Island with the students and to finish it all off, they created their own treasure maps and made them authentic with fire and everything. Take a look at soem pictures in the Photo Gallery. Along with all these great activities, we did learn too. The students have been doing a great job making inferences. This is a very tricky reading strategy but the students are taking it head on. They're really beginning to learn that if an author doesn't tell you everything, you sometimes need to use your schema and text clues to figure it out on your own. We started inferring with pictures on Pinterest, and this week we moved on to picture books. I'm very proud of their dedication. In math, both groups began a unit on geometry. On Friday we had fun exploring and creating shapes using straws and twist ties. And of course, in science we continued our discussion about the solar system. We've learned a few songs to help us remember the order of the planets from the sun and will be making a music video very soon. Don't forget to turn in the Onizuka Field Trip form so that we can further investigate the solar system.

Have a wonderful week and be sure to check the calendar on the home page to stay up to date with all that we have going on. 

                                                                          Weekly Update 4/26/13  

Wow! What a great week we had in the I'iwi room! We began our week by beginning our new unit on the solar system. This is always one of my favorite units to teach because of the great interest from the students. We've already begun learning the characteristics about the different planets and their order from the sun. On May 9th we will have an opportunity to explore further by attending the Onizuka Space Center. We will leave campus at about 12:15 and return around 2:15. We will need parent drivers so let me know if you are available.

On Thursday our entire Hualalai ohana got together to recognize Earth Day. The students were put in mixed groups, ages k-12, and given a specific question to research. After they researched, they came up with a three minute presentation for the school. We saw, skits, dances, and movies. It was a great opportunity to come together and learn more. After our research exhibition, Auntie Reggae visite from Recycle Hawaii and showed us new ways to create recycled art. There was a "trash fashion" show and we topped the day of with Spring Fling. Everyone had lots of fun and hopefully learned a lot!

                                                                             Weekly Update 4/19/13  

Thank you to all who attended our Writing Celebration this week! The students have worked very hard all school year and it showed. I was very impressed by their ability to research and putting their findings into their own words. At the end of the year I will put together a little portfolio of their writing to take home and cherish always.

We have a very busy upcoming week. On Tuesday we will have our Picnic for the Planet as our first kick off activity for Earth Day. Students are to bring a zero waste lunch and snack to school. They may also bring a towel or mat to sit on for the picnic portion. On Thursday all students k-12 will be participating in the Bio-Blitz. Students will be grouped, given a focus question, and must find a way to present the answer to their question in a three minute presentation to the school. After the Bio-Blitz our Trash Fashion Show will begin. In the afternoon will be our biannual Spring Fling. There will be a water slide and games to celebrate. There will also be hot dogs, hamburgers, shave ice and other treats to purchase to help fund the student council. Students should bring with them to school on Thursday a bathing suit and towel and any money for treats. If you happen to be available that day, come on by. And don't forget, no school Friday!

                                                                              Weekly Update 4/12/13 

Spring is in the air which means a lot of fun things at Hualalai Academy. As we begin to wind down the school year, a lot of events and activities begin. To kick off this exciting time, the students did a great job performing in the Talent Show. I was so impressed to see the level of confidence to get up on that stage and perform in front of others. And it's true, Hualalai really does have talent. To continue the activities, this coming Wednesday is our Lower School Writing Celebration. This is a great time to praise our Hualalai authors for all their hard work this year and for them to show off a little of what they have done so far. You should have gotten an evite email. We hope you are able to make the event! Keep an eye out or check the calendar on the home page for other upcoming events such as the "Annie" play, May Day, Beach Day and other events. 

The students sure did work hard this week. In math we brought fractions to another level by identifying equivelant fractions and even including them in word problems. We are just about complete with our animal adaptation and biome unit. We will finish the desert biome mid next week and finish off the week by beginning our solar system unit. In writing the students sure have worked hard to complete their animal research reports. You'll have a chance to check these out at the Writing Celebration on Wednesday. And finally, in reading we began to discuss and use the concept of inferring. This is a very difficult skill to learn but the students are already beginning to develop an understanding. We began this week by looking at pictures and make inferences based on the clues we found in the pictures. Next week we will move into inferring through text. 

Here's a fun video for you to check out by one of our Hualalai alumni. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

                                                                             Weekly Update 4/5/13 

Aloha and welcome back! I hope you had a great spring break. Are you ready for the last two months of school? They are going to be event filled and lots of fun.

The students came back from spring break full of energy and focus. They've really started off our last quarter with a "bring it on" attitude toward their academics and its shown. The students began the week with a whole group lesson on fractions. Before splitting up into our math groups next week, we really strengthened the concept of fractions and what they mean. Next weekt the students will again be put into their groups and work on bringing that fraction concept to the next level. In science we concluded our research on the Arctic Tundra and only have the desert biome left to study next week before we conclude this unit on animal adaptations and biomes. Along with the experiments, technology, and hands on activities, the students have also chosen an animal to research and write a report on. The research process was difficult, but they made it. Everyone is working on the rough draft stage of their reports. This research report and illustrations will make up the published hardback book our class is ordering. An advertiser went home this week with an opportunity to purchase your own published copy. Please be sure to turn in the page by next Friday. Students who finish the research and illustrations more quickly than others have the opportunity to add on a creative aspect. They have been given the choice to show off their knowledge anyway they know how. I know some ideas of play dough animals were out there as well as creating movies on imovie or zoos on Minecraft. It'll be great to see what they come up with.

Congratulations to all the students for their new roles in the upcoming spring play, Annie. Mrs. Boyum will be sending home more information on this later but in the meantime, it's important that the students practice their lines and songs.

Finally, we'd like to give a warm welcome to Josie and her mom Jen for joining our ohana. Josie was warmly welcomed by the students in our class and is a great addition to the Hualalai ohana. 

Have a wonderful weekend!