Orientation Volunteer – Help welcome new 7th graders in August

Orientation Volunteers Wanted:  Remember what it was like to be new to KMS?  Remember how you felt on the first day of school.  Be a big brother or a big sister to the incoming 7th grade class in the fall.  Be an Orientation Volunteer. 

1. Download and complete the volunteer form by May 20.

2. Mandatory volunteer training on August 1 (8:00am to 2:30pm) at KMS.

’13 Orientation Volunteer Form

Source: KMS Student Activities | 13 May 2013 | 12:17 pm HST

May 12, 2013

Happy Mother’s Day!
Since my last blog post I have been away on the continent again for a conference on residential education. A couple of days prior to that I was able to visit my son for his spring game at the University of Oregon. Our older son made the  trip from Seattle to meet us for the game–these moments are rare…I share a photo above.  The visit was too brief as I flew off the next afternoon for the residential education conference in LA. With the middle school boarding program becoming part of a comprehensive middle school educational and residential program for our kids, I must start attending conferences such as this one to learn about how to provide the best program possible. The leadership team at the middle school (team leads and admin) and the boarding staff met through the fall to get a handle on what we want the program to look like. We have established a shared vision for our program and are presently posting a new position that will be an administrator who will work with our day admin from mid-day through the evening and live in the dorm. We envision an afterschool program that will blend day and boarding students in enrichment and support services. This is all in the planning stages and we are excited to continue this good work. In the coming weeks we will work together again to determine some of the more detialed elements of the program that need to be in place to get us through the summer and smoothly into the coming new school year.

Our teachers have been working very hard to provide activities that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in many different ways.  I am blessed to work with an extremely hard working and talented group of teachers and staff.   Mahalo to all of the parents who have been supporting the end of the year activites like the PE run/swim, band/orchestra concert, hula/chant/chorals concert. To all families who are supporting the children each of who are  setting their sights on finishing the year strong. Mahalo for the care you provide at home.

In closing I share with you some of the images of the past week’s culminating events.

I am ever proud of the haumana!  They are outstanding amongst any middle school anywhere.  They truly exceed the benchmarks set for them.  Mahalo to each and every student who does their very best each and every day! 

I mua!

Po’o Kumu Ka’ai

Source: Pua Kaai | 12 May 2013 | 5:19 pm HST

Middle Years – May 2013

Attached is a PDF of the Middle Years Newsletter for May 2013.
MiddleYears – May 2013

Source: Kapālama Middle School | 2 May 2013 | 8:39 am HST

IMPORTANT TRAFFIC REQUEST April 19, 2013

Mahalo to all who make an effort to follow all the rules on campus each day. We appreciate your adherence to the rules which are set to insure your safety while on campus.

This afternoon our security department came by the office to share that they need everyone’s help especially in the afternoon pick up.

FOR PARENTS:
Security is requesting that you not approach the middle school drive (Ali’i Drive) before 3:10 p.m. each day. Please park at the parking structure and wait until 3:10 p.m. before proceeding to pick up your child. Do not park along the right side of the main road to wait for 3:10 p.m. as this causes a very dangerous situation for our security officers. Parking on the roadside lessens the room between on coming cars and the officer.

FOR STUDENTS:
If you are a “car pick up” student, please be at the curb, alert, and ready to be picked up by your ride. When you are not there at the curb for your ride this causes unwarranted traffic and frustration. It is your kuleana to be where you need to be at all times.

Finally, please let’s all treat our security personnel with the utmost respect. They place themselves in danger each day to insure that we travel safely on campus. This is a tough job and I appreciate your support of them.

As a reminder, the campus speed limit is 20 miles per hour.

Mahalo!
Po’o Kumu Ka’ai

Source: Pua Kaai | 19 Apr 2013 | 4:13 pm HST

April 15, 2013

Aloha Kākou!
Before I begin this post I want to send prayers and messages of comfort and hope to any and all in Boston who have experienced the fear of the events this morning. Know we are all keeping Boston in our prayers. Please let me know if this tragedy has impacted your families in any way. We are always here to support you.

Ironically the photos above and others in this post are from my trip to Harvard last week for the Learning Environments for Tomorrow conference. The campus was phenomenal, the learning was amazing. Throughout the week we interacted with scholars from MIT and Harvard from the fields of education and architecture. The resulting dialogue and experiences reinforced for me that our building is truly serving our learners and workers of tomorrow. We can allways improve on the learning environment and strive to do this each day. We are presently going through week #2 on our campus of the educational visioning process which will inform the environments in which our children learn. Such exciting times!

Great News:  Our building was recently awarded first place in the General Contractors’ Association of Hawaii “Build Hawaii” awards.

It has been a while since I last posted an entry. I apologize for that. In the time since the last post we have had a terrific parent coffe hour that, as always, generated vigorous and menaingful dialogue. Each time we do a parent coffee I am convinced of the importance of this type of connecting with our families. Mahalo for the time each of you takes to be here for those moments.

We are well into the last quarter of our learning for this school year. Please join me in encouraging your child to work hard and finish strong. I look forward to seeing you each morning at the curb, and at all of the culminating events of this school year.

In closing I share a cute mural from an old theater in Harvard Square.

Ke Akua Pū
Pua

Source: Pua Kaai | 15 Apr 2013 | 3:04 pm HST

8th Grade Ka Malamalama o Ke Ao Nei Program

Ka Malamalama o Ke Ao Nei is a special program to confer blessings upon the 8th grade class as they transition to high school.  This program will be held on May 23 at 2:15pm in Kekuhaupio.  The doors will open at 2:05pm and the program will begin promptly at 2:15.  Parking is available from 1:15pm in the new parking structure.  We highly encourage your participation in this event and that the only gifts given are our well wishes and prayer.   Balloon, lei, etc. are discouraged.  Each child will be given a special order lei to commemorate this event.  Please RSVP by May 8 on the attached form.  Ka Malamalama o Ke Ao Nei Parent Letter2013

If you are unable to attend the program, please view it live (and it will be archived) at

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kmssactv

Source: KMS Student Activities | 12 Apr 2013 | 7:31 am HST