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Overview of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Middle School
The seventh and eighth grades of the Kamehameha Secondary School officially became the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Middle School in July of 2001. Located between the Elementary and High School on the 600-acre Kapālama campus, the 640 Middle School students occupy eight major buildings and smaller portables. The Middle School has a faculty of about 72, consisting of teachers, counselors, staff members and administrators. Each of these adults has high expectations for the students’ academic performance and appropriate student behavior. They help students to practice doing what is right (Ke Ala Pono) at all times. Thus, Hawaiian values, character education, and service-learning, are integral parts of the school’s total curriculum. Proper conduct both on and off campus is expected of all students. One of our goals is to ease the transition from Elementary to Middle School to High School. Being in Middle School has its own challenges, as our young adolescents question, ponder and explore the ever-changing world around them. Understanding what is happening to their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual self can be confusing at times. It is important that school and home work together to create an environment that provides stability, structure, as well as a dose of flexibility, which is needed to allow students the opportunity to grow to their full potential. At our annual "Back to School Days", a student’s parent or guest has the opportunity to spend an entire day with his or her middle schooler. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to experience and gain insight into the daily life of a young adolescent. The true Middle School model advocates building a sense of belongingness and community. A strong emphasis is placed on teaming. There are six teams, three at each grade level. Each team consists of about 107 students that are assigned the same math, science, social studies and English teachers. This grouping allows for cross-curriculum planning, coordination of field trips, testing schedules and major projects. The team also fosters a “small school” feel to assist students in the transition from Elementary to Middle School, where a student may now have six or more teachers a day. The Middle School model provides many opportunities to build positive relationships between students and teachers. Each student is placed in a homeroom/advisory group. Advisory provides the student with a “home base” for meetings concerning school business and for discussions of general student interest such as student government and socials. The homeroom advisor gets to know his or her advisees, and is concerned about each student’s academic progress and adjustment to school and life. Our Middle School takes pride in providing an environment that encourages the creativity and curiosity of our students. Displays of our students' progress in art, technology, various projects and team activities can be found throughout our campus. The Student Activities Program encourages participation in student government, clubs, athletics, cultural and contemporary interest-centered activities. Non-graded course requirements include Christian Education and Guidance classes, as well as participation in special events such as the Founders’ Day Programs. Our entire school (K-12) honors our beloved Founder, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, on her birthday, the 19th of December. Her husband, Charles Reed Bishop, founded the 7th and 8th Grade Preparatory Department at Kamehameha, and we pay tribute to him on his birthday, January 25. An ongoing endeavor is the creation of an exemplary Middle School. In order to achieve that goal, we are in the process of examining and evaluating our current program. Philosophically research-based guides, such as Turning Points 2000 and This We Believe and Now We Must Act, will assist us in creating a firm theoretical foundation on which we can continually build our program. While we intend to base our practices along those endorsed by the National Middle School Association, we also plan to blend our Hawaiian ways into the mixture. While we have begun the process of identifying those aspects of truly successful middle schools that we would like to incorporate into our setting, our next step will be to strategically plan when and how to implement these initiatives. Our approach to creating an exemplary Middle School will place our young Hawaiian adolescents at the heart of our program. In moving ahead with the KS Education Strategic Plan priority to innovate and optimize the K-12 campus program, KSKMS will be embarking on year two of an exciting venture. Starting with the class of 2013, students will have access to a personal laptop computer to further develop and enhance their educational experiences, and to empower them with 21st century skills required to effectively compete and contribute as productive citizens in our ever-changing global economy. The most successful students have often had their parents and families involved in their education. We, at Middle School, would like to encourage our families to continue this winning partnership, as we work together to promote, nourish and foster the growth of our young adolescents. |